I am in Florida. I finally heard back from the property management office today and it sounds like the board is mostly going since she says "I'm having trouble getting in contact with the remaining board members to schedule a meeting"
I didn't think of the district attorney I'll give them a call but still open to advice.
Couple of Suggestions (some already mentioned above):
1. Forget telephone conversations, forget email.
2. Send all your correspondence Return Receipt Requested (this is where the addressee only has to sign the green card and the USPS will mail the green card back to you.
If you're not a great letter writer, get someone to proof what you're sending. Put your name, address, lot number, etc on the letter. Request that any correspondence or communication with you be in writing.
Write your letter, let it sit a day or two, have somone proof read it and then send it out. Leave out the threats, insults and most of the other stuff you're really like to say. Stick to the issues at hand.
2. List your questions in the letter. Direct it to the HOA and send a separate letter to each board member. Don't know the board members then just send it to the HOA and/or the Property Management Company.
Here are some suggested questions/requests you should send:
A. Please send me a copy of the budget for the fiscal year 2010, the fiscal year 2011 and the current budget for the year 2012.
B. Please send me the 2010 and 2011 annual report of the HOA.
C. Please send me a complete mailing list of all members of the HOA.
D. Please give me the name and address of the CPA who has been auditing the books and send me a copy of the last 3 audits of the HOA books.
E. Ask for copies of the minutes of the last 3 Board meetings.
F. Ask for an updated copy of the By Laws of the HOA.
G. Ask for a copy of the current certificate of good standing of the HOA with the Florida Secretary of State's office (you might be able to go online and see if the HOA is even current with the Secretary of State's office).
H.
Like I tell my kids - pay attention -- This is the important one --
Ask who is the broker/agent of the Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance and the name of the insurance company that writes the D&O policy for the HOA. This is the insurance the HOA should have (and I doubt yours does) which should protect the directors and officers from claims that they failed to act or acted wrongfully in their individual or group capacity on behalf of the association.
By asking for a copy of the D&O policy you'll be sending a strong message that you might be considering taking legal action against any directors who might have used association funds illegally and that you, as a homeowner, might be filing a lawsuit that claims that the HOA board members were asleep at the wheel while the embezzlement was taking place. Another threat that could be made is that the board has funded unnecessary projects to the detriment of necessary maintenance or claims that the board has negligently failed to collect assessments, resulting in unnecessary losses.
In Florida, like most states, elected members of Boards of Directors (in your case the members of the HOA) have a fiduciary duty to the members of the HOA. If they breach the duty they can be sued individually.
In your letter, ask specfically who is covered by the D&O policy. Many D&O policies can exclude folks and whether or not a person is covered can become really important.
I've served on two different HOA boards and a few other professional boards. I'm pretty familiar with how a D&O policy works. I wouldn't serve on a HOA board or any other board that didn't have the D&O policy and that didn't have an annual audit of the books.
Most HOA don't worry about getting them because they think their neighbors will never sue them.
I suspect the certified letters to the Property Management Company and each of the board members individually asking about the HOA's D&O insurance coverage will get some attention.
I'd also put a "CC" on the letter that a copy was going to the State Attorney's Consumer Fraud Division and your local county or district attorney and the State Insurance Commissioner. You can get the addresses for these agencies on the internet.
I'm not sure what it costs to mail a letter "Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested" but it will be worth the cost.
Email and phone calls are for suckers (nothing personal but you know what i mean) - - -- - "Oh, your email must have gone to my junk mail, sorry." or "I don't recall you telling me that." B.S. Put it in writing and be able to prove they go it.
When folks start getting a well written letter with a return receipt requested card it will get their attention. If you check the box "Deliver to Addresse Only" and the recepitant is not home, he/she will have to go to the post office to claim the letter. Until they get the letter they won't have a clue what it is about.
Put a deadline for a response in the letter. Give them 14 days.
After 14 days if you have no respnse, call the Consumer Fraud Division of the State of Florida's Attorney General Division (which you will have already sent a copy of the letter to) and request an appointment at which you will request an inquiry into possible fraud by the HOA.
Also, don't forget the Letter to the Editor of your local paper. The politicians read this stuff. A well written letter to the newspaper will also get some attention.
Non of the HOA board members want to get sued. I can promise you none of them want to get sued if there is no D&O coverage.
If money is missing it is a crime. If the money was spent on stuff it shouldn't have been spent on according to the bylaws (and the appropriation of the spending should be reflected in the minutes) then it is a crime.
If there is a "mailing" involved (say the HOA mailed a check to pay something illegally) contact your local United States Attorney's Office (this is the local branch of the US Justice Department) and ask to speak to the Assistant United States Attorney on Duty and request an appointment. Mail Fraud is low hanging fruit for these folks and they're always looking for an easy case to make. If you can prove a pattern of fraud and you can show that your check to the HOA was mailed you're got two of the elements of mail fraud
Google Mail and Wire Fraud if you want to read the simple versions of the statutes.
Good luck and let us know how it all comes out.
). For the most part these are good things. I can't believe the power that some boards have or otherwise usurp.