Home Owners Assoc question

[spottedpony]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? ILLINOIS
Our HOA is in court with the members vs the BOard of directors. They say we don't have any money. We say they should. They haven't allowed members to look at the books. Now they are threatening us with turning off our water.
The members have opened an account and have been paying the water bills themselves. They tried to pay the insurance, but the insurance co was told by the BOD not to accept payment. We have elderly,some on hospice living in our community. We are tied up in court and paying attorney fees when we should be using this money to pay insurance, water, garbage collection etc. If they close the park, we will never get another insurance co to take us or the premiums will be so high we won't be able to afford them. We own our own properties. WE pay our own real estate taxes. Our dues pays our water, roads, garbage. What happens if the association defaults on their mortgage and goes backrupt? What do the people do who own their property in the developement?
I will never get involved in a HOA again. I've lost trust of others paying my bills and using my dues money unwisely. Any suggestions?::What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? ILLINOIS
Our HOA is in court with the members vs the BOard of directors. They say we don't have any money. We say they should. They haven't allowed members to look at the books. Now they are threatening us with turning off our water.
The members have opened an account and have been paying the water bills themselves. They tried to pay the insurance, but the insurance co was told by the BOD not to accept payment. We have elderly,some on hospice living in our community. We are tied up in court and paying attorney fees when we should be using this money to pay insurance, water, garbage collection etc. If they close the park, we will never get another insurance co to take us or the premiums will be so high we won't be able to afford them. We own our own properties. WE pay our own real estate taxes. Our dues pays our water, roads, garbage. What happens if the association defaults on their mortgage and goes backrupt? What do the people do who own their property in the developement?
I will never get involved in a HOA again. I've lost trust of others paying my bills and using my dues money unwisely. Any suggestions?::What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

**A: do the members that are against the Board have their own attorney?

 

[spottedpony]

Yes. That is what has kept the water on so far. Otherwise, it would have been turned off in October.

 

[FarmerJ]

spottedpony in a town near me (mora mn) one of its mobile home parks in the last yr or so got the city involved in the park owners non payment for water and sewer , the city council worked it out so the residents would on a permanent basis pay water and sewer fees via a direct bill from the city every billing period instead of the entire park being shut off , this would be one thing the residents can explore with the city to change it permanently. If your city handles trash collections perhaps the same thing can be set up for trash collections as well. One thing I am curious about is if they did not keep enough funds on hand to pay routine bills , meaning if they failed to up the monthly fees often enough to cover any increased cost?

 

[festival]

Have you tried negotiating, offering help and giving the board a way out? Your governing documents (Declaration, bylaws) should have procedures to remove a director (board member), to call an official meeting of the membership (owners) to take action, and to inspect the financial books. You can also replace directors at the next election if you have the votes. This can all be done out of court, although the board may resist it, so make sure you know all about the procedures, getting proxies, etc. Have a lawyer on your side. Also, look online at Illinois law for your type of association (condominium or common interest or whatever) for the same rights and procedures.