I was contacted by my mortgage company that my homeowners association filed a lien on my house for outstanding assessments. I never even received a notice from the HOA! Admittedly, I fell behind on my HOA assessments after I was laid off from my job, but is it legal for the HOA to lien my house? Wouldn’t there be a
There is obviously very little I can do about the recession and depreciating home values, but are there things that I could be doing, or our neighborhood can do to increase the value or appeal of our community? How can we set ourselves apart from all of the other communities through the valley? David B. Home values are on everyone’s
Dr. HOA, I am trying to find out what the law requires for an HOA to be legitimate. I live in a very small community where the HOA does practically nothing, but demands $85 per month. We are having a lot of vandalism issues, and they do nothing to help fix the problem. I don’t even think this HOA is
DR. HOA, I am in the market to purchase my first condominium, and I am nervous after hearing horror stories of associations not maintaining buildings and outrageous special assessments. What should I be looking for to ensure that I make a good investment? —Amy H. Hello Amy, I applaud your due diligence prior to purchasing in a condominium association. All
Dr. HOA, I was recently elected to the board of directors for my condominium association. I ran for the board after our association had its second special assessment in two years. The first special assessment was for new roofs and this year’s assessment was for painting the buildings. What can our new board do to avoid these types of special
Dr. HOA, I have lived in my HOA for nearly 10 years, and the monthly dues have never gone up. Recently, a new board of directors was elected and we received notice that dues were going up almost 18 percent. To make matters worse, the landscaping looks terrible, and the clubhouse is run down. The nerve of this new board
Dr. HOA, I live in a homeowners association consisting of several hundred single-family homes. I am concerned because our dues have increased substantially in the past year, and I get the feeling that the association is being mismanaged by the board of directors and/or the current management company. What type of homeowner oversight is typical for associations, and what tools