By David Ranii, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.

Jan. 24 — RALEIGH — Conflicts between individual home owners and the home owners associations that govern many housing developments took center stage at a state legislative hearing Monday afternoon.

Home owners portrayed the home owners associations, or HOAs, as arrogant and abusive organizations that trample their rights and need to be reined in.

Board members stressed they are volunteers performing a service that most home owners don’t want to be bothered with, and they maintained that, although state law may need to be tweaked a bit, a drastic overhaul isn’t necessary.

The three-hour hearing conducted by the Select Committee on Homeowners Associations in the state Legislative Building was one of a series of sessions being held to examine the impact of current laws on home owners who live in developments managed by HOAs.

In some cases, the economic downturn has increased tensions between home owners and HOA boards as residents struggle to pay their dues and other fees.

One recurring complaint among home owners was that the only recourse they have if they have a disagreement with the HOA board is to go to court, a costly process.

Jude Herges, a Brunswick County home owner, testified that he was victimized by his HOA board — which, among other things, rescinded his building permit — after it became clear that he wasn’t a fan of the board.

“We need some (method) of conflict resolution without enriching attorneys,” Herges said.

Another Brunswick County home owner, Tony Maighnath, told legislators that state law governing HOAs is sometimes ambiguously worded, but home owners are at the mercy of how the boards interpret that language unless they’re willing to pay the price of going to court.

Another hot-button issue was the ability of HOAs to foreclose on home owners that don’t pay their dues and assessments.

Tammy Neal, a real estate broker and former appraiser who lives in Union County, said she ran across an HOA board that foreclosed on a home owner who owed $50. She called it “a travesty.”

Other issues that emerged included the lack of licensing for management companies hired by HOAs; the need to educate volunteer HOA board members about their duties and responsibilities; and whether home owners should be allowed to vote by proxy in HOA elections.

Bob Jackson, president of an HOA in Mitchell County, cautioned legislators not to paint all HOAs with the same brush.

“If you’ve seen one HOA, you’ve seen one HOA,” he said. “They’re all a little different.”

Some HOA board members insisted that foreclosure is a last resort, and several said their boards have never initiated a foreclosure.

But they argued that the threat of foreclosure is necessary to ensure that home owners pay the dues needed for the services that they provide.

Those services, depending on the community and whether the homes are single-family units or townhomes and condominiums, can include essentials such as mowing lawns, fixing roofs, and maintaining community pools and streetlights.

Neal Brennan, who serves on an HOA board in Belmont, said it would be a mistake to strip HOA boards of their leverage for collecting payments.

“I urge the committee to resist the temptation to over-regulate the HOA boards,” he said. “I think the laws we have are sufficient.”

Rep. Jonathan Howard, a Republican from Ashe County, the committee’s co-chair, said that recommendations, and possibly draft legislation, could emerge in May after the committee conducts as-yet-unscheduled hearings in the eastern and western halves of the state.

Ranii: 919-829-4877

___

(c)2012 The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)

Visit The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) at www.newsobserver.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.