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Chances are your state has regulations your HOA must follow. Most have a complaint form you can file with the state regarding an HOA. Usually the complaints are for over-reaching, but not doing due diligence could be a complaint to report. I couldn't tell what state you are in, but I would start there.
I would think that this advice would apply if the Condo Association refuses to correct the vandalism. Condos have a COA, not an HOA designation. They are similar entities but not exactly the same.
Don't confuse the types of associations as the state probably has different statutes for each type of entity. I don't recall if the OP motioned what state this is in.
My condo area was vandalized by a resident. It was reported in an email by our HOA President. 2 people have come forward. One actually saw them to it. The other said they’re friends with them and they bragged about it. Both want to stay anonymous. No one but the President knows who these anonymous people are nor do we know who did this.
I had a feeling nothing can be done. It’s so sad that we have to pay for the behavior of irresponsible people. Especially knowing they live in our (otherwise beautiful) community.
The HOA Board can’t do anything because they don’t have those sort of legal powers, but the police can. File a report. Get your witnesses to provide statements.
We had the son of a resident hit and knock down a decorative street lamp. There were witnesses. The resident refused to pay for the damage and the HOA CC&Rs had no language to compel them to do so. A police report was filed and lo and behold the parents stepped up to pay for the repairs. Just because you live in an HOA community it doesn’t mean that Local, State and Federal laws do not apply.
Board members have a fiduciary duty to act in good faith for the good of the community - it includes duty of care, duty of loyalty - to the community. The president is violating his/her fiduciary duty, but the board is also by not calling the president to account. The master policy might have a caveat about reporting vandalism to them or the police. Filing a claim and saying the perpetrator was unknown could be insurance fraud which is criminal. Having a master policy canceled would be a big deal - it would most likely mean going to the secondary market where rates would go up.
The president is opening up the door to being personally sued by owners for the costs if the president violates the fiduciary duties. To take the onus off the president, if the association has an attorney, this could be asked of the attorney.
It begs the question, what else is being done not by the book? Ask for the repair records, costs, board minutes. In some states all board emails are open to owners which is why they might have separate emails for business.
Was this discussed in a board meeting? Were rules of notification/minutes and so forth followed according to statute?
Homeowner associations are governed by a number of complex rules: the governing documents, common ownership laws and non-profit statutes. I doubt the president is in compliance with all of these when asked by owners regarding the damages.
The HOA Board can’t do anything because they don’t have those sort of legal powers, but the police can. File a report. Get your witnesses to provide statements.
We had the son of a resident hit and knock down a decorative street lamp. There were witnesses. The resident refused to pay for the damage and the HOA CC&Rs had no language to compel them to do so. A police report was filed and lo and behold the parents stepped up to pay for the repairs. Just because you live in an HOA community it doesn’t mean that Local, State and Federal laws do not apply.
Thank you for this information. I will pass it on to the HOA Board members.
I would think that this advice would apply if the Condo Association refuses to correct the vandalism.
That is why I think some of the responses are laughable. We have no idea what is occurring especially with the crumbs of information the OP has provided. For all we know, the COA's President or Board may not yet be in a position to disclose some information openly, or they may be under some legal advice to not yet speak publicly about this.
Since this seems to only be based on the OP's "Feeling" on what is happening, I get the impression this is some fishing for sympathy type post or a validate that HOA's (COA as you pointed out) are evil an corrupt. Heck, for all we know, the OP may have been the vandal and trying to find out if their identity may be disclosed.
I've been sitting in the wings to see what others would suggest. Having experienced such a situation as an HOA officer, I can tell you what we did:
Reported the damage to the police. In our case, we had witnesses. Notified our insurer, gave them the perp's insurance and other identification, and let the system deal with it. We had to use reserve funds to cover repairs, but we were reimbursed by the insurance company not long after they were expended. I'm quite sure they subrogated the claim and got a settlement from the driver's insurer.
In our case, it was a vehicle crashing through a very large metal gate to our private park. I seem to recall the repairs running around $11k.
Thank you for this information. I will pass it on to the HOA Board members.
Hopefully they will take his advice to call the police.
You saw it was vandalized, heard the vandal was bragging but no one told you who that vandal was? I'm surprised because some people really like to spread around what they found out about whatever.
What kind of damage was done? Did it get fixed yet?
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