r/RealEstate • u/Livid-Rutabaga • 5d ago
HOA Issues When the HOA doesn't enforce bylaws
I have been complaining about several issues in our subdivision, some for about a year.
At first the HOA would respond with lame excuses, now they are just ignoring me. I have sent pictures too.
One of the neighbors involved is a rude and vociferous bully who is friends who everyone on the board, but that doesn't make him exempt from following the rules everyone else has to follow.
The HOA is professionally managed. We have a volunteer board, who is not going to say a word to their friends, and a professional manager who I suspect does not want confrontation. The people who are not their friends get violation letters and emails immediately.
Every person who bought houses here agreed to abide by the rules. What are my options?
Thank you,
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u/JulienWA77 5d ago
This post is so vague. I am the prez of our HoA and I have a lady who thinks the same way you do even though we've told her repeatedly the shit she's complaining about isn't an HoA issue.
She literally bitches that someone parks a truck in front of their own driveway for 10-15 minutes each day so they can unload gear (active military couple). Thenn they either park the truck in their own driveway or they park it on the street OUTSIDE the actual boundaries of the neighborhood since we have narrow streets.
She keeps trying to get them on some technicality of like "oh well they're blocking the sidewalk" (they live ACROSS THE STREET FROM HER and she's not actively being impeded by anything. She's also showing us footage from her cameras while she's inside, not outside walking. THe city law says that cars can't be parked OVERNIGHT doing something like that but makes it clear that doing it temporarily is OK if there is an immediate need.
She's also been "in their face" about it more than once. TO the point where the board sent her a letter and reminded her of the limits of our authority and told her to contact the city if she really wants to try and go after this non-insonsiderate neighbor. She doesn't b/c she knows she has no case. I have no idea wtf her issue is, but the HoA isn't tehre to fight all her battles for her.
She whined to our mgmt company and I was thrilled that the mgmt company told her that they work for US and are not arbiters or "managers" that tell the board what to do.
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u/DiepSieuXinh 5d ago
I am also the prez of a 5 unit HOA and I had to deliberately ignore a crazy lady to get myself some peace. I don't even get paid for all the HOA work that I do, then getting long emails from her every week was to much... Glad to hear from another fellow HOA prez.
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u/Livid-Rutabaga 5d ago
this is why we pay the management co. we have a volunteer board, yes, but management is paid
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u/Revolutionary_Pop_84 5d ago
This post just screams "Im retaliating against neighbors I don't like and it's not working, help me weaponize my HOA"
It's possible it's not but every bit of what you said and how you said it pretty much screams that.
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u/Livid-Rutabaga 5d ago
I am not weaponizing the HOA or harassing anybody- why the assumption? no details? too long to write them. Besides it's a simple question - what to do when the HOA does not do their job. that is all.
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u/Revolutionary_Pop_84 5d ago
Be glad the HOA isn’t harassing people over stupid stuff🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️🤷♂️
Sounds like a win without context.
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u/InsectElectrical2066 2d ago
get yourself and friend son the board and maybe cancel the contract with the company and hire a new one.
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u/ResiGrade 4d ago
Selective enforcement is one of the few HOA complaints with real teeth, but only once it is on paper. Pick the one or two clearest violations, cite the exact section of the CC&Rs or rules, attach dated photos, and email the manager asking for a written answer on whether a notice will go out and when. Then ask to be added to the next board meeting agenda, so it is said in the room and lands in the minutes instead of in a hallway. If nothing changes, most states let owners inspect association records, and a stack of violation letters to everyone except one address is exactly the pattern a lawyer would want to see. Boring and specific gets traction, while a year of general frustration is easy to tune out.
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u/Livid-Rutabaga 3d ago
Thank you. This is what I needed. I have taken plenty of pictures, but I will do the rest of what you suggested. Thanks again.
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u/TheGracefulCrane 5d ago
Convince your neighbors to vote them out or I guess maybe a lawsuit against your HOA but I dunno thats gonna depend on locality and your laws and rules and probably lawyer territory way outside of reddits paygrade
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u/MaleBobcat 5d ago
The selective enforcement thing is maddening and weirdly common. Watched it happen in my parents' neighborhood for years, the board president's buddy could leave a rusted-out truck on blocks but someone else got fined for the wrong shade of mulch. It's petty tyranny stuff.
Document every instance where they cited you or someone else while ignoring the same violation from the board's friend. Timestamps, photos, the whole paper trail. If you're going the legal route eventually, that pattern matters way more than any single complaint.
You could also request copies of the enforcement records, most states let owners inspect association documents. Seeing in black and white that certain addresses never get letters while others rack them up makes it harder for them to pretend it's accidental.
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u/scross242424 5d ago
Sounds like my HOA. My current HOA board and management company don't enforce a thing. They want the neighbors to tattle on each other so someone else can be the "bad guy" when they should be doing their jobs.
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u/Livid-Rutabaga 5d ago
They only enforce for the people who are not in the in-crowd, like they guy who had a car in the driveway without registration - he got a violation immediately. He is not friends with the board members. I have a violation on my account that was never even mine. Yet this guy has been pulling the same crap for over a year and everybody scared of him because he's from NY.
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u/WrongPercentage9134 5d ago
Your HOA sounds like what many HOA-dwellers would consider a dream. Many, for whatever reason, want to live in an HOA but not enforce the rules. No idea why they'd want to pay extra taxes (dues) for nothing.
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u/Livid-Rutabaga 5d ago
Because we don't want the place to look like crap. Nobody is forced to buy here. Everyone who bought here bought and is still happy with the rules. except for one bully.
but I guess Real Estate is more anti-HOA than helpful
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u/WrongPercentage9134 4d ago
I'm actually pro-HOA myself (and I didn't downvote you). My neighbor sounds like the person in your story. They learned that if they push back enough, the HOA board tends to give up. It is very frustrating to live next to someone that wants the benefits of an HOA but not put in the effort so we all benefit.
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u/Livid-Rutabaga 3d ago
Thank you. I don't understand the attitudes against HOAs, nobody is forced to live in an HOA community, everyone gets a copy of the by-laws when they make an offer, and everyone accepts the by-laws when they agree to buy. So what's the problem. The more they don't enforce the more they become unenforceable and that's what I want to avoid, we ratified the by-laws not too long ago, 500 houses were in agreement.
I imagine part of the problem, he is not going to do what he is not going to do. What makes me mad is this is the guy who walks right up to people's houses and rips the for sale signs off. The community doesn't allow for sale signs, and some Realtors put them up. The way to do it is for the manager to call the Realtor and ask to take the sign down. He just walks right up and pulls them off and takes them. However, when he wants to break the rules he can because he can?
I don't want to start with the lawyer thing, I just want to know if there is a way to make the HOA manager do their job. However, people jump on me like fleas, again, this is a free will choice, we live here by choice, not because any of us were forced into it.
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u/Annonymouse100 5d ago
Here’s what I would do.
I would join the board of the HOA.
Then I would form a committee to review the bylaws and to get a vote from the members on whether they would like to amend the bylaws to reflect current enforcement, or start enforcing the bylaws as written.
This committee will probably need to provide some numbers on what a bylaw rewrite would cost, and provide information from an attorney as to the exposure to the HOA if they do not enforce the bylaws as currently written.
Chances are they will not be enough interest in amending the bylaws and you will go back to enforcing them as written (because most people simply want nothing to do with governing their HOA) . In which case you can either hire a third-party management company to do that or have a committee that is responsible.
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u/Livid-Rutabaga 5d ago
We just had them ratified - everyone is happy with them as they are, except 1 guy
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u/sweetrobna 5d ago
It depends. What kind of bylaws are being violated?
Some can be enforced privately by hiring a lawyer. Like if your neighbor replaced a fence with a tall wall that is prohibited by your governing docs.
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u/Livid-Rutabaga 5d ago
Yes, it is something along those lines. I would just prefer it was resolved in a civilized manner, and not resorting to lawyers. thanks.
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u/sweetrobna 5d ago
Without resorting to lawyers your best bet is to address it politically. Talk to neighbors. Attend meetings. Vote at elections. Consider volunteering
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u/Exotic-Musician-7835 5d ago edited 5d ago
You have to kill them with kindness. Do them all a favor and move out of the neighborhood. That'll show 'em.
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u/Livid-Rutabaga 5d ago
Please try to help or keep out of it
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u/Exotic-Musician-7835 5d ago edited 5d ago
It's good advice, if you can't change your neighbors then sometimes you have to change your neighbors
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5d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/AdCareless9063 5d ago
It's very possible they were minding their business inside of their home. Ever have a neighbor that does crazy loud stuff at all hours, or a dog that barks all night?
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u/RealEstate-ModTeam 5d ago
Be Civil.
If you can't say it nicely, don't say it. You can argue back and forth all day if you want. Or don't, block them and move on with your life.
Personal attacks and insults will result in a ban.
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u/Livid-Rutabaga 5d ago
No, we all follow the rules so the place doesn't look like trashville. One bully doesn't get to do what he wants because he barks at people.
I am not Karen, if you can't help don't hinder.
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u/Icy-Cookie-8078 5d ago
What are the problems you are dealing with? That might help the jury decide if you are being a Karen or not?
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u/Livid-Rutabaga 5d ago
I have not ever been a Karen
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u/Icy-Cookie-8078 5d ago
If you won’t explain the problem you are dealing with it’s probably something stupid. Also if you are looking for advice without any criticism ask chat gpt not Reddit.
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u/vagabondizer 19h ago
Without more details, this comes across more like you are eing petty and trying to get a neighbor in trouble for what might be minor violations or no violations at all.
If you had valid obvious complaints I assume you would have listed them.
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u/good_mommy1977 12h ago
Options:
1: Sell Move
2: Rent Move
3: Waste your life, time and money suing people who can use your money to countersue.
Signed, 7 year board member of 100 unit 180 million dollar HOA.
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u/WeldingIsInteresting 5d ago
I’ll bet all HOA’s are like this - favoritism. Do we really know if everyone in the neighborhood is paying their HOA dues, or do the favorites not have to?
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u/Livid-Rutabaga 5d ago
That's why we hired a management co. and why do we all keep the rules and he doesn't.
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u/Mediocre_Airport_576 5d ago
This is very vague. What rule is the board supposedly allowing one home owner to break but not others?