After some residents in a North Carolina mountain community were forced to haul water from a stream to flush their toilets, homeowners say they have been hit with another expensive problem: property owners association bills reaching thousands of dollars.
Here's what to know
Those increases are hitting Pine Mountain, a Burke County community south of Morganton, while residents say they still have serious questions about how the neighborhood is managed.
According to WSOC-TV, Pine Mountain homeowners say their annual property owners association dues rose sharply after a broken well pump helped trigger a community water crisis. Some residents were left without running water for weeks after the breakdown.
Condo resident Stephanie Wagner said her new bill totals $4,200 per year.
"It's impacted us greatly because times are hard, and that's a big jump from a thousand," Wagner said, per WSOC.
Homeowner Kimberly Hovis said the increase was difficult to take in.
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"In California they have a 20% cap on dues that can be raised," Hovis said, according to WSOC. "We had a 97% increase."
Pine Mountain covers 1,200 lots and 27 miles of road, but only about 100 homeowners and 30 condo residents currently live there. With so few residents paying into the system, major infrastructure issues can quickly become costly.
More background
The dispute brings together two major homeowner concerns: unreliable utilities and rising housing costs.
Before even moving into his new home in Pine Mountain, homeowner Lynn Nguyen said he got a $3,800 bill, WSOC reported. He and other residents say they are being asked to pay thousands while still not getting clear answers about where the money is going.
The latest disagreement in Pine Mountain centers on whether steeply higher dues are the only practical way to shore up a community that has fallen behind on basic maintenance.
What's being done?
Pine Mountain Property Owners Association president Chase Billow said the higher fees reflect years of neglected upkeep, not a sudden change.
"There has been a huge amount of deferred maintenance here over the last many years and we are trying to 'right the ship' as quickly as we can without overburdening the owners," Billow said, according to WSOC.
Billow said the community has gone years without a reserve fund, leaving the association with little financial backup when major systems fail. The neighborhood's shared infrastructure stretches across a large area and includes wells, roads, and other systems.
State officials also weighed in. The North Carolina Attorney General told Channel 9 that state law does not cap HOA fees, but boards still must follow their governing documents when setting them.
Channel 9 reported that the Pine Mountain board said it held two meetings at a local fire station and shared the proposed budget before final approval. For homeowners trying to understand what their own associations can and cannot do, reviewing those rules closely can help.
"There's no communication," Nguyen said. "If you send an email and you ask, 'show us some of the paperwork on where the money is going' — nothing. It's just nothing."
Where can I learn more?
Homeowners in other HOA communities have faced similar disputes after water problems and maintenance decisions drove up costs, as these stories show.
• A homeowner faced massive expenses after HOA negligence let a water leak wreck the home.
• Residents said they wasted their money on irrigation while HOA rules pushed watering during drought.
• A homeowner challenged years of steep maintenance fees and vague HOA demands with little clarity.
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