To Pay or Not to Pay. . . HOA fees Question:  I live in a subdivision with recorded deed restrictions that address the use of the property, but the restrictions have no provisions for the establishment of an HOA, maintenance assessments, dues, or fines. The developers recorded a letter of authority to the HOA that states that the homeowners “may” join the HOA.  The HOA has created bylaws that purport to automatically make every homeowner in the community a member, and …

What’s the difference between HOA officers and directors? Question:  The developer of our community has sold all of the lots and turned control of the homeowners’ association (“HOA”) over to the homeowners. The bylaws for our HOA refer to “officers” and also to “directors” and “the board of directors.” Aren’t they the same thing?  How are they elected? Answer:  Almost all HOAs are established as nonprofit corporations that are created under state law. For-profit corporations have shareholders, whereas nonprofit corporations have …

HOA Fines – Revenue or Enforcement? Question:  Can a North Carolina homeowners’ association impose a recurring fine for a violation of the restrictive covenants (CCRs) after the violation has been cured? In short, are fines permissible as a revenue stream instead of just to force compliance with the CCRs? Answer:  By statute (N.C.G.S. § 47F-3-107.1) in North Carolina, daily fines can be imposed only after written notice to the owner and a hearing, and only for as long as an ongoing …

The Annual Budget Ratification for Homeowner Associations with Outdated Budgets Question: My homeowners’ association (“HOA”) board presented members an outdated budget for us to ratify for the current year. How can an outdated budget, not previously seen or discussed, be legal? Answer: Most HOAs in North Carolina are organized as non-profit corporations. North Carolina law requires that HOAs hold an annual budget ratification meeting in advance of each fiscal year (though the law doesn’t apply to planned communities formed prior to …

HOA Fines – Revenue or Enforcement? Question:  Can a North Carolina homeowners’ association impose a recurring fine for a violation of the restrictive covenants (CCRs) after the violation has been cured? In short, are fines permissible as a revenue stream instead of just to force compliance with the CCRs? Answer:  By statute (N.C.G.S. § 47F-3-107.1) in North Carolina, daily fines can be imposed only after written notice to the owner and a hearing, and only for as long as an ongoing …

North Carolina Community Association Legislative Wrap-Up – July 2017 Courtesy of Greensboro attorney Jim Slaughter of Black, Slaughter, Black, following is a summary of the status of various legislative bills in the North Carolina legislature that could affect condominium and community associations.  Jim always has his ear to the ground for the legislative goings-on in Raleigh, and I appreciate him allowing me to reprint his article here. The General Assembly adjourned its 2018 regular session this month, so questions have …

Can My HOA Do This? This week’s column was written by my law partner Cynthia Jones, who is licensed to practice law in North and South Carolina. Question:  I live in a planned community in South Carolina that has deed restrictions. The restrictive covenants say nothing about homeowners’ association (HOA) assessments and have no provisions that allow for the restrictions to be amended. Is it legal for my homeowners’ association to amend the covenants to impose mandatory HOA assessments or fines …

Should Using the Pool Cost You More? Question:  Are there any homeowners associations (“HOAs”) that assess dues to different homes based upon the individual homeowners’ use of or impact on the neighborhood amenities?  Our community includes private streets that the HOA pays to maintain. We have residents that live in the front of the development that say they should pay a lower assessment rate because they don’t use all of the streets. The HOA’s board of directors feels that this is …

Dealing with a Difficult Developer Question:  The developer of our community is refusing to turn over control of our homeowners’ association (HOA) to the homeowners even though all of the houses are sold. He maintains that he owns the two streets in our small subdivision and has filed paperwork to turn them over to the state of North Carolina, but until that happens he won’t relinquish control of the HOA. The HOA is effectively being run by one person, who is …

E-mail Intelligence – Does Your Board Possess it? This week’s column was written by my colleague Donna Dimaggio Berger. Donna is a Shareholder in the law firm of Becker & Poliakoff and is the author of the popular Community Association Law blog which can be found at www.communityassociationlawblog.com.   Today, I am discussing the pros and cons of homeowners’ association (HOA) board members and managers using email for community correspondence, and how to craft a sound email policy for your association. …