Posts

Meritage Insists It Gets A Pass

-
Image
I have been copying our HOA President, Efram Joelson (Vice President of Forward Planning for Meritage Homes), on my emails to Management for some time since being prohibited from communicating with our Keystone property manager in May 2025.  At this juncture, although I know better than to expect one, I am, occasionally, surprised with a response. For example, Mr. Joelson recently weighed in on an issue I've been addressing since June 9, 2025 regarding Meritage employees and trade partners who habitually park in the motor courts.  I had originally emailed my concerns to Doug Kemmerer, Vice President of Southern California Operations: Of course, Mr. Kemmerer never replied, but we did receive a response shortly thereafter from our After-Sales Customer Service Rep, Hector Estrada, who appears to have been instructed to relay that Meritage employees and trade partners had been told  not to park in the motor courts once a home was no longer in production: Unfortunately, despi...
Post a Comment
Read more

HOA's Invalid Fine Schedule Invalidates Fines

-
Image
We have attempted to engage the HOA's President in a discussion regarding the community's violation fine schedule since August 2025, but continue to be ignored and have yet to receive a reply as of May 2026.  Specifically, we have attempted to address that the fine schedule is outdated and, therefore, invalid as it does not conform to the new California law (AB 130) that went into effect on June 30, 2025 and caps fines at $100 (unless they relate to health or safety issues).     The issue resurfaced recently since fines amounting to a few hundred dollars were posted to our account.  We reached out to our attorneys for guidance and learned that,  given the invalid fine schedule, the HOA cannot lawfully impose monetary penalties on homeowners.  We were hoping to reverse fines for the entire community, but were informed that each household is required to dispute their own.  We demanded that the fines posted to our account be immediately reversed...
Post a Comment
Read more

Questions for Management

-
Image
Pursuant to CC&R Section 4.28 , ... The Association shall enforce its respective parking restrictions by all lawful means, including... towing of any violating vehicle.  The Association shall contract with a towing company to remove vehicles that violate the no parking restrictions and shall provide the Owners with a telephone number to report violations . "    What is the criteria and procedure for towing?  Has the HOA contracted with a towing company as required by the CC&Rs to address unpermitted motor court parking?  If not, please explain why. If so, what is the phone number for the towing company to report vehicles that are improperly parked in the motor courts?    Pursuant to Section 7.1.2 of the Rules + Regulations , Each Owner shall keep in his/her garage readily available for parking of permitted vehicles and shall not store any goods or materials therein, nor use any portion of the garage for a workshop or other use if such storage o...
Post a Comment
Read more

HOA Hell

-
  HOA Hell:  California Homeowners' Definitive Guide to Beating Bad HOAs  (Michael Kushner, Esq.)  An intro to a new book about bad HOAs based on select excerpts:  For most people, buying a new home is an achievement, and rightly so.  But since more and more residential communities are governed by HOAs in California, it’s important for homeowners living in those associations to understand that in addition to buying a new home, they’re also buying into a private form of government—a legal structure with rules, penalties, and enforcement powers that often mimic the powers of local government.  These private governments are known as homeowners associations, or HOAs, and they govern millions of properties in California.  The Davis-Stirling Act is the primary body of law that governs HOAs in California.  It gives boards significant authority to carry out their duties, the most important of which are to maintain the common areas, enforce the govern...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Mail Carrier's Plea for House Numbers

-
Image
This video requires its own post given the absurdity of the matter. My husband was taking out the bins yesterday evening ahead of Friday morning's trash pick-up, when our mail carrier (with whom he is not familiar and had never previously interacted) approached to ask for his help.  She asked that my husband request of "the people in charge" (i.e., Meritage Homes) that visible house numbers be installed on the homes in the Willow community.  My husband broke out in laughter and replied that we had, in fact, requested these some time ago, but that the developer, Meritage Homes, had informed us that it had complied with the local requirements and would, essentially, do no more. Link to video:  The Mail Carrier's Plea for House Numbers When the HOA sent out a communication regarding its intent to allow for the installation of house numbers without a $75 Architectural fee, we submitted Written Comments in which we argued that homeowners SHOULD NOT BE RESPONSIBLE for these...
Post a Comment
Read more

Frequently-Violated Rules

-
CC&Rs  Section 2.57 - Permitted Parking Areas "Permitted Parking Areas” shall mean driveways and garages that are designed and established for the parking of Authorized Vehicles. Permitted Parking Areas may also include those areas determined to be such areas by the Board of Directors as part of the Association Rules.  Permitted Parking Areas do not include Motor Courts, sidewalks, driveway or garage aprons,  streets marked with "No Parking" signs and/or red-painted curbs, or adjacent residential, commercial or industrial properties. Use of the Permitted Parking Areas is described in Section 4.28 of this Declaration.  CC&Rs  Section 4.28 - Parking and Vehicle Restrictions   All parking within the Project (including enforcement of parking by the Association) shall comply with this Declaration and any Association Rules. There is limited street parking within the boundaries of the Project, and curbside parking may be limited to only one side of the str...
Post a Comment
Read more

Facebook Group Posts

-
Image
The following posts are from a private community Facebook group,  Live Oak Residents,  which appears to have been renamed Live Oak & Trolley Heights Residents in October 2025.   The following posts allude to 03/20/25 board meeting call that may not have been initiated by Keystone and/ or the Meritage-controlled Board.  We inquired about this during IDR on 08/11/25 and the Secretary of the Meritage-controlled HOA Board, Nick Harris, insisted that the call took place despite member, T. Levin's, comment that the Host never started the meeting. Meeting Minutes indicate that 2 homeowners participated in the call.   Spring 2025 (?) Facebook Post -  Group's moderator had to call out the unknown individual  who maliciously revealed my name in a group in which posts are meant to be anonymous
Post a Comment
Read more