Homeowners caught up in legal wrangling and unsettled questions, and some lawmakers, are hoping the wild, wild, west of HOAs will be slightly more tame next year when a new state law kicks in–creating a clearing house of information that homeowners and HOAs can go to before heading to court.
When House Bill 1278 was introduced earlier this year, it provided for an ombudsman to advocate on behalf of homeowners to mediate disputes, and to function as a clearing house for issues arising out of Home Owner Associations (HOAs). However, the bill, sponsored by Rep. Sue Ryden, D-Aurora, and Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, was subsequently amended, leaving only the clearing-house portion of the bill with an information officer overseeing the information.
Rep. Joe Rice, D-Littleton, who presided over the committee hearings for HB1278 and supported the measure, said that he saw the need for a state-run HOA clearing house and is hopeful it will have a positive impact when it is put in place in January of 2011.
“Clearly there are some problems out there,” said Rice. “There are things that both homeowners and HOAs don’t understand and they don’t know how to resolve it without an attorney and incurring legal costs. My hope is that this (the clearing house) will be a place where issues can be resolved before going any further.”
While most HOAs are now formed when a new development is built and membership is part of the deed to the property, some older associations are voluntary in nature, much like a club or co-op, and the bylaws and covenants are not binding on homeowners that choose not to join.
Attorney Bob Hoban, who represents homeowners against what he characterizes as “HOA’s gone wild,” says that he is seeing a trend that he finds disturbing where law firms are seeking out voluntary homeowners associations and shaping them into more powerful entities—and he has a theory as to why the trend is occurring.
“Local governments are trying to see that HOAs increase in power and funding ability so that they can parcel out their responsibilities on the HOA, i.e., trash collection, etc.,” said Hoban. “They welcome the expansion of these so-called voluntary HOAs. The law firms recognize this and go out seeking these associations perpetuating more powerful HOAs thereby expanding their client base and making a pile of money.”
Hoban said he also believes that the clearing house will be beneficial in the long run.
“From what I see in dealing with property owners and home owners associations I don’t see any other way to stop this slippery slope of what we’re seeing here unless there is some sort of government oversight,” Hoban contends. “The creation of this office is well-intentioned and a very good thing– if it remains a clearing house of information and doesn’t become just another government bureaucracy.”
We have a rougue HOA in our 6th. Ave. West neighborhood. A law firm tried to come in fall 2008 with mandatory dues, fines, assessments, 21 per cent interest, liens. See their web site, they sell liens on the internet. google Hindman-Sanchez. We are still fighting them. A new group took over, lied to the neighborhood pretended to be neighbor friendly, filed a reaffirmation document to all 532 homes, with no vote of the BOD or the homeowners. Held an election in Oct, which produced 3 different final results, then the BOD voted which outcome was the correct one. The election was fraudulent to say the least. They hired an electronic voting company from the west coast. Our covenants have served this neighborhood well for over 30 years. The covenants provide for neighbor to neighbor enforcement. This power group and the law firm want the power now to rest with the BOD to enforce the covenants. It should go to the vote of all 532 homes , not a small group of 5 BOD members. (exucutive committee) They are ego driven and 12 members of the BOD have resigned in the past 2 years. Two for health reasons. The other 10 due to the unethical behavior of the Board. One past Board member was threatened that business would be taken away, Board members had affidavits filed with the county about their personal business. Hateful notes , emails have been sent to members of the commnity who dared to voice objection to any of the BOD actions. We need a state law regulating liens. A service provider deserves to be paid and that would be a just lien. It could be collected at the sale of the property. HOA liens for mandatory dues, assessments, repairs are just. These would mostly apply to Condos, and townhouses. Fines, penalties, 21 per cent interest should not be allowed and the liens should be allowed to be sold for profit. Wake up Colorado, this is a big fraudulent business in Texas, Nevada and California. It is harmful to realestate values in our state.