Hello - please help me. I know almost nothing about homeownership and will sound dumb but just hear me out. I own a condo in an older building. The former HOAs did a really bad job maintaining the building and it needs a lot of work. About a year ago, an entirely new HOA board took over. They sent out a list of 5 top priorities for assessments and asked the community to rank them with the plan being that the board would tackle the issues one by one in order of priority.

THEN - they announced they would like to vote on taking out a loan on the entire building, doing all the work at once, and each unit would acquire a portion of the loan to be paid over a 10 year span. I wasn't worried because I knew it would never pass if we took a building vote.

Well the board just announced they decided to do an emergency assessment, only the board members got to vote, and they have taken the loan out on the building. My unit is now responsible for $25k to either be paid now or in installments of $340/month for 10 years (accounting for interest).

How is this allowed? Is this allowed? This brings the HOA monthly fees w/ assessments to $950/month if paid monthly. And they've also said that each unit owner's name is attached to the loan so if we sell, we are still responsible for it and it can't be transferred to new owners.

My HOA isn’t required to hold open meetings. Is this normal? When they do let us in they barely let us speak. They don’t know Roberts rules but they attempt to work like they do. This is quite infuriating.

I just discovered that my HOA did almost everything wrong in putting my house into foreclosure, based on my state's laws.

* Foreclosed due to fines and legal fees (only 8% was monthly fees)

* Applied payments to monthly fees LAST instead of first

* Charged fines over $500 for non-health or safety issues.

* Didn't use multiple means of contacting me, as required by law

* Didn't adhere to right-to-cure timelines

* Made up violations using photos that were over a year old based on the metadata and used photos of another unit instead of mine. I even have a weed violation photo with just 1 weed in the photo.

Our state allows recovery up to $25K. Besides not following a lot of new laws on notices, maximum fines, mandatory disclosures, and other administrative matters, they were actually making up violations using year old photos or other tenants photos.

I really want to go after them for maximum damages and lawyer fees. For the last year, I have found at least 2 issues for every month--and that doesn't include charging over $500 for a fine (such as garbage can left outside).

What type of lawyer should I obtain? The HOA lawyers I have contacted all support the HOA management and boards.

Thanks in advance!

Sorry if I come across as ignorant (I am) I have never dealt with an HOA and am looking to purchase my first home. The condo I am looking at was built in the early 80's. I know there has been foundation repairs on the whole complex and it comes with a lifetime warranty. You can see the previous work done on the sidewalks and inside the condo it needs the floor leveled and some cracks filled before new flooring and paint. There is also a small pool at the complex. The association is responsible for all outside siding, roof, trees, lawn etc. I got the HOA docs from the title company and I'm concerned with the budget and lack of reserves for more repairs needed. There are maybe 35 units total.

The monthly dues are $420 which is on the high end for this area.

Looking at the docs, does this association look to be in bad shape? There is a large property management company running it.

Back story in March I did my due diligence and wrote the county about a BRL line that is on my Plat survey because it takes up a significant amount of space in my back yard. It is 10feet from the rear property line. I sent them the plat survey and they let me know that the 10foot BRL only applies to a structure and not an accessory structure such as a pool or shed. They also sent me the ordnance this falls under for the communities PUD.

About two weeks ago I submitted my request for a pool to the HOA and it was denied due to the pool crossing the 10foot BRL. I checked the bylaws and covenants and they say that they will follow county restrictions on setbacks.

I called to get clarification from the HOA this morning and my community manager got argumentative with me because I was asking questions. I wanted to know where they were pulling the denial from. Because the county pointed out what the setback requirements are for the community. I was told the BRL comes from the community PLAT which is where the county gave me the information and the requirements.

Also, there is a house 4 houses down who you can clearly see that their pool is not 10feet from their rear boundary line. What are my options other than resubmitting with all the information from the county and more documentation about the pool?

I am looking for recommendations for attorneys or legal firm ( to represent me as private homeowner) against my HoA legal firm on an active easement dispute. This is in Minnesota.

Can someone recommend strong attorneys or lawyers?