I have a family member going through a rough batch with their HOA on their owner occupied condo. Looking for a real estate lawyer who can help them sort through and consider their options.
The issue is that their multi-building complex has several buildings that have been "red flagged" by the City, and the rest are in need of significant structural repairs. And the HOA has extremely insufficient funds to complete repairs after multiple additional special assessments (over $20k per unit in the past year and a half), due to: 1) only about 50% of owners are current on their monthly HOA dues (about half the owners have some form of lien on their property), and 2) possible fraud either within the HOA board or the property management company.
The was a recent independent assessment of the finances, and the recommendation was that HOA fees increase by $200/month. They were already at over $500/month/unit. Area HOAs are regularly in the $200-300 range, unless it's a luxury community (this is not).
Flipper · Mission Viejo, CA · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
6y
@Christine Smith this does help and let me see how many of these questions I can answer for you. Lets begin with a disclosure that I am NOT an attorney, but I am a Real Estate Broker with over 40+ years of experience.
Questions:
The issue is that their multi-building complex has several buildings that have been "red flagged" by the City, and the rest are in need of significant structural repairs. (This is an issue that the HOA is going to have to address with the City itself. There is no way around this.)
And the HOA has extremely insufficient funds to complete repairs after multiple additional special assessments (over $20k per unit in the past year and a half), due to: 1) only about 50% of owners are current on their monthly HOA dues (about half the owners have some form of lien on their property), and 2) possible fraud either within the HOA board or the property management company. (This was no too unusual here in California about ten years ago. The first question I would address with the BOD (Board of Directors) were the special assessments done legally? You can check the rules and requirements by going to this website:
If you suspect fraud then you need to report it to the Police Department so that they can begin an investigation. I would also recommend that the owners get together and confront the current BOD and management company over these issues. You can always vote them out and fire the management company.)
There was a recent independent assessment of the finances, and the recommendation was that HOA fees increase by $200/month. They were already at over $500/month/unit. Area HOAs are regularly in the $200-300 range, unless it's a luxury community (this is not). (This is required by law and most HOA's and management companies do this to CTA.)
From everything you have provided I would have them get together with their neighbors and take control of the situation. At the end of the day, at least they will be up to date with all the issues and concerns that are happening in their community. I can image that they cannot even sell and get out due to disclosures and probably distressed pricing.
I honestly don't think that an attorney can assist with any of these issues unless you want to sue the HOA. However, the HOA does not have any money?