What Will It Cost to Fight the HOA?

The  Summit's HOA has filed serious legal action against me. 

The Affidavit of Danny Trapp, President of the HOA, is public record, because it has been filed with the Richland County Court of Common Pleas. Of course, it's hard for the public to get at it without electronic access to court records.

But you can always drive downtown and read it in person.

Or maybe I can figure out how to publish a readable version here on this blog. I'll try. 

What is your guess of my legal expense to defend myself against this action by your HOA?

$10,000?
$20,000?
$30,000?
$40,000?
$50,000?

And your guess of the HOA's cost for the Cease and Desist Letter in August? The Summons & Complaint in December? The Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order?

You can watch the mounting cost to the HOA by examining the monthly Financial Operating Results report. Look for Line 6500 (Legal / Professional Fees) in the Statement of Revenues and Expenses.

To find those reports, go the HOA's website at https://summithomeowners.com  Hover over RESIDENTS; click on DOCUMENTS. Click on Financial Operating Results. Choose your month.

As of the 11/30/24 Results, the HOA had paid out $22,866.41 on Line 6500. The pro-rata, 11-month's budget was $13,750, and the full-year's budget for that Line $15,000. As is easily seen, the HOA has far over-spent on legal fees.

Did the HOA pay any Legal Fees in December? Look at the December report, when it is published. Then watch the January, February, and March reports for Line 6500. This is where the cost of the lawsuit against me will be reported.

For some unknown reason, the Variance for Line 6500 was excluded from the other ten variances (over-spending) shown on Page 2 of the 11/30/24 report. Was this an inadvertent omission (like the 2025 Budget from the January dues letter)?

Line 6500 is the correct line. I may have stated an incorrect Line Number in one or more recent blogposts.


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