Where I Stand -- Mike O'Callaghan: Protecting homeowners

"IN ASHLAND, MASS., a Vietnam War veteran was told that he could not fly the American flag on Flag Day. The board backed down only after the resident called the press and the story appeared on the front page of a local newspaper.

"In Monroe, N.J., a homeowners association took a married couple to court because the wife, at age 45, was three years younger than the association's minimum for residency. The association won in court, and the judge ordered the 60-year-old husband to sell, rent the unit, or live without his wife.

"In Houston, a homeowners association took a woman to court for keeping a dog in violation of the rules of her CID. The association won, but she kept the dog anyway. The judge sent her to jail for contempt of court."

All of the above cases are among the tragedies given in Evan McKenzie's book "Privatopia." McKenzie recently spoke at UNLV and praised the laws passed by the 1997 Nevada Legislature to protect homeowners. The author has been arguing for this kind of protection for at least 15 years.

"Just because you live in a gated, guarded, gilded, golf course community replete with an artificial waterfall doesn't mean you can escape nightmares with your homeowners association.

"Consider the plight of Pat and Brant Warner, and their four-year struggle with the exclusive Canyon Gate development.

"This is a place where the floor plan of a humble bungalow will run 3,000 square feet, where a starter home is guaranteed to run you a half-million bucks.

"You'd think that kind of money would buy you peace of mind, right? You might, but you'd be forgetting that there's a homeowners association involved.

"The Warners estimate they've spent $10,000 in legal fees, written 100 or so letters, gone to countless meetings, lost weeks of sleep over this deal -- and they haven't even gotten to court yet. That's supposed to happen in September. ...

"Their primary complaint is that the association leaders illegally gave away strips of common property to their longtime friends."

The Warner case is from but one of many columns written by the Sun's Ken McCall in 1996-97. That was before state Sen. Mike Schneider, D-Las Vegas, authored Senate Bill 314. The law didn't go into effect soon enough to protect the Hopkins couple.

A recent Sun story by Brian Seals repeated their story when writing, "Just last April, senior citizens Harry and Lillian Hopkins faced foreclosure on their home after the Desert Fairways Homeowners Association tried to sell their house to collect an unpaid annual assessment. The $56 assessment had swelled to $820 with penalties and friends chipped in to save the house from sale."

Seals' article brought back memories of another McCall column written when the 1997 Legislature was in session. McCall told readers that, "Sitting in the living room of their six-bedroom, 3,100-square-foot home in the Lakes, James and Wynona Hardaway couldn't believe they were about to lose it all.

"They couldn't believe their homeowners association was planning to foreclose on and auction off their $250,000 home for $1,233.90 in unpaid assessments -- even after they were shown the legal notice.

The foreclosure and auction, ordered by Section Seven Community Association, was set for 2 p.m. the next day, according to the newspaper ad.

" 'They will never be able to record that,' James said confidently. 'We have this house homesteaded.'

"But Nevada law specifically exempts liens filed by homeowners associations, as well as liens for property tax and unpaid construction bills."

For far too long homeowners in Nevada have been unsuspecting victims of people running the operations of common-interest communities, better known as homeowners associations. As of July 1, 1998, there is no good excuse for them to claim ignorance after buying into a common-interest community setting. Thanks to Schneider, the buyers today must be fully informed of the possible pitfalls and at least know the answer to the following questions:

1. You are agreeing to restrictions on how you can use your property?

2. You will have to pay owners' assessments for as long as you own your property?

3. If you fail to pay owners' assessments, you could lose your home?

4. You may become a member of a homeowners association that has the power to affect how you use and enjoy your property?

5. You are required to provide prospective buyers of your property with information about living in your common-interest community?

6. You have certain rights regarding ownership in a common-interest community that are guaranteed you by the state?

If there are additional questions, a buyer should contact ombudsman Mary Lynn Ashworth at (702) 486-4033 before buying.

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