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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Posts
    1

    Default Builder Promised Amenities And HOA Membership

    My question involves real estate located in the State of: North Carolina

    I purchased my home from Scenic Homes with the understanding that I would have access to the following amenities:

    Pool in Phase 1
    Future Pool in Phase 4
    Future Splash Park in Phase 1
    Future Club House in Phase 4
    Storage Building in Phase 1
    Pond in Phase 1
    Walking Trail in Phase 1
    Future Walking Trail in Phase 1 (Behind Bluffton)
    ½ Court Basket Ball Court in Phase 1
    Playground in Phase 1
    Common Areas in Phases 1, 2, 3, and 4

    At, before, or shortly after closing, I was provided with a set of CCR’s, Bylaws, and Articles of incorporation for the Curtis Pond Owner’s Association and was informed that I was a member of the Association by default, due to my purchase of my home. Under those documents, I was guaranteed the following:

    1. Membership in a HOA that was no longer under the control of the Developer.
    2. That the various Declarants had 1 vote per lot and were obligated to pay Class A dues on each lot because the Class B privileges that Declarants enjoyed expired when sales in Phase 1 exceeded 75% in 2003.
    3. A HOA Board that was independent of the Declarants with regard to the expired right of Declarants to appoint or dismiss HOA Board members.
    4. All Owners were required to be Members of the Curtis Pond Owners Association.
    5. Other obligations and privileges as documented in the Curtis Pond Owner’s Association CCR’s filed in Iredell County on November 12 1999, and the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws with which I was presented.

    On March 19 2007, at an informal Town Hall Meeting, I was informed that because my ‘phase’ of the community was annexed improperly, I was no longer a member of the Curtis Pond Owner’s Association, and that I was going to be denied access to existing and future amenities that I was guaranteed prior to purchasing my home from Scenic Homes as well as the protections, obligations, and privileges that I was granted by my membership.

    On March 30 2007 Magland filed CCR’s creating Curtis Pond Phase 234 encumbering my property. They
    offered to allow me and my neighbors to join voluntarily, and, if we joined, grant us access to a Future Pool, and the possibility of other amenities, none of which were the Phase 1 amenities that I was promised prior to purchasing my home. Further, by creating the new HOA after the first lot was conveyed, and without every property encumbered by the Exhibit defining the boundaries of Curtis Pond Phase 234, it appears possible that the new HOA is invalid. Regardless, all owners in Curtis Pond 234 are not members, making the HOA moot.

    Since I am not a member of the Curtis Pond Owners Association, and have not joined the new HOA, I have neither the protections, obligations, nor privileges that I was guaranteed when I purchased my home. I am also being denied access to ALL amenities.

    My reluctance to join the new HOA is based on several key points. First, I do not believe the HOA is valid, or that it would stand up if challenged in court by anyone refusing to abide by the governing documents.

    The governing documents are so restrictive and developer centric that they bear NO resemblance to the documents I signed at closing. I did not buy a home in a developer-controlled community. I do not intend to be forced to join one in order to gain access to a fraction of the amenities I was promised by Scenic Homes.

    I want what I was sold. Membership in the Curtis Pond Owners Association, with all of the amenities that I was guaranteed, and that Scenic Homes advertised in any number of publications. That or compensation. My home, with my property as part of a valid HOA, with the amenities that I was promised should be worth more than it is currently appraised for in today’s Mooresville real estate market. Today, because my phase was not properly annexed into the Curtis Pond Owners Association, a valid HOA, and because my property no longer has amenities access, my home is worth $40,000 less than it should be. The difference, as well as my legal expenses, is what I want to recover. However, no one can guess what my home would have worth in 20 years. So, for that reason, I either want Scenic to have ALL of the properties in Curtis Pond Phase 234 annexed properly into the Curtis Pond Owners Association, or, I want Scenic Homes to pay my legal expenses and buy back my home for my appraised value, plus $40,000 in equity that I have not been able to accrue, plus $35,000 for the costs that I incurred decorating, upgrading, and moving into my home.

    Magland, without a vote of the members of the Curtis Pond Owners Association, and with the cooperation of the 2004 board, amended the Curtis Pond CCR’s annexing in phases 2, 3, and 4. The builder, Scenic Homes, was already selling homes in the new phases and promising buyers access to the amenities owned by Curtis Pond.

    As a result, an internet search of “Curtis Pond” will result in many various message boards advising prospective homeowners NOT to purchase a home in Curtis Pond. At this point, I don’t even think I could sell my house due to the actions of Scenic Homes.

    I don’t anticipate Scenic doing anything whatsoever without some action at law. I would like to find an attorney who would be willing to represent myself and as many of my neighbors, fellow victims, in Curtis Pond Phase 234 who are willing to join the action. Even those who have already signed the documents can argue that a. they signed under duress in order to gain access to some amenities and b. that they have been offered membership in an invalid HOA. Perhaps, faced with a judgement awarding 300 home owners with as much as $75,000.00 each, Scenic would be motivated to approach the Curtis Pond Owners Association to convince them to annex our properties, convince Magland, the developer who improperly annexed his Phase 234 properties into the Curtis Pond Owners Association in the first place, to convey the amenities he is building and transfer the Phase 234 Common Lands to the Curtis Pond Owners Association, and offer my neighbors whatever is necessary to convince them to request annexation into the Curtis Pond Owners Association. That is what it would take to provide me and all of my neighbors, with what we were sold, before 300 or more cases of consumer fraud occurred.

    Small price to pay for selling people what they didn’t own, or have any right to sell. Small price to pay for fixing a huge mistake made by one developer and communicated to hundreds of people by their star builder.

    Do I have a case? How do I find an attorney willing to take this on contingency?

  2. #2

    Default Re: Builder Promised Amenities And HOA Membership

    No way to tell whether you have a case without looking at all the paperwork. Take everything to a real estate attorney and pay for his time to give you an opinion. Courts are hesitant to
    recognize "understandings" and "informed" when it comes to real estate. Once you have an opinion, you can decide whether to approach your neighbors.

    You may also have an action against the closing attorney but usually the Statute of Limitations is two years. I have no idea about the SOL in NC.

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