I have a question regarding a situation we are currently having regarding some land we bought a few years back and yearly dues. We purchased about 200 acres in Southwest Texas for hunting. The contract we signed when we bought the land stated that we would owe $0.50 per acre each year for road and well water maintance. We would start being billed for this once a certain percentage of the tracts of land had been sold. Three years ago is when we received the first bill and it was for $200.00 for the year, which is about $100.00 more than what we should have been billed. My husband paid the $200.00 forgetting that we should only be billed half that amount. Last year we were billed the $200.00 but did not pay it because it is double what we should be paying and we paid it the year before. This past hunting season my husband told the self appointed land associated lady that the $200.00 goes against our contract and we already paid for 2 years of maintance going off what I contracted stated we would owe. She told my husband that first she didn't believe that was in the contract and even if it was they (her husband and herself who appointed themselves head of the association) could charge whatever they wanted to. A few weeks ago we received a letter that if we did not pay the $200.00 from last year a lien would be put on our land. Now, of course, my husband is freaking out. Can they really do this? If we have a contract that states one thing, can they charge us a different amount just because they feel like it and expect us to pay the different amount? If they do try and put a lien on our land, do we have any rights? Any advise would be appriciated.
I wouldn't accept legal advice from here. Contact a lawyer. Without seeing the contract even a lawyer on here couldn't give sound legal advice.
If you are speaking of a homeowners association then you owe the money. In our contract to build this home it said our subdivision dues were 90 dollars a year, they are now 100 and there are extra assessments every now and then. That I was quoted the subdivision dues at the time in the contract to build this home doesn't hold my homeowners association to that rate.
If that is the current dues then that is the current dues.
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Ignore what Cheryl B said, sorry Cheryl, HoAs can put a lien on property without a judgment. They only have to show the money is due and unpaid.
There is a reason people hate HoAs.
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Okay I am honestly too lazy to look this up but my understanding is that there are contracts for the sale of real property but at the time of transfer if all the items are met, the contract ends and your ownership is bound in the deed of trust. Real property is governed differently than most other property.
Since there is a paralegal who doesn't know that real property is governed by federal law I figured I should make that known.
So what I mean is I entered into a contract with my builder to build this home, it required blah blah blah and when he did that I handed him a check for a heck of a lot of money and the property wad deeded to me, and my bank.
Anything that was disclosed about the HoA was informational in that this land is subject to an HoA, this is what your dues are, these are the indentures.
I am saying all this because I was on time but didn't knock on the door with my subdivision dues. The trustee hated me so in her haste to put a lien on my home didn't look in the mailbox. 1,000 in legal fees because I was pissed about the 120 fee to remove the lien!! I was stupid! Don't be stupid!
What does the contract say? THAT is what matters. You want to avoid a lien on your property. Those are a mess to try and deal with. You need to go find a good real estate lawyer (and probably should have dealt with it last year, honestly). Bring your contract with you. Your lawyer can write a strongly worded letter setting the property manager straight on this, and that will probably be the end of it. Yeah, a good real estate lawyer is going to cost you ~$200/hr, but something as simple as this could probably be resolved in that amount of time. This is assuming that they are simply billing you incorrectly.
All that being said, if some kind of emergency repairs had to be made that exceeded the amount the HOA had on hand, they could do an assessment for that repair, which could increase what you owe. That happened with our vacation property - every year the fees were $1400ish and then all of a sudden, our bill comes and it's $18,000 higher. I almost died. Turns out there was some kind of massive water intrusion problem that was discovered, and tons of work had to be done. Long story short, the homeowners' association found out that the developer was making millions on these repairs, and we sued... in the end, I think we all now owe "only" $9K. So if it's a huge sum of money and you can show that the property manager is pocketing money, then yeah, you don't have to pay all of that, but otherwise, whatever amount is actually improving the property, you'll be on the hook for that. But it really comes down to contract law either way, which nobody here is really qualified to answer.
Go get a lawyer.
M.,
Be very careful with this. Yes, a lien can be filed for almost any reason in TX and then you will have to defend it and get it removed. If you do not defend it, the lien filer can ask a judge for summary judgment and then foreclose on your land. So you need to review your documents that came with your purchase.
Any sort of ongoing regulations and charges after you purchases the land are governed by documents that are recorded against the land, such as CC&Rs, HOA documents, or Declarations. Look at your title policy you received at purchase. It will list encumbrance documents on Schedule B which will tell you the name of any document whereby someone can charge you or restrict you. Once you identify the name of the document, look for it in your closing package and read it very carefully. The content of it will outline what they can and can not charge you. If you don't have a copy of the document, call the title agent and they will send you one.
The contract you signed to purchase the land was SUPERCEDED by the encumbrance document. If the contract you signed said .50 per acre, but the CC&R or Declaration says $1.00 per acre, you will need to pay $1.00 per acre. The contract does not matter after you close on the land - only the documents on schedule B will govern.
If you need help understanding the document - call the title agent that closed your deal and ask them to help you understand the document. They will give you a disclaimer that they can't give legal advice but hopefully they will at least give some guidance on which document is governing at this point and what it says. If you need a real estate attorney ask the title agent to recommend some that they like to help you. Good luck!
You should have received a copy of a document titled something like CC&R's (Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions). This may be incorporated into your contract, which would mean that everything in the CC&R's is part of the contract. Read through this very carefully, then consult an attorney with any remaining questions.
I graduated from paralegal school in IL, so I don't know laws there.And I'm not a lawyer However, here if there is a contract and I thought this was everywhere,and it is signed, if you fulfill the terms of the contract, then that should be it. You paid the money, then you should be fine.According to the contract. If I read this correctly you paid ahead of time and they are trying to collect more money.If the contract says however, you can't pay ahead of time so there, then well don't know what to say. Now here is the necessities (AGAIN I'm in IL) you need to have a copy of what you paid should it come up. Copies of your check, your contract, etc. etc. Wishing you good luck.
I would definitely get an attorney involved and have him/her draft a letter,
Get a lawyer to look over your contract and write them a letter
In order to put a lien on your property, they would have to get a judgment. To get a judgment, they would have to serve you with a complaint. At that point, you answer the complaint and proceed with litigation.
If I were you, I would find a copy of the contract and write them a professional letter, enclosing a copy of the contract and reiterating your position that you paid for 2 years last year.
If you have a written contact stating in very clear, unambiguous language that the fees will be .50 per acre, I don't see how they can charge more unless there is some small print in the contract that you're not seeing.
First, verify that the contract does not have a statement in there that allows for specific raises in fees, and if there is - verify the amounts and what/when they can take place. No one can "charge what they want". Then take the contract to the "self appointed" people, and show them the official signed, filed, legal document. Make sure they understand that this is what is filed legally with the government, and that they have to follow the contract as stated...no exceptions. If they still maintain that they can charge what they want, then they can speak to your real estate attorney (even if you don't have one, or will be representing yourself). If they actually place a lien on the property, all you have to do is go to the local land and tax office and show them the receipt (cancelled check) and the contract. The lien should be lifted. If they continue with this line of thinking, let the land and tax office know, along with the authorities that are appropriate. That should get their attention.
You have to go to a lawyer.
I'd sell that land if I were you.
