Barbara Holland: Realtor, seller should have disclosed property issues in Las Vegas condo sale

Q: I have a few questions:

1.) Senate Bill 260: Would the bank escrow requirement for homeowners association assessments apply to existing loans or just new loans? I have an 8-month credit balance with my HOA. What would happen to that? I assume that would be an internal transaction between me and the management company.

2) We have a nonresident on our board. The bylaws, covenants, conditions and restrictions are silent as to this qualification. Indeed, there is no requirement that a board member even be a lot owner. I feel this is a dangerous situation that has the ability to drastically alter the character of the neighborhood, as such board members do not have the vested interest in the community that residents do. This is especially true for owners who rent their units. Is this a common issue?

3.) There are six pools and six spas on the property. We were never told by the HOA or the management company that:

a.) Three of the pools are no longer heated due to financial reasons.

b.) Three of the spas have been permanently abandoned due to structural problems.

We bought our place in March. The three spas in question had wooden covers on them and we assumed they were covered for the winter. We find out a few months later about the spas and unheated pools. Question: Should the HOA/management company have divulged these issues with the pools/spas? Neither of issues presents a physical problem but had they been disclosed, we might have asked why and looked elsewhere.

A: I'll answer your questions in order:

1.)The state Legislature did not pass any law that would require banks to escrow HOA assessments.

2.) Nevada Revised Statutes 116.31034 states there must be at least three members on the HOA board who are community homeowners. Interestingly enough, the law also states that unless your governing documents state otherwise, officers of the association are not required to be unit owners. If I had to take a guess, most associations are managed by unit owners.

3.) Ask your friendly Realtor, who received a commission on the sale of your home, why this was not disclosed to you as required by law. The seller and/or her agent should have provided a seller's real property disclosure form that listed any material issues that would have caused a potential buyer to make a decision not to purchase the home. It is not the association's legal responsibility to provide that information. The association does not want to be accused by the seller that it interfered with the sale process and caused the transaction to fold.

Q: I don't have detailed information nor background about the neighbor across from us except that he is Canadian-born with a wife and three children — all boys.

Our previous neighbor owned a recreational vehicle, which the developer (I learned after buying) gave them half of the driveway with a wall to separate it from our driveway. The previous neighbor, Joe, wife and two boys, never played basketball in front of our home. The new neighbors also have two hockey racks and did use them often until we and a former next door neighbor complained; the couple next to us complained to the HOA.

We returned home once and found our Canadian friends sitting on our step watching a Canadian basketball game. I, satirically, said to them, "You've got the best seats in the house." Think the game ended soon after that.

The developer made the "deal" with Joe for the lot across from us (which faces the street in front of our next-door neighbors). We are now skeptical that this deal could be judged illegal since the developer "assigned" half of the street in front of our house and the side of the Canadian's house, which has begun a new issue between us. We've unknowingly had a chunk of our access to our garage taken away. Do you have any thoughts on this?

At this point there is no RV and only a mobile basketball hoop and two hockey goals — and a shorter driveway.

A: There is a major difference between "assigning" half of the street and "annexing" half of the street. At this point, you need to contact legal counsel and obtain what records have actually been recorded against the properties.

Barbara Holland, certified property manager, broker and supervisory certified association manager, is president and owner of H&L Realty and Management Co. Questions may be sent to the Association Q&A, P.O. Box 80360, Las Vegas, NV 89180. Fax is 702-385-3759, email is support@hlrealty.com.