H.O.A. did no exist when i bought my home

When i bought my home in Oct. 2007 i signed a contract to be in an H.O.A. then about a year after we moved in i got a letter saying i owed back dues for 2005 i went to the title company to find out why it was not taking care of at closing come to find out at the time i bought the house they had not filed there paper work with Ellis county(Texas) and the H.O.A. did not exist well a few months later i got a letter showing that they filed the paper work as well as annexation all the back to 2005 i was wondering if anybody knows if this binds me to my contract or is it void since no H.O.A. existed at the time i bought my home

Sorry, but the laws allow for an HOA to be formed after the homes are sold.

I think you are stuck.

But feel free to consult an attorney.

"Sorry, but the laws allow for an HOA to be formed after the homes are sold."

I agree with that part.  The part that doesn't sound legal is "we are forming the HOA retroactively and you owe dues."  If the HOA was not in existence when the guy bought the home then logic says (and we all know that may have nothing to do with the law) you can't collect dues for an entity that didn't exist or pass retroactive dues for a time period prior to the existence of the HOA.  

If it were me I would be running it past an attorney for two reason:  1) it doesn't sound legal and (2) they knew about this for five years and waited until now to come forward?  Something stinks about this but I could be wrong.

the house we bought was a forecloser so were were the second owners they have been cloecting dues since 2005 untill 2008 before they filed the paperwork to become an H.O.A.

Now it looks like there is something missing.

There was obviously an "entity" in existence since 2005 if that "entity" was collecting dues. Call it an HOA or call it not an HOA but if that "entity" was a legally formed "entity" in 2005 that performed all the functions of an HOA despite not filing "paperwork" with the county, you might still be stuck.

HOA's are corporations and corporations are regulated at the state level. If the HOA was incorporated in 2005 I'm at a loss as to what "paperwork" had to be filed with the county to legitimize the "existence" of the HOA that might already have existed.

You can call the TX Secretary of State to find out when the HOA was incorporated.

 

Well reads like you need some more homework--no clue as to final scorecard just yet.

1.One of my friends  found his HOA failed to properly register with state and its license to operate was suspended and a few more  bloopers.

2. Some states have clear disclosure requirement for HOAs--if existance of HOA was not properly disclosed and HOA has burden to let buyers know you might not be bound to same.