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Need legal advice regarding HOA
ShinyRedKnight
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, some background. No idea how else to start this.
I live with my mother, she owns her apartment (condo) in Illinois. She has a monthly HOA due of $160, now $185. Today she gets a call that the price was raised (that is okay) and that we owe $300. The person giving the call is the HOA secretary. She says everyone must pay it; it was decided by the board unanimously. On the phone she mutters something along the lines of, "The roof was repaired". Now we know that the entire complex needs roof repairs as multiple units are having leaking issues during storms, including my mother's own unit. I call her back to clarify, as my mom doesn't primarily speak english. The secretary says that, yes, the assessment is for a roof repair and that they sent out a letter stating that it was due at the end of August. Now, I know we did not receive it, so I ask her kindly to deliver it to us so we have a record of it. She is nice about it and does so. Except when she comes by to do so, I am in the shower and my mom opens the door. She gives my mom the packet of information. My mom asks when our roof will be repaired as we have complained about it months ago. She says the roof repair was done, and it was only done over the section of the apartment building where she lives. As I stated, my mom already reported that our roof is leaking, and even showed the damage to the ceiling to the man in charge of maintenance who is also on the HOA board. Of course, when my mom hears that we are all being charged $300 to fix only the roof of the building where the secretary lives, she gets angry. She tells her she will not pay. I am assuming that the women responded that we have to, to which my mom, at this point furious, says "Then you can sue me."
So... I am being very gentle with mom because I know first hand that our HOA has taken advantage of us before, from taking away parking stickers without reason to not cleaning the halls (which is actually mentioned as a noted complaint in the packet they provided). However, I need to know how much legal trouble she can get in. A few things to keep in mind, the interior of the condo is all our property, my mom owns it, but the exterior, such as the roof and hallways, is the responsibility and property of the HOA. Atop this, the assessment that was voted to charge everyone $300 for the roof over the secretary's building was passed by a board of which the secretary's sister is president, along with the president's husband (the same guy in charge of the maintenance to whom we reported the damage).
Can my mom get in trouble for saying "you can sue me"? Can they force her to pay a $300 assessment that was used to fix only one building's roof? What can I do to help my mom?
I live with my mother, she owns her apartment (condo) in Illinois. She has a monthly HOA due of $160, now $185. Today she gets a call that the price was raised (that is okay) and that we owe $300. The person giving the call is the HOA secretary. She says everyone must pay it; it was decided by the board unanimously. On the phone she mutters something along the lines of, "The roof was repaired". Now we know that the entire complex needs roof repairs as multiple units are having leaking issues during storms, including my mother's own unit. I call her back to clarify, as my mom doesn't primarily speak english. The secretary says that, yes, the assessment is for a roof repair and that they sent out a letter stating that it was due at the end of August. Now, I know we did not receive it, so I ask her kindly to deliver it to us so we have a record of it. She is nice about it and does so. Except when she comes by to do so, I am in the shower and my mom opens the door. She gives my mom the packet of information. My mom asks when our roof will be repaired as we have complained about it months ago. She says the roof repair was done, and it was only done over the section of the apartment building where she lives. As I stated, my mom already reported that our roof is leaking, and even showed the damage to the ceiling to the man in charge of maintenance who is also on the HOA board. Of course, when my mom hears that we are all being charged $300 to fix only the roof of the building where the secretary lives, she gets angry. She tells her she will not pay. I am assuming that the women responded that we have to, to which my mom, at this point furious, says "Then you can sue me."
So... I am being very gentle with mom because I know first hand that our HOA has taken advantage of us before, from taking away parking stickers without reason to not cleaning the halls (which is actually mentioned as a noted complaint in the packet they provided). However, I need to know how much legal trouble she can get in. A few things to keep in mind, the interior of the condo is all our property, my mom owns it, but the exterior, such as the roof and hallways, is the responsibility and property of the HOA. Atop this, the assessment that was voted to charge everyone $300 for the roof over the secretary's building was passed by a board of which the secretary's sister is president, along with the president's husband (the same guy in charge of the maintenance to whom we reported the damage).
Can my mom get in trouble for saying "you can sue me"? Can they force her to pay a $300 assessment that was used to fix only one building's roof? What can I do to help my mom?
PSN: ShinyRedKnight Xbox Live: ShinyRedKnight
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You should definitely contact all of your neighbors about the assessment, especially if others have roof problems that have not been addressed as you mention. Presumably, more residents will also be upset about this, and you can approach the HOA board as a unified group to bring up your concerns about getting the rest of the roof problems fixed, though this would likely mean an additional assessment as well. If you haven't, you (actually your mom as the owner) should request to see the HOA budget documents, so that you can see exactly what the cost was for the roof repair/etc. Most HOAs I've had experience with try to keep an amount of money in reserve for repairs like that so that there aren't unexpected assessments, though in my development we've had a few crop up anyway in the past 5 or so years.
What is freaking me out is whether or not my mom can lose the condo because of this. Honestly, I am considering taking the day off work tomorrow to pay off the $300 myself. But I am hoping that doesn't some how create more trouble for my mom.
PSN: ShinyRedKnight Xbox Live: ShinyRedKnight
The board (at least the board I'm on) can't just randomly raise the payments outside of a certain annual percentage to cover the rising costs of damn near everything. That fee (in my particular case) is usually a 2-5% increase yearly. It sure as hell shouldn't be almost 100% without some serious shenanigans going on.
Additionally, the HOA should cover roof repair and structural repairs as part of their own maintenance.
Before paying, get a copy of the Rules and Regulations as well as the HOA Bylaws and comb them over. It sounds fishy as hell to me.
edit: also, ask for minutes from any HOA meetings regarding the roof repair and billing. Someone actually taking an interest and not just rolling over usually catches some attention.
PSN: ShinyRedKnight Xbox Live: ShinyRedKnight
you should always pay any bill with a check or credit card!
An HOA can do a one time assessment for large projects. It's usually preferable to do it out of general fund and plan year to year dues accordingly (makes it fair for leaving and arriving owners), but from poor planning our a big, unexpected expenses you can definitely assess larger dues.
My HOA is currently debating whether to charge double dues one year to offset major repairs to the parking lot.
They don't have emergency funds for exactly that?!
Of course I could be wrong.
The IL condominium property act is pretty strict on people who don't pay their association dues. It's possible to get liens put on the property, but there's a much worse option. The association can actually have the unit owner evicted from their own condo, which the association then rents out until the back dues are paid. It's not a pretty sight.
I haven't done any condo cases in a while, so I hadn't heard of that case you cited earlier, but I absolutely would not rely on one case. Even if case law was on your side, you'd have to be sued, hire an attorney to appear, and successfully argue the facts are similar enough (I doubt you'd get a summary judgment), all of which would cost way more than $300.
The best way to get the roof taken care of, is to get active in the local community, get support, and call a special meeting of the board and unit owners to try and get all of the roof sections fixed.
In this case you're wrong. They aren't emergency repairs, they haven't been done yet. The construction is about 20 years old, and it appears some fill was put under where the lot is, so it's shifted down a bit accelerating the need to have work done. The HOA has been discussing whether to continue to patch, sightly faster than planned, or pay to have the whole thing regraded. Lots of quotes, etc.
But that's why they're debating which route to go: waste a bit of money long-term and put the problem off, but not assess more dues, or just go ahead and get it fixed at more cost to the owners.
We've decided to pay the assessment and then to treat our ceiling repair as a separate issue.
But yeah, based on what I have experienced, I hate HOAs. I am absolutely certain there are great ones out there, and they make wonderful sense. But at the end of the day, there seem to be too many scenarios in which your own property is taken from you because the HOA has poorly managed its funds. It is sickening to think that someone can take my mom's home despite the fact that it is her property.
PSN: ShinyRedKnight Xbox Live: ShinyRedKnight