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Tag Archives: homeowner association

HOA needs to get the owner’s name right to collect assessments

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Harry Styron

Whenever a homeowner association (HOA) gives me an account for collection, the first thing I do is verify the name in which the lot or unit is held. Frequently, the books of the HOA show owner as an individual or couple, often with a nickname.

Failure to keep track of the name in which property is held can defeat a claim for assessments, as shown in River Oaks Homes Association v. Lounce, a case that originated in Jackson County, Missouri.

The HOA obtained a judgment against Zeria Lounce, individually and as trustee of her living trust, for several years’ worth of delinquent assessments. Lounce appealed to the Western District of the Missouri Court of Appeals, claiming that the trial court erred in finding her personally liable and in finding the trust liable.

The River Oaks covenants provided that assessments were secured by a lien against the lot assessed and were also a personal obligation of  “the person who was the Owner of such property at the time when the assessment fell due.” Fifteen months after purchasing her townhouse in River Oaks in 1993, Lounce conveyed it to her living trust, with herself as trustee.

Nobody paid the assessments after 2004, and the HOA sued Lounce in her individual capacity. After filing suit, the HOA discovered that Lounce had put the property in the name of her trust and added Lounce, as trustee, as a defendant in the suit. Because the covenant provided for the personal liability of the Owner only, the court of appeals reversed the judgment against Lounce, as an individual.

The court of appeals didn’t let the trust off the hook, stating that the payment obligation ran with the ownership of the property, regardless of whether the HOA was aware of the change in ownership.

Here are the lessons for associations:

  • Pay attention to the county records of ownership. The county assessors’ websites (in most counties in Missouri) are a fairly reliable place to look for the names in which property is held; the recorder’s office is the best authority, though not always the most accessible online. This is important for making sure the proper parties are casting votes in elections, as well as for collections.
  • Ask your collection agency or lawyer to confirm the owners’ identities when preparing liens, sending demand letters and filing collection suits.

Carelessness about ownership can result in the loss of the ability to collect, shifting the burdens to the paying members of the HOA.

 

 

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Missouri Supreme Court throws a lifeline to an HOA

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Harry Styron

If a homeowner association doesn’t have the power to impose liens to collect delinquent assessments for common expenses, the HOA is unable to perform its responsibilities. Often, no other entity has the legal authority to fill the gap in insuring, maintaining, repairing and replacing common properties such as streets, water and sewer facilities, clubhouses and pools, etc., which were the responsibility of the original HOA.

Many Missouri HOAs are dissolved by operation of law, having failed to file annual reports with the Missouri Secretary of State. Often a new HOA is formed, but a series of Missouri court decisions have made clear that the new HOAs lack any authority to perform the functions of the old HOA, unless there is an assignment of the old HOA’s powers to the new entity. I’ve summarized those court opinions here, including an update on Debaliviere Place Association v. Steven Veal, in which the Missouri Supreme Court reviewed a lower appellate court decision on April 12, 2011, changing the result and remanding the case for a new trial.

The Missouri Supreme Court’s opinion, written by Judge Michael A. Wolff, clarifies that a defunct HOA, even though it has been dissolved for more than 10 years, still has the power to assign its rights to collect assessments, impose liens and enforce covenants. This new opinion overruled a court of appeals opinion that had indicated that a defunct corporate HOA was a non-entity after it had been dissolved for 10 years, lacking the power to do anything. This new opinion is based on Missouri’s statute 355.691, which allows a dissolved non-profit corporation to “wind up and liquidate its affairs,” transferring its assets and liabilities.

Judge Wolff’s analysis limited the effect of a now repealed Missouri statute (section 355.507), which prohibited any non-profit corporation from coming back to life after it had been dissolved for at least 10 years, at which time its corporate charter is permanently forfeited. Even though the 10-year limit has been repealed, it still applies to many HOAs that had been dissolved before its repeal.

For new HOAs which need to establish their authority, the recording in the county land records of an assignment from the old HOA to the new HOA of the old HOAs powers will be effective, unless the objecting owner can prove that the assignment is made without authority, an a contention that Veal did not assert against Debaliviere.

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HOA trustees can enforce covenants, even though they didn’t have annual meetings

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Harry Styron

If you want to stop a homeowners association from collecting assessments or enforcing restrictions, often the best tactic is to smear the HOA.

Here’s how the smear works. Read the rest of this entry →

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Defunct HOAs: what to do?

Posted on January 26, 2009 by Harry Styron

Outside of incorporated cities in the Ozarks, the homeowner association (HOA) is often the government for homes in subdivisions and condominiums. The clean water rules enforced by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources include HOAs as eligible “continuing authorities” to own and operate drinking water or sewer facilities, or both, in subdivisions not served by public utility companies regulated by the Public Service Commission or by governmental providers. In addition, the HOAs often have the responsibility of maintaining subdivision streets unless and until the county commission adopts an ordinance to maintain the streets.

HOAs are ordinarily established by the subdivision developer, in order to obtain permits for sewer or water facilities and to create an entity for road maintenance. An HOA’s power to collect assessments from lot owners (or unit owners, in the case of condominiums) is established by the recording of subdivision covenants (usually called CCRs or a declaration). The HOA is almost always set up as a non-profit corporation, with the developer and the developer’s associates making up the initial board of directors.

Even under the best of circumstances, the developer fails to file annual reports for the HOA with the Missouri Secretary of State, and the HOA, as a corporation, is administratively dissolved. When few lots are sold, that also happens. And there are worse omissions and consequences: Read the rest of this entry →

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