Texas Legislature up to something...

[wesmills]

...but this time, it's USEFUL. Quoth the Dallas Morning News:

Texas amendment would prohibit HOA foreclosures

Comments

[luckyckljw]

Unfortunately for our complex, there is no way to shut off utilities to a single unit. We don't have individual meters for anything, hence paying utilities via dues. We're in a sticky situation, having already placed liens against the properties where the owners have fallen way behind on their dues, but they have absolutely no intention to sell. Because of the way this community is set up, we have no other effective recourse. It becomes a "So what?" situation: owner stops paying, doesn't move out. The other owners suffer through raised dues and no maintenance because what we pay for special assessments has to be put to paying utilities. This isn't a hypothetical, it's what's happening now.

However, allow me to clarify something about which I was not clear:

An HOA that is overzealous is, indeed, a problem. The provision this bill needs to protect communities like mine is one that still gives foreclosure power to HOAs that depend on dues for basic upkeep, etc. The proceedings to foreclosure should absolutely be public and reviewed, and taken as a last measure only. Just because someone is even three months behind on their dues does not mean that their home is immediately forfeit. The HOA needs to work with its homeowners to resolve problems before resorting to taking the residence.

[wesmills]

You may have found a failing in the law as proposed, or it may be that the amendment doesn't apply to condominium conversions from apartment complexes (which is what yours sounds like). Hopefully this can be addressed because, for the majority of people who live in single family home-style HOAs, this would be welcome relief. :)

[luckyckljw]

I believe that you are correct that this complex was originally an apartment complex when built in 1964, and so our perspective on this issue will certainly vary from those who live in much more independent situations. Hopefully this can be resolved in a way that is best for the varying sorts of HOAs. :)

[noweb4u]

I'm almost certain there's a way to shut off utilities to a single unit. While they're not able to be seperately metered, things like separate electrical and gas shutoffs for different dwellings have been basic parts of fire and electrical codes since the beginning of time.

I've never lived in an apartment where each one didn't have a separate fuse panel, and each of those lines goes somewhere. Kill the mains one day, pull their wires out of the distribution panel in the electrical closet, and restore power. Done and done.

I can see water and sewer being an issue though.

[wesmills]

Can you physically disconnect sewer, well, ever? That might get messy. :)

In Texas, lack of electricity will make a place far more uninhabitable than lack of water, so just being able to disconnect that would likely inspire some form of payment. I predict electricians will experience a local boom because of all the apartment conversions around here, if this idea catches on. Killing the main panel would inconvenience the whole building, but it beats my other thought of "well-insulated garden shears."

As for water, my complex switched to submetering sometime in 2004 (built in 1998) and they did it by simply routing the input from the main out of the wall, into a meter with some clever tamper-proofing on it and back into the wall where it (I assume) connects to the rest of the apartment. This might not be an option if the HOA has no right of entry--and I can see a past-due owner getting awfully stuffy about that sort of thing--but you never know.

[luckyckljw]

Our place was built in 1964, so I don't know what sort of building codes/practices were in effect then for apartments. And the HOA does not have right-of-entry here, but it would be an interesting option to shift to submetering for at least some utilities.

As far as inconveniencing the whole building, it's actually more accurate to say it'd inconvenience the entire complex, as any time any utility maintenance has to be done, everyone gets shut off until it's done.

[wesmills]

Brain flash: I just thought of something else... Most mortgage companies have clauses in their terms with the borrower (mortgagor) stating that if the mortgagor fails to pay required dues or assessments, the mortgage company may (but is not required to) pay the money and add it to the mortgage balance, as well as force the borrower into an escrow account situation and pay the assessments from that account. The association could start with the purchase money lien on the deed and work up from there.

I'm sure your association has a lawyer, but has anyone brought this up? I hate seeing people get shafted so I thought I'd suggest it as a way to possibly collect the money your association is owed.

[luckyckljw]

Since I'm not on the mortgage, I'm not already familiar enough to know if such a clause is in our mortgage, but I will look later today. I wasn't aware of such, and I don't know how aware our board members are/were of it. The association does indeed have a lawyer, though he's not very good from what I've seen so far.

I do know that liens have already been placed on the delinquent units, but do not know what sort specifically.