I found a perfect condo near the beach but HOA was like ‘little dictatorship’ – its tiny home failure was last straw

A HOMEOWNER is taking on homeowners associations after buying a property and discovering a lack of transparency, especially in relation to finances.

Timothy Hinds bought a condo at Ocean Walk on Oak Island in North Carolina in October 2020 with his wife Jeanne.

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The pair had regularly taken vacations in the area and decided to buy a second home.

Hines told Star News: We have loved Oak Island for decades, vacationing and visiting here every year, renting each time.

“When we finally had the money to buy here, we looked at houses and condos all over the island, finally settling on Ocean Walk for the spacious layout, proximity to the beach, easy parking, and having an elevator.”

However, after buying the property and becoming a member of the home association, Hinds noticed a number of issues which saw him set up the North Carolina Homeowner Association Law Reform Coalition.

The group states on its website: “We are a growing group of concerned homeowners in HOAs in North Carolina working together to achieve reform of our state’s laws to provide effective and accessible protections for homeowners.”

One of the first issues he identified after moving to Ocean Walk was that $187,057 had been placed in a working account from the HOA’s reserve fund.

This revelation concerned homeowners in the area about what would happen in sudden emergencies that demand access to the reserved funds such as damage caused by storms or hurricanes.

Hinds noticed other “questionable expenditures” and spent years attempting to get an official financial statement which he has never been given.

He explained, “The board has vehemently opposed the idea of an audit financial statement,” as it only releases “high-level summaries.”

The final straw came when the HOA reformer discovered that the board had purchased 16 storage sheds for a communal area but that “there were no minutes from any meeting showing that they had decided to do this.”

Hinds was left questioning if the move was even legal as the sheds would turn the common area into a limited common area which under state law can’t be done without unanimous consent.

According to Hinds, the board did not get this.

However, the sheds were never installed after the town halted work in November last year due to a failure to obtain the correct permits for the sheds.

The town’s fire inspector then ruled that the sheds interfered with the fire code and therefore could not be built.

Hinds explained that he and his fellow homeowners have since complained about the lack of transparency from the board.

He then decided to tackle the laws surrounding HOAs rather than specific organizations.

“The problem is not the individual HOAs,” Hinds explained adding: “It’s the laws.

“They’re set up to benefit developers and builders, they’re not set up to benefit homeowners.

“It’s almost like a little dictatorship.”

Hinds’ priority is changing the laws so that homeowners can access financial records and that there is more transparency around board elections.

He noted that those who have complaints about their HOA have very few options without taking legal action which could cause ongoing issues in terms of living in the community.

“Even if you win, that’s no fun because you’ve just won a lawsuit against your neighbors and yourself,” he said.

The U.S. Sun has contacted Go Property Management, the agent for Ocean Walk Condominium Association for comment and contact details for representatives at Hinds’ HOA.