Homeowners in Burning Tree South received a letter after the Burning Tree Area #4 Owners Association was filed with the Secretary of State. The letter* said “Were you shocked and surprised to learn that YOU belong to a homeowners association? Were you equally shocked at being assessed for expenses for this homeowners association? If you were shocked or if you were aware of these developments, you should be interested in attending the first post-incorporation meeting of Burning Tree Area #4 Association, Inc. to be held at 7:00 p.m. in the Union High School, Choir Room on February 6, 1979.
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OF COURSE HOMEOWNERS WERE SHOCKED WHEN AN HOA WAS FORMED!
The original homeowners knew this was just plain wrong as there was nothing to maintain-- no land, no facilities and no place to build the promised clubhouse that was to be maintained with assessments. All homeowners had constructive notice that the land was deeded away in Feb 1977, before any homes were built. No longer having land to maintain meant there was no reason to form an HOA in Burning Tree South.
It appears that those who formed it knew they shouldn't have....Why else did they send out a letter asking if all the homeowners were shocked and surprised that they had done this when clearly they knew there was no land....Those who formed the Burning Tree Area #4 owners association had constructive notice just like everyone else!! The land was the only reason the covenants allowed the Burning Tree Area #4 owners association to be formed!
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*The secretary of Burning Tree Area #4 has copies of this "Shocked and surprised" letter, as do several homeowners who received them from the original owners, when they bought their homes.
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A number of letters came in response to this surprise move, from homeowners who were upset that this was done, when they knew it
never should have been, according to what was on file at Tulsa County!
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WHY DID THEY FORM AN HOA WHEN Oklahoma statutes are very specific about the purpose of a homeowners association:
An “owners association” may be formed by the owner or owners of real estate development for the purpose of:
1. providing management, maintenance, preservation and control of commonly owned areas* or any portion of or interest in them, (* Burning Tree South has no common areas. The developer deeded all common areas in Burning Tree South to the Master Association in 1977, according to Tulsa County.
and/or
2. enforcing** all mutual, common or reciprocal interests in or restrictions upon all or portions of such separately owned lots, parcels, or areas, or both. (**The Covenants that were filed in 1976, do not allow an HOA board of directors to enforce anything. They were written so enforcement is left up to individual homeowner to handle, if they have a problem with their neighbor. It is "every man for himself!")
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In order to form Burning Tree Area #4 Owners Association:
The law requires that those who form an “owners association” must file an instrument at Tulsa County showing that all homeowners at that time, acknowledged and signed and filed with Tulsa County prior to the forming of a HOA. (They needed a 100% agreement of the residents.) Since the land was removed before the HOA was formed....it no longer met the state requirements to form a mandatory HOA. Tulsa County does not show that any documents were filed in 1978 with homeowners signatures, prior to the FORMATION OF BURNING TREE AREA #4 HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION.
They knew better! And still do today but they must save face even though one said she knew they are wrong.
ReplyDeleteConstructive Notice Law & Legal Definition
ReplyDeleteConstructive notice is a legal fiction that attributes notice of something to a person or entity, even though actual notice did not exist. For example, a court may allow a person who is unable to be served personally with notice of a lawsuit to be served by publication in a newspaper, especially when a person has left the state to avoid service (legal delivery of a legal notice). The legal advertisement of the summons in an approved newspaper is treated as constructive notice, just as if the summons and petition had been served personally.
In another example, a city may be held to have constructive notice of dangerous icy conditions on a public sidewalk in a slip and fall case. The court may apply the theory of constructive notice to avoid unjust results in allowing a city to avoid liability for situations in which it has no actual notice. A contrary result may lead the city to fail to inspect the conditions of sidewalks and the constructive notice application reinforces the city's duty of care. Registries exist in county seats for filing records of deeds and liens, etc. By filing, the public is held to have constructive notice of such public records
Those who formed it had constructive notice and should have not done it.
DeleteDo any of those who formed it still live in Burning Tree South? If so why don't they answer the questions at the meeting. Why did they they form it when there was no land and no place to build the facilities the lot owners were told would be in the subdivisions. Were they really that confused or was there another reason they set it up? It is in every subdivisions covenants that a clubhouse was to be built in the subdivision. We have the right to know how our money is being spent. Good luck to Joe Napster in his lawsuit against all the BTMA board members.
ReplyDelete