HOA Detective™ – Feb 18, 2025: Recent developments across the United States highlight various challenges and changes related to condominium and Homeowner Associations (HOAs):
Escalating HOA Fees and Financial Strain
- Florida: Residents in Winter Park Woods Condominiums are experiencing significant financial pressure as monthly HOA fees have more than tripled, reaching over $3,300. The association attributes this hike to county fines, mandatory repairs, and compliance with new state legislation aimed at ensuring structural integrity of older condos. That’s $3,300 a MONTH, folks!
https://www.the-sun.com/news/13555141/neighbors-losing-homes-hoa-fees - Nationwide: HOA and condo fees are rising rapidly, outpacing inflation in many areas. Approximately 76 million residents depend on shared funds for amenities and maintenance. In Washington State, HOA dues have more than doubled in the past year, with significant increases also seen nationwide, such as a 15% rise in Florida. Those 76M residents include the 27M home owners who represent the primary stakeholders in 377K HOAs and condominium associations in the U.S.
https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/homeowners-association-hoa-dues-increasing-costs-aa6eddf5
Legislative Responses and Reforms
- Colorado: Lawmakers are proposing bills to protect homeowners’ equity during HOA foreclosures and to mandate mediation before legal proceedings. While these measures aim to offer additional safeguards, some homeowner rights groups express concerns about the effectiveness and potential unintended consequences of the proposed legislation.
https://www.skyhinews.com/news/colorado-lawmakers-target-more-hoa-reforms-in-new-bills-but-homeowner-rights-groups-arent-sold-on-some-of-the-measures/ - Maryland: The enactment of House Bill 107 requires condominiums and HOAs to conduct regular reserve studies and maintain adequate funds for repairs. This has led to substantial financial obligations for condo owners, with some facing five- to six-digit bills to meet the law’s requirements.
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/Maryland_House_Bill_107
Meanwhile, if you thought the 2021 collapse of Champlain Tower South in Surfside, Florida was an anomaly never to be seen again, you thought wrong:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/peopleandplaces/i-mean-it-s-crazy-neighbors-residents-react-to-brookline-building-collapsing/vi-AA1zbjBd
Community Conflicts and Legal Challenges
- South Carolina: And in a doozy, already earmarked for the HOA Detective’s “You Can’t Make This Sh*t Up” archive, the cities of Isle of Palms and Folly Beach face a class-action lawsuit for illegally contracting a private company to issue parking tickets. This third-party enforcement resulted in over 5,000 tickets within a few months, surpassing the city’s annual ticket count.
To be fair, neither of the culprits named in this story are HOAs, rather they are incorporated municipalities (towns), but the story helps to illustrate the pitfalls of privatizing the functions of government traditionally performed by government workers such as handing out parking fines, and instead out-sourcing the job to for-profit businesses.
https://www.the-sun.com/motors/13560762/folly-beach-isle-of-palms-cars-parking-tickets-lawsuit
Who Invited Big Brother to the HOA Party?
- Residents of San Jose’s Garden Park Village condominium complex are expressing outrage over their Homeowners Association’s (HOA) invasive surveillance and excessive fines. The HOA has reportedly installed numerous surveillance cameras and dispatched staff onto rooftops to observe residents’ private areas.
Homeowners like Liliana Alvarez and Alberto Hernandez have accumulated significant fines, often for minor violations such as parking infractions or preexisting structural issues, with amounts exceeding $1,800 and $2,000 respectively. Despite the option to contest these fines through Zoom hearings, residents claim the board consistently rules against them. This aggressive enforcement has led to financial burdens and has caused several immigrant residents to leave due to stress.
https://www.the-sun.com/news/13537509/hoa-no-privacy-san-jose-california-complex-violation
These cases underscore a broader issue where HOAs, originally established to maintain community standards, are now exercising powers that can undermine individual property rights. The escalation of fees, imposition of arbitrary fines, and overreach into personal privacy not only threaten homeowners’ financial stability, but also challenge the sanctity of private property ownership—the most fundamental cornerstone of American values.
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