Q: Can a development retroactively invoke a homeowner’s association and then attempt collect dues for 3 previous years?
We purchased a home in NE Ohio in 2017. The paperwork from our realtor indicated that there was no HOA. In May 2017, we received a notification from one of the homeowners that there was an informational meeting for the residents to “take over the HOA”; which was the first we heard of the existence. Nothing was resolved at the meeting other than a few volunteers would get together to discuss. No election was held nor was there any formal nomination of board members. We have heard nothing about this for over 3 1/2 years until we received a packet the week before Christmas indicating that the HOA was informally turned over to the HOA Board in 2018. The State of Ohio Certificate of Incorporation was effective May 10, 2017. Among other things in the packet was an invoice for 2018, 2019, 2020 HOA dues. Since none of this was disclosed at the time we purchased our home, is any of this enforceable? What recourse do we have moving forward?
A: HOAs are created by a declaration recorded in the county real estate records, and all purchasers are legally deemed to have notice of them, regardless of what anyone might tell them, and they are legally bound by them. If the board follows the proper procedures specified in the declaration to impose assessments, then owners must pay. Use the Find a Lawyer to retain a local real estate attorney to review the declaration and all the facts, and advise you of your options.
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