1.
To Protect The Rights, Privileges, Freedoms of Country Club Estates, the
residents of Country Club Estates petition for the Acceptance of the CCE
Resident’s Bill of Rights:
WHEREAS: This State of Vermont in VSA 27(a) has fostered, permitted,
and mandated the widespread usage of Homeowners Associations and:
WHEREAS: This State has caused to be enacted State Statutes governing
Homeowner Associations, Condominium Associations and Hotel
Condominium Associations:
WHEREAS: Over time Statutes have been enacted that are abusive and
unfair to Homeowners, while empowering and enriching Property
Managers; and,
WHEREAS: There have been widespread abuses by HOA Boards
governing these Associations, to wit:
• People’s Constitutional rights have been abused or taken away
• Financial abuses and theft of Association funds have taken place
• Homeowners threatened with steep fines, legal fees, and foreclosure for
petty infractions or falsely-alleged violations
• Boards are not following their own Rules and Regulations, and have
selectively enforced and inconsistently applied rules
• Out-of-control boards have been forcing their will upon others
• Boards are not willing to uphold the Open Meeting law, but face no
consequences for failing to do so
• Boards are not being Transparent in their actions and in their use of
financial resources and withhold information from homeowners
• Boards are not accountable because homeowners are not organized;
Homeowners’ votes are diluted allowing Board members to re-elect
themselves over and over
• Homeowners wishing to challenge unfair Board actions must pay for
legal fees out of their own pockets, while Boards have a bottomless
“war chest” to draw from, which is then charged to all of the
Homeowners
• Furthermore, others charged with managing or overseeing the justice
and fairness of Homeowner’s Associations have failed to performed
their duties on behalf of Homeowners, or are not well-versed in the
Statutes or proper procedures and are more favorably disposed
towards Boards, Property Managers, and their Attorneys which
include;
• State agencies empowered to deal with complaints and abuses
• Poorly trained Property Managers
2.
THEREFORE:
Now let a HOMEOWNERS BILL OF RIGHTS be enacted to protect
Homeowners from incompetent or abusive Boards and abusive State laws.
1) No Homeowner shall ever have his home or land foreclosed by a
Homeowner’s Association for non-payment of fines, delinquent monthly
Homeowner Association fees (regular assessments) or for non – payment
of special assessments. The Association will be permitted to place a lien
on the property until the unpaid fees are brought current, but may not
foreclose on the lien. The legal costs shall be borne by the delinquent
homeowner.
2) No Special Assessment, for whatever purpose, shall be levied upon
owners in a Condominium Owner’s or Homeowners Association without a
written ballot, requiring a two-thirds (2/3) approval of all Owners in the
Association. Further, the following minimum time periods must be
established for payment of the Special Assessment, or such longer period
of time as may be established in the Special Assessment
a)120 days after notice of approval of a Special Assessment to make one
payment if $750.00 or under.
b) Any amount over $750.00 shall not be required to be made in no fewer
than 3 equal payments, with the first payment due no less than 120 days
after notice of approval of the Special Assessment with no less than 60
days between payments. And Payment Terms Can Be Negotiated and a
Payment Committee comprised of five Non-Board-Members and One
Non-Resident will review and accept and approve new payment terms.
All payment terms are to be considered. The Payee Can Appeal All Terms.
c) Any amount over $1,500.00 shall not be required to be made in no
fewer than 10 equal payments, with the first payment due no less than
120 days after notice of approval of the of a Special Assessment, and
with no less than 60 days between payments. And Payment Terms Can
Be Negotiated and a Payment Committee comprised of five Non-Board-
Members and One Non-Resident will review and accept and approve new
payment terms. All payment terms are to be considered. The Payee Can
Appeal All Terms.
d) Any amount over $2,000.00 shall be made in no fewer than 20 equal
payments, with the first payment no earlier than 120 days after notice of
the approval of the Special Assessment with no less than 60 days
between payments. And Payment Terms Can Be Negotiated and a
Payment Committee comprised of five Non-Board-Members and One
Non-Resident will review and accept and approve new payment terms.
3.
All payment terms are to be considered. The Payee Can Appeal All Terms.
e)Any amount over $3000.00 shall be made in equal installments not to
exceed $100.00 per installment, with the first payment due no earlier
than 120 days after notice of approval of the Special Assessment, and
thereafter, with no less than 60 days between payments. And Payment
Terms Can Be Negotiated and a Payment Committee comprised of five
Non-Board-Members and One Non-Resident will review and accept and
approve new payment terms. All payment terms are to be considered.
The Payee Can Appeal All Terms.
3) It shall be incumbent upon the Homeowner’s Association, Property
Manager or the Declarant to prepare a summary of the CC&Rs, Rules
and Regulations. These requirements are to be explained either in person
or by use of a Videotape, CD or DVD (at option of the buyer) with a copy
of the summary or the video given to the buyer prior to the sale of the
home, condominium or property. Moreover, a complete copy of the
Governing Documents may be issued upon request, in Paper format, CD
or DVD, to each buyer.
4) All documents that have been prepared for Homeowner’s Association
Board Members, even in Draft form, and including all legal advice and
documents issued to the Property Manager, Board Members or Executive
Director shall be made available to members of their respective
Associations upon request, and at no charge to them.
The only documents which may be withheld are:
(1)Privacy Act protected personal information contained in employment
records, and
(2) documents relating to pending or current litigation, for which a
Protective Order has been issued by a Court of Competent jurisdiction or
by a duly appointed Arbitrator. All legal documents so withheld must be
released upon request at the conclusion of the litigation and without
charge.
5) All Homeowners shall be allowed to speak at HOA Board Meetings on
any agenda item being discussed during the meeting. A minimum of 5-
minutes must be allowed for each Homeowner’s comments per topic.
Homeowner’s who cannot attend the meeting in person may submit their
comments to the Board, to the Board President, or to the Property
Manager or Executive Director by Email, Fax, Private Messenger, or
Agent , U.S. Mail or e-mail, so long as it is delivered no later than 12
hours prior to the start of the Meeting. Comments submitted shall be
4.
read by a Board Member prior to or during the live oral comment period
on the topic which is the subject of the Homeowner’s comments.
If the comments are lengthy, the duration of reading may, at the option
of the Board, be abbreviated / truncated to 5 minutes per-comment per-
topic. However, the comments must be summarized in as faithful and
accurate a manner as possible, to convey the Homeowner’s intended
expression. All comments presented, either orally in-person, or in
writing, must be heard prior to putting the subject or agenda item to a
Homeowner or Board vote.
6) Interest shall not accrue on any unpaid fines. A maximum interest
rate of 5 percent (simple interest) per-annum may be charged on unpaid
monthly fees beginning 60 days after they are assessed. An interest rate
of 3 percent may be charged on unpaid Special Assessments, beginning
90 days after they are due. r any Homeowner with any unpaid fine(s),
delinquent or unpaid assessment(s), or unpaid fee(s), a statement must
be mailed via certified mail, with return receipt to that Homeowner’s
mailing address of record at least every 60 days. (The costs of mailing
may be charged to the Homeowner’s account). Failure to mail a
statement by the 70th day will void all fines and interest imposed by the
Association.
7) The Office of the Ombudsman shall be empowered to resolve disputes
between Association Boards, Property Managers, and Homeowners. The
Ombudsman shall be vested with the power to impose fines against the
HOA in the amount of not more than $100 per-occurrence and not more
than $400 in total fines against any single homeowner, or not more than
$2,000.00 per-occurrence and not more than $6,000.00 in total fines
against any Board or Property Manager within any Two-year period,
measured from the date of the Ombudsman’s decision the first offense.
8) Any Board member, Property Manager, or Executive Director who has
committed Three (3) infractions within any Two-year period, measured
from the date of first filing with the Ombudsman’s Office, and having
been found guilty of infractions of either the Governing Documents or of
State Statutes or Codes that govern Common Interest Communities,
shall pay an additional fine in the sum of not less than Two Thousand
Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00) to the Office of the Ombudsman. In the
case where a Board Member, Property Manager or Executive Director has
committed willful Violations, a breach of any fiduciary duty, or acted with
malice or gross negligence of their duties, they shall be personally liable
to pay the fines and shall not be defended, reimbursed, or indemnified
from or by the Association, or the Association’s insurance carrier. Upon
such finding, the Board Member, Property Manager or Executive Director
must reimburse to the HOA or insurance carrier all costs of his or her
5.
defense.
9) The Ombudsman’s office shall award costs and reasonable attorney’s
fees to any prevailing Homeowner.
10) The Ombudsman’s office may not assess attorney’s fees or costs
against a Homeowner in favor of a Board or Property Manager unless the
Ombudsman reasonably finds that the Homeowner brought the claim in
bad faith and was motivated by an improper or vexatious purpose.
11) Homeowner Boards shall not be allowed to hold hearings concerning
alleged violations of the Association’s governing documents. Only Fact-
finding sessions that are open to all the other members of the
Association shall be held. The facts found shall be used by both or either
party and submitted to the Ombudsman’s Office to substantiate their
claims.
12) No Homeowner’s Association shall change their CC&Rs unless 85%
of the Owners in the Association vote in favor thereof by written ballot.
No declarant shall be allowed to unilaterally change or amend CC&Rs
after the first home or lot is sold. At the time when the required number
of homes or lots are sold and the declarant turns over control to the
homeowners it shall then require 85% of the then-owners to affirm by
written ballot any changes to the Governing Documents.
13) Full Disclosure with free debate shall be required on all matters
concerning the Budget, Reserve Studies Repair & Replacement of all the
Association’s infrastructure components. Results shall be published
either in the association’s next newsletter or copy of the minutes of the
meeting, either in electronic format or paper format at the discretion of
the Homeowner, Prior to the Board’s Vote on the issue before them.
14) Any document requested by an Association member shall be turned
over to that member without charge in either paper format or by e-mail
at the option of the Association Member.
15) All members shall receive a copy of the previous year’s Financial
Audit Statement at the annual Homeowners Meeting or, if not in
attendance, any homeowner may request a copy be sent by either U.S.
Mail, by e-mail, or to be picked up at the on-site administrative office or
designated common area facility (e.g., office or clubhouse).
16) No homeowner shall be denied access to or prevented from reviewing
all Bank Statements, Bills Paid and Unpaid, Invoices, Quotes, Estimates,
Contracts, both Past and Current, and Attorney/Legal Invoices, during
normal business hours at the office of the Property Manager or
6.
Community Administrative Office. No charge shall be made for any
Homeowner, or his or her representative to review these documents.
17) A Term Limit shall be imposed for Associations with more than Fifty
(50) units: No Director or Officer of a Homeowners Association shall serve
more than Two (2) consecutive two – year terms in the capacity as a
Director, President , Officer or Board Member. A period of Six (6) years
must elapse before a former Director, President, Officer or Board Member
shall be allowed to again serve in office in the same Association or Sub
Association.
18) Decisions of the Board of Directors shall be based on all the facts
available, or such facts as should be known upon reasonably diligent
inquiry, and under the Business Judgment Rule. When considering
Budgets, Reports dealing with Construction Defects, Infrastructure
repairs or replacement, Equipment repairs or replacement, Reserve
Studies, and Reserve Assessments, a Board must have thoroughly
reviewed and analyzed any bid, report, and/or study prepared by a
Professional knowledgeable in the area under consideration prior to
adopting or ratifying it. In light of the Board’s fiduciary duties to
Homeowners, wasteful, redundant, and excessive expenditures should be
avoided. While the lowest-cost approach is not always required, the
Board should seek foremost the “best value” for the homeowner’s and
give due consideration to the financial hardships which might be
imposed on homeowners, to be balanced against the beneficial effects of
the expenditure on homeowners.
19) The State of Nevada must ensure that all Association Board Members
honor the State and Federal Constitutions, which guarantee “equal
protection and due process” to its Citizens. The State of Nevada has a
duty to ensure that each Common Interest Community adhere to the
law.
This HOMEOWNER’S BILL OF RIGHTS shall supersede any conflicting or
inconsistent provision of State Statutes or Homeowner’s Association
Governing Documents.
By _________________________ Dated this 1st day of July 2008