Firstly, I'd like to express my appreciation to all of the volunteers who have contributed and continue to contribute to the management and upkeep of the HOA. There have to have been thousands of hours contributed over the years. My sincere appreciation and respect for all of those hours. When I see how burned out and exhausted former members of the board are, it's easy to glean the massive amount of work that goes on behind the scenes. During our first summer here, my family and I did use the pool and the basketball court a few times and I'll admit that I thought having these facilities nearby was very cool.
A bit of background on my HOA experience... Maybe some other owners had a similar experience to mine and can relate. I had basically zero knowledge about the details of the HOA before moving into the neighborhood. The only information that my real-estate agent was able to gather was that we'd have pool access and that the fees were unbelievably low. I'm not sure why it was so difficult to get more information but, knowing what I know now, it's not really a surprise. If I had known then what I know now, I very well may have purchased a different property. It's tough to say for sure but, regardless, sometimes less desirable situations like this can happen and one just needs to make the best of them.
Right from the start, it was very clear that something was off. It took several months for me to figure out how to get my HOA-property record updated so that it was in my name. Part of that was, in all honesty, probably at least half my fault for not being more active in the process. However, I do remember it being rather tedious and difficult to navigate. Ultimately, if I remember correctly, the solution involved me making an educated guess about some mail that was addressed to whom I assume was the former owner. I went ahead and opened that mail and voila! sure enough; it contained some contact details and I finally knew to whom I should reach out.
As part of that fun process, I also learned that I was behind on my HOA fees by several months ...lovely, but ok. I brought my account current and then spent several months more getting charged many many late fees while trying to figure out the HOA's billing cadence. I finally did come to the conclusion that I just needed to always be at least one month ahead on my fees. Ever since I've been doing that, the late-fee problem has been solved. Where this wasn't my first experience paying a recurring bill (I'm nearly 50 years old for goodness sake - this wasn't my first rodeo), I found it quite frustrating that I was consistently getting it wrong somehow. This is where I first started to sour on the HOA. It had already been quite obvious that there was trouble but having to pay so many late fees was what tipped the balance for me, initially, toward the idea of dissolution.
So there I was, getting dinged with late fees because of a billing cadence which, I'm sorry to say, seemed to have little rhyme or reason. Add that to the fact that I was barely even using the facilities for which I was incurring the fee penalties. Add further, that the facilities were in such a deteriorated state and that almost no one had been participating in the clean-up events that I'd been to. Add finally, that the folks on the board and those whom I had spoken to about volunteering were extremely disenchanted and burned out from overwork. Altogether summed, these things cemented my belief that this HOA was destined to fail and that it should be dissolved.
All of this I mention, not to point the finger of blame or shame but, simply, to act as reference for my reasoning. Considering that all HOA efforts are volunteer driven, I feel absolutely no ill will or animosity toward anyone in the neighborhood or on the board. Folks are doing the best they can. Of that I am quite sure. I think that is where the problem lies: that our best efforts are simply not enough to keep this thing from failing. Why not take proactive dissolution action now before the state of the facilities is so dismal that the cost of repair becomes laughably high. I point to the tennis court as an example of this already having happened.
If you agree, please make your opinion known. Maybe we are in the minority but I suspect that we are not.
For those who don't yet agree, I would ask these questions:
<ol>
<li>Do you use the facilities enough to justify their existence?</li>
<li>If so, are you volunteering at a level commensurate with your usage?</li>
<li>When it comes to facility deterioration, how much is too much?</li>
</ol>
Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts. I hope they have been received in the respectful spirit of admonishment from which they were written.

Dissolve the HOA

Hi, neighbors. What do you think? Shall we finally rid ourselves of this burdensome HOA - Pebblecreek, UT?

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Thoughts from an HOA Newcomer

Dissolve the HOA

Hi, neighbors. What do you think? Shall we finally rid ourselves of this burdensome HOA - Pebblecreek, UT?

< HomeAll Posts >

Thoughts from an HOA Newcomer

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