HOA Slaps Family with a $21,498 Lawsuit

Question: How do you crush a hard-working Asian American family with a debt of $21,498.31?

Answer: Here’s the “formula:” Take a trivial problem like two thin cracks in an old concrete front stoop, add a leaf from a vine (growing on a wooden fence), scoop up a handful of debris from under a deck (out of sight, by the way, behind that fence), toss in a “missing” set of house numbers, and stir the mixture with a broken window blind—from the inside (??) of the house. Then multiply by six “late fees,” five “attorney’s fees,” four “collection costs,” three “violation/ penalty fines,” two Certified Mail stamps, and a partridge in a Bradford pear tree. Present the lien on white porcelain plates to the dad, mom, and kids in their own home. Top it with a glaze of yet-to-be-determined court costs. Serve it cold.

I wish that were an entirely fictional story. You can attend Quail Valley HOA v. Hoan Nguyen in the District Court of Maryland for Montgomery County on May 12, 2021, at 9:00am in Rockville. {Note*} Then judge for yourself whether homeowner’s associations (HOAs) help their own members—the residents—to collaborate and solve little house and yard maintenance issues during a pandemic, or whether they behave as a (dutifully ignorant, perhaps?) arm of a predatory industry of debt attorneys, insurance corporations, and for-profit property management companies. [Update May 12, 2021: The Court rules in favor of the resident (the defendant) and against the Quail Valley HOA.]

HOA Incommunicado

Mr. Nguyen is a quiet man. “I also own a home in Florida. It’s in an HOA neighborhood. I have no problems there. What is it with Quail Valley?” he asks. Indeed. Mr. Nguyen is not alone in his puzzlement. His house and yard are well maintained, as seen by any passersby. From this family’s perspective, they are targeted. From the HOA’s perspective, it’s “standard operating procedure” to send threatening and unclear messages. Here’s an example of an HOA aggressive accusation followed by obfuscation:

“There is no house number on your house,” says the HOA agent.

“It is there, overhead,” replies the resident.

“We don’t see it,” says the HOA, after five weeks.

“Please look up, it is there,” pleads the resident.

Unable to convince the HOA that house numbers were already present on the portico, Mr. Nguyen bought another set of numbers at Home Depot and affixed them next to the front door. (Photo) In the HOA’s court documents, there are 16 entries noting alleged “noncom­pliance,” reading, “fine: install address plaque.” Sixteen times over three years. It’s no wonder that many residents complain of feeling “dismissed” and “confused” by their attempts at communication, and “beaten down” by the HOA.

Nickle & Dimeing

These days, the standard HOA fine for an outstanding standing “property violation” (e.g., “fine” exposed cable wire) seems to be $61.53. The late fee is $29.80. The HOA hits Mr. Nguyen with late fees for not repairing his walkway fourteen times. Trying to make a different minor repair elicited an HOA fine of $61.53 for “unapproved modification.”

If you were captain of your university’s debate club, you might be okay with the obfuscat­ion and unresponsiveness you receive as you try to reach the HOA by phone, or debate the worthiness of your cause during your “hearing” at a public meeting of the HOA board. It meets once a month, on a Monday night, at 7:00pm by Zoom. For many residents, however, the difficulties (e.g., a language barrier, not understanding the notices, not receiving the notices, facing a crowd of strangers on an evening after a long day of work, or working evenings and unable to attend evening meetings) are too much to take on. Studying the fine details of HOA architectural change guidelines is a Tolkienesque exercise. (e.g., “Decorative lawn ornaments are not recommended but are allowed in some cases.” Awnings can exhibit “solid patterns in a color similar to adjacent siding. A pattern with thin pin striping is allowed but awnings with alternating large stripes are not allowed.") In 2020, for good measure, the contracted property management instructed an elderly Asian American homeowner to "ensure that [rain] water drainage from [any downspout or landscape piping] is not directed onto adjacent property or common area." But that is an impossible demand. All runoff conveys to common areas (grass or sidewalks) before it enters the storm drain.

Mounting Evidence of HOA Abuses

The experience of the Nguyen family is not unusual in Quail Valley. Many residents report that trying to communicate with the HOA is frustrating and demoralizing. For example, one Hispanic American family, in residence for only three years, is indebted to the Quail Valley HOA for $4,600 “plus attorney’s fees.” Nelson Reyes's house and yard are well maintained, but the HOA thinks there are stains in the concrete driveway, rusty brads on the mailbox. Mr. Reyes is a contractor, licensed to install plumbing, replace a roof, pour concrete, build a stone wall, and take down a dead tree. He fixes houses and yards for a living. The HOA charged his family for "out of neighborhood" pool passes, then began charging his credit card the HOA monthly assessment. Family members have made multiple trips, in person, to the office to resolve matters. Things only got worse. And when you have an outstanding HOA debt, your kids are not allowed in the pool.

The evidence is not just anecdotal. Data indicate that something is amiss. An initial analysis suggests that more than 100 properties (out of 592) may have been dinged with frivolous, incorrect, arbitrary, and/or excessive “property violation” infractions during the June 2020 property inspections. Families received the ominous letter from the HOA the next month, informing them of their “violations,” as the first wave of covid accelerated across the United States.{Note **}

When interviewed about the June 2020 property inspections, neighbors use phrases like “unusually aggressive,” “loco,” “unlike any other year,” and “vicious.” Others just shake their heads. One resident, a Realtor, reports, “During the summer of 2020, I called to resolve the strange violation notices we received from the HOA. I got a recorded message: ‘The office is closed due to covid.’”

Legacy of a Past Century

As in Quail Valley, many HOAs across the nation have lost sight of the obligation stated in their founding charters—to “promote the health, safety, and welfare of the residents.” IndependentAmericanCommunities.com reports on HOA dysfunctions as a nation­wide problem of economic injustice. A recent Wall Street Journal article was titled, “Joining an HOA? There will be Hell to Pay.” That reputation does not enhance the resale value of our HOA-entrapped homes. Something needs to change.

Enabled by unjust laws, HOAs in Maryland can fine a resident (after 45 days of whatever it considers to be “noncompliance”) $100 per violation, per month, month after month—forever. It’s runaway train of debt. Few residents have the money, time, and life energy to fight absurd HOA charges all the way to the courtroom, or even to appeal to the county’s Commission on Common Ownership Communities. (“Wait, what? We have a commission?” residents often ask.) In this modest suburban community, we are busy professionals and blue-collar workers—and parents. Only a 45-minute drive from Washington, D.C., Quail Valley is the home of many federal civil servants and military families. We are not billion­aires. When the fines balloon and lien notices appear from the HOA, families just look for another place to live, in a new neighborhood, one without an HOA. Prey escaping the predator.***

Happy Endings?

If justice is served, and Mr. Nguyen wins the case, then he’ll pay nothing to nobody. The HOA’s insurance may cover the HOA’s attorney’s fees ($4,376.37) and court costs for this fiasco.

Question: Who pays the Quail Valley HOA’s insurance bill?

Answer: The residents of Quail Valley.

Do you think our monthly assessment of $88.25 (for townhomes) and $84.25 (for the larger single-family homes) might increase next year? We who live in Quail Valley already know the answer. It’s a lose-lose proposition.

Welcome to “Cuckoo Court.” Join the family.

Notes

* Quail Valley HOA v. Hoan Nguyen is scheduled to be heard in the District Court of Maryland for Montgomery County on May 12, 2021, at 9:00am ET, at 191 E. Jefferson St, Rockville, MD, Room 612. (Call the day before to confirm time & location, 301-563-8800, then tap zero. Wear a mask per CDC guidelines.) The opening paragraph of this essay is an impressionistic summary of the HOA’s civil lawsuit against this family. I’d be happy to send you a PFD of the opening eight pages of that ludicrous document.

** There are 592 homes in Quail Valley. The HOA has failed to provide me with the complete inspection reports. I paid the HOA $75.00 for a chunk of data, printed on 62 pages, covering perhaps 2/3 of the community. The rest I never received.

*** This essay is Chapter IV in the series at PATCH.com, “Living on Cuckoo Court.” See links at https://patch.com/maryland/gaithersburg/living-cuckoo-court-chapter-iii-nodx

The series contains the anonymous testimonies (true stories) and opinions of residents.

The Quail Valley Friendly Team of 45+ families is trying to end these HOA abuses. Join them by sending a message to the email below. –Steven Sellers Lapham, a 20-year resident, lives at 18737 Purple Martin Lane, Gaithersburg, MD 20879, USA. 4/26/2021. MuskratMusic@gmail.com