Source
r/legaladvice•
Afg1415

HOA Harassment but we are not members of the HOA. (Texas)

Our home was built before the HOA was created and the owners did not wish to become members. When we purchased the house the HOA sent us a letter asking us to join and we declined. This is not the first violation letter we have received but every time we get a new one my husband gets more and more upset. In this current letter they are threatening to issue a deed restriction violation if we don't repair a broken fence post. I understand its a simple fix but that's not the point. Do they have any legal right to do so? What, if anything, can we do to get them to leave us be.

ETA: We've lived here for four years and have never paid dues or been sent any letters requesting that we do so.

Update

Posted Jun 15, 2016, 2:22 AM UTC · edited

18555
King_PosnerQuality Contributor•

at this point you'll want to check with an attorney, to see if 1) you were bound 2) you didn't accidently bind yourself.

112
Afg1415OP•

I'm searching for real estate lawyers in my area as I type this but can you tell me what you mean by being bound?

34
King_PosnerQuality Contributor•

if say your deed allowed but hadn't yet created a HOA, or something like that.

40
Draqur•

Someone may have just accidentally (inadvertently?) sent them to you. They may not know you don't belong to the HOA. They might be new on the board, or just assumed you are part and never checked. If you own a home where people all around you do belong to the HOA, this seems even more plausible...

Might just be a misunderstanding. Have you ever just asked them about it?

64
xixoxixa•

Or, like in my neighborhood, the association pays a guy to do nothing but drive around and document violations and send out notices. A neighbor recently had a fire in her garage, and by the end of the week had a violation notice for not having a proper garage door.

56
estolad•

I read stories like this one, and then I read stories about how HOAs were first invented to keep black folks out of white neighborhoods, and I wonder why anyone would ever willingly become a member of an HOA

45
vengeance_pigeon•

Because it was absolutely impossible to buy a decent house with a big yard, in reasonable driving distance to both of our offices, that was NOT bound by an HOA of some kind. It was not my first choice. A lot of people wind up in the same situation.

That said, there is a wide range of variation in how HOAs operate. Most midwest suburb HOAs (non-gated communities, not condos) don't exercise a lot of control over what people do.

50
estolad•

this is completely valid!

5
Dongalor•

HOAs don't really propagate because living under them is awesome, they're mostly created to protect the investments of developers. That they do the same for owners is mostly incidental.

The problem is that once the developers sell off an move on, the HOA persists, and then the bureaucracy they leave behind either tends to atrophy due to apathy, or become populated by neighborhood busybodies with napoleon syndrome.

15
fooliam•

Is it possible to dissolve a HOA? Is doing so a massive undertaking?

5
Mightbehittingonyou•

https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvice/comments/4o3m4p/nebraska_a_hostile_hoarding_neighbor_is_harassing/

8
Draqur•

Lol perfect timing, isn't it?

4
wiredinmycoffee•

for all the well-deserved hate HOAs get, that situation is the perfect counterargument in favor of HOAs

4
kinkakinka•

In some regions it is almost impossible not to be a part of one.

4
learhpa•

I wonder why anyone would ever willingly become a member of an HOA

Because in the towns where they live there is no effective choice - they can buy into an HOA or they can't buy.

1
Cardiff_Electric•

It's to keep property values up. Is it really that hard to understand? Sometimes neighborhoods go to shit. People leave rusted cars on blocks and broken appliances out in their front yard. Or they pack 15 people in a house meant for a family of 4-6. Or they get a pack of feral dogs and let them run loose, or a million other reasons than may not be technically prohibited by state law. Some people want to live in a nice neighborhood where that doesn't happen and to maintain their investment value (weird huh), so they create a voluntary covenant. Buncha Nazis, all of them.

-5†
estolad•

I mean yeah, what you said makes sense, and there's a lot of bias I guess where you're likely to hear the shitty stories and not the good ones, but it seems to me like HOAs basically operate like petty-ass local governments, only somehow more petty if such a thing were possible

This is all navel gazing on my part I suppose, since I've never lived under the thumb of an HOA and I'm not likely to ever own a house, but some vague concept of keeping property values up doesn't seem worth having a guy come around checking the length of the front lawn with a ruler or whatever

27
Bricktop72•

People leave rusted cars on blocks and broken appliances out in their front yard. Or they pack 15 people in a house meant for a family of 4-6. Or they get a pack of feral dogs and let them run loose

All of these have happened in my neighborhood. On top of that we've started having people park RVs in front of abandoned houses or on empty lot. One guy started a puppy mill for pit bulls. It's a shit fest, I can't wait to move.

11
xixoxixa•

Yeah, but those things happen within HOAs too.

Our current violation enforcement policy is certified letter detailing the violation, up to 3 times. Then a lawyer-drafted letter. Then another. Then, a line on the property.

If you are a shit person and don't ever plan to leave the area, these things don't matter to you - you have no incentive to fix it.

3
jones102•

You're right but you don't have to be sarcastic about it.

2
mopedophile•

All of those things are banned by city ordinance around me, so I guess it makes sense that there are almost no HOAs in my area.

2
ella_peach•

There's lots of places in other parts of the world where that doesn't happen without the interference of an HOA.

2
fribble13•

We previously lived in an HOA, and they told us we needed to get our deck completely replaced at our own expense because it was dangerous, using their guy (almost $4k - it was a tiny deck), with 10 days notice - construction was beginning on that date, whether or not we were ok with it.

My husband asked for details about what exactly was so wrong with our deck, since none of our immediate neighbors received a similar notice, and our deck appeared to be in better shape. We also had 2 contractors come out to give us estimates - one refused because there was nothing wrong with our deck, and the other quoted us under $2k, but didn't think we should replace it since it was fine.

The HOA gave us the report for the entire development. Basically, they hired 2 guys to inspect all the decks - almost 1000. They were able to do that in an 8-hour day, apparently.

My husband questioned that - I think he did the math that came out to inspecting each deck for approximately 1 minute, if they didn't eat or take bathroom breaks, or have any travel time walking from one unit to the next.

Suddenly our deck was ok. How strange.

HOAs are the fucking devil.

20
BUBBLYSTRING•

What happens when you remind them that you are not a part of the HOA?

41
shhh_its_me•

After your lawyer reads it and assuming you are not part of the HOA , have them send a sternly worded letter and ask if you have cause to at least recover your legal fees.

12
Eletal•

First check your deed and make sure you havent some how been added to the HOA.

Then respond in writing (use certified mail) that you are not members of the HOA and that they cant fine you etc. Keep a record of this. If/ when you receive any further letters/ notices of this nature keep them and then report the HOA for harassment.

9
mre5765•

The HOA might be using a property management company for the common areas and other HOA responsibilities. The management company is probably not flagging your file appropriately.

Before spending money on lawyers, I would make it unpleasant for the HOA or the management company to continue to send spurious demands. Irate phone calls to the point where the HOA or management company hangs up, a phone call to the board member during dinner time, etc.

4
spoeftmagyar•

If there is a deed restriction stating that no fence post can be left in disrepair or anything more universal than that that would cover it they most probably have standing to enforce it since they are a group of your immediate neighbors.

Is there a deed restriction? Find out. If there isn't one then tell them to fuck off in no uncertain terms. If there is then fix the fence post.

2
wiredinmycoffee•

"Please send us written proof that prior to repeatedly issuing threatening and potentially fraudulent demands to us that you actually verified whether our property is part of the HOA."

2
[deleted]•

[deleted]

-4
Hatter79•

This is quite literally wrong and nonsense. Try again.

3