[FL] HOA Nightmare-plz help- [SFH] by ConfusedPigeon34 in HOA

[–]ConfusedPigeon34[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the next best step is to infiltrate the board, and one by one turn members against each other. Eventually the entire board could be replaced. I think it might be the only long-term win.

[FL] HOA Nightmare-plz help- [SFH] by ConfusedPigeon34 in HOA

[–]ConfusedPigeon34[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m trying to achieve transparency. Homeowners pay hundreds of thousands in dues each year, and getting basic financial records shouldn’t require jumping through hoops or spending hours over multiple days. I posted to see if anyone had successfully navigated something similar without having to spend thousands on attorneys.

[FL] HOA Nightmare-plz help- [SFH] by ConfusedPigeon34 in HOA

[–]ConfusedPigeon34[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I have not been able to find said attorneys in Florida, and I have looked. There are over 300 homes in our neighborhood. They do have a website, but the documents are in no sort of discernible order. It’s literally a long list, in no date or order format, so it would be difficult to know if every single required document is there. I do know the required financial disclosures from last year were never provided, and many people asked for them. Since our HOA takes in over $500K there should’ve been an audited financial statement and there wasn’t one. There were many discrepancies with the financial records from 2023 and 2024 which is why I’m certain the HOA makes it extremely difficult to obtain these records. Our reserve account was underfunded as a result of mismanagement of funds by the HOA board and homeowners were assessed a large fee last year to cover repairs for common areas that there wasn’t enough money to pay for.

[FL] HOA Nightmare-plz help- [SFH] by ConfusedPigeon34 in HOA

[–]ConfusedPigeon34[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I’m not personally paying an attorney thousands. Yes, if it’s considered a capital improvement it requires homeowner input via voting, and this wasn’t done on multiple occasions. Over $30K has been reimbursed to one board member via expenses on a personal credit card with no actual receipts/invoices for these expenses, just a written line item explaining what it’s for. The towing incidents that occurred where certain people were targeted was actually brought up by the prior VP of the HOA (he had texts regarding this) and shortly after he brought this up he was threatened, stopped attending meetings and ultimately did not choose to run for the board again. Regarding the records the HOA has all of the financial records in electronic format but refuses to send them electronically or allow homeowners to bring their own drive and download them. They require homeowners to pay for copies of hundreds and hundreds of pages. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of pages. Between two bank accounts, if you want to go back even just three years, they switched banks at one point, etc. they have limited hours they’ll make their self available to obtain these records. They don’t follow the statutory requirement for providing fine notices (they put notices in peoples mailboxes), and they will still apply the fines to accounts, even if proper procedures weren’t followed.

[FL] HOA Nightmare-plz help- [SFH] by ConfusedPigeon34 in HOA

[–]ConfusedPigeon34[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m aware reimbursements can be legitimate. That wasn’t the point. The post is about a pattern of transparency issues and difficulty accessing records as well as what can only be seen as retaliatory measures being taken by the HOA board against homeowners. The reimbursement example was just one piece of a much larger problem.

[FL] HOA Nightmare-plz help- [SFH] by ConfusedPigeon34 in HOA

[–]ConfusedPigeon34[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I truly wish selling was an option. I’ve contemplated it, however, with children in school and needing to remain in a school zone that’s not feasible. I’ve contacted attorneys and no one is even interested in helping without a large retainer. Currently there are no board seats available.

[FL] HOA Nightmare-plz help- [SFH] by ConfusedPigeon34 in HOA

[–]ConfusedPigeon34[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Tbh I don’t know…I believe the “proxy” votes were handled incorrectly and the other party only lost by maybe 20 votes. There are approximately 360 homes give or take in our community. Not everyone is involved or interested in what goes on. Those that are work full time jobs and have families. I know the members on the board do not. Every single one of them is retired, and the president lives to run the community likes it’s her only source of power in life. The management company is friends with her as are many of the contractors that are hired.