A couple living in a tiny 10-home cul-de-sac has been hit with a demand for about $9,000 in homeowners association dues. The bill covers roughly 12 years, most of it from a time when the association was run informally by a single neighbor.
Their daughter has been helping them dig into it. What she found raises real questions about whether the HOA was ever operating the way it was supposed to.
💸 Take Back Control of Your Finances in 2025 💸
Get Instant Access to our free mini course
5 DAYS TO A BETTER BUDGET
A 10-Home Cul-de-Sac
The couple bought their home in 2012 in a small community of just 10 houses. It’s a quiet, close-knit setup where neighbors know each other and share a few common areas, including a gate.
When they bought, they were told there wasn’t an HOA. The builders who developed the community were covering the cost of maintaining shared spaces.
No HOA at the Start
Eventually, the builders stopped covering those costs. That left the neighborhood to figure out how to handle maintenance on its own.
An HOA was formed, but it didn’t look like most associations. One neighbor took on every role, serving as president, treasurer, and secretary all at once.
One Neighbor Running Everything
The association functioned more like a casual community club than an official HOA. That same neighbor eventually began asking homeowners to pay dues for lawn mowing, tree care, and similar upkeep.
The couple chose to handle their own yard work instead of paying. They also felt uneasy about handing money to a group with no checks and balances, where one person collected the funds and controlled how they were spent.
They didn’t refuse to help entirely. When shared costs came up, like repairing the community gate, they chipped in.
Paying Dues for Two Years
Over time, more neighbors got involved and responsibilities were divided among several people. Once there was more oversight, the couple started paying regular dues.
They’ve now been paying for about two years. Even so, the HOA still runs in a very informal way.
A $9,000 Bill for 12 Years
Now the association wants the couple to pay all past dues going back roughly 12 years. The total comes to about $9,000.
That’s a significant amount for most households. It could cover months of mortgage payments, a major home repair, or a big chunk of savings, and it’s tied to years when the couple wasn’t sure the HOA was even legitimate.
The issue isn’t new. The neighborhood discussed collecting old fees once before and decided to let it go, but now the demand has come back.
A Suspended Registration
Their daughter looked up the association in the state’s business records. The HOA was originally registered in 2007, but it’s been in suspended status since 2020.
From talking with her parents, she learned that one neighbor, who moved in around the same time they did, revived the HOA but chose to run it informally to keep costs low. That meant not registering with the state, not filing required documents, and not closely following the bylaws.
That raises questions about how valid the past dues really are. If the HOA wasn’t properly maintained, it’s unclear whether it can now demand years of back payments.
Signed Into It at Purchase
When she reviewed her parents’ deed, she found they had signed documents for a planned unit development. That means they are technically part of the HOA, even if it hasn’t always been run properly.
Now three neighbors are working together to manage the association and keep up repairs on common areas. Their goal is to make sure shared spaces are maintained going forward, but the push for back dues has created tension.
The family wishes the HOA were handled by an outside management company. To them, the current setup feels disorganized, and they’d rather see the neighborhood run by clear, consistent rules.
A Fee Fight Brought Back
The couple is now stuck deciding how to respond. They could pay the $9,000, try to negotiate a lower amount, or challenge the demand based on how the HOA was run during those years.
Each option comes with risk. Fighting it could strain relationships in a neighborhood of only 10 homes, but paying could mean covering fees from a period when nobody was sure the association was operating properly, and they’re left weighing whether keeping the peace is worth the price.