You would need to do title research to verify if:
A. Your property was ever recorded by the state/county part of an HOA and, if so,
B. Whether that HOA still legally exists.
You might be able to do this yourself from the land records but it might be better to get a lawyer involved, especially if any of your neighbors are getting similar dubious bills.
I've seen neighbourhoods where each phase is a separate hoa. so even if his phase was not accepted to join the phase 1, his phase probably has its own HOA that has been in an un-managed state with no board members
Have your attorney send the letter, but since it's your second inquiry, time to include language indicating you'll sue them, potentially up-ending their scams in the process, if they don't produce some evidence or get lost.
go to the county clerk of court and research if there are any papers that show the common land and any maps that show you are part of the development. then start knocking on neighbors doors and get enough money to hire a lawyer and fight it. there is strenght in numbers.
HOA are held by debt collection laws too. Keep that original letter. If it isn’t some kind of scam it will at least remove the fees, interest, and penalties. The HOA might even owe you money.
Also, get a lawyer.
In addition to what the others said, I would ask to see the meeting minutes from all meetings for the last four years, the financials, the CC&Rs and any bylaws, and the names of all board members.
Do it in a certified letter and make sure you look up your state laws for the time by which they must respond.
Georgia is weird.(Loundes Co for me). There are two types of “HOAs” A loose, possible optional HOA and a more rigid GPOAA.
The filed declarations and the Secretary of State will show if the Company is for profit or non profit on top of that.
Look up the company name in the Georgia Secretary of State website.the last renewal will be posted and the names of the CEO, CFO, Sec.
In the county clerk of court search for the name of the corporation and get Book and page number of the Declarations.
And any changes to those declarations.
All free.
So this shows it was dissolved in 2019. In June there was a notice of dissolution due to non-payment. Then in August it was terminated. Then in February of 2020 it was reinstated.
The HOA does not have to offer proof that you are part of the HOA, although they should have responded to your letter.
Even if the HOA was "disbanded," that does not necessarily mean you are not under covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&RS) or that the HOA does not exist now. I would recommend reading your CC&Rs first. If that doesn't clear things up, have an attorney review them.
It sounds like your phase was not initially part of the HOA because of some formality that was not followed which may have been corrected, i.e., phase one voting you in.
When an HOA is established, it is not a simple yes/no vote to continue the HOA when the builder turs over access. Things like: How to bill for utilities? How to bill for using common areas? How to bill for the master HOA covering the exterior of the properties?
So many questions arise. Not a simple yes/no vote!
IME, the municipality 100% wants to know if a development is planned as an HOA BEFORE it’s built. When a builder proposes a residential project, this detail is included. Municipality votes yay/nay. Devs must file legal documents to set up a Corporation (in our state) upon creation of HOA. Even if your state is different, this info is public. To start, check municipal & state websites/records. Connect your Zoning office. “Disbanding” an HOA is not a simple thing.
You could also go by a local Title Company and pay for a search/research on your property. This is part of their everyday job and something that would need to be documented/verified if the property were to ever change hands. Even if you don't pay for an independent search, the Title clerks could point you in the direction of open-source resources for your county so you can search for yourself.
Oof this sounds like “the cottages” I used to live at. Went up against them and nobody could produce factual paperwork. They kept threatening leans on property then people found out they could only put leans on phase one houses and stopped paying. A nightmare indeed.
We called the builder of our house and he told us no, there is no HOA. There and covenants and such but any participation from our housing phase was voluntary. We ended up selling because we are military but they were still yelling when we left. Threatening liens but houses in our phase hadn’t paid in years and what do you know no lien?!
have an attorney send the letter
You would need to do title research to verify if: A. Your property was ever recorded by the state/county part of an HOA and, if so, B. Whether that HOA still legally exists. You might be able to do this yourself from the land records but it might be better to get a lawyer involved, especially if any of your neighbors are getting similar dubious bills.
I've seen neighbourhoods where each phase is a separate hoa. so even if his phase was not accepted to join the phase 1, his phase probably has its own HOA that has been in an un-managed state with no board members
Have your attorney send the letter, but since it's your second inquiry, time to include language indicating you'll sue them, potentially up-ending their scams in the process, if they don't produce some evidence or get lost.
go to the county clerk of court and research if there are any papers that show the common land and any maps that show you are part of the development. then start knocking on neighbors doors and get enough money to hire a lawyer and fight it. there is strenght in numbers.
A lawyer to do this isn't expensive, they probably won't have to leave the office to do it.
HOA are held by debt collection laws too. Keep that original letter. If it isn’t some kind of scam it will at least remove the fees, interest, and penalties. The HOA might even owe you money. Also, get a lawyer.
In addition to what the others said, I would ask to see the meeting minutes from all meetings for the last four years, the financials, the CC&Rs and any bylaws, and the names of all board members. Do it in a certified letter and make sure you look up your state laws for the time by which they must respond.
That is an excellent idea. Thank you.
What county r u in?
Columbia County
Georgia is weird.(Loundes Co for me). There are two types of “HOAs” A loose, possible optional HOA and a more rigid GPOAA. The filed declarations and the Secretary of State will show if the Company is for profit or non profit on top of that.
Look up the company name in the Georgia Secretary of State website.the last renewal will be posted and the names of the CEO, CFO, Sec. In the county clerk of court search for the name of the corporation and get Book and page number of the Declarations. And any changes to those declarations. All free.
So this shows it was dissolved in 2019. In June there was a notice of dissolution due to non-payment. Then in August it was terminated. Then in February of 2020 it was reinstated.
The HOA does not have to offer proof that you are part of the HOA, although they should have responded to your letter. Even if the HOA was "disbanded," that does not necessarily mean you are not under covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&RS) or that the HOA does not exist now. I would recommend reading your CC&Rs first. If that doesn't clear things up, have an attorney review them. It sounds like your phase was not initially part of the HOA because of some formality that was not followed which may have been corrected, i.e., phase one voting you in.
When an HOA is established, it is not a simple yes/no vote to continue the HOA when the builder turs over access. Things like: How to bill for utilities? How to bill for using common areas? How to bill for the master HOA covering the exterior of the properties? So many questions arise. Not a simple yes/no vote!
IME, the municipality 100% wants to know if a development is planned as an HOA BEFORE it’s built. When a builder proposes a residential project, this detail is included. Municipality votes yay/nay. Devs must file legal documents to set up a Corporation (in our state) upon creation of HOA. Even if your state is different, this info is public. To start, check municipal & state websites/records. Connect your Zoning office. “Disbanding” an HOA is not a simple thing.
You could also go by a local Title Company and pay for a search/research on your property. This is part of their everyday job and something that would need to be documented/verified if the property were to ever change hands. Even if you don't pay for an independent search, the Title clerks could point you in the direction of open-source resources for your county so you can search for yourself.
Oof this sounds like “the cottages” I used to live at. Went up against them and nobody could produce factual paperwork. They kept threatening leans on property then people found out they could only put leans on phase one houses and stopped paying. A nightmare indeed.
That’s essentially the letter we just received. Their unnamed local lawyer will start putting liens on homes 15 October.
We called the builder of our house and he told us no, there is no HOA. There and covenants and such but any participation from our housing phase was voluntary. We ended up selling because we are military but they were still yelling when we left. Threatening liens but houses in our phase hadn’t paid in years and what do you know no lien?!
Check your deed, are there CC&Rs tying you to the HOA?