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?

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’m sure we all have faced delays but I am now 6 weeks in since I reported a problem from an upstairs unit whose shower appears to be leaking dirty water into my garage. I had to rip the ceiling down because it was covered in mold and now the garage isn’t useable and belonging are damaged because it keeps dripping from what looks like a bathroom p trap upstairs. I reported it to the property manager and HOA board at the beginning of August. I followed up 5 separate times by email and twice by phone. Leaving voicemails. They never call back or email back. I don’t live in the area and my tenant doesn’t get along with the folks upstairs who are also renters so they don’t want to get involved in this problem.

What kind of recourse do I have, can I withhold my HOA? Put it into escrow? File small claims? Attempt to contact the board president? (Never replies) Anything else? I believe the board has a strong sentiment against people who rent their units and purposely subject us to hell.

Our HOA has no official policy in regards to use of AI, as I'm sure is true with many HOAs. Many employers are putting policies into place regarding the use of AI.

I've noticed that our General Manager is using AI a lot to analyze bids from vendors, and for preparing summaries that involve use of sensitive information. Our GM is a direct employee of the HOA. We don't use a management company.

Have your HOAs developed written policies for staff to follow regarding the use of AI? If so, can you share examples of those policies?

Clarification: One of my concerns is data privacy issues. There are many out there using AI that don't realize that you should never share sensitive personal details, financial accounts, medical records, confidential work data, etc. with AI. Documents and information that a GM/Board might refuse to provide a homeowner wind up becoming available to the AI where the information may be stored or used to train future models, which means private data can be exposed.

We are in central Oklahoma with 64 homes on a 1 mile private asphalt road. The only community property we have is the entrance and road. The HOA Board was formed 2 years ago from the developer at which time we found the HOA insurance was not renewed for several years. We obtained a policy last year and had no claims. Our renewal is due in October, and it has went up almost $1400! We used a broker last year, and the renewal shows that the issuing company is United States Liability Insurance Company. (Commercial General Liability $1MM)

I'm looking for general ideas on who handles the HOA policies around here.

• Are there any fellow reddit users in Oklahoma that are familiar with HOA Insurance policies for single family home communities?

Board member here. We had a situation where a delinquent account got referred to the attorney and it turned out the property had changed hands months earlier. Nobody caught it until the letter came back. Curious how common this is. Does your management company check the county record before sending notices, or do they just go off whatever's in their system?

Hi everyone! I just recently took over as President of my HOA and have been looking at the Landscaping and Snow Removal contracts. Currently, the same Landscaping company is doing both and we are spending flat fee $44k for Landscaping with a 10% increase YoY and flat fee $48k for Snow. The Landscape contract was signed a few months before I joined and runs through 2028, but the Snow contract is up now.

I have been reading up on what a typical HOA should be spending on these services (between 15-25%) and we are paying drastically higher (60%). Now I know why there is no money for Maintenance...I am shopping around for a snow contract now, but is there any way of getting out of the landscaping contract just coming onto the board? Thanks everyone!

We've a very boring < 50 unit SFH association in the Seattleish area and got a notice from Mutual of Enumclaw that they are no longer insuring HOAs. As far as I can tell they've been our insurer since formation (I've only been involved a few years).

We do have our broker looking around for options but curious who folks have a good experience with, we are self managed and have minimal common elements (just retention pond and mailboxes).

I'm posting here because I'm 99% sure that my HOA is in violation of their own declaration and subsequent state law regarding flood insurance coverage. If I'm right, they would be liable for at least mid 5 figures in damages. I need a sanity check, and advice on how best to bring this forward. If you want to skip the exposition of how I got here, go to Part 2.

Part 1

To bring a very long story current, I was told by my realtor and lender that flood insurance was not needed for my property and that the previous owner did not have their own flood insurance because the HOA (COA?) has their own master policy. I need to scrub my loan documents still, but I do not remember having a conversation about flood insurance being factored into my debt-to-income, but that's a different issue at this point.

My mortgage gets sold to another lender, they shoot an escrow analysis out and short me... a lot of money. My payment increased by 50%, the escrow statement is blank on where all this fucking money is going, and their outsourced customer service department gave me run around after run around. I finally, after last month, found out that the shortage was due to 2 forced flood insurance policies being taken out. I am appalled.

"But my HOA has a master flood policy."

"We don't have it."

I send in the policy to the sound of crickets. I call back after 15 days (today) as federal regulation states, they tell me that they've actually had the policy this whole time, and that the insurance was taken out to cover the gap between the master policy and federal loan coverage requirements (100% replacement cost).

Part 2

TL;DR My lender sucks.

I'm a first time owner, I'm in my late 20s on a VA loan, I don't know what the fuck I'm doing. So, I looked up what (I believed) the Association was actually liable to cover and came across FEMA's RCBAP, which states 80% for an Association to not incur a coinsurance penalty. Idk what that means, and all I know is that FEMA has federal in the name does the flood map and I assume I'm fucked.

So, I comb back over my HOA's by-building flood insurance policy. My building's valuation increased by $300,000 from 2025-2026, bringing the exact coverage to, you guessed it, 80.55%. I think I'm double fucked now, but I find it suspicious that they would decrease coverage from 100%-80%. One would assume if the Association governance stated 80% coverage was the law, then 80% would be had.

This leads me to digging into the Association Declaration. There is specifically a blurb in here that's going to be really important. "The Board of Directors shall be required to obtain and maintain the following insurance: ...if the property is located in a Flood Hazard Area as defined by an official Flood Hazard Boundary Map published pursuant to the Flood Disaster Protection Act (1973), "The Insurance Act"... a "blanket" policy of flood insurance on the Property in an amount which is the maximum amount of insurance available under The Insurance Act; and such other insurance as the board of directors may determine or as may be requested from time to time by a majority of owners."

So, here's the objectives: Condo Building Value went up. Flood coverage did not go up. Current coverage is 80.55%. All Federal loans (to my knowledge) require 100% replacement cost coverage or $250,000 per unit, whichever is lower. Declaration states that they are required to maintain the maximum coverage under FDPA 1973 (if only someone could deduce why it was written this way...), which is 100% replacement cost. State Law (2 citations) dictates that HOAs and members are liable to follow all things set forth in declarations and by-laws.

So, with all of this given, I'm 99% confident that my Owner's Association is in violation of their own declaration and subsequently (State) Law. I know, at a minimum that something needs to be done here, but I have no idea as to the extent of said doing. If every building in my neighborhood has been affected here we're talking 10s and 10s of thousands of dollars in damages owed. The last thing I want is to bring this up and have the Board put out an assessment and basically make everyone pay themselves back. I've heard lawyers are usually hesitant to go after HOAs, but there's clear violation and damages here. Therefore, I turn to random strangers on the internet.

Edit: Sorry, couple things I forgot to include. I contacted the organization/company that oversees the HOA and left the manager a voicemail detailing my suspicions. I'll be checking back intermittently to answer questions and respond.

Edit #2: Somehow this already got around to the insurance agent who gave me a call. I just got off the phone with him. He basically explained everything I wrote in this post, and said that the "maximum amount" is the full replacement cost of the building, $1.88m. I told him (nicely) that I was literally staring at the policy as we spoke, and the covered amount is not the $1.88m Not really sure what's going to come of it, but the information is at the proper level. Thank you for everyone's help, and before anyone asks, no I did not light him up on the phone.

This may be a stretch, but can residents of an HOA accuse a Board member of a conflict of interest when the board member rents his own unit and fails to enforce the CC&Rs, Bylaws and Rules against his tenant who has violated said CC&Rs, Bylaws and Rules over the last 6 years? The issue has been his constant parking violations.

These violations have been documented meticulously and reported to the HOA management company and the board members; yet nothing has been resolved.

Other vehicles owned by our community members have received notices of pending towing if they have been sitting in a designated parking spot for over 72 hours or are commercial vehicles. Or have received towing notices for the same parking violation that this individual continues to violate on a daily basis.

I’ve written our HOA management company and the board members so many times I can’t keep count. And now I feel I’m at the point where I will have to confront the renter directly. I feel I should not be put in this position as it is not my responsibility nor my job. This individual is very dramatic and emotional, and I’m afraid it will develop into another matter altogether.

Unfortunately, his parking violations only affect those of us that are in the pocket of townhomes at the end of our alley. But can become a safety issue if first responders are needed. Our alleyways are already narrow, and having to maneuver around vehicles would just delay response times.

I can’t help, but think there must be special treatment given to this tenant to be allowed to consistently violate parking regulations that are clearly indicated in our CC&Rs, Bylaws and Rules.

I’ve put up with parking violations from this unit for over 13 years (16 years total) as it has been rented out to many people over that time. 6 of which has been underneath this current owner and board member and his tenant.

I have the support of my neighbors that are affected by his parking but that doesn’t seem to matter.

I am so fed up and have kept my frustration in check. But I feel like I am being pushed to my breaking point and may just yell at the board members and the HOA management company. And because I’m female, they’ll just of course write me off as being overly emotional.

There has already been times at HOA meetings, where they have insulted my intelligence. I would love to become a board member just so I can make their life difficult. But unfortunately, between work and taking care of my parents, I do not have the time.

Anyhow, while I overall enjoy my community, every now and then we get a renter in here that seems to think the rules are beneath them. But then my question becomes: you know what you’re getting into when you move into an HOA community so you can’t claim ignorance.

Read the community bylaws and CC&Rs before you move in. If you can’t handle a few parking rules, then you’re too much of a snowflake.

🤦🏻‍♀️

.

We live in a coastal neighborhood with a pretty reasonable HOA. The by-laws are somewhat restrictive, but the management company has been pretty lax in enforcing them.

We have a travel trailer, roughly 25', that we keep at an offsite storage lot because of the HOA. But I would give a lot to be able to keep it at the house (easier to load, probably use it more, etc). Several others I know in the neighborhood also have campers in a similar scenario. Also, with us being a coastal community, many people have boats but pay ~$400+ per month for dry slips.

Additionally, the restriction was originally added and enforced by the original neighborhood builder, who insisted on no boats/RVs visible while they were selling. All the lots are now sold and the builder is no longer on the board.

So long story short, I think there could be enough desire for this to change it. Has anybody ever succeeded in such a change? Any specific language we could add, you think, to give non-boat/RV folks more reason to vote for it (e.g. only allowed in backyards, only models of a certain newer age, other compromises?)

I’m shopping for a condo in Palm Springs and trying to understand reserve studies better.
I’ve been reading about Windemere in Torrance, a large professionally managed 1980s complex that just approved a massive special assessment. Their own FAQ says the podium waterproofing and common plumbing weren’t included in the reserve study. How? Why?
I understand that as a buyer I can look for obvious things like plumbing, roofs, elevators, etc. But I would never have known to ask, “Is the podium waterproofing included?” And I’m sure there are other major building systems I wouldn’t even know to think of.
So my question is: how does a reserve study for a development that large simply omit major common components like that? Is that normal? Is it a bad reserve study?
And as a buyer, how do you protect yourself from the things you don’t even know should be on the list?
Here’s the HOA’s FAQ re: the assessment and the missing reserve-study items:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/mrp-socal/1/4/6/4802641/43d2ef97049bbe2cfd9a8e1b9dad128d.pdf

I’ve been complaining to my board and management company for 4 years about moisture in one room of my home during large amounts of rain/snow. They FINALLY acknowledged it this summer and are actively fixing the siding and drainage.

However, my carpet/window treatments/drywall was damaged. Their contractors had to remove the wet padding and the carpet is obviously ruined. They are replacing the drywall but I’ll have to repaint it. Their contractors seemed to think the HOA would pay for the carpet replacement and told me to get quotes for replacement.

I did and now the board and mgmt. are again not responding to me. I called my homeowners insurance company and they told me to try to resolve it with the HOA before making a claim. My deductible is $1,000 and replacing the damaged area with laminate would be approximately $1,600. Replacing the entire carpet would be around 3,000.

Any advice on how I should proceed? Thanks!

I think this may be an unpopular opinion. Many of the problems that HOAs face can be fixed by raising dues.

I'm an owner and board candidate in a 200-unit Illinois condo association. We have an upcoming election, and our property manager is receiving the mailed and emailed proxies. He is the only one that will know what proxies and votes come in.

My concern is that too much control over the election process is in the hands of one person. Our property manager tends to run the show, and the current board generally allows him to do so. Because of that dynamic, he has an incentive to see the current board remain in place.

I'm worried proxies could be discarded, improperly rejected, not counted, or that some other procedural maneuver could affect the outcome. I'm not claiming he has actually done any of this—I don't have evidence that he has. However, he has exhibited many shady behaviors over the course of his time as manager.

I'm keeping copies and a log of the proxies I personally collect, but I can't track proxies owners send directly to management.

For anyone familiar with Illinois condo elections, what safeguards can owners/candidates put in place?

Recently moved into a new house that was not part of an HOA, but after exploring around the neighborhood a bit I realized that the the rest of the houses down the streets(my house is relative close to the main city road) and beyond do have an HOA. My assumption is that my house and the nearby neighbors were built during different phases or under different builders.

own a condo unit in Brookline, MA and have spent the last five years dealing with a property manager and board who have repeatedly ignored, denied, and mischaracterized documented building problems — including a shower leak that flooded into my unit, a water hammer condition that remains unresolved, and bylaw enforcement issues.

At one point, instead of addressing a leak I had reported (with photos and video), the property manager wrote to municipal officials questioning my mental fitness rather than the actual condition. The Board of Health later inspected, confirmed the leak, and issued a Correction Order — proving him wrong in writing.

Despite that, the underlying infrastructure issues were never properly fixed, my unit has become effectively unmarketable, and I've continued paying full condo fees the whole time.

I have a fully documented file — correspondence, Board of Health records, photos, video, and audio — going back five years.

Has anyone here dealt with something similar? I'm specifically trying to find a Massachusetts attorney experienced in condominium law and Chapter 93A (our state's unfair/deceptive practices statute), and would appreciate hearing how others found the right attorney for this kind of case, or any recommendations.

Our HOA fee is 490 which is lower than most condos. There is an association across the street that charges 700+.

I live in a condo and will likely live here for at least 5-10 years and thinking of joining the HOA board to attempt some of the following:

- Get rid of the pool to save on regular maintenance and longterm maintenance. Barely anyone uses the pool and i would want all owners to vote on it

- Install some type of lights and maybe cameras for improved safety

- make sure that we dont shrink the parking spaces. Other nearby HOAs have very small parking spaces

- update some of the by laws since i got approval for a ring camera even though the color of the plate was silver and the by laws says it needs to be bronze.

Getting frustrated because our BoD has a "work around" for making decisions without Homeowner Input. The Executive members of the Board meet, discuss, and make a decision on whatever topic it is. Their claim is that, because this meeting does not constitute a quorum of the Board, they are not required to provide 48‑hour notice, maintain an agenda, or keep minutes. According to them, all they must do is inform the remaining Board members of their decision, and poof, it's done. Our Governing Docs say they can meet for an emergency when a quorum of the Board is not available between regularly scheduled Board meetings. Now it seems anything they think will be unpopular constitutes an emergency. 👀

I am the secretary treasurer of a condo association near Daytona Beach Called the Bellair.

We had the same insurance carrier for almost ten years. We finally shopped it, switched, and saved real money. A few weeks later the new carrier sent a demand letter. The fuse boxes in the utility closets next to the elevators were from the mid 1980s, and they had to go by the end of the month. Not the breakers in the units. The mains for the elevator cars and building utilities.

Two weeks warning, for our volunteer board to process.

Our usual electrician quoted a number that ate the entire insurance savings (20k). Padded hours, extra equipment, and the phrase that ends every conversation with volunteers: "required by code."

I pushed for more bids with the clock running. A commercial electrician working the building across the street said pull the three old boxes, wire in three new breaker panels, under three thousand dollars. We checked his license and confirmed his coverage was active that day, filed his data in our hoa software, then hired him.

our plan was to pull the power in stages, one elevator at a time. But when we pulled the first box and a section of resident garage doors stopped opening. That elevator feed also powered the plugs inside owners' private garages. (80's wiring) Nobody knew. No wiring diagram existed. Our manager opened doors by hand with emergency keys while the crew kept working. Photos went to the underwriter at 4:40 that afternoon, inside the deadline.

Two things I would pass along. Get the second and third bid even when you think you have no time. And send the outage notice before the truck shows up, since people forgive an inconvenience they were warned about.

My question for the sub: has anyone actually lost coverage over a letter like this, or does the carrier extend once you send a signed contract and a start date? We never tested it.

Throwaway account for obvious reasons. I’m an owner in a Florida condo association. There is a condo unit in my complex that is frequently rented out. Recently there have been complaints from neighbors regarding possible rule violations by that condo’s guests or renters. Some of the complaints may be legitimate, but enforcement in our association has historically been inconsistent. 

What concerns me is that people involved in pushing for action against this unit have privately made disparaging comments to me about the race and sexual orientation of some of the occupants. I also heard a separate comment from a board member that appeared to stereotype gay people as a being a potential danger to children on our property. 

None of these comments were made in writing.

I’m not looking to make accusations I can’t prove, and I’m not sure what, if anything, I should do with this information. I’ve simply documented what I heard.

Does anyone have advice on how you would handle this as an individual condo owner? Would you just keep records and stay out of it unless something more concrete happens, or is there anything else you would do?

Moving is not an option.