Article
and Video Courtesy of wftv.com Channel 9
Published
April 21, 2011
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ORANGE COUNTY
,
Fla.
-- An
Orange
County
homeowner is taking on his neighbors. Jeff Busch is suing his entire
neighborhood over an alleged illegal homeowner's association.
"I was right, they were
wrong," Busch said.
Busch said his neighbors were
trying to force him to pay HOA dues against his will. So he's now suing 90
people in the Sand Lake Hills community off of Dr. Phillips Boulevard
.
Busch put a sign on his garage
stating he should have property rights and there should not be an HOA.
He's been fighting with the Sand Lake Hills homeowners association since
2008. He sued the HOA and 99 homeowners because he claims the HOA was
formed illegally.
Each homeowner is supposed to
agree to form an HOA, but he says that did not happen.
"This is property rights. How
can they come on my property and assess me for anything they want?"
The homes were built more than 30
years ago, and in the past, the HOA was voluntary. Homeowners donated
money to the association to maintain common areas.
Jerry Rarden supports a mandatory
association and says its only costs $100 a year.
"I think it's a frivolous
lawsuit," said Rarden.
Busch says that's not the point,
and a judge recently agreed. The neighborhood was built in sections and
she said Section 2 HOA was not authorized to enforce use restrictions in
Section 3 after 1985.
Busch claims the title of his
property is also muddied. He's says the HOA is not allowed to put a lien
on his property, but he also has to fight it out in court.
"They have dumped trash on
Busch's title to their property. Now they have to come to figure out who
has to pay," said Busch's attorney, Fred O'Neal
An HOA board member says a judge
dismissed the suit against the individual homeowners, but Busch says he
intends to sue all of his neighbors for his legal bills. He says he has
spent hundreds of thousands of dollars.
WFTV spoke with another HOA
attorney not related to the case. He said most likely individuals
homeowners would not be responsible for legal feels, only the association.
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