How to Stop a Home Owners Association From Being Formed
Homeowners associations--usually a group of neighbors who set up a small, local government with rules and regulations--can be both friend and foe. One may keep a renegade neighbor from lowering home values by painting his house purple, or having a car-repair business in his garage. Some groups, however, can become overly powerful and abusive, imposing ridiculous rules and fees.
If you are not a fan and your neighborhood is considering starting such a group, there are a few things you can do to keep that from happening.
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Instructions
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Speak to neighbors privately first to find out who supports the association. If most of the neighborhood wants it, you have an uphill battle that may ultimately fail. Find out why they want it. Is one particular person pushing for it? Or is a neighbor's actions causing concern for everyone else in the neighborhood, convincing others that an association may be necessary to protect property values?
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Create a brochure or petition and go door-to-door, calmly explaining your concerns to neighbors and asking what their thoughts are on the matter. You may discover that the majority of residents do not wish for the association to start, but were not even aware they could possibly stop it.
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Call a neighborhood meeting at someone's house, a local church or a school, depending on the size of space needed. Give neighbors plenty of notice, and provide refreshments. Have an agenda, and allow a brief time for neighbors to stand up and state their reasons for or against the association. Invite someone knowledgeable about associations, who can summarize the pros and cons, to speak briefly so that everyone can see more than one side of the issue.
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Form a neighborhood association instead. This is a group of neighbors who simply work on creating a better neighborhood without the legal ramifications and costs of a typical homeowners association.
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Research the laws that govern homeowners associations in your town, township, county or state. Some areas may allow you to halt the association from being formed with a petition or legal motion.
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Discuss the situation with an attorney who specializes in real estate and homeowners associations. Many offer a free consultation to see if they can meet your budget and needs. If necessary, file a lawsuit with other neighbors against the association to attempt to stop it at the judicial level.
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Tips & Warnings
Remaining calm and thoughtful of others' opinions will give you a better opportunity to state your case to those that may see things differently.
Not having a homeowners association in place could backfire; if someone in the neighborhood does not take care of his property, the value of other homes could drop.
