"They devour the homes of the widows." 
                         ― Jesus of Nazareth

“One cannot in the nature of things expect a little tree 
        that has been turned into a club to put forth leaves.”
                          ― Martin Buber, Jewish philosopher  

"The HOA industry regularly engages in unethical, opportunistic, and even illegal actions, depriving [homeowners] of their rights and financial interests."  ― Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities

Preamble: Here in Quail Valley (QV), we are an HOA community of 592 homeowners. Other states such as Arizona, Florida, and Pennsylvania are reforming their old laws governing homeowner associations, but Maryland continues to uphold laws and practices that feed an HOA industry that profits by manufacturing homeowner debt. Players in this predatory industry target our bank accounts, our home equity, and our constitutional freedoms. The result? Families suffer housing insecurity and financial distress. (Note 1) The HOA discourages open discussion about the community’s most serious challenges. (Note 2) This is "The New Redlining": working class and ethnic-minority homeowners suffer disproportionately. This situation is unsustainable, unjust, and un-American.

Petition: We the homeowners of Quail Valley demand that our HOA board of directors immediately halt day-to-day abusive management practices in our community. We ask Maryland Governor Wes Moore and Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich to prevent more abuses by rapidly issuing executive orders where that is possible. We ask state legislators to reform the laws that govern HOAs in Maryland, laws that uphold the abuses.  

1. STOP "REASSIGNING" OUR MONTHLY DUES. Today, the QV HOA can take our monthly dues (the “assessment,” $104.50 per month for owners of QV townhomes) and credit that money to any other alleged debt that the HOA happens to concoct: for example, “collection of fees and costs”; “all interest and late fees”; and “all other penalties.” Only when all that is paid up will any of our assessment check be credited to our monthly assessment, even if we write “FOR MONTHLY ASSESSMENT ONLY” on the memo line. (QV HOA Collection Policies & Procedures, Feb. 14, 2022). 

2. STOP ACCELERATING OUR DEBT. And then, once the HOA has "reassigned" the money we sent, we are late on dues payments. Instantly, all of our assessments for the rest of the calendar year (let's say, eight months) becomes due immediately. Our family owes $836 today. We are trapped in a system that rapidly manufactures debt. Today, “accelerating the assessment” is legal in Maryland. (p. 74, CCOC Manual and Resource Guide). This is a form of “equity theft.” It is an HOA's attack on a family’s credit rating, bank account, and home equity that can compel them to flee the community. It reduces the value of their home at closing, while generating profits for powerful players in the HOA industry. 

3. STOP PREDATORY CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. Here in Quail Valley HOA, our board of directors has hired a property management company that is also a debt collection agency. The property management reminds us (in the recorded phone message, in its letters) of this fact. The inspector who is inspecting my home has a strong financial incentive to make vague and aggressive "property violations" against my home so as to bump me into the debt machine. That unethical business model should be illegal in the United States. (Note 3)

4. ENFORCE TRANSPARENCY. My HOA should forfeit the right to collect any outstanding fine if it fails to produce a detailed record of my past due account. (See the new Florida law). HOAs are obscure on many levels. Who are your elected HOA board members? It's difficult to discover online. All the governing documents  should be viewable not just by HOA members, but by the public, especially by prospective home buyers. (Note 4) If I have a grievance against my HOA, which state office can help me? Is it the Office of Financial Regulation, or the Consumer Protection Division, or some other agency of the Maryland Attorney General? The Maryland Commission for Civil Rights also has a complaint form.

5. ESTABLISH A SEPARATION OF POWERS. HOA boards wield  unconstitutional powers. The same people (the QV HOA board of directors) who make the accusation against us also hear our plea, judge us, and impose the punishment on us “with a little help” from vendors such as the property management, debt collector, and attorney who attacks us in court, whose fee is paid with our monthly dues. Currently, our board seems to have surrendered its authority to cancel an alleged “property violation” against a homeowner, even if it’s a clerical error. The homeowner must attend a monthly community meeting and plead their case at 9:00 pm or so in a "closed session" with the HOA board members, and then the board has to debate the matter and vote on it. The board has surrendered its own authority to the property management it has hired. The tail wags the dog. 

6. REGULATE MAINTENANCE AND SAFETY, NOT STYLE. The community has a legitimate interest in having a row of townhomes be well maintained, and there is a reasonable maintenance checklist for Quail Valley homeowners (and HOA inspectors) to follow. It is, however, none of the HOA’s business if we want an ebony front door or a flower pot pot on our front stoop. The HOA is the steward of the common property, so the state-mandated HOA "reserve study" should include a 40-year plan for the management of the community's trees, which includes planting, maintenance, and removal. It's a safety issue, and it is very costly to the HOA if it neglects this responsibility. 

7. END FINES FOR “PROPERTY VIOLATIONS.” Fines are counter-productive and kill community spirit. HOAs can manage the community by educating and, if necessary, intervening, while eschewing fines and other punishments. HOAs already have the legal authority to enter my property to fix any eyesore (e.g., a detached gutter), and then send me the bill. Fair enough. But when the HOA fines me thousands of dollars, then I have less money to perform needed repairs. 

8. LIMIT “VIRTUAL” MEETINGS TO 3 PER YEAR. While there can be advantages to holding board meetings online, there are also disadvantages. Homeowners cannot fully witness communication of important community issues. “It’s more difficult to read body language, to survey the room and see who else is attending and to gauge their reactions.” (Note 5) HOAs often control the microphones unfairly. Some HOA members lack knowledge of how to participate in a virtual meeting. Others may not have a reliable internet service provider. Neighbors need to meet one another face-to-face. (Note 6)

9. REQUIRE ALL CONTRACTORS TO OBEY HOA REGULATIONS. Plumbers and deck builders must obey county and state code as they work on our house. But a fence builder or cable installer can finish their job, leave, and then we receive an HOA “property violation” for their work. This set-up-and-knock-down happens all the time. It’s profitable for the HOA industry. Demand # 9 requires, of course, that fence builders and cable installers are able to find the HOA’s rules easily. See Demand # 4, above.

10. ENFORCE ACCOUNTABILITY BY AWARDING REPARATIONS TO HOA HOMEOWNERS. If a Maryland Court judge or the Attorney General decides in favor of a homeowner, then the HOA should reimburse the homeowner the amount the homeowner spent on attorney fees, HOA fines and fees, and monthly assessments for the time the homeowner has been denied the benefits of membership, such as a number to reserve their parking space and permission to enter the community pool. There should be a clear consequence when an HOA bullies a widow during a global pandemic. This is called “accountability.” (Note 7) 

                                 NOTES
Note 1: Each year, Quail Valley HOA collects more that $600,000 in monthly assessments from its 592 homeowners. Evidence that the HOA creates “housing insecurity and financial distress” for its members is amply documented at the "Living on Cuckoo Court" blogs, tinyurl.com/CuckooCourt; and at   marylandmatters.org/2021/09/22/opinion-pandemic-a-boon-for-debt-collection-attorneys; and IndependentAmericanCommunities.com

Note 2: S.L.A.P.P. –  patch.com/maryland/gaithersburg/hoa-threatens-lawsuit-against-21-year-resident-nodx and https://patch.com/maryland/gaithersburg/property-manager-obstructs-free-discussion-hoa-community-meeting-nodx

Note 3: independentamericancommunities.com/2023/11/07/time-to-rein-in-the-power-of-hoas-homeowners-associations/ and independentamericancommunities.com/2022/03/30/opinion-heres-why-state-lawmakers-should-consider-revoking-hoa-powers-to-fine-and-strictly-limit-foreclosure-of-hoa-liens/

Note 4: QV HOA Bylaws and the 2024 Operating budget are not listed on this "Documents" QV HOA webpage today (July 10, 2024).

Note 5: As discussed in 2023 law affecting California homeowners – independentamericancommunities.com/2024/02/19/four-new-hoa-and-adu-laws-for-california-homeowners/

Note 6: To join an informal neighborhood listserv, which is not part of the HOA, send your name, address, and request entry to quail-valley-friendly-team@googlegroups.com *** PHOTO: A collage of Quail Valley HOA homeowners, at the Community Barn, protesting HOA abuses, facing away from the camera because some of us fear retribution from the HOA board of directors. Photos taken April 2-4, 2021, when the COVID vaccine was not yet available to children 15 years of age or younger. The QV Friendly Team has grown from a small group to a listserv including about 55 residents of QV. 

Note 7: Maryland's laws governing HOAs are summarized at  law.justia.com/codes/maryland/real-property/title-11b/. The widow mentioned above, who is an immigrant African American, filled out a complaint form with the Maryland Attorney General and got the HOA's lien on her home removed. ***