Liability question

[patriot15joe]

Doesn’t really pertain to fiearms, but have a question on liability. I have never lived in a neighborhood with an HOA. Current neighborhood has several owners wanting to start one to cover Maintenance and liability insurance for the common areas. We have no pool or facilities. The common area includes a small patch grass by the entrance by the neighborhood sign and 200 or so feet of sidewalk from the entrance to the first house.

My question. If someone gets hurt on the common area (say mowing the grass) as it stands with no HOA and no policy on that common area, what is the liability to the 40 or so homes in the neighborhood? I can’t imagine someone would sue 40 home owners. I have lived in three neighborhoods now and none had an HOA or any type of coverage to the enterance. In my last neighborhood, we all took turns mowing the grass and had a voluntary work day at the entrance. The neighbors in favor of the HOA are citing this as a major concern and reasoning to start the HOA. Until now I have never thought of this but wondered if there was anything to it?

 

[C'mon man!]

If no HOA, who pays the taxes on that area?

 

[WildMan]

Is that area not already part of the road right of way?

If your neighborhood doesn't already have a HOA then that area is probably parceled out to some one or probably "owned" by the local municipality.

Obviously I'm not a lawyer. Just a drunk guy asking questions.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

So, who actually owns the common areas of your neighborhood? Did title pass to any of the homeowners who bought property there? Does The property developer or homebuilder own it?

 

[C'mon man!]

Not sure you can force your neighbors to join the HOA and pay monthly to improve the neighborhood entrance. Which is what it really sounds like. You/they didn't sign any HOA contract at closing, I'd tell them to get bent. This year it's $20 a month, next year the expenses go up, then it's $40/mo, and so on. Eff that.

My HOA is exactly this, only maintenance/taxes for the front entrance.

 

[patriot15joe]

I don’t know the answer to this at this time. I do know the builder owned it and no longer wants to pay for it now that all homes are completed. I am told there are covenants, but I have gone through everything both hard copy and digital and can’t find anything about an HOA or even a copy of the covenants. Had there been one I wouldn’t have bought the house.

Im going to call the closing attorney and see if there is a copy of these and see if it was signed. They gave me a digital copy of the docs signed at closing (96 pages) and it’s not on that.

 

[C'mon man!]

Look at the county GIS map and see who is listed as the owner for that parcel.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

I would give a big empathetic "hell no" to the idea of creating a homeowners association (or in Georgia the term is called a property owners association).

As I understand it, while it takes a unanimous vote of all affected property owners in the subdivision to start the Association (which starts with forming a legally recognized corporation and then adopting a charter and making a declaration regarding the new HOA) ...

...it only takes a simple majority to modify it, and the modifications could change the character of the H.O.A. and their rules drastically!

 

[patriot15joe]

Looking at the property owner map for my county, the area in question is not parceled. It shows as part of the road. I attached a pic with the names erased to protect the innocent. Red arrow point to the “common area” and the red Line is the sidewalk common area.

 

[smokey30725]

I live in a very small community in northern walker county. Probably 20 houses in the whole neighborhood. We had one busybody housewife want to start an HOA years back. When she came by our house I told her to stand there for just a second. I went and got my mortgage statement and asked her to show me where her name or anyone else's name was on it. She said she didn't see anyone but my name. I told her she was right and that was who was going to be making the decisions on what I can do on property that I alone am paying for.