May Update

My top issue for May is to pass on some information regarding the current Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) criminal investigation into allegations of widespread HOA financial mismanagement and fraud by an HOA Property Management Company in Middle Tennessee. The probe covers multiple judicial districts including Davidson, Williamson, Wilson, and Rutherford counties. HOAs report missing funds likely totaling over $1 million. Specific allegations include:

The TBI investigation remains active and ongoing and no criminal charges have been officially filed. When I became aware this information on April 11th I notified our HOA President of the above via email along with the following proposal:

"While I do not believe that our property management company is doing anything on the scale that TBI is investigating, I do believe that our HOA is failing to take the minimally appropriate steps to prevent such an occurrence. My proposal to you and the Board is that you appoint me to be an Assistant Treasurer of the HOA with the specific assignment to review the financial records of the Association to assure that there is no potential for fraud in our processes. Article 4.1 of the ByLaws of the Association provides that such an Assistant Treasurer need not be a member of the Board and serves at the absolute discretion of the Board and could be fired by the Board at any time. To perform the assigned tasks, I would, however, need to have full access to the financial records of the Association. My sole function would be to provide the Board in Executive Session with a confidential written report of my findings at each Board Meeting. I would have no authority whatsoever to act in any way on those findings. The specific "red Flags" that I see are:

The Board President has responded to my email, thanking me for my input and letting me know that he has forwarded the the email to the rest of the Board to get their feedback.

I have, since becoming aware of the above information, noticed a change in our monthly Financial Report beginning in 2026. The Unallocated Income account no longer appears on the report. Back when I was on the Board I questioned what the account was used for and was told that it was necessary to hold Annual Dues payments for redistribution on a quarterly basis which I found to be unusual since Article 9.1 of the CC&Rs states that the General Assessment is due and payable on the first day of the fiscal year. Since January, 2026, Accounts Payable are now shown on the Balance Sheet as a Liability on the Balance Sheet labeled as "Homeowner Prepaids" as they could and should have been all along. The notion that this change is occurring at about the same time as the high profile news reporting of the TBI investigion is simply coincidental is a little tough to accept.

And once again, my monthly plea for participation. Please attend the next Open Board Meeting! It will make a difference. And please consider volunteering to serve on the Board. Two more willing and concientious Homeowners and we can turn this thing around.

April Update

The top story for April would appear to be that the Association's Annual Meeting scheduled for March 5, 2026 failed to achieve a quorum and the Board failed to schedule a readjournment within the 20 days required by Article 2.7 of the Association's By-Laws. This leaves the Association in the extremely vulnerable position of having failed to conduct both the 2025 and 2026 Annual Meetings. While I have to admire the Board's creative Resolution, you will be hard pressed to find a responsible HOA professional who would agree that the failed March 5th, 2026, Annual Meeting satisfied the requirements for both the 2025 and 2026 Annual Meetings. The risk is that we could find ourselves in court-ordered Receivership which could raise our monthly assessment from $25.00 to over $250.00.

Another matter of interest to several members of our budding coalition is the issue of the lack of enforcement of the CC&R provisions regarding vihicles and parking in the neighborhood. The Board should be announcing their second quarter Open Board Meeting and we need to be prepared to attend and raise this subject with the Board. We can't just complain, we need to be prepared to offer positive and specific suggestions and volunteer to work on a Committe to help in their implementation.

Lastly, we need to place some emphasis on getting some volunteers to run for the Board in the next election. The rationale that is being given for the Board's action to reduce its size from five members to three is that they are unable to get candidates to fill the open slots. I agree with them. There is way too much drama that goes along with being on the Board. I'm hoping that our emphasis can be on solving the problems that the HOA faces. There are 216 Homeowners and Residents out there and you all have something to offer. In the best of worlds we would have more candidates than open positions in the next election.

About This Blog

The title of this blog is "Coalition To Build A Better HOA" which begs the questions; "What is a 'Coalition' and Why do we need one?", and "What's wrong with the current HOA?". I would like to address these questions separately.

Let's take the second question first. What's wrong with the HOA? Not much, really, it's just that it's not sufficiently responsive to the homeowners and residents and costs a lot of money with probably too much of that money going to a few for-profit corporations with little or no financial transparency to the homeowners.

To answer the second question, I am going to defer to Mr L.S. Carlson, a California attorney whose practice is probably the most successful in the country when it comes to serving the interests of homeowners in disputes with their Association. I've read his book, "Bad HOA" and recommend it to anyone with concerns regarding their Homeowners Association.

When a board starts abusing its authority, the first reaction many homeowners have is: burn the whole structure down.

And honestly, we're not here to talk anyone out of being angry.

Your home is supposed to be the place you decompress. Where your family lives. Where you've invested your money, your time, and a piece of your life. When that starts feeling like it's under attack - whether it's harassment, selective enforcement, ignored complaints, or a board that's gotten a little too comfortable with its authority - it stops feeling like home.

That's not a small thing. The anger people feel about that is completely understandable.

But once you get past that initial reaction, the practical question becomes: what tools do homeowners actually have?

Because the reality is that dissolving an HOA is extremely difficult.In most communities, the legal and financial complications make it close to impossible.

So what actually works?

One dynamic homeowners run into immediately is apathy.

You're dealing with a real problem, you're trying to get neighbors on board, and most of them just . . . aren't there yet. It hasn't affected them. They don't want the drama. They assume someone else will deal with it.

Non-responsive Boards understand that dynamic very well. And they rely on it.

So what disrupts it?

Coalitions:
One homeowner complaining is easy to ignore. Three organized homeowners is a problem a board can't dismiss. If your dealing with deferred maintenance, financial mismanagement, selective enforcement, or an entrenched board member who's been there for years, chances are good you're not the only one who sees it. Finding even two or three like-minded neighbors can completely change the dynamics.

Elections:
The most direct path to change is still elections. You don't necessarily have to run yourself, but knowing who the candidates are, understanding their motivations, and getting neighbors to actually show up and vote matters more than people realize. A lot of bad boards stay in place simply because no one runs against them.

Recall:
It only takes 10% of the membership to force a recall vote by petitioning for a special meeting. The process has procedural requirements, but it's a real mechanism - and one many homeowners don't realize they have access to.

So, that's where I got the idea of a coalition. And I'm not suggesting anything formal, just a few like minded people who want their voice to be heard. There are no leaders, meetings or anything of that sort. We will simply communicate via email and take the time to attend the announced meetings of the Association and Board of Directors and let our voice be heard. If you would like to be added to our email list just drop me a note at richard.tackett07@comcast.net.

The Strategy

For starters we can follow the steps outlined in Mr Carlson's notes above and form a coalition. In my opinion, that's a done deal. We already have two or three people with a specific HOA issue that they are unable to get resolved on an individual basis; on street vehicle parking. It's a tough one, but one that will make a good demonstration case. If we can make some headway on that issue we will have demonstrated that we can make a difference. We indeed will have Built A Better HOA.

Once an issue has been identified, it should be documented. The documentation should contain a description of the problem that the issue is causing for homeowners along with a specific proposal for solution. Preparation of the docummentation is not a trivial task and needs a variety of input. When completed, the document should be presented to the Board at an open Board meeting for discussion. Should that not result a mutually satisfactory solution, escalation to a meeting of the Association can be considered.

For issues that I am actively involved in the case documentation, I will post that 'Work In Progress' documentation here.

On Street Parking

(Work in Progress)

The possesion and use of a motor vehicle is considered by most residents of our area to be a fundamental freedom with a significant amount of emotion attached to its preservation. That reality makes this section of the Governing Documents possibly the most difficult and controversial to enforce. It should not come as a surprise that HOA Boards, including ours, tend to look the other way regarding this issue.

This causes multiple problems for us as Homeowners:

  1. It makes the neighborhood look trashy. The shiny Mercedes or Lexus is kept sheltered in the garage with the beat up old pickup truck left out on the street. Property values go down.
  2. Traffic becomes congested. The street is narrowed to one third of its designed width making driving difficult for Homeowners. This is a common neighborhood complaint.
  3. Safety is degraded, particularly for children, due to the restricted visibility.

So, what do the Governing Documents say about this issue. Articles 11.7 and 11.8 of the CC&Rs address this issue and are shown below in their entirety.

11.7 Vehicles
(a) Automobiles and non-commercial trucks and vans shall be parked only in the garages or in the driveways, if any, serving the Homesites unless otherwise approved by the ARB; provided however, Declarent and/or the Association may designate certain on-street parking areas for visitors or guests subject to reasonable rules. No automobile or non-commercial truck or van may be left upon any portion of the properties, except in a garage, if it is unlicensed or if it is in a condition such that it is incapable of being operated on the public highways. Such a vehicle shall be considered a nuisance and may be removed from the Properties. No motorized vehicles shall be permitted on pathways or unpaved Common Property except for public safety vehicles authorized by the Board.

(b) Recreational vehicles shall be parked in the garages, if any, serving the Homesites or, with prior written approval of the ARB, other hard surface areas which are not visible from the street; provided however, guests of an Owner or occupant may park a recreational on the driveway serving serving such Owners's or occupant's Homesite for a period not to exceed seven(7) Days each calendar year. "Visibility" shall be determined by the ARB in its sole discretion. The term "recreational vehicles" as used herin, shall include, without limitation, motor homes, mobile homes, boats, "jet skis", or other watercraft, trailers, other towed vehicles, motorcycles, minibikes, scooters, go-carts, golf carts, campers, buses, commercial trucks, and commercial vans. Any recreational vehicle parked or stored in violation of this provision in excess of seven(7) Days shall be considered a nuisance and may be removed from the Properties. Any owner whose vehicle (or a vehicle owned by said Owner's family, guest, agent, employee or business invitee) is removed from the Properties pursuant to this Section 11.7 or Section 11.8 below, shall be responsible for all expenses associated with removal of the vehicle, which expensesshall be charged to the Owner as a Special Assessment. Declarent and/or the Association may designate certain parking areas within the Properties for recreational vehicles subject to reasonable rules and fees, if any.

(c) Service and delivery vehicles may be parked in the Properties during daylight hours for such periods of time as are reasonably necessary to provede service or to make a delivery within the Properties.

(d) All vehicles may be subject to such reasonable rules and regulations as Board of Directors may adopt.

11.8 Parking
Vehicles shall be parked only in the garages or in the driveways, if any, serving the Homesites or in appropriate spaces or areas designated by the Board. Vehicles shall be subject to such reasonable rules and regulations as the Board may adopt. Declarant and/or the Association may designate certain parking areas for visitors or guests. Service and delivery vehicles may be parked in the Properties during daylight hours for such periodsof time as are reasonably necessary to provide service or to make a delivery to a Homesite or to the Common Property. Any vehicle parked in violation of this section may be towed in accordance with the Governing Documents. The provisions of this section shall not apply to Declarant or to any Builder in the process of constructing approved improvements.

If any vehicle is parked on any portion of the Development in violation of this Section or in violation of the Association's rules and regulations, the Board or agent of the Association may place a notice on the vehicle specifying the nature of the violation and stating that after twenty-four(24) hours the vehicle may be towed. The notice shall include the name and telephone number of the person or entity that will do the towing and the name and telephonr number of a person to contact regarding the alleged violation. If twenty-four(24) hours after such notice is placed on the vehicle the violation continues or thereafter occurs again within six(6) months of such notice, the Board or agent of the Association may have the vehicle towed in accordance with the notice, without further notice to the Owner or user of the vehicle.

If a vehicle is parked in a fire lane, is blocking another vehicle, is obstructing the flow of traffic, is parked on any grassy area or otherwise creates a hazardous condition, no notice shall be required and the Board or agent of the Association may have the vehicle towed immediately. If a vehicle is towed in accordance with this subparagraph, neither the Association nor any Officer or agent of the Association liable to any person for any claim of damage as a result of the towing activity. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herin, the Board may elect to impose fines or use other available sanctions, rather than exercise its authority to tow.

Analysis

While this portion of the CC&Rs may seem to be severely restrictive, it also offers a classic example of flexibility by its frequent use of the words "shall" and "may". These words have very distinct and specific meanings in legal documents. The use of "shall" indicates that the item is not optional. The Board must follow these instructions as written. The word "may' is used as a permissive term. The Board is authorized to do this if it so chooses but is not required to do so. In our case of Vehicles and Parking, the word "may" is used a lot, particularly when discussing the issue of towing vehicles. The Board may or may not choose to tow. The Homeowners of the Association have the final word on that issue as they elect the Board Members. So its critical that our voice be heard by the Board.

Let's look next at a "shall" example. The first sentence of Article 11.8 states, in part, "Vehicles shall be parked only in the garages or in the driveways,if any, serving the Homesites or in approprite spaces or areas designated by by the Board . . ." Wow, that could be a problem! Surely there are extenuating circumstances where that just doesn't make sense and I expect that is a big reason that this issue has not been addressed by any previous Board. How do we handle that? Well, the sentence continues with a possible answer to that question. " . . . unless otherwise approved by the ARB; . . .". Did the CC&Rs just tell us that the ARB is tasked to handle these situations? Let's talk about it!


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Election Process

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Enfranchising Renters

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