Member of HOA -- am I liable ??

[ericgkarl]

I live in Tennessee. I am currently a member of a homeowner's association with roughly 800 homes. We reside on a number of lakes with roughly 200 homes on each lake. One of the lakes has become filled with sludge, dirt and debris from a builder who is building homes upstream from this lake. He has dumped into the stream and it has subsequently filled the lake in. All of the homeowners are assessed 200 dollars per year in homeowners association fees which cover maintenance of the pool, tennis courts, lakes and common areas. The homeowner's association has proposed suing the builder in question to recoup the cost of dredging the lake and restoring it to it's former condition. The cost of this project is proposed at $250,000. Unfortunately this will be in the courts for an extensive amount of time and the current property owners on that specific lake are demanding an immediate remedy. They are going forward with a lawsuit against the Homeowner's Association rather than the builder. Their premise is that the annual dues are for the upkeep of the lake and the Homeowner's Association failed to do their job. My question is, should these disgruntled homeowners win, will I as a member of the Homeowner's Association be partially liable for associated costs?????

 

[HomeGuru]

I live in Tennessee. I am currently a member of a homeowner's association with roughly 800 homes. We reside on a number of lakes with roughly 200 homes on each lake. One of the lakes has become filled with sludge, dirt and debris from a builder who is building homes upstream from this lake. He has dumped into the stream and it has subsequently filled the lake in. All of the homeowners are assessed 200 dollars per year in homeowners association fees which cover maintenance of the pool, tennis courts, lakes and common areas. The homeowner's association has proposed suing the builder in question to recoup the cost of dredging the lake and restoring it to it's former condition. The cost of this project is proposed at $250,000. Unfortunately this will be in the courts for an extensive amount of time and the current property owners on that specific lake are demanding an immediate remedy. They are going forward with a lawsuit against the Homeowner's Association rather than the builder. Their premise is that the annual dues are for the upkeep of the lake and the Homeowner's Association failed to do their job. My question is, should these disgruntled homeowners win, will I as a member of the Homeowner's Association be partially liable for associated costs?????

**A: yes.

 

[ericgkarl]

thank you

Thank you Home Guru --- is there anyway to limit my liability??? Can I legally "unjoin" the homeowner's association, my dues are mandatory.

 

[HomeGuru]

Re: thank you

Thank you Home Guru --- is there anyway to limit my liability??? Can I legally "unjoin" the homeowner's association, my dues are mandatory.

**A: you are an automatic member of the HOA as evidenced by the recorded CC&R's on your property title. The only way to "unjoin" would be to sell the property. Since dues, fees (and liabilty) are divided according to the percentage of interest in the project development, each homeowner of the HOA would be assessed a prorated share. If the HOA lost the litigation and were required to pay the judgement and related court costs and legal fees, such amounts would be assessed to each homeowner of the HOA.
Read your CC&R's, as your answers are in those documents.

 

[ericgkarl]

thanks again

Thanks again HomeGuru, your free legal advice is much appreciated.

 

[HomeGuru]

You are very welcome.