By. J. Roger Wood
Carpenter Hazlewood Delgado & Wood, PLC

We see it all.  When it comes to folks unhappy with their HOA or Condo Association, we know all flavors of shenanigans.  Some write letters.  Some buy 200 parakeets and house them in the condo.  Some people mail feces in a box to the association attorney and the local justice of the peace (wait for a future post about that one).  Still others organize B0ard recalls to bolster member support and they oust the directors.  There are even a few that hire lawyers (or don’t hire lawyers) and file lawsuits.

I was scanning the newspaper this week looking for our firm’s advertisement about an educational seminar in Tucson, March 9 and I stumbled upon this small, but interesting advertisement.

HOA conspiracy theorists and stalwart CAI party-liners alike can enjoy this bit of anti-HOA propaganda.  For my part, I read it, scratched my head and went, “Huh?”.

The advertisement is commendable in that it does not defame or slander anyone or any organization.  There seems to be a passionate concern about association expenditures and the high cost of the assessment, both in dollars and cents and in the impact on the membership.

But the cryptic language and veiled identity (ies) of the DOCD takes the ad to another level.  Who is DOCD (and where is Maxwell Smart when we need him)?  Where can someone who shares a similar disdain for paying assessments join up?  What if I am not that sick, but just deal with seasonal post nasal drip – can I get my assessment obligation canceled?

We see these slings and arrows hurled at our Association clients (and often at us) with regularity.  But we also see these cryptic messages are of little value to the community. In Arizona, deed restrictions are a binding contract. They do run with the land.  The law in Arizona states that any owner (and any potential owner) has record notice of those restrictions if they are properly recorded.  Arizona statutes cap annual assessment increases (without a vote of the membership) at 20%, and boards do enjoy some discretion about how to spend those assessment dollars.  The ad pushes against all of those legalities, but is short on practical ideas for changing the community.

So, today’s free advice for any and all association members with an issue, an axe or an anonymous cryptic advertisement to grind: join a committee, vote at the annual meeting,  pay your assessments, read your community’s governing documents, and go to a board meeting once in a while.  If the issues are serious, call a lawyer, get neighbor support to make a change and just get involved!   But please stop wasting your money on creepy newspaper adverts and don’t overnight me anymore poo!

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