Northern Meadows neighbors frustrated with HOA

RIO RANCHO, N.M. — Residents in Northern Meadows are fed up. If you live in a community with a homeowner association, you know the fees can be a hassle – but you at least expect to get some services out of it.

“For the first 10, 15 years, we had no problems, but in the last 10 years, it went kaput,” said Edward Uhrich, a homeowner in the neighborhood.

Leaking sprinklers and dead trees are just a couple of issues that come to mind.

“Every time I’ve had issues with my lawn and I’ve called, I’ve never had anybody come out and take care of my problems,” Uhrich said. “I’ve had to take care of them all myself. So, the big question for the HOA is if they aren’t doing anything to our yards, why are we paying 50 bucks a month?”

Uhrich and his neighbor had dead trees that needed to be removed from their yards. He said his request was never filled and the HOA told his neighbor it was on her to remove it.

“She asked me, can I do something for her, I said, ‘Yeah, no problem,'” Uhrich said. “The neighbor down the street has a chainsaw and a fireplace so we cut it up and he took the wood home and uses the wood.”

But the question remains – what do the HOA fees cover, and who is responsible?

“The dues are for administration fees and also largely in our community landscaping,” said Ron Cabrera, vice president of the Northern Meadows HOA.

It turns out, they’re aware of the issues homeowners are up against.

“Their best course of action is to do what they are doing, to make a ticket and to complain to the manager, and the manager is doing a brilliant job of following up with these complaints,” Cabrera said. “We are having a hard time, yes, I do hear the complaints that come in.”

With no real solution, residents are crossing their fingers and hoping for more transparency.

Cabrera said there is another HOA meeting on Aug. 28 at 6 p.m. where homeowners can further voice their concerns.