What recourse can homeowners take to dispute or appeal violation

Q: We received a violation and proceeded to attend the hearing in front of the board and respond to the accusations. We were told afterwards our remarks would be forwarded to the homeowners association attorney and we would have a decision within 30 days.

Do we have any recourse if the decision is not in our favor and, if so, are we responsible to adhere to the time frame to correct the violation while the decision is being appealed?

A: The state laws do not address this specific issue as to the appeal process. (The reader did not send a copy of the actual letter that she received from her association.)

In general, if an association has indicated to you that legal counsel is reviewing your appeal, you should not be penalized during that period. Once a decision is made by the attorney and reviewed by the board, some decision will be made (and the reader should receive a second letter.) Assuming that the appeal is denied, the letter should allow the homeowner the time to correct the violation without any penalty.

As to recourse, if the dispute is related to any NRS 116 statutes, then the Nevada Real Estate Division's ombudsman office can become involved either through an intervention process, or you can arbitrate or mediate the dispute through the Nevada Real Estate Division. Technically, you cannot submit the dispute directly to the courts until you have exhausted all of these administrative options unless you can show immediate loss of value of the property or harm which would require a decision to be made in district court.

Q: Will the passage of the bills affecting HOAs reduce the power of the board to make arbitrary decisions based on personal taste?

I recently applied to build a 5-foot wall in the front entrance of my house to make an unused space a courtyard. The wall was denied, and the only reason given was that the board didn't think the wall would look nice. I applied again, asking them to compromise and allow us to build a 4-foot wall with rod iron on top. This was also denied. They said I could build a 3-foot 8-inch wall. I applied again to build the wall 4 inches higher but without the rod iron. We still have not heard back from them.

There is a house in our neighborhood that has a 6-foot wall in the same place we want to build and it is much more extensive in length. Many houses have additions, including garages, and one has a greenhouse, which is visible from the street. These examples include houses owned by board members.

Is there anything we can do to have more power over our personal preference for home improvements? The house next door to us has been empty for one year and the yard is a mess. We feel so angry that our desire to make home improvements, at the cost of $5,000, was dismissed because of the board's personal taste. The president of the board lied to me on three occasions and made decisions without consulting all board members.

A: Unless I have missed some bills or have missed some amendments to bills, I do not think that any of the proposed bills will affect your issue with your association's board and your architectural request. Many developers have spent much time and effort in spelling out detailed architectural guidelines which help association boards to be more objective in their decision making because the guidelines are more explicit.

For other associations, their guidelines are very broad and interpretations could be different as to what is allowed and what is not allowed. The rule of thumb has always been that the proposed change be in harmony with the architectural design and aesthetics of the community. It is not easy being on the architectural committee. The committee or the board must be careful in setting precedents, as most architectural guidelines do allow for variances (simply because it would be impossible to list all of the possible scenarios).

There is always the issue of past decisions from previous architectural committees or boards which have allowed improvements to the community that should not have been approved. The current architectural committee or board then rejects the improvement because they want to make the correction decision. End result is often a conflict as the homeowner who has been rejected is upset or angry especially since other owners in the past have been approved. It is not an easy task being on the committee or on the board making these decisions.

It is important, whenever possible, for the committee or the board to be explicit as to why some improvement is not acceptable and to try to present alternatives to the homeowner.

Those members that serve on these committees need to put aside their personal likes and dislikes and look first to their governing documents for guidance.

Barbara Holland, certified property manager, is president and owner of H&L Realty and Management Co. To ask her a question, e-mail support@hlrealty.com.