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A MAN’S HOA made him wait over three months to fix his roof leaking a “nasty” smell.
Tim Leisering, a resident of Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been begging his HOA to help fix his “uninhabitable” home.
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“First time I had a leak, I was asleep and I was dreaming,” Leisering told NBC affiliate KJRH.
“I was in this horrible storm, and I woke up and my ceiling fan was flinging water.”
Leisering told the outlet he has been suffering with his leaking roof ever since May 7.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever had the opportunity to smell roofwater…it’s nasty, it’s black,” he described.
“This would be considered uninhabitable…we’ve got open walls, open ceiling.”
In the report, Leisering motioned to the gaping hole in his ceiling, which was being covered by sheets of plastic. In the background, you could hear the sound of dripping water.
“They had to remove that,” he told the outlet, pointing to his ceiling.
Inside his kitchen, the wood of the ceiling is completely exposed.
The Oklahoma man has been after his HOA for months asking for help with the damages after his home insurance couldn’t cover the full amount.
Leisering wanted to file with Country Financial, the HOA’s insurance company.
He first began emailing a member of the HOA inquiring about the status of his claim.
“What is the status of the claim filed for the HOA?” he wrote.
After allegedly not hearing back, he followed up with: “Has a claim been filed? If so, please send me the claim number.”
“Please explain why a response is not being performed by you in regards to damages?
“I am at a loss as to why this process of a claim with the HOA is taking three months,” he reportedly wrote in his most recent email.
After months of allegedly not hearing from the Homeowner’s Association, Leisering began to be skeptical of what was really happening.
What is an HOA?
One in five Americans live in an area with a Homeowners’ Association – or HOA. But what exactly is it that they do?
- An HOA is a homeowner’s association – an organization that aims to maintain a clean and cohesive place to live for its residents.
- Entire neighborhoods, subdivisions, condominiums, family homes, or townhouses within “a planned development” will often make up an HOA.
- They also act as a governing body for tenants, who run and fund the HOA through monthly fees.
- Their principal aims are to keep the community functioning and visually appealing and to maintain property values.
- They primarily focus on common areas of a neighborhood, such as roads, parks, and pools – but may also stipulate what residents can do with their properties, such as yards and driveways.
- Often these restrictions enforce uniformity on properties, for example, ensuring most houses look the same and all driveways are clear of weeds.
- An HOA rulebook of covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&R) is distributed to all residents, and an elected volunteer board of directors enforces these regulations.
- Breaking these rules can result in penalties such as fines and even litigation – as most HOAs are incorporated and subject to state law.
- HOAs are often the subject of controversy, with some members feeling that the rules are too punitive and restricting, or that the leadership has too much power.
- But others like that HOAs give communities the power of self-governance, and can ensure a degree of harmony between residents.
“If someone sent me an email, I’d make sure to respond in a timely fashion,” Leisering said.
“Getting this silent treatment from anybody that I tried to reach out to is so disrespectful,” he said.
“Something doesn’t smell right.”
Leisering even reportedly reached out to Country Financial, asking if there was anything he could do.
“They said, ‘Well, you need to get in front of the board,’” Leisering said.
“I’m thinking, well, it would help if there was a claim filed.”
Months after first allegedly alerting the HOA about his problem, he finally received an email notifying him a claim had been filed.
