In the recent months, Las Vegas gas had more than enough real estate fraud schemes to make the news. According to Las Vegas Weekly, the state of Nevada has dealt with fraud investigation concerning 12 HOA boards across Southern Nevada alone. 27 people have pleaded guilty to real estate fraud charges such as embezzling money, scamming residents, and other white collar crimes. In the various exchanges, four people have been killed. The Nevada Commission for Common Interest Communities recently voted to remove the entire Homeowners Association board in North Las Vegas after discovering that the men and women on the board had violated the law hundreds of times in their dealings.

The corruption and dishonesty has called for concern throughout the state as Nevadans decide whether or not they should terminate the HOA of North Las Vegas for good. A recent national poll indicates that seven out of ten community association residents are satisfied with their communities, and investigators are discovering that many boards are self-serving and deceptive with residents. While the state of Nevada has replaced some unscrupulous board members in recent years, no effort has been made to abolish or reform the HOAs as a whole. Now, the state is looking into these possibilities. Mike Randolph, a manager for Home Association Services, says that it is difficult to disband an HOA. He says that this is because ever property that is in an HOA has a set of conditions that they follow. They also have covenants and restrictions.

Most HOAs refer to these as CC&Rs. The HOA has the CC&Rs attached to a building before it is even created and these binding legal documents protect the HOA from being abolished. The Las Vegas Weekly says that to legally abolish an HOA the state of Nevada would have to record new deeds on every single property that is included in the HOA. This would allow the state to disband the CC&Rs that are tagged on with the HOA. As well, in order to disband an HOA the state must put it to a vote. In the state of Nevada, at least 75 percent of all people must agree for the need to abolish the HOA before any action can be taken. As well, all lenders that are affiliated with the HOA would need to give their approval before the association could be done away with. Randolph says that all of this would have to take place within the context of a massive, expensive, court case.

HOAs also provide a type of financial relief to their cities and counties, and Las Vegas may be wary to get rid of the HOAs for that reason. At present, many real estate experts believe that Nevada won’t do away with unscrupulous HOAs because of their financial benefits. Nevada currently has 2,300 HOAs statewide. At present, HOAs in the state own the community where they operate, and they are responsible for any repairs or expenses. While the state may bring in the property taxes, they don’t actually have to do the work on any repairs that need to be done.

The HOAs take care of these responsibilities for them. All of this to say, it doesn’t look like homeowners associations will be disappearing from Nevada anytime soon, despite the crimes that have been reported coming from the associations as of late. If you are scammed by your homeowners association and want compensation for the money that you lost, then contact a real estate attorney today. With the help of a knowledgeable lawyer, you may be able to fight against the HOA that treated your wrongly and obtain damages for the money that you lost in a real estate lawsuit settlement!