We will act as a neutral in facilitating communication between you and the business in an attempt to resolve the complaint.
If a mutually agreeable resolution cannot be reached, we may provide information regarding other options available to you. Where a complaint appears to involve a violation of consumer protection law, the matter may be reviewed to determine if there is a pattern or practice of violations warranting a possible law enforcement action.
Your complaint and copies of related correspondence will be retained in accordance with the applicable state records retention schedule. Closed complaints are subject to public disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
Banks and Other Financial Institutions. Legal Services Contracts. Business vs. Lemon Law. Business Operating Outside of Virginia. Some institutions are regulated by federal government agencies.
For example:. Below, you will also find a list of some of the largest institutions operating in Virginia that are regulated by other agencies. Please contact the primary regulator for that financial institution for assistance. The list above is non-exhaustive. In the event that any provision in the declaration requires the written consent of a mortgagee in order to amend the bylaws or the declaration, the association shall be deemed to have received the written consent of a mortgagee if the association sends the text of the proposed amendment by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by regular mail with proof of mailing to the mortgagee at the address supplied by such mortgagee in a written request to the association to receive notice of proposed amendments to the declaration and receives no written objection to the adoption of the amendment from the mortgagee within 60 days of the date that the notice of amendment is sent by the association, unless the declaration expressly provides otherwise.
If the mortgagee has not supplied an address to the association, the association shall be deemed to have received the written consent of a mortgagee if the association sends the text of the proposed amendment by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the mortgagee at the address filed in the land records or with the local tax assessor's office and receives no written objection to the adoption of the amendment from the mortgagee within 60 days of the date that the notice of amendment is sent by the association, unless the declaration expressly provides otherwise.
Subsection A shall not apply to amendments that alter the priority of the lien of the mortgagee or that materially impair or affect a lot as collateral or the right of the mortgagee to foreclose on a lot as collateral.
Where the declaration is silent on the need for mortgagee consent, no mortgagee consent shall be required if the amendment to the declaration does not specifically affect mortgagee rights. Except as otherwise provided in the declaration, a declaration may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the lot owners.
An action to challenge the validity of an amendment adopted by the association may not be brought more than one year after the amendment is effective. Agreement of the required majority of lot owners to any amendment of the declaration adopted pursuant to subsection D shall be evidenced by their execution of the amendment, or ratifications of such amendment, and the same shall become effective when a copy of the amendment is recorded together with a certification, signed by the principal officer of the association or by such other officer or officers as the declaration may specify, that the requisite majority of the lot owners signed the amendment or ratifications of such amendment.
Subsections D and F shall not be construed to affect the validity of any amendment recorded prior to July 1, All provisions of a declaration shall be deemed severable, and any unlawful provision of the declaration shall be void. No provision of a declaration shall be deemed void by reason of the rule against perpetuities.
Subject to the provisions of subsection C, the rule of property law known as the rule restricting unreasonable restraints on alienation shall not be applied to defeat any provision of a declaration restraining the alienation of lots other than such lots as may be restricted to residential use only.
The rule of property law known as the doctrine of merger shall not apply to any easement included in or granted pursuant to a right reserved in a declaration. The declarant may unilaterally execute and record a corrective amendment or supplement to the declaration to correct a mathematical mistake, an inconsistency, or a scrivener's error or clarify an ambiguity in the declaration with respect to an objectively verifiable fact, including recalculating the liability for assessments or the number of votes in the association appertaining to a lot, within five years after the recordation of the declaration containing or creating such mistake, inconsistency, error, or ambiguity.
No such amendment or supplement may materially reduce what the obligations of the declarant would have been if the mistake, inconsistency, error, or ambiguity had not occurred. Regardless of the date of recordation of the declaration, the principal officer of the association may also unilaterally execute and record such a corrective amendment or supplement upon a vote of two-thirds of the members of the board of directors.
All corrective amendments and supplements recorded prior to July 1, , are hereby validated to the extent that such corrective amendments and supplements would have been permitted by this subsection.
An association may petition the circuit court in the county or city in which the development or the greater part of the development is located to reform a declaration where the association, acting through its board of directors, has attempted to amend the declaration regarding ownership of legal title of the common areas or real property using provisions outlined in such declaration to resolve i ambiguities or inconsistencies in the declaration that are the source of legal and other disputes pertaining to the legal rights and responsibilities of the association or individual lot owners or ii scrivener's errors, including incorrectly identifying the association, incorrectly identifying an entity other than the association, or errors arising from oversight or from an inadvertent omission or mathematical mistake.
The court shall have jurisdiction over matters set forth in subsection A regarding ownership of legal title of the common areas or real property to:. Correct any mistake or other error in the declaration that may exist with respect to the declaration for any other purpose. A petition filed by the association with the court setting forth any inconsistency or error made in the declaration, or the necessity for any change in the declaration, shall be deemed sufficient basis for the reformation, in whole or in part, of the declaration, provided that:.
The association has made three good faith attempts to convene a duly called meeting of the association to present for consideration amendments to the declaration for the reasons specified in subsection A, which attempts have proven unsuccessful as evidenced by an affidavit verified by oath of the principal officer of the association;.
There is no adequate remedy at law as practical and effective to attain the ends of justice as may be accomplished in the circuit court;. Where the declarant of the development still owns a lot or other property in the development, the declarant joins in the petition of the association;. A copy of the petition is sent to all owners at least 30 days before the petition is filed as evidenced by an affidavit verified by oath of the principal officer of the association; and.
A copy of the petition is sent to all mortgagees at least 30 days before the petition is filed as evidenced by an affidavit verified by oath of the principal officer of the association. Any mortgagee of a lot in the development shall have standing to participate in the reformation proceedings before the court.
No reformation pursuant to this section shall affect mortgagee rights, alter the priority of the lien of any mortgage, materially impair or affect any lot as collateral for a mortgage, or affect a mortgagee's right to foreclose on a lot as collateral without the prior written consent of the mortgagee. Unless expressly prohibited by the declaration, i any notice required to be sent or received or ii any signature, vote, consent, or approval required to be obtained under any declaration or bylaw provision or any provision of this chapter may be accomplished using electronic means.
The association, the lot owners, and those entitled to occupy a lot may perform any obligation or exercise any right under any declaration or bylaw provision or any provision of this chapter by use of electronic means.
An electronic signature meeting the requirements of applicable law shall satisfy any requirement for a signature under any declaration or bylaw provision or any provision of this chapter.
Voting on, consent to, and approval of any matter under any declaration or bylaw provision or any provision of this chapter may be accomplished by electronic means, provided that a record is created as evidence of such vote, consent, or approval and maintained as long as such record would be required to be maintained in nonelectronic form.
If the vote, consent, or approval is required to be obtained by secret ballot, the electronic means shall protect the identity of the voter. If the electronic means cannot protect the identity of the voter, another means of voting shall be used.
Subject to other provisions of law, no action required or permitted by any declaration or bylaw provision or any provision of this chapter need be acknowledged before a notary public if the identity and signature of such person can otherwise be authenticated to the satisfaction of the board of directors.
Any meeting of the association, the board of directors, or any committee may be held entirely or partially by electronic means, provided that the board of directors has adopted guidelines for the use of electronic means for such meetings. Such guidelines shall ensure that persons accessing such meetings are authorized to do so and that persons entitled to participate in such meetings have an opportunity to do so.
The board of directors shall determine whether any such meeting may be held entirely or partially by electronic means. If any person does not have the capability or desire to conduct business using electronic means, the association shall make available a reasonable alternative, at its expense, for such person to conduct business with the association without use of such electronic means.
This section shall not apply to any notice related to an enforcement action by the association, an assessment lien, or foreclosure proceedings in enforcement of an assessment lien.
The association shall have a lien, once perfected, on every lot for unpaid assessments levied against that lot in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and all lawful provisions of the declaration.
The lien, once perfected, shall be prior to all other subsequent liens and encumbrances except i real estate tax liens on that lot, ii liens and encumbrances recorded prior to the recordation of the declaration, and iii sums unpaid on and owing under any mortgage or deed of trust recorded prior to the perfection of such lien. The provisions of this subsection shall not affect the priority of mechanics' and materialmen's liens.
The association, in order to perfect the lien given by this section, shall file, before the expiration of 12 months from the time the first such assessment became due and payable in the clerk's office of the circuit court in the county or city in which such development is situated, a memorandum, verified by the oath of the principal officer of the association or such other officer or officers as the declaration may specify, which contains the following:. The amount of unpaid assessments currently due or past due relative to such lot together with the date when each fell due;.
The name of the association and the name and current address of the person to contact to arrange for payment or release of the lien; and. It shall be the duty of the clerk in whose office such memorandum is filed as provided in this section to record and index the same as provided in subsection D, in the names of the persons identified in such memorandum as well as in the name of the association. The cost of recording and releasing the memorandum shall be taxed against the person found liable in any judgment or order enforcing such lien.
Prior to filing a memorandum of lien, a written notice shall be sent to the property owner by certified mail, at the property owner's last known address, informing the property owner that a memorandum of lien will be filed in the circuit court clerk's office of the applicable county or city. The notice shall be sent at least 10 days before the actual filing date of the memorandum of lien. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section or any other provision of law requiring documents to be recorded in the miscellaneous lien books or the deed books in the clerk's office of any court, on or after July 1, , all memoranda of liens arising under this section shall be recorded in the deed books in the clerk's office.
Any memorandum shall be indexed in the general index to deeds, and the general index shall identify the lien as a lien for lot assessments. No action to enforce any lien perfected under subsection B shall be brought or action to foreclose any lien perfected under subsection I shall be initiated after 36 months from the time when the memorandum of lien was recorded; however, the filing of a petition to enforce any such lien in any action in which the petition may be properly filed shall be regarded as the institution of an action under this section.
Nothing in this subsection shall extend the time within which any such lien may be perfected. The judgment or order in an action brought pursuant to this section shall include reimbursement for costs and reasonable attorney fees of the prevailing party.
If the association prevails, it may also recover interest at the legal rate for the sums secured by the lien from the time each such sum became due and payable.
At any time after perfecting the lien pursuant to this section, the property owners' association may sell the lot at public sale, subject to prior liens. For purposes of this section, the association shall have the power both to sell and convey the lot and shall be deemed the lot owner's statutory agent for the purpose of transferring title to the lot. A nonjudicial foreclosure sale shall be conducted in compliance with the following:. The association shall give notice to the lot owner prior to advertisement required by subdivision 4.
The notice shall specify i the debt secured by the perfected lien; ii the action required to satisfy the debt secured by the perfected lien; iii the date, not less than 60 days from the date the notice is given to the lot owner, by which the debt secured by the lien must be satisfied; and iv that failure to satisfy the debt secured by the lien on or before the date specified in the notice may result in the sale of the lot.
The notice shall further inform the lot owner of the right to bring a court action in the circuit court of the county or city where the lot is located to assert the nonexistence of a debt or any other defense of the lot owner to the sale. After expiration of the day notice period specified in subdivision 1, the association may appoint a trustee to conduct the sale. The appointment of the trustee shall be filed in the clerk's office of the circuit court in the county or city in which such development is situated.
It shall be the duty of the clerk in whose office such appointment is filed to record and index the same as provided in subsection D, in the names of the persons identified in such appointment as well as in the name of the association.
The association, at its option, may from time to time remove the trustee and appoint a successor trustee. If the lot owner meets the conditions specified in this subdivision prior to the date of the foreclosure sale, the lot owner shall have the right to have enforcement of the perfected lien discontinued prior to the sale of the lot.
Those conditions are that the lot owner i satisfy the debt secured by lien that is the subject of the nonjudicial foreclosure sale and ii pay all expenses and costs incurred in perfecting and enforcing the lien, including advertising costs and reasonable attorney fees. In addition to the advertisement required by subdivision 5, the association shall give written notice of the time, date, and place of any proposed sale in execution of the lien, including the name, address, and telephone number of the trustee, by hand delivery or by mail to i the present owner of the property to be sold at his last known address as such owner and address appear in the records of the association, ii any lienholder who holds a note against the property secured by a deed of trust recorded at least 30 days prior to the proposed sale and whose address is recorded with the deed of trust, and iii any assignee of such a note secured by a deed of trust, provided that the assignment and address of the assignee are likewise recorded at least 30 days prior to the proposed sale.
Mailing a copy of the advertisement or the notice containing the same information to the owner by certified or registered mail no less than 14 days prior to such sale and to lienholders and their assigns, at the addresses noted in the memorandum of lien, by United States mail, postage prepaid, no less than 14 days prior to such sale, shall be a sufficient compliance with the requirement of notice.
The advertisement of sale by the association shall be in a newspaper having a general circulation in the county or city in which the property to be sold, or any portion of such property, is located pursuant to the following provisions:. The association shall advertise once a week for four successive weeks; however, if the property or some portion of such property is located in a city or in a county immediately contiguous to a city, publication of the advertisement on five different days, which may be consecutive days, shall be deemed adequate.
The sale shall be held on any day following the day of the last advertisement that is no earlier than eight days following the first advertisement nor more than 30 days following the last advertisement. Such advertisement shall be placed in that section of the newspaper where legal notices appear or where the type of property being sold is generally advertised for sale.
The advertisement of sale, in addition to such other matters as the association finds appropriate, shall set forth a description of the property to be sold, which description need not be as extensive as that contained in the deed of trust but shall identify the property by street address, if any, or, if none, shall give the general location of the property with reference to streets, routes, or known landmarks.
Where available, tax map identification may be used but is not required. The advertisement shall also include the date, time, place, and terms of sale and the name of the association. It shall set forth the name, address, and telephone number of the representative, agent, or attorney who may be able to respond to inquiries concerning the sale.
In addition to the advertisement required by subdivisions a and b, the association may further advertise as the association finds appropriate. In the event of postponement of sale, which postponement shall be at the discretion of the association, advertisement of such postponed sale shall be in the same manner as the original advertisement of sale. Failure to comply with the requirements for advertisement contained in this section shall, upon petition, render a sale of the property voidable by the court.
Written one-price bids may be made and shall be received by the trustee from the association or any person for entry by announcement at the sale.
Any person other than the trustee may bid at the foreclosure sale, including a person who has submitted a written one-price bid. Upon request to the trustee, any other bidder in attendance at a foreclosure sale shall be permitted to inspect written bids.
At the end of this presentation, the arbitrator will draft a written opinion stating who won and what the award will be. Because this is binding arbitration, both parties will be bound by the arbitrator's decision. Look for attorney fee provisions. Under these provisions, if you lose a court case, you may have to pay the HOA's attorneys' fees.
Depending on the complexity and length of your case, this could get extremely expensive. Be aware of this before you file a lawsuit. On the other hand, if you have a strong case, these provisions can work in your favor. Identify your legal claim. You can sue your homeowners association for a variety of reasons.
For example, it may not be maintaining the common areas or making necessary repairs. The HOA is misusing the homeowners association fees. You have a dispute about remodeling your unit or making some other change.
The HOA is discriminating against you based on a protected characteristic, such as your religion, ethnicity, race, disability status, etc.
Document your complaint. You will need evidence to bring a successful lawsuit. Accordingly, you should begin gathering evidence that supports your complaint against HOA management. Consider finding the following: Communications between you and HOA management, such as emails or letters. Pictures or other visual evidence. Your memories. If you had a conversation with HOA management, then write down the date of the conversation and its substance.
Any medical records. You might have been physically injured by a defect that HOA management has not addressed, such as a defective elevator or rickety stairs. Determine the correct court to sue in. Where you sue will depend on what you are suing for. For example, you might sue for money compensation. Generally, you can use the following rules to determine the correct court: If you are suing for discrimination, then you probably will sue in federal court.
You can find the nearest federal court by using the Locator tool at the U. Courts website. If you are suing for an injunction, then you might need to sue in an equity court, depending on your state. In most states, equity courts have merged with the regular civil court, but in a few states you still must sue in equity for an injunction. Meet with a lawyer. You might have a valid legal claim but not know whether you should sue. Lawsuits are time-consuming, and you might want to meet with a lawyer before filing suit.
The lawyer can listen to your complaint and advise you about what evidence you will need and whether you have a strong case. You can get a referral to a lawyer by contacting your local or state bar association. Call up the lawyer and ask to schedule a consultation. Also ask about fees. You can also hire the lawyer to represent you throughout the lawsuit. It is ideal to have an experienced attorney represent you, especially if the case is complicated. However, money might be a concern.
Draft a complaint.
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