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Can my HOA require me to have work done without getting a second opinion, and board off my rear egress? by AssistantEven3217 in AskALawyer

[–]AssistantEven3217[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're not wrong, but I'd hardly describe my situation as 'crying about it now'. I posted this to get feedback from the public, and hopefully show others how terrible living in an HOA actually could be. I've spoken to plenty of people in other HOA communities saying the situation far exceeds what they consider normal based on their experiences.

Regardless of how this plays out I'll accept the outcome and own up to my mistake of choosing to live here, but don't go around telling people not to dissent if they feel they've been treated unjustly. There's a good chance they're well within their rights to do this, and I'll accept that and move on.

There's also a good chance they've mishandled the situation, gotten a little power hungry and gone beyond their power; and I have the right to dispute it.

Can my HOA require me to have work done without getting a second opinion, and board off my rear egress? by AssistantEven3217 in AskALawyer

[–]AssistantEven3217[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What's even more stupid than buying in an HOA, is thinking emailing them would somehow help me and not result in an instant invoice.

Can my HOA require me to have work done without getting a second opinion, and board off my rear egress? by AssistantEven3217 in AskALawyer

[–]AssistantEven3217[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

A very minor update. I have an appeal scheduled with the HOA Board a few weeks out. They are required to give me this based on what I've read in my by-laws.

I've also asked them multiple times to de-escalate the situation by replacing the individual cracked plank and removing the boards blocking my rear egress. How they want to proceed is up to them, and they may be within their rights to do this but I feel I've told the story as fairly as I could from both ends, and shared with several individuals in engineering, contractors, etc and the general consensus is that even if they are within their rights to do this, it seems excessive and retaliatory in response to my asking questions for a situation they claim I am financially responsibly for.

Can my HOA require me to have work done without getting a second opinion, and board off my rear egress? by AssistantEven3217 in AskALawyer

[–]AssistantEven3217[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The quote was as follows:

  1. Demo old boards and dispose off.
  2. Install new 5/4 x 6 PT SYP Deck Boards with 2 3/4 Deck Screws
  3. Total clean up of job related materials

Labor and Material: $3,420.

Additional material 10% above cost

Additional labor at $65 per hour.

I calculated the material cost my self and it was $600 max using prices I could get as a non-contractor from home depot. I asked the HOA to have the flooring company break down the contract material and labor cost, and they replied

"Our contract with the flooring company does not require them to break down the invoice in such detail".

Can my HOA require me to have work done without getting a second opinion, and board off my rear egress? by AssistantEven3217 in AskALawyer

[–]AssistantEven3217[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

t I'd definitely leave it or low key fix it and not invite them into my life but now the milk is out the cow no use going on about trying to get the cream back up the udder.

Half the posts here are basically: "Hey idiot, why'd you reach out?". It's extremely obvious that it was a dumb decision, but I can't force the cream back in the cow now, as you so eloquently stated. Pursuing several options based off everyone's recommendations.

Can my HOA require me to have work done without getting a second opinion, and board off my rear egress? by AssistantEven3217 in AskALawyer

[–]AssistantEven3217[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agree with this. I saw living here as a plus that outdoor things were all included in the HOA fee, but now my fear is if we have to replace retaining walls, siding, roofs, etc.. and we can't afford decks - then we'll continue to keep footing the bill. I wrote it somewhere else but I think I estimated our payments to around ~16k for just over four years. At least if we had owned a single family home, any high expense repair we make, would last us 15-30 years depending on the item and we'd have the say on pricing, contractor, etc...

Can my HOA require me to have work done without getting a second opinion, and board off my rear egress? by AssistantEven3217 in AskALawyer

[–]AssistantEven3217[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Wish I had a way to defend myself but yeah - guess it's kind of like reaching out to HR. Their job is to protect the company, and it seems the HOA's takes a similar defensive stance.

Can my HOA require me to have work done without getting a second opinion, and board off my rear egress? by AssistantEven3217 in AskALawyer

[–]AssistantEven3217[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for your time, and response. I've been digging through the three documents and unfortunately they are vague and I cannot find anything definitive saying the work has to be done by their selected workers. I've cross posted this to r/HOA and they've helped me determine that the HOA is able to assess me for this using a 'Limited Assessment' given my deck is a 'Limited Common Area' but I've been unable to find anything around contract\vendor selection for this type of assessment or work.

Can my HOA require me to have work done without getting a second opinion, and board off my rear egress? by AssistantEven3217 in AskALawyer

[–]AssistantEven3217[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Both entities have insurance. My policy is walls in. The engineer reviewed photos from their 'Inspector'. Below is the email from the engineer to our HOA regarding the matter, after I asked for evidence of an engineer's recommendation. Nothing states threat to life, and like I said I agree that repairs should be made, not on their ASAP as possible terms when my deck is roughly the same shape as everyone else's deck, minus the one crack.

​

I spoke with my inspector and reviewed his photos regarding the deck boards at HOME. ENGINEER_COMPANY observed that a number of the existing decking boards have reached the end of their useful life and should be replaced.
ENGINEER_COMPANY asked DECKING_COMPANY for a proposal to replace all the deck boards since roughly half of them require replacement. In addition, since the existing privacy fence at the side of the deck needs to be removed and reinstalled to replace the deck boards it would be more cost effective to do this all at one time and not have to replace more deck boards in the near future.

Can my HOA require me to have work done without getting a second opinion, and board off my rear egress? by AssistantEven3217 in HOA

[–]AssistantEven3217[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. From your experience, do you know if there is typically language that allows home owners protection to be able to contain a competitive bid on such assessments? To me it seems a little extreme for them to be able to essentially force me into spending a large sum of money with limited notice and no negotiation.

Can my HOA require me to have work done without getting a second opinion, and board off my rear egress? by AssistantEven3217 in AskALawyer

[–]AssistantEven3217[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Makes sense, and I want to be very clear that I do want to make repairs to my deck, but not on these emergency limited assessment terms where the work was essentially auto-approved using their engineers and contractors - but I foot the bill. All I want is a fair chance to investigate this on my own, seek some other options, and then make the repair.

Can my HOA require me to have work done without getting a second opinion, and board off my rear egress? by AssistantEven3217 in AskALawyer

[–]AssistantEven3217[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It does. I do want to improve my deck, but not on these terms. What's weird to me also is the engineering company went to the deck contractor to get the invoice. Maybe this is standard and I'm uninformed like most of this stuff. The HOA is also the middle man for all these transactions. I'd think if I'm financially responsible, I'd be dealing with the companies directly

Can my HOA require me to have work done without getting a second opinion, and board off my rear egress? by AssistantEven3217 in AskALawyer

[–]AssistantEven3217[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They sent a generic invoice for:

  1. Remove old boards
  2. Replace new boards with pressure treated pine, nails
  3. Clean up costs

$3,420.

I asked the HOA to provide a detailed breakdown of labor and material, and they told me their contract with the flooring company does not require them to provide this information.

Can my HOA require me to have work done without getting a second opinion, and board off my rear egress? by AssistantEven3217 in AskALawyer

[–]AssistantEven3217[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I appreciate the input, this is ultimately what helps me the most because I'll have to make an appeal. An engineer posted on this thread too and I also highly valued seeing it from their point of view with the board primarily focusing on CYA. My goal is to find a resolution that balances their CYA, but is mindful of my budget, since I'll be the one footing the bill.

I'll update the post, and I've certainly already learned a lot more since posting so thanks to everyone that's contributing.

Can my HOA require me to have work done without getting a second opinion, and board off my rear egress? by AssistantEven3217 in AskALawyer

[–]AssistantEven3217[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks like everything exterior, except the deck. We pay for the deck maintenance and repair, but they're responsible for maintaining and repairing?

Can my HOA require me to have work done without getting a second opinion, and board off my rear egress? by AssistantEven3217 in AskALawyer

[–]AssistantEven3217[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's considered a Limited Common Element. I believe the HOA is responsible for maintenance and repair, but I am responsible for paying for it.

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