Homeowner claims HOA president is bullying her

Q: I just read your article from two years ago on homeowners associations and bullying and harassment, Nevada Revised Statutes 388.122.

I just have a few questions that I hope you can help me with. I brought a home 1½ years ago. After complaining about dog feces, trash, the front gate and elections, I called for a community meeting, which was a success. Our board president and our community manager were furious and started to bully me and my children. The manager wrote a horrific racist email to our property management company. (It was) full of lies. The president continues to yell and scream at me just because I dare question them.

Our community is $60,000 dollars in debt, and they don’t want to talk about it or even give homeowner what we are legally allowed when requested.

I’m am a disabled woman and am recovering from surgery. I am scared of this woman and don’t want to be anywhere near her for my safety and sanity. Do you think I will be able to ask our new management company if they would set up a Zoom meeting or Google meet for future meetings? How would I go about doing this legally? Do I have the right to even ask? Thank you in advance.

A: The specific law pertaining to harassment and bullying in associations is NRS116.31184.

As to having a board meeting using the internet, you can send a letter to the management company and your board to hold board meetings both in person and through one of the internet meetings software.

Q: I live in a condominium community. Our master policy has a $25,000 deductible. Let’s say for example the water line to my toilet broke in my unit and it flooded my unit and my neighbor’s unit, and the damage was over $25,000. My homeowner’s policy would pay the $25,000 deductible and then the homeowners association policy would pay for the remaining damages over $25,000. Why is that? If the water intrusion issue was my fault, why would the HOA’s policy have to pay anything? Why wouldn’t my insurance pay for it all? Several residents have asked me this question. Can you please answer this question for me? Your response is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

A: Under Nevada Revised Statutes 116.3113, associations shall maintain, to the extent reasonably available and subject to reasonable deductibles, property insurance and commercial general liability policy. Your association’s insurance policy is primary. Your personal insurance is secondary. In addition, insurance policies are not based on fault but on coverage.

Q: I live in a sub association comprising of 32 homes. The association is responsible for outside landscaping, painting of homes, outside repairs of homes and roofing, including sky lights for the past 31 years. We have just been informed of the following:

“Nevada law specifically states that any common expense, which benefits fewer than all of the units or their owners may be assessed exclusively against the units benefited (NRS 116.3115[4]). As not all units have skylights the units that do would solely responsible for the cost of their maintenance and/or replacement.”

Could you help by informing me if this is correct?

A: Before making any decisions based upon the statute, you need to check your governing documents to see if your covenants, conditions and restrictions require the association to maintain the skylights.

You also should check with your attorney if you need to make a resolution that going forward the association would not maintain or replace the skylights. Because of the past 31 years of maintaining them, you may have a problem with requiring the current homeowners to be responsible for them.

Barbara Holland, CPM, is an author, educator and expert witness on real estate issues pertaining to management and brokerage. Questions may be sent to holland744o@gmail.com.