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4 days I would have rented an engine hoist, jack hammer, whatever. It wouldn't take much to move 1 of them enough to get out of the driveway. Then I would move permanently.
I contacted 11Alive and Channel 5 through their online submit a case form, as well as I found the number to call for Clark Howard. I will call tomorrow.
Location: (Orginally From Ann Arbor, MI) Now reside in Evans, Georgia
560 posts, read 1,143,741 times
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legally they can be held liable. Say a fire broke out..or emt crews had to access that home and it is now blocked the emergency exit to the home?
The idea of an association being able to place a lien on your real property is frightening to many homeowners. However, homeowners do not realize that according to the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (the “CC&Rs”) of many associations, a lien is automatically placed on your home January 1 of each year.
This lien is for the annual, bi-annual, quarterly, monthly, or periodic assessments that each member of the association must pay to the association for upkeep, maintenance and community functions. The association agrees not to record a separate lien or foreclose on the lien if the homeowner will pay their assessments timely. If a member timely pays their assessments, the association will not record its lien. In short, most associations already have a lien on your home. Although the association has a lien for the amount of annual assessments, the association does not have an automatic lien for the fines or the fees it imposes in connection with violations. Under Georgia law, an association may only place a lien on your property for fines or fees associated with violations of the CC&Rs if it has obtained a judgment in a court of law against the homeowner for those violations. The Superior Court must sanction any Justice Court judgment before the Justice Court judgment becomes a lien. Thus, if a homeowner fails to maintain his yard, the association must notify the homeowner of the violation, give the homeowner a chance to contest the violation, sue the homeowner for the unresolved violation, and win the lawsuit on its merits before the association can place a lien on that home for the CC&R violation.
Therefore, a homeowner do not need to worry about the association placing a lien on their property if the owner pays their regular assessments and abides the provisions of the CC&Rs.
the HOA Lien does not SUPERSEDE the Mortgage... The HOA may be in a second lien position, but they do still have the right to foreclose.
It is not in the homeowners association's best interest to own your home. The lien created by the assessment is an unsecured lien. While it does give them the right to foreclosure of the home, a mortgage is NOT paid off or wiped out by the foreclosure. Anyone assuming the title of the home through a foreclosure action of this type will either have to pay off the mortgage or arrange to assume the loan. So it is not that it supersedes the mortgage, it's that it now makes them the new owner of the property with a mortgage lien on it... and if that mortgage is not paid, the lender may come in and foreclose.
There is a redemption period.. go here to see all of that info:
legally they can be held liable. Say a fire broke out..or emt crews had to access that home and it is now blocked the emergency exit to the home?
The idea of an association being able to place a lien on your real property is frightening to many homeowners. However, homeowners do not realize that according to the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (the “CC&Rs”) of many associations, a lien is automatically placed on your home January 1 of each year.
•••
Under Georgia law, an association may only place a lien on your property for fines or fees associated with violations of the CC&Rs if it has obtained a judgment in a court of law against the homeowner for those violations. The Superior Court must sanction any Justice Court judgment before the Justice Court judgment becomes a lien. Thus, if a homeowner fails to maintain his yard, the association must notify the homeowner of the violation, give the homeowner a chance to contest the violation, sue the homeowner for the unresolved violation, and win the lawsuit on its merits before the association can place a lien on that home for the CC&R violation.
Therefore, a homeowner do not need to worry about the association placing a lien on their property if the owner pays their regular assessments and abides the provisions of the CC&Rs.
the HOA Lien does not SUPERSEDE the Mortgage... The HOA may be in a second lien position, but they do still have the right to foreclose.
It is not in the homeowners association's best interest to own your home. The lien created by the assessment is an unsecured lien. While it does give them the right to foreclosure of the home, a mortgage is NOT paid off or wiped out by the foreclosure. Anyone assuming the title of the home through a foreclosure action of this type will either have to pay off the mortgage or arrange to assume the loan. So it is not that it supersedes the mortgage, it's that it now makes them the new owner of the property with a mortgage lien on it... and if that mortgage is not paid, the lender may come in and foreclose.
There is a redemption period.. go here to see all of that info:
If you are within 180 days, you may be able to redeem the property back if it ends up coming down to that.
Hope this helps
The statements above are misleading. The laws vary from state to state. One should not be citing Texas or Maryland law for property in Georgia. In addition, CCRs for other properties are wholly irrelevant to the restrictions applicable to the property at issue.
The management companies design their contracts to profit from just the opposite of what they claim to be hired for. For example, the management company's contract with the HOA probably has a provision that purports to entitle the management company to collect a late fee from you every month that you are behind on assessments. The management companies will come up with creative ways to keep you in arrears.
The attorneys fees are one example. They heap these fees on to create further financial distress that the management company and the attorney can profit from. Your "payment plan" in all likelihood includes "late fees" and/or "administrative fees" that go only to the management company. These industry management companies belong to the same trade group and the trade group is known for misapplying your assessment payments for their own benefit.
The misapplication benefits the HOA attorney and HOA management company immediately to the detriment of their own client and the homeowner. The misapplication also leaves the homeowner in "arrears" through accounting trickery which generates more "late fees" that go solely to the management company and an opportunity for the attorney to charge for additional letters threatening you with foreclosure for failure to timely pay assessments. At the foreclosure sale, the HOA attorney and management company will collect whatever fees they have heaped onto the account - and you will lose 100% of the equity in the property. These vendors are in the business of threatening you with great loss lest you pay them whatever fees they are demanding.
Unless Georgia has a law prohibiting the misapplication of funds, the claim above that the HOA can't put liens on your property for fines or fees is misleading at best. The management companies frequently misapply your payment to these fines and fees to deliberately leave you in arrears on assessments. The argument then is that the lien is for assessments.
Regarding your specific problem, among other remedies you might look to see if you have a cause of action against the HOA for breach of restrictive covenant as well as trespass. Even if the driveway is the property of the HOA, there is clearly an easement or area defined as limited exclusive use. Perhaps the HOA and its agents have violated the easement provisions or the limited exclusive use provisions of the restrictive covenants.
The claim that anyone can tell a "bad HOA" by conducting research is ridiculous. If there ever was such a thing as a "good HOA", there is an entire industry of service providers working overtime to turn the place into an authoritarian regime shoveling money from your pockets into the bank accounts of the vendors. They can usually find a board member that is either gullible or one that is interested in their own career as dictator in return for promoting the self-serving policies of the management company. There is nothing "good" about perpetual liens that can never be paid off nor "contracts" that are unilaterally altered by others. HOAs do not and never have "preserved property values" for the owners.
Regarding your specific problem, among other remedies you might look to see if you have a cause of action against the HOA for breach of restrictive covenant as well as trespass. Even if the driveway is the property of the HOA, there is clearly an easement or area defined as limited exclusive use. Perhaps the HOA and its agents have violated the easement provisions or the limited exclusive use provisions of the restrictive covenants.
The claim that anyone can tell a "bad HOA" by conducting research is ridiculous. If there ever was such a thing as a "good HOA", there is an entire industry of service providers working overtime to turn the place into an authoritarian regime shoveling money from your pockets into the bank accounts of the vendors. They can usually find a board member that is either gullible or one that is interested in their own career as dictator in return for promoting the self-serving policies of the management company. There is nothing "good" about perpetual liens that can never be paid off nor "contracts" that are unilaterally altered by others. HOAs do not and never have "preserved property values" for the owners.
Good points. I have turned by attorney onto this thread and she appreciated everyone's comments and thoughts and she kinda said the same thing here regarding state to state. I just finished taking video per 11Alive's advice. The story has been pitched and will be brought up again today. The are involved in an investigation with the pill mill. I will be placing the video online. I have the direct line to Clark Howard and will be trying to call in today at 1pm...
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