Battling HOA On Leaking Roof For 1 Year

[Uneeq Khan]

Wasn't sure which forum this topic should be on or if this even fitting topic for these forums but hopefully someone can help me.

I've been battling with my HOA for over a year now about leaks from my roof (April of last year). There are stains in the ceiling of my bedrooms, closets, and bathroom. Theres water damage to the plywood. In the winter, ice and frost developed all over the attic. Theres mold on the plywood and structural beam. Theres puddle of water on attic and wet insulation. Some leaks are dropping on my recessed lighting. I have now put a plastic cover on it to stop it from getting wet but those lights need air circulation. And now I have a squirrel in the attic.

The HOA president has been very lazy and been delay taking actions to fix it. Even the contractors he hire to plug holes said the entire thing needs to be replaced and he's (HOA president) not doing it. Contractor stated trying to plug holes is pointless as theres too many and impossible to get to all of them.

Do I have a case to sue? If not what do I need to build my case? And can anyone recommend a lawyer.

I have a 7 month old daughter. I don't want the mold in the attic to start causing health problems as well as the squirrel that's probably ******** everywhere in the attic. I don't know how to force my HOA to do anything beside a lawsuit.

I have a collection of photos and email and text messages with the HOA president. Some advice and help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Account Closed]

You must get involved with the HOA. Or, move.

HOA's are tough. Politics, differing opinions. You share property and must come to agreement on how to manage it. Nobody is going to be 100% happy 100% of the time. It's a mini-government. I used to live in one, and did not have the stomach for it, so I moved.

Your HOA is mismanaged. So, not only do you have all the regular HOA BS to contend with, you have the added fun of addressing the mismanagement. It may be impossible to get on track, because of the politics, opinions and finally, money.

All condos have declarations and rules. Get a copy of these and find out how to go about getting involved and making changes. The good news is, if the bi-laws are stupid, you can change them - again, not easy, but possible.

The excuse that the PM makes decisions is likely BS, but maybe not. You need to review the PM contract to find out.

Moving forward, it is wise to have healthy reserves for capital improvements. You wondered if this topic is appropriate for this forum. It is absolutely appropriate, because it illustrates what happens when reserves are not saved up for.

In many states, including WI, laws have been enacted that require HOA's to keep adequate reserves. The reason is that when an HOA relies on special assessments only, certain owners inevitably do save as they ought to, and that is how entire complexes go down. The fact your HOA does not have enough reserves, is just one piece of evidence it is mismanaged.

In my case, our HOA did the property management. This was actually the biggest problem. They thought they were saving money by doing it in-house. In reality, the HOA did not have the experience and resources to do the job right, and it cost us more money than it would have if it was hired out! Of course, having a good PM company is key. These things started to get straightened out eventually (it took years), but it literally took until the old-guard started dying off, before the newer owners could vote to change things.

Good luck. I would move.