251-217-9733
COA, HOA & Development Disputes
Assessments, covenants, boards, developers, and the common areas nobody wants to pay to fix.
Where Association Disputes Come From
Community association disputes arise between condominium and homeowner associations, their members, and the developers who created them, over assessments, covenant enforcement, board authority, reserves, and the condition of common areas.
A striking share of them trace back to a single moment: the transition of control from the developer to the association. That is when an association first inspects what it has actually been handed, first learns whether reserves were funded, and first discovers whether the common areas were built as specified. Disputes surfacing five years later frequently began there.
On the coast there is an additional pressure, because common areas take weather damage and repairing them raises the question of who was supposed to have been saving for it.
What We Handle
Developer transition disputes
Turnover of control, documentation, reserves, and the condition of what was conveyed.
Common area construction defects
Claims against developers and contractors for defective work in shared elements.
Assessment collection
Recovering unpaid assessments and special assessments, including liens where available.
Covenant enforcement
Enforcing restrictions, and defending owners against enforcement that exceeds the documents.
Board authority and governance
Elections, meetings, voting, and challenges to the validity of board action.
Reserve and special assessment disputes
Where a major repair is needed and the funding for it is contested.
Sound familiar?
Developer Transition: The Checklist Nobody Uses
When a developer hands control of an association to its owners, the association inherits everything. The common areas as built, the reserves as funded, the documents as maintained, and any claims that exist against the developer.
A professional reserve study
Establishing what should have been saved and what actually was. Underfunded reserves become special assessments owners did not expect.
An independent inspection of common areas
Before accepting them. Defects identified at transition are the developer's problem; defects found later are increasingly yours.
Complete governing documents and records
Declarations, amendments, plats, warranties, contracts, and minutes. Reconstructing these later is expensive and sometimes impossible.
Warranty and contract assignments
Confirming that warranties on roofs, systems, and equipment actually transferred and are still live.
Insurance and claims history
What is covered, what is not, and what has already been claimed on.
Who does this work
Jordan W Gerheim
Construction litigation, COA and HOA disputes, and development work, including planning, zoning, and coordination among developers, contractors, and lenders.
Benjamin N. Kearns
Construction and contract litigation, including claims involving multiple parties and shared property.
Cost and related pages
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Frequently Asked Questions
Our association just took over from the developer. What should we do first?
Commission an independent reserve study and an inspection of the common areas before accepting anything, and confirm you have received the complete records, warranties, and contract assignments. Claims against a developer are strongest immediately after transition and weaken with time (boards that inspect first are in a fundamentally different position from those that inspect after a problem appears).
Owners are refusing to pay a special assessment. What can we do?
It depends on whether the assessment was validly adopted under the governing documents and applicable law, which is the first thing to establish rather than the last. Where it was, associations generally have collection remedies including liens. Where the procedure was defective, pursuing collection tends to compound the problem rather than resolve it.
We found construction defects in the common areas. Is it too late?
Possibly not, but it depends on when the work was done, when the defect was or should have been discovered, and what warranties or claims transferred at turnover. These questions are time-sensitive and get worse with delay. If defects have appeared, the assessment of whether a claim survives is worth doing now rather than after another season of damage.
Can the board enforce a covenant nobody has enforced in years?
Sometimes, but selective or long-dormant enforcement creates real arguments for owners, including waiver and inconsistent application. Where a board wants to resume enforcing something it has let slide, doing it deliberately and uniformly, with notice, is considerably more defensible than starting with the owner who has annoyed everyone.
Related Insights
The Best Time to Call Is at Transition
Book a Risk-Free Strategy Session. Whether you are taking over from a developer or dealing with what one left behind, an early assessment is worth the hour.