[Durham INC] Homeowners Associations

[Barry Ragin]

Don't know how accurate it is, but WRAL is teasing a story coming up on 
the 6 O'Clock News about a Wake County HOA that is engaging in this 
practice. I assume the story will be available on-line later tonight, 
and we can check whether they're sensationalizing or reporting accurately.

Barry Ragin

Mike Brooks wrote:
> Another good place to look for more information about what HOAs can 
> and cannot do is the NC HOA Association, especially their FAQ page:
>
> http://www.hoa-nc.com/faqs.aspx      (You can also read the applicable 
> laws in Chapter 47F of the NC General Statutes.)
>
> I read the article on the Texas HOAs, and it's definitely still the 
> wild west.As Parkwood is concerned we have yet to see a house with 
> uncooperative owners and seriously delinquent dues (which is what it 
> takes for us, at least, to proceed with foreclosure) that didn't have 
> a larger senior lien from a bank. That makes resale after foreclosure 
> a real can of worms.
>
> Even on the rare occasions when we go forward with foreclosure, the 
> process takes a lot longer than the 27 days in Texas. In practice, we 
> are far more likely to file a lien on a property, which would prevent 
> its sale unless the lein is satisfied, and would show up on the 
> owner's credit report. The 1% or so of properties who get to that 
> point don't pose a major financial disaster, and we'll collect the 
> money eventually.
>
> As far as foreclosure for non-payment of fines & collection costs only 
> (not for unpaid dues), NC law only allows judicial foreclosure -- no 
> Texas loophole. In fact it sounds like the Texas laws have more 
> loopholes than laws. The NC statutes were updated a few years ago to 
> close some similar loopholes, although pre-existing HOAs, like 
> Parkwood, are grandfathered in to many of the newer provisions.
>
> The bottom line for us is that we have no interest in becoming 
> property owners by foreclosing on our neighbors, even if that is 
> sometimes the only possible way to collect past-due assessments.
>
> Mike Brooks
> Parkwood
>
> Barry Ragin wrote:
>
>> Mike - nobody made the claim that all, or even any, HOAs were bad.
>>
>> I was pointing out the distinction between HOAs, which are generally 
>> covenanted, require membership among the homeowners who live in the 
>> community, own property in common, and have certain legal rights and 
>> obligations, and neighborhood associations, which are voluntary, do 
>> not have, nor can they enforce any covenants, generally speaking do 
>> not own community property (i can think of one exception in Durham), 
>> and do not under any circumstances have legal claim to anyone's 
>> property.
>>
>> Many people do not understand those distinctions, and are afraid to 
>> join a neighborhood association out of fear that they are giving up 
>> certain rights as homeowners.
>>
>> It should go without saying that there are good and bad examples of 
>> either, but that's not the point. A "bad" neighborhood association 
>> board of directors is not going to have the right to foreclose on 
>> your house because your annual dues are unpaid, nor levy a fine 
>> because your shutters are the wrong color. Hopefully, the neighbors 
>> we both have who are reluctant to get involved in our neighborhood 
>> associations because they have that fear will understand that there 
>> is no basis for it.
>>
>> Barry Ragin
>
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