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We were the first occupied home on Central Ave in June of 2005. We also became the home to dozens of pigeons. Ours was also the ugliest home on Central for all of the pigeon poop down the front of the house and caked on the roof. After fighting the pigeons in every way we knew for 5 years, one day in early 2010 I had an epiphany. I noticed that a lot of the neighbors had cats that ran loose around the neighborhoods and thought that maybe I could put them to good use. I took an old piece of lumber and carpeted it and attached it to the side of my garage. I seeded the carpet with a few pieces of catnip and threw a few more pieces on the roof of the garage. 24 hours later, no more pigeons. That lasted for roughly 5 years. Then, along came Snow Property Management and, in August/September of 2015 a notice to take down the board or be fined.
I asked for a hearing to see if we couldn't come to some compromise and, according to 33-1803.B., notified them that Arizona law prohibits fines for infractions prior to a hearing. The response I got was a follow up "second notice" and a fine of $25. To which I responded with the same message, demanding a hearing and referring them to 33-1803.B. The response I got was a second $25 fine to which I responded AGAIN that I demanded a hearing and referenced them to 33-1803.B. The response to that letter was a letter from the Snow Property Lawyer and another $25 fine. Imagine that your HOA paid a lawyer several hundred dollars in an attempt to collect $50 in fines. After several letters back and forth to the lawyer (racking up costs to OUR HOA of hundreds or thousands of dollars), I finally got a hearing on January 26 2016. Because of Arizona law, they had to drop all costs to me and OUR HOA paid the full costs of hundreds or thousands of dollars. This action appears to be out of complete ignorance or purposeful disregard of Arizona law by the HOA Board and Snow Property Management and Maxwell & Morgan.
It is my observation that this is how Snow Property Management works. Get a couple small fines on a homeowner and then convince the Board that they should use the Lawyer. Maxwell and Morgan with complete disregard for the law, in an effort to bully the homeowner into paying, they send lots of letters to the homeowner and send lots of bills to the HOA. They can't lose. If the homeowner gives in to the bullying and pays the bills, the law firm makes $$. If the homeowner stands up for his/her rights, the HOA pays the bills. Law firm wins either way. Wouldn't surprise me if Snow Property got a kick back from Maxwell and Morgan.
I asked for a hearing to see if we couldn't come to some compromise and, according to 33-1803.B., notified them that Arizona law prohibits fines for infractions prior to a hearing. The response I got was a follow up "second notice" and a fine of $25. To which I responded with the same message, demanding a hearing and referring them to 33-1803.B. The response I got was a second $25 fine to which I responded AGAIN that I demanded a hearing and referenced them to 33-1803.B. The response to that letter was a letter from the Snow Property Lawyer and another $25 fine. Imagine that your HOA paid a lawyer several hundred dollars in an attempt to collect $50 in fines. After several letters back and forth to the lawyer (racking up costs to OUR HOA of hundreds or thousands of dollars), I finally got a hearing on January 26 2016. Because of Arizona law, they had to drop all costs to me and OUR HOA paid the full costs of hundreds or thousands of dollars. This action appears to be out of complete ignorance or purposeful disregard of Arizona law by the HOA Board and Snow Property Management and Maxwell & Morgan.
It is my observation that this is how Snow Property Management works. Get a couple small fines on a homeowner and then convince the Board that they should use the Lawyer. Maxwell and Morgan with complete disregard for the law, in an effort to bully the homeowner into paying, they send lots of letters to the homeowner and send lots of bills to the HOA. They can't lose. If the homeowner gives in to the bullying and pays the bills, the law firm makes $$. If the homeowner stands up for his/her rights, the HOA pays the bills. Law firm wins either way. Wouldn't surprise me if Snow Property got a kick back from Maxwell and Morgan.