Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Georgia
HOA extortion
We just moved into a subdivision that has voluntary HOA for e few houses. Mine being one. When we were talking to the selling realtor we had ask her how much the fees were and she said 475.00 p/y for the swim and tennis. This was stated in front of our realtor as well. We moved in 2 months ago and when I called to see where to send the check, I was told that the HOA last year had adopted a 1 time $2500.00 initiation fee for homes that have never been members (ours)as well as the $475.00 the first year. The selling realtor lives in the neighborhood for the past 5 years and i think that she had to have known about the fee being as she knew that the house had never belonged to the HOA. My question is, should she be responsible for failing to fully disclose the fees? I feel that I am being penalized for the previous Home owners not joining or because did not move here B4. I think that there is no way that she did not know about it as the HOA as been sued unsuccessfully for this over the last year. As it is now, i do not have to get permission to paint or build and I am thinking that orange or Lime green would make a lovely color for the 400 feet of fence that surrounds most of my house as it is the first house in the sub-division
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: HOA extortion
The situation that you describe is perplexing; however, I am not sure that I completely understand your sentence "I think that there is no way that she did not know about it as the HOA as been sued unsuccessfully for this over the last year." Depending on the facts of the case,there may be some way to gain some contribution toward or reduction of the $2,500 fee; however, it will require a skilled negotiator to accomplish this.
Re: HOA extortion
Although it was reasonable for you to ask about the HOA dues, the seller's agent is not an agent or representative of the HOA. You should have obtained all relevant information directly from the HOA about dues, rules and regulations, etc., since you are binding yourself to these rules by joining. This should have been done prior to closing. Moreover, your documents likely state that you relief on no representations other than those contained in the documents, so that is another hurdle. You can hire a "skilled negotiator" but you have to consider the situation and determine how much that would cost and what you would get in return. As for your comment about painting the fence, I suggest that junior high level antics generally is not the way to handle one's affairs.
Re: HOA extortion
I do HOA legal work and have some insight at to situations like this. You have a two-step process. First, you will need to have the covenants, bylaws, etc., if any, reviewed to determine your rights and obligations. Then you can look into whether there was misrepresentation, intentional or otherwise, on the part of the agent and, if so, what this means to you.
If you would like to discuss your situation, please feel free to contact me.
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