Private Road help

[Theresa H]

Jurisdiction

Texas

I live in a small community consisting of 58 lots. We have a property owners association to "manage" the place and it's run by members of the community. I use the term manage loosely as the Board of Directors have ZERO power to do anything to manage the place. In our community, we have common areas that all owners have a 1/58 share of if the place should be dissolved. The POA is responsible for maintaining the common areas. The road I live on is considered part of the common area and it is in dire need of repair. Currently, the road looks like one out of a war torn 3rd world country. A motorcycle can't safely be ridden on it and a low profile car has a high likelihood of incurring damage if they try to pass it. We don't have the money to properly fix the road and all special assessments must be voted in by a supermajority (67%) of lot owners. Being that only 1/3 of the properties reside on this road, you can guess how a special assessment vote will turn out. Because this road is not part of my property, if the lot owners on this road wanted to pay to fix it ourselves, we couldn't even legally do that as it's not our land to do as we wish. What recourse do myself and my other 1/3 of property owners have in this case?

 

[Tax Counsel]

You'll need to read over the community governing documents to see what options you may have to try to get the association to pay for it. If you can't get the association to pay for it, then consider getting the association rules changed so that homeowners whose land abuts the road must pay for upkeep. That way your one-third could get on with the business of fixing the road and the rest of the association won't care because they won't have to pay for it. But then when they need their roads fixed, they'll have to pay the full cost of that and you won't be involved.

 

[adjusterjack]

Because this road is not part of my property, if the lot owners on this road wanted to pay to fix it ourselves, we couldn't even legally do that as it's not our land to do as we wish.

I'm sure that the Board would give you and the affected homeowners consent to repair your road.

We don't have the money to properly fix the road

A am assuming, from your description that it's a dirt road. 19 or 20 homeowners chipping in $500 each should be able to get it graded and a layer of gravel put down.

Have you gotten estimates? If not, how do you know you don't have the money?

 

[welkin]

In our community, we have common areas that all owners have a 1/58 share of if the place should be dissolved.

The place (your subdivision) wouldn't be dissolved but the POA might be.

The road I live on is considered part of the common area and it is in dire need of repair.

How do you know that the roads through the subdivision are considered common areas? Does it say that in the governing documents or are you assuming they are?

The more likely arrangement is that the properties that abut the road own to the centerline of the road and there would be an easement that makes all members of the POA dominant tenants.

You should get a copy of the subdivision plat (from the county registrar) when the community was developed. It would indicate who would own the roads in the drawing and in the notes.

 

[zddoodah]

I use the term manage loosely as the Board of Directors have ZERO power to do anything to manage the place.

"Manage the place" can encompass a great many things. Without knowing exactly what powers have been conferred on this property owners' association, it may be difficult to respond fully to your inquiry.

We don't have the money to properly fix the road and all special assessments must be voted in by a supermajority (67%) of lot owners. Being that only 1/3 of the properties reside on this road, you can guess how a special assessment vote will turn out.

That tells me that whoever set up the POA did a piss poor job.

What recourse do myself and my other 1/3 of property owners have in this case?

No one who hasn't read the POA's organizational documents can opine intelligently about this. That said, I highly doubt anyone would be upset if the owners who are affected by the street's condition took it upon themselves to repair it. I suggest you (i.e., all of you who are affected) discuss the matter with the board.

 

[Tax Counsel]

That tells me that whoever set up the POA did a piss poor job.

I wouldn't have put it quite that way, but that was essentially my thought too. My guess is that the POA was set up by the developer that built the the homes and that it just used a standard template for the governing documents of the Association. I've seen that happen with some Associations in my area. The builders don't really care much about what happens after they sell the homes so they don't have a lot of incentive to do a great job of setting up the Association. They just assume the homeowners will make whatever changes they want later on.

 

[adjusterjack]

They just assume the homeowners will make whatever changes they want later on.

And the homeowners are complacent or ignorant and nothing gets changed until they have to scramble when something expensive goes wrong.