Imagine I own a piece of land, subdivide it, and sell you a lot. You have a home built on the lot and move in. Two years after you bought the property I go to the county and establish an HOA that claims your property as being subject to my HOA’s restrictions. Along with that HOA is a condition that you must pay me 0.5% of the sale price of your home when you sell it in the future. I also give myself the ability to charge you dues, collect assessments, and build community properties at your expense. You also have no meaningful representation on the board for this new HOA. I get to appoint all the board members. Therefore, I can impose all these things on you without your consent!
Would you be OK with this?
It’s my opinion that this is essentially what Monte Vista Ranch (MVR) has done with the Eagle Mountain Master Association (EMMA) to a substantial number of homeowners in our neighborhoods.
The Case
The crux of the argument we want to address with the court is regarding what we believe is a wrongful lien on many properties in the city center area of Eagle Mountain.
We’re working on asking the court for quiet title and a judgment that the declaration of covenants filed by MVR and recorded Oct. 29th, 2009 are invalid for many of those properties.
Timeline
Starting around 2003 the owner of much of the land in the city center area began subdividing their property by filing the necessary plat documents with the county. During the course of subdividing and preparing for these lots to be sold declaration of covenants (CC&Rs) for neighborhood HOAs were filed with the county (example).
Time passed, homes were built on these lots, and eventually sold. Once these properties are sold, title passed from MVR to subsequent owners of the property. No one is disputing these neighborhood declarations. MVR was within their rights as owners of the property when they filed these declarations. These neighborhood HOAs have common area property that needs to be maintained by their respective HOAs.
However, after a significant period of time, sometimes years, MVR files another declaration of covenants with Utah county establishing the Eagle Mountain Master Association (EMMA). All the problems I describe with the hypothetical HOA in the introduction are a problem with EMMA.
We see this as an injustice and want to ask the court to declare EMMA’s claim on our properties invalid.