Before you buy into a homeowners association, you should know what you are getting yourself into.

A new homeowner moves into a neighborhood governed by a private association, receives an invitation to a potluck that doubles as an annual meeting and shows up with a bottle of wine and a dish to pass.

Feeling welcomed by the new community, the new homeowner starts paying dues, volunteering to help with neighborhood improvement projects and voting on association matters. But what happens when the homeowner receives a large bill to pay “his share” of the replacement costs for a portion of a road maintained by the association that is washed out?

The homeowner goes back to the governing documents for the association, reads the rules and restrictions, and finds out he was never really a member of the association at all. A fight ensues with his new neighbors and the association, which claims the homeowner behaved like a member, performed acts like a member, paid dues and received benefits like a member, and now must pay for the road replacement — like a member.

A closer reading of the governance documents — which no one has read in years — spells out that the homeowner and a dozen or so of his neighbors were never intended to be members of the association. Further, these houses never used the section of the road being replaced and were supposed to be assessed smaller fees for only a portion of the road maintenance.   Read more