DOES AN HOA HAVE TO BE REGISTERED AND HAVE DOCUMENTATION.

[Joycee]

Jurisdiction

Tennessee

I LIVE IN A SUBDIVISION WHO HAS CLAIMED TO BE AN HOA. I HAVE RESEARCHED THEIR STATUS IN TN BUT HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO LOCATE IT ANY WHERE. THE COUNTY CLEARK DOES NOT HAVE IT REGISTERED THERE EITHER.
DOES AN HOA, NON-PROFIT HAVE TO BE REGISTERED?
DOES AN HOA HAVE TO HAVE A BUSINESS LICENSED?
I WAS NOT SHOWN OR GIVEN ANY COVENANTS OR BY LAWS UNTIL I WAS TOLD BY A FRIEND WE WERE AN HOA AND SIGNED NOTHING.
HOW DO I RESEARCH THIS FURTHER AS THE FEES ARE GOING UP BUT NOTHING IS BEING DOE TO MAINTAIN ROADS OR COMMON AREA'S.
THANK YOU

 

[welkin]

I LIVE IN A SUBDIVISION WHO HAS CLAIMED TO BE AN HOA. I HAVE RESEARCHED THEIR STATUS IN TN BUT HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO LOCATE IT ANY WHERE. THE COUNTY CLEARK DOES NOT HAVE IT REGISTERED THERE EITHER.
DOES AN HOA, NON-PROFIT HAVE TO BE REGISTERED?
DOES AN HOA HAVE TO HAVE A BUSINESS LICENSED?
I WAS NOT SHOWN OR GIVEN ANY COVENANTS OR BY LAWS UNTIL I WAS TOLD BY A FRIEND WE WERE AN HOA AND SIGNED NOTHING.
HOW DO I RESEARCH THIS FURTHER AS THE FEES ARE GOING UP BUT NOTHING IS BEING DOE TO MAINTAIN ROADS OR COMMON AREA'S.
THANK YOU

It's all spelled out in the Tennessee Condominium Act of 2008.

 

[adjusterjack]

Joycee, please don't type in all caps. It's hard to read, annoying, and the equivalent of shouting.

One place that a non-profit is likely to be registered is with the IRS. You can run a search at:

https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/

 

[flyingron]

One place that a non-profit is likely to be registered is with the IRS. You can run a search at

Only if they have sought recognition under one of the tax preferenced sections 501 and the like. I can guarantee you that our HOA is not so registered.

If the HOA is a corporation, it should be registered with the state.
TN here: Business Entity Search - Business Services Online


Now the question you really want to ask is whatever the entity that exists (no matter what its nature is) is binding on your property. That's going to take some research in the land records. Typically, when a community is established, there are recorded CCRs that provide for the association and bind the property owners to participate. This may not show up in the history of your own property's deed.

If you really want to know, get an attorney to research it. If you have several properties that have this common concern, you can split the cost of that.

I disagree that the Horizontal Property section of the TN Code likely has any bearing here. It covers condomaniums (including some townhouses). If these are traditional single family homes, it doesn't apply. Tennessee doesn't currently have an act that reguilates non-"horizontal" HOAs specifically.

 

[adjusterjack]

condomaniums

Are there also condowomanums?

 

[zddoodah]

Please turn off the caps-lock key and don't post in all bold.

I LIVE IN A SUBDIVISION WHO HAS CLAIMED TO BE AN HOA.

A "subdivision" is not a sentient entity and is not capable of "claiming" anything. Who exactly made this claim? Some random guy down the street? Is it the "friend" to whom you referred later in your post?

DOES AN HOA, NON-PROFIT HAVE TO BE REGISTERED?

Most HOAs are corporations, but I can't rule out the possibility that an HOA could be a general partnership that is not "registered" with any governmental agency.

DOES AN HOA HAVE TO HAVE A BUSINESS LICENSED?

Depends on the laws of your locality.

I WAS NOT SHOWN OR GIVEN ANY COVENANTS OR BY LAWS UNTIL I WAS TOLD BY A FRIEND WE WERE AN HOA AND SIGNED NOTHING.

When you bought your home, did your title insurance policy make any reference to CC&Rs recorded against the property? Did you ask your friend why he thinks "we were an HOA" despite the apparent lack of CC&Rs? If so, how did he respond? If not, I think that would be a good thing for you to do.

HOW DO I RESEARCH THIS FURTHER AS THE FEES ARE GOING UP

Who's asking you to pay fees? Have you asked whomever is making this request to prove entitlement to fees despite the apparent lack of CC&Rs?

 

[welkin]

If these are traditional single family homes, it doesn't apply.

I disagree and I have no idea from where you draw that conclusion. The Act applies to all HOAs as the case law indicates that it applies to subdivisions of single detached housing. And it doesn't matter if the HOA is for profit or nonprofit or LLC or unincorporated.

The association shall be organized as a profit or nonprofit corporation or limited liability company or, in the case of a condominium with four (4) or fewer units that is not a master association, the association may be organized as an unincorporated association.

 

[Joycee]

Please turn off the caps-lock key and don't post in all bold.



A "subdivision" is not a sentient entity and is not capable of "claiming" anything. Who exactly made this claim? Some random guy down the street? Is it the "friend" to whom you referred later in your post?



Most HOAs are corporations, but I can't rule out the possibility that an HOA could be a general partnership that is not "registered" with any governmental agency.



Depends on the laws of your locality.



When you bought your home, did your title insurance policy make any reference to CC&Rs recorded against the property? Did you ask your friend why he thinks "we were an HOA" despite the apparent lack of CC&Rs? If so, how did he respond? If not, I think that would be a good thing for you to do.



Who's asking you to pay fees? Have you asked whomever is making this request to prove entitlement to fees despite the apparent lack of CC&Rs?

No my title insurance made NO reference to CC&Rs. I have went to The office and asked to see any documentation as to The Trustee's telling us we are an HOA. During my research I found that the Secretary of State, TN, sent me a document that our HOA and NON profit status had been revoked in the early 90"s.
The trustees are asking for fees.
, and in return we receive nothing. They have threatened to put a lien on our homes and even foreclose on OUR property if fees are not paid.
The Trustees have not presented any documents to me or other Home Owners. Thanks for the replies.

 

[adjusterjack]

I suggest that you and like minded homeowners get together and pool your resources. If each owner chips in $100 you should have enough for a few hours of a lawyer's time.

 

[zddoodah]

The Trustee's telling us we are an HOA.

The trustee of what?

Also, "we" are not an HOA. You might live in a home that is subject to the rule of an HOA, but you are not an HOA.

the Secretary of State, TN, sent me a document that our HOA and NON profit status had been revoked in the early 90"s.

Why would the TNSOS send this to you?

The Trustees have not presented any documents to me

Again, trustees of what? If your policy of title insurance mentions nothing about CC&Rs or any other relevant documents, and if no one is willing to provide you with such documents, then it sounds like whoever is claiming that an HOA exists is full of crap. I'd suggest telling this "trustee" or "trustees" that you'll not be paying anything absent documentary evidence that an HOA exists and that you are, by virtue of your ownership of your home, obligated to pay something, and that, if anyone puts a lien on your property, you will take appropriate legal action in response. If anything further comes of this, then you should high-tail it to a local attorney's office.

 

[flyingron]

I disagree and I have no idea from where you draw that conclusion. The Act applies to all HOAs as the case law indicates that it applies to subdivisions of single detached housing. And it doesn't matter if the HOA is for profit or nonprofit or LLC or unincorporated.

How I get that conclusion is that I read the rule and once you get past the definitions, it defines the "regime" under which it applies. It's for buildings (typically condo apartments) and I'm not seeing how it applies to individual detached homes with no common structure.

In fact, if you do a bit of googling, you'll find statements by attorneys that reinforce that despite attempts at Tennessee to enact HOA regulation in general, there is not currently any that applies universally.