Although government supplied free education on line would be a very good thing,  it isn’t the major issue as the members inform the Board when the Board Members are violating the laws.

I am the Founder of HOA Reform Leaders National Group, (HRLNG)   https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrlng

This is the problem…

• There      are no penalties in the law for Board Members or Property Managers that      KNOWINGLY violate the laws or the governing documents.

• There      is no government agency that will investigate even CRIMES that do have      penalties in the law, committed by Board Members or Property Managers of      HOAs that violate the laws.

• Homeowners      have to risk their life savings, retirement savings and their home to      fight corrupt and abusive Board Members or Property Managers.

• Board      Members and Property Managers use the collective funds of the HOA and the      insurance of the HOA to pay for their attorney’s fees.

• Should      the HOA lose a lawsuit against a homeowner, the amount awarded to the      homeowner is paid by the HOA insurance, which is paid for by the      collective funds of the homeowners.

• The      corrupt Board Members and/or Property Managers in violation are not at      risk.

• The      average homeowner, and especially low-income homeowners typically do not      have enough money to challenge the HOA in court. Therefor there is only      justice for the rich.

• HOA      Board Members and Property Managers have no incentive to follow the law or      governing documents.

• Penalties      against the HOA are punishing the innocent members, not the Board Members      or Property Managers that violated the laws.

Consider this, if every homeowner and every Board Member knew all the laws and all the governing documents, would even that solve the problem? No, it wouldn’t. The Board Members don’t violate the laws and governing documents because they don’t know them, they violate them because nothing happens to them when they violate the laws. Our state government has handed Board Members an amazing amount of power with none of the oversites of all the other governments in the USA.

The most common question people ask after I tell them this is, “why don’t you vote out the Board then?” The reason is that we don’t have fair voting laws and it is extremely easy for the existing Board Members to manipulate the vote, and, even if we did have fair voting laws, there is no one to enforce them.

The only real solution we have been able to find is the HRLNG Proposed Legislation #2, at https://www.hoareformleaders.com other than eliminating HOAs altogether.

Patrick Johansen
Patrick@PK80.com