Quote:
Originally Posted by miami_fan
I got a letter from the HOA saying that I have weeds in my landscaped bed. The picture attached is just a photo of the front of my house from the sidewalk. I did not see any weeds in the garden bed but hey no biggie. I pulled the non plants in the bed and responded that everything has been taken care of. I received another notice. This time the picture is taken from about 4 steps to the left of where the first pic was taken. I asked for clarification. The response from the HOA says I need to look at the community standards. I look at the community standards and there is nothing about weeds. Once again, I sent the notice and moved on about my business. Yesterday, I got a third notice threatening a possible fine. I called the HOD manager yesterday morning and he said that he could not discuss the violation over the phone and to send him my questions via email. I asked if we can meet so he can show me what the issue is. He said that he would not for safety concerns. Ummm okay. So I called a attorney friend for some advice. He looked at the community standards and found nothing regarding the supposed violations. He also looked at the pictures and did not see any weeds. So he sent a letter to the HOA yesterday afternoon stating that instead of asking me to provide evidence why I should not be fined for the presumed violations, the HOA should provide evidence why he should not file a lawsuit on my behalf for harassment. My wife received an email this morning if it was possible to come by this weekend so they can resolve this issue. Of course she forwarded the email to me. I am trying to decide if I want to be petty and turn down the request out of concerns for my personal safety.
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Former board president here.
If you have a property management company I would recommend going through the proper channels to contact someone on the board first. I would also look at attending the next board meeting and getting the first few minutes to go over the issues with the manager and the board present. There, you can tell them your entire story, show the pictures and express your feelings. If there's something obvious you're probably SOL, but otherwise, the board really ought to be looking out for owners if the manager isn't being helpful to the community. Because they all work for the community. The manager's job is to follow the decisions of the board and enforce the documents. You have a right to know what the violation is. Or at the very, very least, under which part of the documents that you've run afoul. If the property manager isn't serving the needs of the residents then it's really on the board to improve that. It's on them to back the residents and correct the manager if they aren't good enough.
Sure you can go the legal route, but it's really overkill.
Covid saw a lot of HOA managers threatened with assault and some assaulted with people being home more. I've had mixed results on the board with that. But I've ridden with the managers on their drives to point out things that need corrected, and I've had them tell me they don't feel comfortable with me in the car. It's sort of up to the manager themselves and the company they work for, whatever their policy is.