Homeowners Association
Hello:
I just recently bought two pieces of land at a tax sale and it turns out that the pieces of land are both in a subdivision that has a Homeowners Association. When I checked the owners deed online (the state of georgia) it states that No house or single family dwelling may be constructed on the Property.
I tried calling some law offices however they would not give me any information without paying them. My questions is does that apply to me even though I bought land at a tax sale?
Thanks
Deed restrictions are not changed by tax sale or any other foreclosure. If you can get 100% of the vote from all members of HOA you can get deed restrictions changed. May be less than 100%. You will need to check the bylaws of the HOA.
Good LUCK and HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Hope this helps some
Ted Jr
You've hit upon one of the problems with tax sale RE, to-wit:
One can't know much about the RE prior to the auction, normally, so buyer takes it as-is.
And as pointed out, tax buyer can't get any more righst than the title owner had...and he/she was certainly subject to HO rules, owning RE in that HOA.
Let me start out by saying I am not a lawyer...
I would strongly suggest you contact the President & Board of the HOA. Inform them that you have ownership of common property in the Association and offer to negotiatre with them to sell them back the property. If they do not immediately start discussions with you to reacquire the property, find good legal counsel. You might be able to force them to buy back your property as it is supposed to be "held in trust for the benefit of all association members".
At some point you can get a list of all of the members of the HOA (in AZ they have to provide that for free, not sure about CA) and write to all members informing that due to negilence on the part of the Board/Managers you have acquired common property of the association. You can get some signficant leverage this way.
If you are a real risk taker -- you can find out when the annual meeting of the HOA is, show up with your deeds, and force a vote on your request for a waiver to build on the property. You may not win, but you will force the HOA to decide on what they are going to do about the property.
(I'd read all of the HOA CC&R's first before any of this).
Be aware that the HOA can enforce fees and assessments (most do) to all property owners in the association (and that now includes you) so there will likely be additional fees you will have to pay (at least annually) on the property.
This is likely going to be long process for you - so be prepared.
Best Wishes and let us know how it turns out.
Glenn
Thanks Everyone for your help!!!
Just a though...if the homeowners association will not let you build a home, perhaps they might allow you to build a great neighborhood playgroud/playpark that they would purchase from you. It would'n take much work to sketch out your plans and present it to them. Who knows, maybe they'd say yes!
Terry