Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois
I live on a lake in a subdivision. Membership in the lake association was required as part of my deed and all owners of property on the lake. The lake association members consist of owners of properties on the lake and including the owner of the property on the lake with the spillway. The dam for the lake is not part of the subdivision or lake association and the owners of that property do not have rights to the lake.
The property with the dam has always been a vacant lot. The owners over the years have never kept up the property or done anything to maintain the dam. The lake association has done some minimal up keep on the dam. The runoff from the lake after the spill way has eroded because for over 50 years no one has ever maintained that lot.
About 30 years ago, a new subdivision and some commercial offices were built. The runoff from this development caused silt in the lake increased the amount of water flowing into and out of the lake. The lake association sued and the developers of the property dredged the lake. The owner of the dam took no action to my knowledge.
The property with the dam was recently sold for taxes and then sold again. The new owners have been making �improvements� to the property. The new owners no longer want to pay the cost to improve their property. The new owners now want the lake association to buy the property and/or want the lake owners to repair the erosion issues on their property. They also want to become part of the lake association despite not owning property on the lake.
Some members of the lake association want to buy the property and/or incur the large cost of repairs for the new owner.
The lake association has not collected dues from all owners for years. I have paid all association dues.
Questions:
Are the lake association or lake property owners responsible for the dam and runoff even though that property is not part of the lake or the association?
Am I required to continue to pay dues even if they decided to incur these costs?
Can I be held responsible for the dam property if the lake association buys the land?
Can I stop the association from buying the land?
Is the lake association legally allowed to buy the dam land?
Can dues be collected from owners on the lake even though they have not paid in years and some may no longer even receive a bill? Can a lien be place on property owners for non payment of dues?
1 Answer from Attorneys
I've been around long enough on LawGuru to have seen this EXACT question before. Which tells me one of a number of things: (a) this is some kind of exam question, which we will NOT answer, (b) you're not happy with the answers you previously got, if any, and are trying it again because you got another annual billing you're fuming over, (c) nobody answered it because it is too complex (somebody will have to review association documents, surveys, subdivision plats...) and you're not willing to pay anyone to do so . . . . Am I getting warm? If you want help with this kind of potentially complex and document-driven situation and this is NOT an exam question hypothetical, you will have to hire someone.
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