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Monday, April 12, 2021

The Perils of a Homeowners Association - Part 2

 

In part 1, I gave some of the history of the association from when we moved here full time. I gave two examples to demonstrate how vitriolic the environment within the membership was. There are many more examples but I think readers get the idea. Now we come to the result of the hate and hostility that has financially harmed the association.  I know of two specific lawsuits that have cost the association a great deal of money that would have been better utilized on the infrastructure.  

The first one was a prior board member who filed suit against the board of directors because they didn't agree with the direction the board was going. They wanted the court to appoint an overseer to monitor the board. The suit failed and cost the association a great deal of money, wasted time and distractions. 

The next costly lawsuit was board members suing each other. There were 4 women on the board and two did not get along with the other two. It was a fight royal. It was a huge drain of dues money and a complete distraction. The suit included all three board members and the President who was later released and the association had to pay the presidents legal fees in excess of $30,000.00 +.

There have been other lawsuits but I am not familiar enough to report on them. Lawsuits are never what those involved believe and they often end in ways no one thought they would. The only ones who win are the lawyers. In the two mentioned the result was not what those who felt wronged had hoped for. The result was a huge waste of money and continued hard feelings. 

The progress of an association should be a slow and well planned progression. When that progression involves personal agendas that may or may not be in the best interest of the members and coupled with costly lawsuits progress stops or loses ground. 

This is an election year for two of the directors. Which way the association will go is in question. Hopefully the association will continue to improve and our property values will be secure.  

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