Yes, and that's exactly the problem my friend had. The HOA knew the law and knew they weren't abiding by it, but they rely on the fact that most people won't have the money to carry out a lawsuit against them for it. They have the might of the money behind them and individual homeowners are helpless against them. It really depends on who is on the board, and what kind of a relationship you have with them.
HOA are a challenge. At times my HOA guys from their corporate office have unannounced drive bys to check out the neighborhood. Other times it is neighbors reporting on neighbors to the HOA.
That's when bluffing comes in handy. You don't need a lawyer if the HOA is in writing and you have a copy and the things that you are doing is in compliance with the HOA agreement. If you tell them enough that you're suing them they will back down. They know they don't have a leg to stand on so they don't know if you have legal backing or not. Usually, those developments are in a high income area. Two people can bully you know. And the more they hassle you the higher the settlement will ultimately be and that can be very expensive.
Just like they used to do in Nazi Germany.
The HOA doesn’t have to get approval to start levying fines and filing liens. Fines that get levied by the day and charged interest can easily break the bank, and present more of a threat than hoping to win a potentially drawn out legal battle during which fines continue to mount.
It, of course, depends on what hill you chose to die on. For flowers no, but for something like fined because you had the container to put debris in out while you picked up debris, I would be tempted to give them the finger and tell them to take me to court to collect it. I'd like to think, that we still have some protections under the law in this increasingly third world country. When you get to the point, like I am at the moment, that you are glad that you are old and won't be around that much longer then we have some very big problems.
Yeah, in the end, my friend decided it wasn't worth it. She has severe anxiety and PTSD and it was just taking too much of a toll on her. It was mostly the one lady on the board who seemed to really take joy in harassing her. Watching for her to go out to work in the yard with the bin and then take a picture where it looked like the bin was just sitting there in the yard. Or making her rip out the brand new plants she had just put in, or something. And she said there was something about how the area was still being developed, so the HOA was still under the control of the developers or something? Like....I guess when it's finished, it's supposed to be turned over to the actual home owners, but while they are still building there, they control it and this woman basically had them in her pocket or something. I don't know how they work, but I don't think they had the whole written out thing yet or something, so the woman just kept changing the rules? Anyway, my friend decided it was just too much of her energy and it was making her physically ill and she had to just give up because she just couldn't deal with it anymore. She did try to take it to a lawyer once, because they were supposed to give so many warnings or something and they sent her a letter that was pre-dated to make it look like she was not in compliance of timelines...like, you get so many warnings in a so-many-day period for the same infraction, and if you don't comply, you get a fine. They took pictures all on one day, pre-dated the letter and sent it to make it look like she had not complied with the rules after having been warned. She had proof, sent it to the HOA's lawyer to prove that they were harassing her, and I don't remember what happened, but it didn't work out and she ended up having to pay a huge fine. That's when she gave up. She couldn't afford a lawyer to fight it, and they weren't going to back down.
That's when I would put the FOR SALE sign up and get out of Dodge. Personally I don't want anyone telling me how to live
Yes, but did it actually go to court? Just talking to THEIR lawyer means nothing. You don't send the money they don't get it. I know that some people have anxiety issues that make it difficult, but that is one expensive anxiety. I don't have a dog in this fight anymore and never did because I avoided it and am old enough that HOA's were not a big thing. But, if you don't pay, they don't get the money and they have to go to an actual court to get a judgment. Yes, it's a hassle, but it might be worth it in the long run.
You don’t send the money and the fines just continue to stack up, liens can be filed and worse case foreclosure on the house can also be initiated. They do not need a court order to do these things. You taking it to court means you have to pay for your own lawyer and all of the associated fees. If you seek damages you might be able to recover some of those costs, but none of that is guaranteed while the fines continue to pile up.
As was mentioned, associations are more the norm than not in many parts of Florida. Not to mention the costs associated with moving.
I have made the mistake of thinking that people would read the papers before jumping into it. And if they are varying from what they required then class actions suits can be made. If you want to tell me that the public has no way of protecting themselves from this type of action, then the country has fallen further then even my skeptical mind sees it. I suspect that most of these things are run by honest non-buttholes that it is just for the betterment of the community, but if others are allowed to basically bully people into doing whatever they want, then if you're going to lose your house anyway, let the bank fight it out with them and for heavens sake take a stand against tyranny or this will follow you for life.
