For vexed homeowner, troubles trace to tree
Q: I’m a senior citizen who has lived next door to the homeowners association president for five years. She has a giant tree that was planted in her backyard’s right corner. This tree is three stories tall now and extends over my backyard and into my roof by 20 feet. When I asked her to cut back her tree to the property line, I was told no; but she would permit me to trim the tree at my expense. I’ve paid for this twice.
The tree is growing so fast that two years ago I told the owner that I would not pay any more money to remove the branches from my roof. The HOA president’s husband did cut down the one branch, but no care was taken in doing so and it damaged my roof, removing some tiles on the peak.
Because she is the HOA president, I get no help at all from my HOA. My neighbors and I sent the board a package containing pictures of the damage caused by the tree growing onto three roofs and damage caused to cement fences from overwatering and encroaching roots. After going above the executive board, I finally received a letter from the community manager saying the board has given our HOA president six months or 180 days to remove that tree. She is neither fined nor required to repair the fence damage. It states in our HOA rules that if anything in our backyards causes a problem for the neighbors, the HOA can fix it and charge the homeowner or put a lien on his house. In the meantime, the damage to our homes continues. What we can do? Where we can go for assistance?
A: Well, at least it appears that you have the board’s attention. As for the interior damage to the wall, even if you were to take this issue to Justice Court, you would need documentation that you showed you notified your neighbor and gave her an opportunity to repair the damages or give you the money to repair the damages.
Second, if the neighbor does not respond to your letter, you would have to make the repairs and have an invoice showing the repairs were completed. Make sure you have before-and-after photographs. Remember, you have to prove that the tree caused the damage to your wall. You would then send the neighbor one more letter asking to be reimbursed. If your neighbor did not reimburse you the money, you could file a monetary claim with the Justice Court, “small claims.”
Q: The president of our master homeowners association whose term expires this year included the following comments in an official document titled “community newsletter” that was sent to homeowners. It included:
1.) As I approach the end of my first three-year term on the board of directors the association continues to make steady improvement.
2.) With regard to the anonymous petition to recall me remember there are always two sides to every story.
3.) There will be three open seats in November.
4.) Don’t be intimidated by not running for one of the open seats by the anonymous so-called mean-spirited minority who are invested in taking over your association.
This president and community manager included comments about a candidate with the ballots at last year’s annual meeting, clearly violating NRS 116.31034.
A: Nevada Revised Statute 116.31035 pertains to equal space or equal time. Upon request, the “opposition” group would be allowed to make a rebuttal statement or comment. There is no violation of this statute.
As to NRS 116.31034, is the term, “mean-spirited minority” who want to take over the association violating this statute, subsection 13?
This section states that any candidate informational statement must not contain any defamatory, libelous or profane information. It would appear that a claim could be made that the president violated this statute.
Barbara Holland, certified property manager, broker and supervisory certified association manager, is president and owner of H&L Realty and Management Co. Questions may be sent to the Association Q&A, P.O. Box 7440, Las Vegas, NV 89125. Fax is 702-385-3759, email is support@hlrealty.com.
