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Property Disclosure Stated no HOA, closing contract/HUD said no HOA, but there is one

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klick

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio

We purchased the home under the impression there was no Home Owners Association, now we've found out that there is one, it was somewhat defunct (although not legally, I checked) and have now contacted us. I'm not asking if we can get out of the HOA, I know we can't. The property disclosure stated no HOA, the HUD stated no fees, no known HOA, etc. We talked to our/their neighbor, and said that the previous owners were aware of the HOA. We have lived here for 6 months now.

What legal recourse do we have against the seller about this? We would not of purchased the home if there was an HOA, we didn't buy other properties because it was disclosed there was an HOA. We do know there are deed restrictions, which we are fine with.

And if we can sue, I mean what could we expect to get out of it? I realize that's probably to specific to answer, but I couldn't find any similiar cases online.

Thanks.
 


justalayman

Senior Member
as to your recourse: what do you want?


a rescission? some sort of damages?


and then, was the seller actually aware of the HOA?
 
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klick

Junior Member
6 Months ago, but we just found out there is an HOA. I don't know what the statue of limitations is, but we just discovered it regardless.

I don't know what we want to do, i want to know if anyone has heard of this type of scenario and what to possibly expect. It certainly devalues the house considerable for us. We almost feel like listing the house and moving. We would lose considerably if we did that, can we sue for our losses? Moving fees/real estate fees/mortgage fees/moneyback on home improvements already done... I mean, it's a very wide open question.

The short of it is, we wouldn't of bought the house, perhaps they should take it back minus all our costs... I realize that's not going to happen, so that's why i'm asking, what happens in these cases.

The neighbor stated that she was friends with the president of the home owners association, as they live directly across the street, and our neighbor was on the board from time to time. They knew there was an HOA, they lived here for like 14 years.
 
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justalayman

Senior Member
so, it appears they were aware of an HOA. That means a fraudulent disclosure. That may not be enough to kill it though. There is a duty imposed upon a purchaser to practice due diligence in confirming such a statement if there is anything else that might suggest the statement is wrong. Was there anything that made you think there might be an HOA?


Have you contacted the seller, your real estate agent, or their real estate agent?



The short of it is, we wouldn't of bought the house, perhaps they should take it back minus all our costs... I realize that's not going to happen, so that's why i'm asking, what happens in these cases.
why? that is often the remedy to a situation, especially if there are no other possible remedies available. In your situation, there really aren't any other remedies available. Short of that, the only option I can think of would be some financial compensation. Got a number in mind?
 

klick

Junior Member
I'd have to calculate a lot of things to come up with a number, probably from 50 to 100 thousand. Maybe that seems ridiculous, but I could list off for sure $30000 in costs off the top of my head that we are out. Not to mention the huge inconveince of moving another time. We spent years planning the move before, and to take the amount of time off from running my business to move again might not even be possible, so how do I handle that?

We are going to talk to the HOA about some things, and we are going to determine if we can live with the HOA or not. There are some complete dealbreakers, for instance we want to add a third car garage onto the house, and a screened in porch. Both of which are common in the neighborhood, and our house is more then capable of having that addition and it would look nice. But I have to get approval from the HOA, if they say no, we are going to have to sue the previous owners. Even if they say we are allowed to, we still might sue, the reason being, we need to get permission to plant a bush, or trim a tree, or paint the house, which is a lifetime of inconveince. Something with which was not disclosed when we bought the house.

Thanks
 

John Se

Member
What is it about your hoa you dont like? Or are you just guessing you wont like it. Generally HOA's protect property values by supressing blight and Nuisances, this would include you of course if you create blight, like to paint your house orange and purple or do substandard construction. Dont like to listen to reason or think your the only one who knows anything.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
What is it about your hoa you dont like? Or are you just guessing you wont like it. Generally HOA's protect property values by supressing blight and Nuisances, this would include you of course if you create blight, like to paint your house orange and purple or do substandard construction. Dont like to listen to reason or think your the only one who knows anything.
There are lots of people who do not like HOAs...and wouldn't buy a house where there is an HOA. In fact, I have never met anyone that had anything good to say about their HOA.
 

OHRoadwarrior

Senior Member
Without reading the contracts regarding your purchase, no one can give you exact info as to what applies. If you feel you have recourse, consult an experienced attorney for an estimated valuation of your case. Rescission is not likely to be in your future as it is a minor issue. Further, did you verify the neighbor was going to appear in court to support their claim? You might be out thousands in attorney fees, if they tell you to pound sand, when it comes time to testify.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
Without reading the contracts regarding your purchase, no one can give you exact info as to what applies. If you feel you have recourse, consult an experienced attorney for an estimated valuation of your case. Rescission is not likely to be in your future as it is a minor issue. Further, did you verify the neighbor was going to appear in court to support their claim? You might be out thousands in attorney fees, if they tell you to pound sand, when it comes time to testify.
The HOA exists. What testimony would be necessary from the neighbor? They don't need the neighbor to prove that the HOA exists.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
Without reading the contracts regarding your purchase, no one can give you exact info as to what applies. If you feel you have recourse, consult an experienced attorney for an estimated valuation of your case. Rescission is not likely to be in your future as it is a minor issue. Further, did you verify the neighbor was going to appear in court to support their claim? You might be out thousands in attorney fees, if they tell you to pound sand, when it comes time to testify.
No, being subject to an HOA is not a minor issue. Put me on the list of those that would not purchase just because there is an HOA. You have dues and rules, in some cases extremely oppressive rules. Add a little dictator as the pres of the HOA and you have the recipe for a miserable life. The problem is; there really is no other remedy other than rescission.



.
Even if they say we are allowed to, we still might sue, the reason being, we need to get permission to plant a bush, or trim a tree, or paint the house, which is a lifetime of inconveince. Something with which was not disclosed when we bought the house
Lifetime? Look up: mitigation of damages




So, what did the real estate agents or the seller say to the issue?



That is where I would start. If you cannot find some resolution, the next stop would be to an attorney who can review all of the facts and give you some direction.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
No, being subject to an HOA is not a minor issue. Put me on the list of those that would not purchase just because there is an HOA. You have dues and rules, in some cases extremely oppressive rules. Add a little dictator as the pres of the HOA and you have the recipe for a miserable life. The problem is; there really is no other remedy other than rescission.



.

Lifetime? Look up: mitigation of damages




So, what did the real estate agents or the seller say to the issue?



That is where I would start. If you cannot find some resolution, the next stop would be to an attorney who can review all of the facts and give you some direction.
Ditto on the bolded...I have seen it over and over.
 

OHRoadwarrior

Senior Member
The HOA exists. What testimony would be necessary from the neighbor? They don't need the neighbor to prove that the HOA exists.
They are claiming the person who sold them the property was aware of the HOA's existence, yet that it was "somewhat defunct". The seller may not have known. OP has not provided anything to substantiate they did. This could have been a property flip or a parent who died.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
They are claiming the person who sold them the property was aware of the HOA's existence, yet that it was "somewhat defunct". The seller may not have known. OP has not provided anything to substantiate they did. This could have been a property flip or a parent who died.
Neither of those are a valid defense for not disclosing the existence of an HOA. In either scenario they SHOULD have known if they had properly done their homework.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
Neither of those are a valid defense for not disclosing the existence of an HOA. In either scenario they SHOULD have known if they had properly done their homework.
Actually, yes, they are. The requirement to disclose any specific information is based on whether it would be reasonable for the person to have been aware of the issue. In a flip or an estate, if there was nothing presented to the seller during their time of ownership that would make them aware of the issue, they can respond in the negative. They should indicate it as "unknown" though due to the problems it could cause if there is one. One is not required to "do their homework" to discover an issue. Making such a statement would mean that anybody that ever sold a property with a title issue is liable for damages. Anything is discoverable if one does enough homework.


In this situation, I suspect the seller was aware of the HOA but in itself, even that does not make this a done deal. Even the OP has stated this concerning the HOA:

it was somewhat defunct
exactly what does that mean?

Does a person that believes the HOA had been dissolved, or maybe never truly being aware of the HOA become liable if they make the statement: no, there is no HOA?

If this from the HUD bears out, I would tend to believe the seller believed the statement they made:

, the HUD stated no fees,
There is a difference between a mistake and intentional fraud.



and where was the buyers agent in all of this?
 

klick

Junior Member
Thanks for everyone's reply's, it's very helpful.

When I said it was somewhat defunct, the neighbors said that for the last 2 years there haven't been any meetings, the ones where they would elect the board members, and talk about things. I know they knew about the HOA, and perhaps that did think it was dissolved, but it wasn't. I'm not sure ignorance to knowing whether the HOA dissolved or not is a defense. I looked it up, found the standing of the HOA online, it was renewed in 2011 to expire in 2016, or something along those lines.

This all came about because we got a letter for an HOA meeting this weekend (which we got 4 days notice of the meeting) to elect new board members. We are going to goto the meeting, and talk to the people. The outcome of that meeting, or possible others in the following weeks will determine what action I want to take.

My agent was useless in this matter, and pretty much blamed me, or as she said "I thought you checked into it".... Yea ok, i'm not sure why she got paid. The title agency we asked for these details in advance, and then after some issues arrised, they finally gave them to us, after we were in the house for a month. Those details being the deed restrictions. We were told there were no specific deed restrictions and that it was just the standard city ordinances. However, we don't legally have a document stating that, as it was a phone conversation. The title agency claims they would of provided it if we asked, they are just convering their asses, and i can't prove it. And that is my fault, I should of asked for it in writing of some kind... because then I would have recourse onto the title agency, but now I do not.

Basically we are violating a deed restriction, we did something, at the time unknownily (even though I attempted to get this information from multiple sources) and now I'm sure the HOA is resurrecting to enforce them. Now the thing is, there are dozens of deed restriction violations all over the place, i'm not the only one, but the HOA letter addressed "new homeowners", we are the only home purchased in the last couple years in the approximate ~50 house HOA.

Fixing my personal deed restriction is not my problem, we are already in the process of correcting that issue. My issue is now I have to get permission to add something onto my house, and the previous owners aparently bad-mouthed us because they thought we asked for to many property inspection issues that came up, and something else which is hard to explain. We can't prove they did this, and we don't really know who they talked to anyway, the neighbor i've mentioned before told us they thought we were horrible, and possibly posted it on facebook. Actually, maybe if it got legal their facebook stuff could be pulled... The reason I mention the bad-mouthing is, now the HOA may already not like us, and not approve us wanting to addon to the house. I just hate being at the mercy of an HOA to want to improve the quality of the house.

Here's the thing, we might meet the HOA, and everyone is decent people, and we have no issues. So everything might be ok, but that's just it, we don't know. The Deed restrictions state the HOA board can deny us any request, for any reason.

Again, thank you for everyone's responses, i'm going to meet with the HOA, and it might take me some time to show them what we want to do (a few weeks) and see if they are ok with it. The only issue is if they deny us. I have a general contractor who is drawing up architectural outdoor pictures, to present to them.

Thanks.
 

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