Management firm, Arlington
homeowners at odds |
Posted 01/22/2003
By DAVE LEVINTHAL
Article Courtesy of The Dallas Morning
News
ARLINGTON – Don Paolello's divorce and
his son's college tuition had the computer systems manager financially
reeling.
About $350 in past dues to his neighborhood
homeowners association didn't seem like much of a priority, particularly
considering the deteriorating condition of the neighborhood's common areas.
So when a Dallas-based management company
hired by the homeowners association sent him collection letters, he ignored
them.
Until the firm put his house up for auction.
A management company put Don Paolello's home in Arlington's
Creekside Park up for auction over about $350 in past dues to his neighborhood
homeowners association. |
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"It's almost like North Korea saying,
'Give us what we want or we'll build an A-bomb,' " said Mr. Paolello, who
said that he tried in December to pay a portion of his outstanding dues
but that the check was never cashed.
Select Management Co., hired by the Creekside
Park Residential Association to administer the 221-house subdivision in
southern Arlington, says it is merely following the association's directive
to collect more than $34,000 in outstanding dues, penalties and legal fees.
The president of the company |
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acknowledged that Select Management is aggressive
in collecting unpaid dues from members such as Mr. Paolello.
"It's just that we have so many people
out there who are back on their dues, we had to do something," company
president Ted Smith said. "This all just sounds like a couple of disgruntled
residents who are delinquent on their dues."
Mr. Paolello ultimately paid nearly $1,500
in dues, fines and legal fees to avoid an auction of his house on Jan.
7.
"I can't tell you the emotions that were
running through me," said Mr. Paolello, who moved to Creekside Park in
1996. "I can't believe they have the right to do that."
Seeking solution
State law permits such a move. And disputes
between homeowners and the growing number of neighborhood associations,
formed to police community building standards and protect property values,
appear to be on the rise across the Dallas-Fort Worth area and the state,
experts say.
In Creekside Park, Mr. Paolello and about
20 like-minded neighbors have launched an effort either to persuade their
homeowners association's board of directors to fire Select Management or
dissolve the association completely.
In the last year, Select Management has
issued 11 foreclosure notices to residents in the Creekside Park subdivision.
Of those, the management company foreclosed on two, meaning the other homeowners
somehow settled their debt, Mr. Smith said.
Select Management administers property
for 23 homeowners associations across the area and receives $1,000 a month
to manage the Creekside Park group. It is part of a growing property management
industry that brings in millions of dollars, said Ken Nelson, president
of Texas Neighborhoods Together, a homeowners association umbrella group.
Creekside Park's problems began eight years
ago when the subdivision first opened, residents say.
Many buyers didn't know until the day they
bought their houses that membership in the homeowners association was mandatory.
Some also didn't know that they would be required to meet deed restrictions
and covenants intended to create a clean, quiet neighborhood and increase
property values. For instance, residents who paint their roof trim in a
loud color or don't mow their lawns face fines.
Membership dues in the Creekside Park association
are $39 each quarter, Mr. Smith said. And delinquency rates among its residents
are very high, he said, probably because of lingering anger over not initially
knowing about a homeowners association in the subdivision.
But some residents say they receive precious
little for their dues. They point to a crumbing entrance wall and unkempt
flower beds in common areas.
"We just got the runaround, and everything,
from the beginning to now, seems suspect," resident Faye Cocchiara said.
Ms. Cocchiara said she's not opposed to
a homeowners association – but not one that hires a management company
like Select Management.
'Cloud of fear'
Said resident Harvey Black, "The homeowners
here now live under a constant cloud of fear."
Gia Bowers, president of the Creekside
Park homeowners association, said she is uncomfortable with what she described
as Select Management's nonresponsiveness to residents' requests.
But she said that firing Select Management
may not be the best solution to the problem. Without Select Management,
Ms. Bowers said, she'd worry about not having accurate financial records
and never collecting money owed to the association.
A community meeting between disgruntled
homeowners and the association's board will happen in the next few weeks,
residents said. And Select Management will meet with homeowners in February,
Mr. Smith said. |