Chalet Village HOA can collect even if wildfire consumed home; fees assessed on land
"Rebuilding Chalet Village’s facilities will take every dime from property owners’ annual assessment, according to the homeowners association board members. The HOA bills drew complaints from a few people who lost cabins to the November wildfire, who asked why they should pay for unusable properties and destroyed facilities...The Chalet Village Owners Club was already on a tight budget after a $250,000 pool repair the previous year — for which it’s still fighting an insurer in court — and the wildfire did at least $200,000 more damage, which will exceed the limits of the HOA’s insurance, said board treasurer Stan Johnson. The fire also destroyed 533 cabins, including all but 43 houses in North Chalet Village. About 700 remain in South Chalet Village."
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Another example of how things work. The association had two big financial hits and nobody is going to pay for it except...the owners.
4 comments:
Dear Chalet Village Homeowner,
During a routine inspection of the community, the following violations were noticed on your property:
-- the burning down of your home represents an architectural change that was not reviewed nor approved by the Change Committee
-- the charred remains of your home do not meet the aesthetic standards set forth in the restrictive covenants
-- the lawn on your property is black; the rules require that lawns be kept green
Until these violations are corrected, you will be assessed a fine of $100 per day. Failure to pay the fine will result in your account being turned over to our collections attorneys, who are authorized to place a lien on your property and foreclose to collect that lien.
Your voluntary compliance with our demands is appreciated.
Have a nice day.
- Chalet Village Manager
on behalf of the HOA Board of Directors
Yet another example of how HOAs do not "preserve value" - at least not for owners. The owners that lost cabins should have insurance to protect there property interests but then why the HOA? Why not vote to terminate the HOA? Problem is that although 533 had their properties destroyed, the other 743 did not and they will want the 533 to fund repair of the facilities that the 743 enjoy. So long as the controlling interest suffers no harm there is no stop loss on the harm that can be shoveled onto everyone else.
IC_deLight said… “Yet another example of how HOAs do not ‘preserve value’ - at least not for owners. The owners that lost cabins should have insurance to protect there property interests but then why the HOA?”
Here’s a business idea: If H.O.A. corporations are really “free-market alternatives to zoning”, as their libertarian apologists claim, then shouldn’t the free market have come up with alternative products to “protect property values”?
Why aren’t insurance companies offering policies to “protect property values” from neighbors who paint their house the “wrong” color, install a radon mitigation system, build a playhouse in the backyard for their kids, misplace a trash can, display an American flag, park on their own driveway, or — the ultimate nightmare of libertarians — place a car on blocks on their front lawn? Only 20% of Americans are fortunate enough to live in H.O.A.-burdened communities; why hasn’t the free-market met the pent-up demand for "protecting property values" of the other 80%?
“Property Value Insurance” would cost a lot less than paying an H.O.A. corporation to “protect property values”. Homeowners would be treated like customers instead of inmates, since switching policies would be a lot easier than switching H.O.A. corporations. And, unlike the H.O.A. industry and their useful idiots, insurance companies would have an interest in being able to actually quantify by how much a neighbor’s actions damaged your property values.
What's old is new again!
"HOA Threatens to Sue Possum Kingdom Wildfire Survivor" (06/01/2011, six years ago)
The recreational vehicle and camper he is living and working out of until his home can be rebuilt is violating Article 8, Section 3(e) of the Sportsman's World Property Owners Association covenant, according to a letter Brumbelow received from a Dallas law firm.
"If you do not move the vehicles immediately, the Association is expected to file suit," the letter reads, hitting him with attorneys fees and seeking injunctive relief.
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