Reader comments
Eagle Mtn. family fights lien on home

David | 3:02 a.m. Nov. 23, 2007

Have you ever noticed how unfriendly some Utah communities must be? I would never live in Bluffdale or Eagle Mountain. I constantly read about how neighbors are getting short-shafted.

concerned citizen | 3:28 a.m. Nov. 23, 2007

We have had so many stories about fraud and problens in Easgle Mountain. Why woould anyone want t9 buy in that community?

Roscoe | 6:40 a.m. Nov. 23, 2007

Wouldn't the Nielsons have had to sign a document acknowledging that the subdivision is subject to CC&Rs and HOA governance received a copy of them at closing time? I find it hard to believe that they were buying a home in an HOA and it wasn't disclosed in some way during closing.

Comments continue below

Sad... | 7:36 a.m. Nov. 23, 2007

Eagle Mnt. wants so bad to be a real city - but it seems to be a magnet for people who have large egos and little experience. It is sad that the residents have to bear the brunt of ridiculous people who want so badly to be in "charge". It's like a bad vice principle in high school who gets off by intimidating kids just because power is given in that position. Get a lawyer and go after the H.A. - make them prove they are for real, or really, even needed.

RH | 7:38 a.m. Nov. 23, 2007

Foreclosure for $500? Wow, that is why H.O.A.s are such a farse and a Rip Off. Anyone who thinks an H.O.A. is a good idea, should think again. They are a money making scam and provide nothing in return except huge headaches. It is your property, you pay the mortgage, but THEY tell you what to do with your property and how and when to do it. Want an RV pad on your property, forget it! Want a shed, forget it! H.O.A.s should all dry up and blow away, then everyone would be better off.

vernon wallen | 7:56 a.m. Nov. 23, 2007

sounds like communism is alive and well in eagle mtn.

Dean of Ed. | 8:28 a.m. Nov. 23, 2007

Nielson family,
If you don't have anything more in writing than a simple flier, I would quickly negotiate with the HOA's attorney to reduce the fines and fees for your brand new membership into the association. The HOA will ultimately win out because they never represented to you that you weren't part of their association. You're going to have to go after your real estate agent separately (you won't win there either unless you have it in writing) to get your HOA fees back. Don't feel picked on because you're the only family who has a lien on your property. This article will prompt the HOA to file liens on your neighbor's properties too--yikes! One good thing might come out of this article, your agent, Mr. Dimick should lose quite a bit of business in the future.

Jay | 8:39 a.m. Nov. 23, 2007

Dean, I would say it's the opposite: It's the HOA's burden to prove that these guys are in their Association, so if the HOA doesn't have anything in writing, they're the ones who need to be negotiating a lower penalty for filing a wrongful lien. But I agree, it all comes down to who has something in writing and signed.

Typical | 8:47 a.m. Nov. 23, 2007

The realtor's from two separate builders in our are neighborhood made false promises and never hand out any CCR's or even tell you they exist. They really need to be held accountable by their association to have some standard. FREE the NIELSON FAMILY

Former Utahn | 8:51 a.m. Nov. 23, 2007

HOA's are great!

We moved to Texas several years ago. They have HOA's in our neighborhoods and they are some of the most beautiful neighborhoods I've seen. People can't have old wrecked cars parked around their homes, their yards have to be taken care of, their fences maintained, no tin sheds building are allowed, the pools and parks are well manicured in the subdivisions, and no homes with chipped or peeled paint. I don't feel my rights have been taken away, I live in a beautiful setting. I wish my old neighborhood in Utah would have had some restrictions. Our neighborhood in Utah was great, but a few uncaring neighbors ruined it for everybody.

rich | 9:10 a.m. Nov. 23, 2007

I also am surpised you didn't have to sign a HOA/ CCR's document at closing. I to think HOA'S are a big money making scam. From what I understand you can't live anywhere in EM and not be part of a HOA. I would never live there.

Johny Fairplay | 9:15 a.m. Nov. 23, 2007

Well said Concerned Citizen.

BBKing | 9:31 a.m. Nov. 23, 2007

I like the comment about communism being alive and well in Eagle Mountain.

I am stunned that in the 21st Century any family would go through this. If what the attorney is doing is allowed by law, then the law needs to change. Who is the Senator out their, State Senator Mark Madsen.

May need to find another Senator. This is the gentleman who called detractors of a junket to China as "boneheads." That was reported in the Dnews.

I would call either the Senate President John Valentine or Howard Stephenson. What a nightmare!

Bucko | 9:59 a.m. Nov. 23, 2007

We lived at The Ranches for three years. The HOA drove us out. A HOA is supposed to protect your property value but this HOA is so power hungry they could actually be lowering property value. Who wants to live under heavy hand?

junthor | 10:01 a.m. Nov. 23, 2007

This HOA seems like a bully is they can't even settle this out of court and sent a attorney to deal with the matter right away. What Kind of organization does that over so little money?

THis is their home.. not just a piece of property

goose | 10:08 a.m. Nov. 23, 2007

Fight Fight Fight. They have nothing. You own the land and you may do what you what. HOAs do not a LDS prayer in court.

Dean of nothing | 10:12 a.m. Nov. 23, 2007

I am a real estate agent and this sounds fishy. Who is telling the truth here. There is something missing in this story. When you go to closing the HOA should have been disclosed on your HUD settlement statements. At closing you would have know if you where in an HOA or not and some kind of dues would have been collected at closing. The title company researches those types of things before closing. So in this story something is missing or someone is not telling the truth. This story needs to come before the Salt Lake Board or the State for investigation.

sorry, but | 10:30 a.m. Nov. 23, 2007

That is an ugly, ugly house. Is it not possible to build a nice looking house in Utah?

HOA Membership | 11:15 a.m. Nov. 23, 2007

HOA Membership does not need to be signed. We just purchased a home subject to CC&Rs and HOA and we never signed a single paper at closing or received a single notice in advance. We did know about it and were ok with it, but the terms and conditions of a property are not always disclosed fully at closing. Nielson family should have done their homework, but it sounds like their agent screwed them. Nielsons, you will probably loose against the HOA, but you have a case against your agent. Get a good lawyer.

Bunn | 12:12 p.m. Nov. 23, 2007

I'm retired and looking for a new home. We just
received a notice from a builder to build us a
home for $160,000, in Eagle Mountain That seemed like a dream for a retiree on S.S. My wife and I
were going to drive out there and look it over.
However, after having read this article I tore up
the notice and put it out of my mind. No Eagle Mtn
for me. I've had enough of HOA's at my cabin Property.

Annie | 1:16 p.m. Nov. 23, 2007

My mother bought a beautiful condo in a retierement community. She knew it was part of and HOA before buying it but soon found out that they are totalitarian. Everyone in that community is just watching to see what the other does so they can get the HOA to give them a hard time. I would never buy a house with one of those in charge. Sure you get some perks from it but I agree with those htat have said that you can't even sneeze without someone complaining about it and to put a lean on your home? That's just crazy! Good luck but I'm afraid that I agree that big brother mostly wins out. Do you have the funds to really fight it?

Bob HOA owner | 3:06 p.m. Nov. 23, 2007

There is good and bad to HOA's. It depends on what you want. We travel a lot and our HOA takes care of everything on the outside of the house, landscaping, painting, roof, hazard ins, cable tv, pool and clubhouse, and tennis courts. All this for $172 a month. This is a bargin for us. The neighborhood is well keeped and looks good all the time. If you want to do your own thing then it is not for you. We were well informed about the HOA and what it entailed before purchasing the property. If these buyers were not informed about the HOA then someone is definitly accountable. Not all HOA's are bad they can be quite beneficial. It all depends on what you want.

Thomas | 3:20 p.m. Nov. 23, 2007

I know California real estate law better than Utah's, and there are probably key facts missing from the article (read: take anything I say with a grain of salt), but in California, if the HOA CC&Rs are recorded, the homeowner is deemed to have "constructive notice" of their existence even if they aren't physically provided to him at closing.

If Utah law works the same way, the Nielsons are probably bound by the CC&Rs. If the developer or Realtor represented otherwise, the Nielsons might have a claim for rescission of the purchase or damages against one or both of those parties.

rick | 10:54 p.m. Nov. 23, 2007

HOA's are usually run by a bunch of tin horn tyrants who love to tell their neighbors what their yards and everything else should look like. They couldn't make it into a city council somewhere so they set up shop in places like your community. These individuals some how were never taught about how freedom loving individuals feel about their property rights. Someone should chastise these power hungry individuals and let them know that their property rights end and their neighbors rights begin. AT THE PROPERTY LINE.

Rick | 4:30 a.m. Nov. 24, 2007

The thing that most of you are forgetting is that HOA stands for homeowners association. That means that any homeowner who lives in the neighborhood is member and can be elected and be part of the decision making process in the neighborhood. If you don't like your HOA, then get involved and get your neighbors involved and change it instead of whining like babies. I live in Texas and am very grateful that I have an HOA that works ward to protect my property value. The neighborhood around the corner from mine w/out an HOA is totally trashed and house values are in the toilet.

Not no fool | 9:56 p.m. Nov. 24, 2007

Anyone thinking of moving to Eagle Mountain would be a fool. That place is in the total hands of developers and land speculators. The homes are not only cheap in price, they are CHEAP in construction. The city council is removing the open space, trails and buffers and is allowing the whole place to become high density housing. An HOA is the least of your worries. The voters just gave the city away in the last election. Eagle Mountain is a nightmare.

Harold W | 11:02 p.m. Nov. 24, 2007

Foreclosing for $500? Why isn't there a law forbidding such theft? Only HOAs can do this. How did they get so much power? We need a Boston Tea Party uprising to get rid of these pathetic power hungry people controlling our property.

Texas Utahn | 8:56 a.m. Nov. 27, 2007

Wow. I am a 6th generation Utahn transplanted to Texas via the military. Not sure what is happening in my home state, but the HOAs here in Texas (as others have said) are wonderful! Honest people actually working to keep my property values (and theirs) where they need to be. Property values in my neighborhood have been improving and the outlook is that they will continue to improve throughout whatever housing crisis the rest of the nation is experiencing. I'm very happy to pay my HOA dues every year. I feel sorry for those of you in Utah who have had bad experiences with communistic HOAs; they're not all like that...

Anonymous | 10:32 p.m. Dec. 1, 2007

Don't move to Eagle Mountain. This HOA management company is very bad and they need to be shut down.

Jacey | 8:14 p.m. Feb. 13, 2008

We bought our house in the ranches and were told the HOA fee was going to pay for a new rec center. The rec center was cancelled but the fees remain the same. They planted shrubs then ripped them out a year later for exsercaping, now ripping that out too. I have tried to be heard at thier meetings but was told unless I want to be fined for ever tiny infraction to "But out!" They truly are bullies and I want to move!

Very Upset Homeowner! | 2:23 p.m. Oct. 16, 2008

Living Albuqeruque was very cool, buying a house was very cool! But Learning about that HOA totally ruined everythg 4 us.. They waste our water on the NM soil. And bill us for it. You see NM weeds and shrubs being watered and they expect us to pay for it. When those plants have been here for yrs and use very little water. They plant things that requires alot of water and want us to pay for it.. They have meeting on days that I work.. I work 2 jobs and have a family. I ALSO have a lien on my house. I cant pay them because they tack on all these paper fees and late fees. I also got fined for my dish being in the view of the HOA. They are the only one complaining about it. I lived in my new house for 4 years and had the dish up for 3yrs, and now they complain... Makes no sense.. I VOTE them out. If I could I would.. They totally Sucks big time. My daughter ask me"Where are we going to live?" I told her At the Office of the HOA.!!!!! I dont like them.

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