Orange County - Florida
I have come here for help because I cannot find an attorney who will help me. Thanks in advance.
My issue has to deal with our community’s HOA (community total is 27 houses). Our dues were very small about $400 per year. About 2 years the HOA had a full board in which I my husband was VP. My husband resigned due to the management company mismanaging accounts, grossly over charging us and lack of resident participation (at every meeting just the 3 board members would show up). After he resigned the management company wouldn’t renew our contract b/c we are such a small community it wasn’t worth their time. Then the President moved out of state so he resigned as well.
So that only left the Treasurer. Nothing happened for a few months – no meetings, no bills, nothing. Then we started receiving homemade statements from the Treasurer. He had taken it upon himself to get the records and whatever money was in the reserves from the management company. He also set his own budget for the year and taped a copy to everyone’s door. No one ever voted for this budget. I am pretty sure half of the community has paid what he asked for b/c they don’t speak English and don’t quite understand what is going on. We have not paid our “dues” since he decided to take over the HOA himself b/c we never voted on the budget. I have no clue if the landscaper is being paid, if the insurance is paid or what he is doing with the money.
Every 3 months he does tape homemade statements to our door but we ignored them. Yesterday when I came home there was a letter taped to my door stating back in 2008 the management company posted someone else’s dues payment to our account now I owe $185 in addition to his dues (total $495) and if we don’t pay within 45 days he is going to start the lien process.
I am going to start researching my payments made to the old management company but it is going to take some time as I don’t have the bank account any longer and the old management company is refusing to help us b/c they have filed a suit for back money they say the HOA owes them.
My question is does the Treasurer have the right to demand money from us if there is no real board or HOA? Also what happens when there isn’t an actual HOA? I have called the county and they stated we have to have one. But if there isn’t anyone running it what happens?
Sorry this is so extremely long but it’s a complicated issue. Thanks for reading.

