Since the news is full of all kinds of info about the ongoing invasion into Ukraine, I decided against writing about that today. I decided to talk about a small ‘mini-war’ that I am currently engaged in as president of the local Homeowners Association. Anyone who lives or has lived in a community covered by a Homeowners Association might be able to relate – although I hope not. However, I thought I would tell this tale as I think it is, in some ways, a pretty sad commentary on the nature of some people.
When I lived in Los Angeles, prior to moving to Montana, I served on the HOA board of the community where I lived for five years as both the Treasurer and as the President. When I moved to Montana, I swore I would never serve on another HOA board. If anyone has ever served on a board you probably understand that feeling.
When I moved to Montana, I was approached by the gentleman who was the president of the HOA at that time to welcome me to the neighborhood. After a while he asked if I would consider serving on the local HOA board. In spite of my previous experience, I told him I’d consider it. The difference between situation in LA and the situation in Montana seemed totally different.
In LA, the HOA dues were about $400/month whereas the dues for the HOA in Montana were $20/year. Yes, you read that correctly, $20/year!! And, unlike the density and hustle and bustle in LA, in Montana, all lots are at least 1 acre so there is lots of space and it’s pretty quiet. Given that, I figured, why not? It would be a good way to get to know people. How difficult could it be? Did I make the wrong call!!
The first couple of years were pretty benign. However, a couple of years ago, a resident started building what is essentially a duplex on their property in spite of many warnings that what they were proposing to do was in violation of the Covenants and in violation of the County regulations, both of which clearly state that only ‘single family residences’ are allowed in the neighborhood. They refused to stop so, in consultation with our attorney, we had no option but to sue.
This structure is now complete and has greatly polarized the community. There is the very vocal, ‘it’s their property and they can do whatever the hell they want’ crowd and then there are the remainder of the residences who detest this monstrosity that has been built in clear violation of the covenants. I should point out at this point that, in parallel to our lawsuit, there is an investigation ongoing by the County because the permits that were pulled prior to the construction for the building and septic system appear to have been less than truthful.
As a result of being involved in this litigation for the last two years, the HOA has incurred legal costs that have more than drained the entire bank account of the HOA. Our attorney is basically carrying us although we have secured some personal loans to help with the costs.
Our Bylaws are such that we can’t levy a ‘special assessment’ except for capital improvements but we can, with sufficient support from the community, raise the annual dues. The Board has proposed increasing the dues from $20/YEAR to $20/month, i.e., $240/year for the next two years to deal with this issue. We have called a special meeting next Tuesday to vote on this proposal. Given the reaction from some of the residents, you would think we are asking for each of them to cut off their right arm.
Keep in mind that the home prices in Gallatin County where we live increased 45% last year. Each of the houses in this community is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and our request of $20/month has generated emotions amongst some of the residents that just shocks me. I can understand how people can disagree on issues, but the emotion and polarization surrounding this request of $20/month is shocking to me. There is also a tremendous amount of disinformation being disseminated by the resident being sued.
This is particularly shocking in light of the fact that we have told the community that voting against this proposal will not erase the debts incurred to date or will incur as this case proceeds. It will simply mean that the HOA will be in debt for years to come and unable to deal with any issue that arises in the neighborhood. For example, if someone decides they want baby goats, a pony and roosters (all prohibited by the CCRs), and they complain to the HOA, our response will simply be – sorry, we can’t do a damn thing about it.
The lawsuit is coming to a head. We are currently awaiting a decision from the judge as to whether he will rule on the case as a Summary Judgment or whether he will dismiss that motion and we will have a jury trial. We are also awaiting the decision by the County on their separate investigation.
However, in the meantime, we will have the meeting next Tuesday to vote on the proposal to increase the dues to $20/month and see what happens. All of us on the Board are expecting a very tense and heated meeting. Fortunately, one of the Board members works for the sheriff’s department and has secured the community room at the Detention Center as the venue for our meeting so there will be armed cops right outside the door of the meeting. There have been no death threats yet but nothing would surprise me at this point. It’s truly crazy.
It is just so amazing to me how a flood of disinformation coupled with this request for $20/month has so polarized this quiet little community. It is just a mini-version of what seems to have taken root across this country.
I don’t want to dissuade anyone from serving on an HOA Board because I believe in stepping up to get involved when you can. That said, just be prepared. I certainly never expected to encounter anything like this when I moved up here to Montana. It is worse than anything I had to deal with in LA.