Road Associations - Anyone have any experience of them?
 

We have a cottage in NH which is on a private road. We had to establish a Road Association with the other properties on the road earlier this year. So far there has been an introductory meeting but no election of President, etc. however a couple of people have collected an initial payment, created a rough budget, organised trash removal and plowing for the road and SOME of the properties,, and spent $$ getting a couple of ditches cleared. For the plowing they got one quote and signed to that company for 3 years without any discussion with the property owners, and same story for the ditch clearing. They are now looking for another payment, yet they don't have a board, proper budget, and their actions aren't inspiring confidence. This is our first experience of a Road Association so wondering if anyone has any experience or advice please?

Re: Road Associations - Anyone have any experience of them?
 

Since you are in NB, Canada, I'm assuming this is just a holiday home for you and your family. Possibly there was another meeting when you weren't available to attend and a 'board' as such was put in place. Contact whoever you think is the new head of the organization and/or ask your neighbor. In Seneca Lake, New York, our friends sit together with the other homeowners, decide what needs to be done, get quotes (3 to be fair) and then jointly makes a decision on who gets the contract for whatever is decided needs to be done. The only person 'in charge' is the financial officer who collects the monies and makes out the checks.

Re: Road Associations - Anyone have any experience of them?
 

Yes, it's a holiday home, as are around 80% of the properties. As far as we can understand there hasn't been any meetings, elections, etc. as the person who collected the $ keeps promising to set one up but we haven't been invited to anything and neither has our next door neighbour. The person collecting the $$ lives there year round so it's easier for them to organise stuff, but going to a single contractor and signing a 3 year contract when you aren't elected just seems wrong. Looking at NH law there are different types of Road Association, some require all property owners to contribute, others don't, and it's unclear what type we have. I'm just trying to work out if it's worth getting legal advice

Re: Road Associations - Anyone have any experience of them?
 

I wouldn't pay anything to anybody without a clear understanding of the terms of the association. Surely there is some kind of document governing the association? I would start by asking the people who collected the payment.

Re: Road Associations - Anyone have any experience of them?
 

Whatever type it is, it would surely need to be legally constituted. I wouldn't pay up any more money without checking the legality of the setup. If you don't want to hire an attorney yet you could contact your local government office to find out if this type of association needs to be registered -- and if that has taken place. If not, get together with the other disgruntled owners to hire an attorney to write a cease and desist to whoever is taking the law into their own hands.

Re: Road Associations - Anyone have any experience of them?
 

Re: Road Associations - Anyone have any experience of them?
 

Re: Road Associations - Anyone have any experience of them?
 

Thanks for the advice. Thinking we'll try talking to one of the neighbours who seems to have been involved in an HOA.

Re: Road Associations - Anyone have any experience of them?
 

The house we lived in for 25 years in California was one of three houses on a private road - a very tricky, steep, nasty road that required a certain degree of attention ($50,000 soon after we moved in!). There was a 'roadway maintenance agreement' which was originally written by the builder / developer of the three houses, and which we had to review and sign at the time of purchase. Basically, this agreement read just like a typical HOA document. It stipulated that the homeowners were jointly responsible for the road (and something like 10 either side of it) and had to pay equally for costs. I don't recall now if there were legal recourse steps outlined, but I can't imagine they were not specified. I would be surprised if the development you refer to did not have something legal written at the time of subdivision or whatever.

Re: Road Associations - Anyone have any experience of them?
 

When we bought the place there was an HOA that covered a lot or properties. That's been disbanded so those of us on the private road now need a road association, which is fine, but the issue is that we have a self-appointed president who is randomly spending $$ and who has created a budget that comprises best guesses and doesn't even add up!! We've given them a chance to have a meeting to discuss how things should proceed, and have developed a sensible budget proposal so fingers crossed!!

Re: Road Associations - Anyone have any experience of them?
 

This seems to have catastrophe written all over it. ..... a legal nightmare just waiting to happen imho. I say that because it sounds like they are getting the cart in front of the horse.

So, there is a dissolved HOA & Covenants already in existence; presumably are recorded on the property. One should dig those up to see exactly what they once were etc and see if there is any mention about the road etc - basically the road is/was possibly HOA owned to begin with. That could be a benchmark to start from. However, how is it private - do property lots abut up to the road (old community land (like an HOA park, green space) or does the road exist by means of easements across individual lots? The latter, like a sidewalk, by definition already are property owner's responsibility, but one may/may not have ability to enforce anyone to do anything. You probably want to get a plat map of the neighborhood as well.

So, basically an attempt to form a mini-hoa just for the road .... how are they proposing how they will operate? Regular meetings with minutes, quorum requirements for voting approval and enactment etc etc etc? Or, will this just be an unrecorded signed agreement between individual homeowners of shared expenses of certain services? The "President" and newly formed hoa better include D&O insurance!! otherwise, "they" are exposing themselves to alot of personal liability (which their regular insurance won't cover)!!!! If this is going to be a recorded agreement (like an easement) then there are a whole avenue of things to address and double check; like, it goes with the land not the person, possible title concerns (would it flag a lender?). Ofcourse, what happens if people don't pay their share ..... is it grounds for a lien?

In a nutshell, an attorney should be involved, esp drafting any sort of agreement. As an option, if it is indeed an old HOA owned road, can it be handed over to the city/county (and what cost?).

Re: Road Associations - Anyone have any experience of them?
 

I'm with you 100% on this. Legally, 'someone' is responsible for the road, and if there's ever a dispute, or an accident (liability), ownership and responsibility will have to be determined. If it's not clear now, then it will be expensively messy when the time comes. In the case of my (former) road, the road was an easement over each individual's property, just like utility easements.

Imagine the road degrades and becomes impassable to fire trucks. A fire occurs at a house on the road. The house burns down and the road condition was a factor. Insurance companies could refuse to pay for the fire damage because it was preventable. Imagine a homeowner on the road embarks on a major rebuild; heavy construction traffic puts significant wear-and-tear on the road ... can the owner be held responsible? Most roads end up serving fewer and fewer homes the further along the road you get. Are homeowners near the 'start' of the road liable for the repair of the road 'further along' the road? 'Equal responsibility' needs to be spelled out.

What mystifies me, though, is how the OP was even able to buy a property with such a messy element. Lenders want title searches, and title searches usually uncover things like this. Title insurance companies likewise. So how did this slip past a buyer, lender, and title company? Did the seller disclose this situation? If not, they withheld substantial information about the property they sold.

My old agreement had an arbitration clause. Basically, any owner could call a meeting to remedy a problem; if an agreement was not reached by simple majority then the matter could be referred to arbitration according to California law.

Re: Road Associations - Anyone have any experience of them?
 

As you say it's a total mess, mainly because the self-appointed president is power crazy and clueless! The road was owned by an HOA which was in good standing when property was purchased so there were no issues flagged. That HOA looked after the road including maintenance, plowing, etc. so it ran smoothly. The HOA signed the road over to the association set up by the power-crazed one, who promised meetings to elect officials, etc. but so far they've failed to do anything except spend $$ and sign contracts!

Oh and the city refuse to adopt the road for various reasons, which probably include being scared away by the power-crazed one!!

Re: Road Associations - Anyone have any experience of them?
 

I wouldn't be too surprised that the city isn't adopting the road; it's pretty common these days that roads that start out private stay private, although your city may be different.

What was the motivation behind this ... "The HOA signed the road over to the association ..." ? Were you a member of the original 'HOA', and was that approved by a majority of the members? What is the difference between the original HOA and the 'association'? Does the new 'association' have a valid operating document? I don't know what rules exist in your state or county, but in CA, 'associations' are heavily regulated, and have to file appropriate documents in order to legally exist. If the association is properly 'formed', then their failure to act according to their charter may be grounds to take action. If the association is NOT properly formed, then the act of 'signing over' the road to the new association may be an invalid action by the old HOA and you may be able to argue that the old HOA still has responsibility for the road.

How long is the road, how many houses are served by it, and is it in reasonable shape at the moment?

Re: Road Associations - Anyone have any experience of them?
 

We were members of the original HOA which wanted to disband, and that was agreed by a majority vote. The original HOA covered a much larger area than our road, but the other roads were public so our road was the only one the HOA owned and maintained. The association is purely for our road because it's a private road, and private roads must establish a road association. Along with a couple of other neighbours we're trying to get documentation, contracts, etc. but the self-appointed president promises meetings then fails to set them up or something comes up at the last minute, promises to send documents then "forgets", etc.
Road is in good condition at the moment and is mostly holiday homes so it can be difficult to get people together plus a lot of them would rather just let someone else do the work, which is a recipe for disaster in the long term.