Homeowners fight back against HOA board

AUSTIN (KXAN) - An escalating fight between homeowners at the Sunchase Condominiums in North Austin and their homeowners association has turned into a move to oust the HOA board members -- and a civil lawsuit.

KXAN first told you about this battle in May.

People living at Sunchase said they’ve paid their HOA dues for years. But their HOA board members refuse to show them exactly where their money has gone.  Now, a group of homeowners is meeting to consider voting out their board and firing their property manager, Nancy Thompson.

Homeowners say the board and Thompson have rebuffed requests to show homeowners their financial records, and have not had an audit completed in five years.  That's close to $1 million in unaudited expenses. People who live at the Sunchase Condominiums in North Austin say they're at the end of their rope.

A history of controversy

An examination of Nancy Thompson's property management history at other condominiums in Austin led KXAN to the Travis County Courthouse.

“This is just not right, something is wrong,” said Karen Neyland, who lives at Sunchase and pays HOA dues.

That "something," homeowners say, is Thompson and the Sunchase board members. And the parties are now blaming each other for not having an independent audit done, as required by state law.

“It was just the same song, different verse, only bigger,” said Nona Blanchard.  She lives at the Highland Park West Condominiums, a property managed by Nancy Thompson in late 2007. Blanchard said Thompson went through thousands of dollars of their homeowners association funds and spent money without authorization on things unrelated to the homeowners association.

“Our utilities were about to be cut off for non-payment, and then of course we got notices of the insurance being turned-off for not being paid,” said Blanchard.

Highland Park West fired Nancy Thompson in January 2008, and then sued her to get their money back. Highland Park won. Thompson didn’t even show up for court. 

To this day, records show, Thompson hasn’t paid any of the judgment of more than $4,000 against her, which is accruing 5 percent interest per year.

Thompson disputes the criticism

Thompson told KXAN in an interview Thursday that she has done nothing improper in her role as a property manager. The decisions she has made in that capacity, Thompson said, have been made under HOA board supervision.

But that's not the way Blanchard saw it.

“It was discovered that she was paying her cronies for work that they didn't do,” Blanchard told KXAN.

By "paying her cronies", Blanchard means Thompson paid her friends and family with Highland Park West HOA money. Blanchard specifically lists Thompson’s husband, who was paid for "contracting" work, along with Thompson’s son, who was paid for "porter" work and her daughter in law, who was paid for "contracting" and writing a newsletter.

And that seems to be a similar concern at the Sunchase Condos under Thompson’s management now.

A deeper look at the expenditures

A KXAN investigation found checks totaling more than $20,000 for "reimbursements" and "bonuses" written to Thompson's husband, who works as the maintenance staffer.  We also found checks totaling nearly $10,000 to her son for "yard work" and "security” and more than $1,000 in checks written to a woman who was her daughter-in-law at the time.

Because homeowners have been denied the opportunity to see the invoices and receipts for the work done, they now question the legitimacy of those expenses.

Sunchase HOA board members are responsible for the HOA dues and how that money is spent.

The Sunchase bylaws state the board shall "keep sufficient books and records with a detailed account of the receipts and expenditures... specifying the maintenance and repair expenses."

Those bylaws also state that "the books, vouchers and other records regarding these transactions shall be available for examination by unit owners within five days of their request."

So far, homeowners say they've been denied access to the HOA’s financial records, as required by their own bylaws and Texas law. They also say the board has failed to act on numerous calls to fire Thompson.

Thompson's interview

Thompson finally granted KXAN's interview request later Thursday afternoon in a conference call with her lawyer.

She said she is not authorized to provide financial information to the homeowners or write checks on the Sunchase bank account.  Thompson also said any alleged mismanagement of money rests with the HOA board members who sign the checks. 

As for the audits, Thompson said that  according to the HOA bylaws, audits are the responsibility of the HOA board, specifically the treasurer.

As for paying her husband, Thompson said the board members hired him, not her.

“Three years ago we had an emergency out on the property," she said. "I called several people, I mean lots of people.  It was a big-time water leak.  We couldn’t find anyone.

The board president at the time told Thompson