Homeowners Association Transparency: Here Are My Facts

The letters, emails, and video all state I never spoke to the Board. Allow me to walk you through the steps I took to reach out to the board regarding my HOA concerns. 

I clearly stated to Adam at the December 1, 2025 HOA meeting that I would like to meet him. I even mentioned that I didn’t want to meet the Board President but rather wanted to engage with my neighbor. RESULT - No Response. 

I typed my phone number in a direct Zoom chat to Adam, adding an "I look forward to meeting you" message. RESULT - NO acknowledgment or response. 

I responded directly to his message via the neighborhood GroupMe to express my frustration with the lack of communication from board members and how it was not addressing the detailed questions owners were asking. RESULT - No response. All silence. 

I sent another message to Adam (and Carlos) via the same GroupMe, expressing my frustration with the financial information being provided. RESULT - Silence followed by Carlos leaving the GroupMe group. 

As many of you know, I have been vocal and available at any time on the GroupMe chat. All that was needed was a simple chat message to respond back to my multiple attempts at community engagement. 

While I understand that board member communication may be limited, a simple message to me on GroupMe to clarify what was happening would have been sufficient, just as Carlos is reaching out to owners NOW. 

To me, the message is clear – when it is just one owner, the Board didn’t care to respond.

Implying to owners that I just woke up one day and decided to call the Special Meeting because I wanted a change is an untruth and a prime example of the board’s disregard for owners at every step of the way.

Prior to December 1st, I attended several owner meetings and was frustrated by hearing the same HOA concerns repeatedly, as they were not being addressed by the board via SBB or in meeting after meeting. Every question from the owners was a reasonable one, simply about wanting to understand how their money was being spent.

RESULT - No answers and complete disregard for owners' concerns.

Interestingly enough, since the petition was delivered on January 15, the core board members have launched a full court press to improve board member communication and provide information. Detailed insights into what the problems are, what the costs will be, how contracts were shopped, etc., are now flowing in as they should have been from the start.

Carlos and Jeff specifically have reached out to association members directly to ensure they are informed about what they are doing and addressing concerns in a meaningful way.

The message is clear – it was a CHOICE to not provide details before, it was a CHOICE to dismiss owners.

I’ve spoken with many of you, and I have been transparent from the beginning. This isn’t a ME initiative. Literally, on every street, there were upset owners gathering in groups to discuss the same complaints about the current Board. They were equally frustrated by the dismissive attitudes and blatant disrespect shown to homeowners who were and are fully invested in this community.

Once we found each other, we became the united voice that the Board could no longer ignore.

It is a misrepresentation to say I engaged an attorney, initially, for this matter. To ask my neighbors to sign a petition not vetted by an attorney would have been irresponsible. I did have my attorney review the information to ensure we were complying with the provisions of the Bylaws, which is an important aspect of board member communication.  

Once we were ready to submit the information, my attorney wrote a cover letter to accompany the petition upon delivery to the HOA Board at SBB’s office, the HOA’s mailing address, the Clubhouse, and to Board members - Adam, Carlos, and Jeff at their addresses.  

The Board’s decision to engage an attorney firm, beyond confirming the validity of the petition we submitted, rests entirely with the Board. Please note that it is customary for HOAs to have attorneys on retainer for various matters. HOAF is the firm retained by the Bella Casa Owners Association, and they were going to receive payment for this or for nothing at all. Any additional fees are the result of the present Board’s decisions, not out of necessity.  

Once we finally received the notice of the Special Meeting and its inconvenient time and location (at 9 AM in downtown Dallas, which is almost 30 miles away), I did follow up with SBB referencing 'our' attorney as I wanted to know our recourse regarding HOA concerns in the face of the Board making participation impossible for most owners, impacting community engagement.

Once again, the Board continues to assert that this is a non-issue. While HOA dues are necessary, the consistent year-over-year increases with the only justification being 'costs are increasing' is not appropriate. In my review of the budget mentioned in the board member communication to our members, I have several concerns, particularly regarding the utility expense line item. There is no scenario where we will pay LESS for any utility in 2026 than we did in 2025, so why proceed with this increase?

Moreover, continuing to build the reserves only to deplete them for non-critical issues means that when the Bella Casa infrastructure—such as foundations, retaining walls, and landscaping—fails, the only solution will be even larger assessments for homeowners.

The core issue isn't the increase itself; while it may not be pleasant, if it's necessary, I can accept it. However, incremental increases without demonstrating a commitment to community engagement or providing future projections of where we need to be is simply unacceptable.

The Board continues to lose sight of the insurance issue, which raises concerns among homeowners about effective board member communication. Adam’s statement reflected a sentiment of frustration, saying, 'we can’t get quotes from everyday insurance companies.' Owners recognize that HOA coverage is a complex and niche type of insurance. 

Year after year, the Board has faced the question, 'HOW IS THE COVERAGE BEING SHOPPED?' There is no disagreement that paying in full saves us interest; however, we need clarity on why our coverage is with this specific insurance company and what other companies provided quotes. The refusal to disclose details on how coverage was shopped is the core of the problem. 

As I mentioned when speaking with all of you, I accepted the first assessment due to an extraordinary event that forced us to scramble with a punitive premium—this is how the industry operates. I accepted the second assessment because we might have needed an additional year to allow for market corrections. By year three, the situation became uncertain, yet I anticipated a thorough explanation of ongoing developments, which never materialized. 

I don't believe it's unreasonable to expect an annual presentation that details which insurance companies can cover us and the costs associated with each option. Once again, the Board's decision appears to be to continue with the assessments without any presentation addressing various insurance companies' quotes and pricing options, which is essential for community engagement regarding HOA concerns.

The Board has been remarkably transparent since January 15, following the submission of the petition. The presentation that accompanied the January 29th meeting at 6 PM was extraordinary, providing the detailed information that association members deserved to know regarding HOA concerns.

I continue to wonder where this level of information was prior to that meeting. Meetings held at 9 AM do not encourage community engagement. The Board’s choice to limit board member communication has made it challenging to obtain information. In contrast, the meeting at 6 PM attracted over three dozen attendees, while a 9 AM meeting on a Monday had less than a dozen participants, and the Board still terminated that meeting while owners were speaking. The Board has latched onto the transparency argument, attempting to convince us they have been transparent all along, yet they still make participation in any process as difficult as possible, such as scheduling a 9 AM special meeting 30 miles away.

I will address one direct assertion from Carlos regarding my information request. I began investigating HOA matters back in the summer, focusing on my area of expertise: the financials. Yes, we routinely receive financials, which are quietly uploaded to the SBB portal, but those documents only provide the total spend (monthly and YTD) for an item. They do not disclose how many vendors were paid, which vendors were paid, and how much each vendor was paid. My request was specifically for details behind the accounts.

I explicitly stated that homeowner information was to be excluded from the information I wanted. Carlos went to great lengths to misrepresent my request, suggesting I was asking for your information. That accusation did not happen; I preempted that argument from the beginning of my request.

That was a significant lie told for no reason other than to incite.