What is our recourse regarding a homeowners’ association that we were not informed of?
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What is our recourse regarding a homeowners’ association that we were not informed of?
We purchased a house in January 2013 on a road out in the county. Our contract explicitly stated there is no HOA, covenants or HOA fees. In September 2018 we got a notice about a meeting for a HOA, including a discussion about who was required to pay fees. I attended the meeting and was given a 20 page covenant and was told I owe the inital HOA assessment, even though I didnt know any of this existed. The HOA has not met since 2010 and several others were also unaware that it even existed. We would not have bought this home if we knew there was an HOA. Do we have any recourse since our contract explicitly states no HOA, and we were never made aware it existed?
Asked on October 29, 2018 under Real Estate Law, North Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
At this point, you probably don't have any recourse. Your contract with the seller does not control whether or not there is an HOA, or whether you may owe assessments: the seller does not have the power to control the existence of, membership, amounts owed to, etc. an HOA.
Had this come up within 2 or 3 years of your purchase, you could likely have sued the seller for "breach of contract" (violating the contract) or "fraud" (lying about something important to get you to enter into the transaction) to get compensation (such as for the assessements you have to pay). But the "statute of limitations," or time within which a lawsuit must be brought, in your state for breach of contract or fraud is only three years; you are therefore too late to take legal action or seek compensation, since once the statutory period as expired, you may not sue.
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