Burning Tree East Homeowners News

BURNING TREE SOUTH, BURNING TREE ONE, BURNING TREE WEST AND BURNING TREE PLAZA  WERE NEVER PART OF BURNING TREE MASTER ASSOCIATION. WHAT ABOUT BURNING TREE EAST?  

Looking at the covenants & Articles of Incorporation it appears that EAST, also is not a part of the Burning Tree Master Association!!!!

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WHAT DOES IT SAY IN THE COVENANTS REGARDING MEMBERSHIP IN "THE ASSOCIATION"?

Membership in the Association(1) shall be subject to assessments for the actual (2) cost of maintenance, repair and upkeep of the common areas of the subdivision for the unpaved areas of the Boulevard and facilities as designated on the overall development plan for Burning Tree.

1.) Our attorneys advised that because this document is about Burning Tree East and mentions Burning Tree Area #5  Association, Inc. and Burning Tree Area #6 Association, Inc. as the HOAs for East, any mention within said document of “the Association” refers to Burning Tree Area #5 Association, Inc. and Burning Tree Area #6 Association, Inc. (i.e. It is NOT referring to Burning Tree Master Association.) 

2.) It states actual cost of maintenance, repair and upkeep of the common areas. (Burning Tree East has no common areas and even if we did ,how could anyone know the actual cost and assess for actual costs before they are incurred???)

3.Why there is  mention of the unpaved boulevard? Simply to get it done in the quickest fashion the developer copied it from another subdivision but failed to correct it so it made sense.

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WHAT FACILITIES DOES BURNING TREE EAST HAVE THE RIGHT TO USE?

In the Deed of Dedication it states  "Each and every lot owner shall have an easement to use facilities of the Association of which said lot owner is a member or of the Burning Tree Master Association, subject, however to the rules and regulations thereof.

Had the paperwork been done correctly, it would have given us a choice of which one we wanted to be a member of (.....as long as we followed their rules and regulations....probably pay the associate membership dues....but the developer failed to file paperwork correctly so  East homeowners can only be members of the HOA for Burning Tree East,  which is inactive. (Even if we brought up BT5 and BT6...what would be the point? It does NOT meet the criteria the State of Oklahoma requires for an HOA. We'd end up like the folks in Burning  Tree South paying expenses out of their own pockets to have the annual meetings that the law requires....and they cannot enforce covenants and they have no land yet must waste money to have elections. So for what purpose do we need an HOA for Burning Tree East?     

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IT MENTIONS ASSESSMENTS IN THE COVENANTS.  

Absolutely, true, however it states we only pay dues for our subdivisions facilities (Yes,  the developer originally showed there were to be facilities in each subdivision in some of the earlier developmental plans. There are copies of where he kept refining and making changes to them until he  ended up removing them entirely from the subdivisions. Yet, he failed to make amendments to tie Burning Tree East subdivision in with Burning Tree Master Association. That is why it is not lawful for Burning Tree Master Association to assess our subdivision. 

HOMEOWNERS ARE REQUIRED TO PAY ASSESSMENTS ONLY FOR ACTUAL REPAIR, MAINTENANCE AND UPKEEP OF THE COMMON AREAS --BUT BURNING TREE AREA #5 INC AND BURNING TREE AREA #6 INC OWNS NOTHING.
The Certificate of Dedication states that by "acceptance of deed" (purchasing your home) in Burning Tree East you agreed to pay assessments for the ACTUAL maintenance, repair and upkeep of the common areas of the Burning Tree Area #5 Association, Inc. and Burning Tree Area #6 Association, Inc. (However, there are no common areas owned by Burning Tree Area #5 Association, Inc., Burning Tree Area #6 Association, Inc. or Burning Tree East addition nor have there ever been.)

The Tulsa County Assessor shows that Burning Tree East and/or Burning Tree Area # 5 and Burning Tree Area #6 Association, Inc.owns NO land and NO facilities. Thus, it is unlawful to assess Burning Tree East homeowners for actual repairs, upkeep and maintenance when there is nothing owned and thus nothing to be repaired or maintained.



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ASSESSING BURNING TREE EAST HOMEOWNERS IS UNLAWFUL!
The Deed of Dedication clearly states that an attempt by ANYONE, to force homeowners to pay for something other than maintenance, repair and upkeep of the common areas that belong to the Association for Burning Tree East is a violation of the Covenant.

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WHAT CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE WHO VIOLATES THE COVENANTS       
BY ASSESSING HOMEOWNERS UNLAWFULLY?

The Deed of Dedication states that if anyone attempts to violate any of the covenants, it is lawful for any  person owning property in the subdivision to prosecute the person attempting to violate them and to secure damages.


There you have it!!! Homeowners have the right to file suit against anyone who violates or ATTEMPTS to violate these Covenants. That would include those who have assessed us in the past or attempt to in the future.

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Was there paperwork showing that the developer voted to dissolve the  Design Committee or place that authority with the Burning Tree Master Association?

Information about a Design Committee was placed in the Deed of Dedication, under the Covenants, to be used while homes were being built.  Normally when a developer transitions everything  over to a HOA and steps away, there are amendments made to the Covenants by the homeowners.  The amendments remove information that is no longer needed. We all need to remember that there  was a lawsuit going on where the homeowners had taken  the President of the Burning Tree Master Association  to court* during this time. There seems to be lots of things that didn't get done.  *The homeowners won.

Many things were left in a mess and documents that should have been amended or filed never were. 

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DEVELOPER FAILED TO AMEND Burning Tree Master Association ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION 

No matter what was on that overall developmental plan, the developer failed to amend the Burning Tree Master Association ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION  to make any subdivision a "sub-associaton" of the Burning Tree Master Association. 

SEE FOR YOURSELF AS THIS WAS TAKEN FROM BTMA BY-LAWS (BTMA)

ARTICLE III

MEMBERSHIP

Every Burning Tree Area Owners Association approved by Declarant* shall be a member of the corporation.

No owners association was ever approved by the Declarant*. (Notice that it says it was supposed to have been an "owners association" --not the homeowner --who was to have been the member of the Burning Tree Master Association. THAT MEANS: the Burning Tree Master Association has never had any authority to assess or place a lien on a homeowner’s property!!!! 

Had the subdivision’s HOAs been approved, by the Declarant, the Master Association's Articles of Incorporation should have been amended and filed with the Secretary of State to include the HOAs, making them sub-associations.  The office of the Secretary of State has advised that this was never done. Thus, none of the HOAs in the subdivisions are even tied to the Burning Tree Master Association, based on how the Articles of Incorporation are written and were filed!   

*The Declarant was Sixty-First and Memorial Development Corporation, shows it has an OTC Suspension according to the Tax Commission and the office of the Oklahoma Secretary of State.)

It goes on to state: Membership in Burning Tree Area Owners Association shall entitle the members of those Associations to the right and use of enjoyment of the common areas and common facilities of the Association. The Master Association Articles of Incorporation were never amended to add the HOAs in the subdivisions so this could happen. Thus, the subdivisions are NOT members.   
 

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OKLAHOMA STATUTE CONDITIONS TO SET UP AN OWNERS ASSOCIATION

A 1975 Oklahoma Statute states that an “owners association” may be formed by the owner or owners of real estate development for the purpose of:

1. providing management, maintenance, preservation and control of commonly owned areas or any portion of or interest in them, (Burning Tree East has no common areas.....nor does Burning Tree Area #5 or Burning Tree Area #6.

and/or

2. enforcing all mutual, common or reciprocal interests in or restrictions upon all or portions of such separately owned lots, parcels, or areas, or both. (The Certificate of Dedication that was filed does not allow an HOA board of directors to enforce anything....but East does not have a board anyway. Instead the developer filed them so enforcement is left up to the individual homeowner to handle, if they have a problem with their neighbor.)

1975 Oklahoma state law requires that those who form an “owners association” must have all homeowners at that time acknowledged and signed agreeing to it prior to the forming of a HOA, and file an instrument at Tulsa County showing that.

(1) Burning Tree East owned no land and (2) The Certificate of Dedication does not allow the HOA to enforce anything. This means the document filed by the developer did not meet the criteria required to form a mandatory HOA.   100% of the homeowner’s signatures are required in order to have a mandatory HOA. Tulsa County does not show that any such document has been filed with homeowner’s signatures showing their agreement to an HOA.

The statute also states: "No lien may be placed or mortgage foreclosed unless the homeowner was informed in writing upon joining the owners association of the existence and content of the owners association restrictions and rules, and of the potential for financial liability to the individual owner by joining said owners association."

As you can see Mr. Henshaw did not meet the criteria for forming Burning Tree Area #5  Inc and Burning Tree Area #6  Inc, it is unlawful for the Burning Tree Master Association to assess you and a lien placed upon your property is unlawful.

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I HEARD SOMEONE SAY THEY ARE "JUST SURE THE DEVELOPER'S INTENT WAS TO......."

Like one judge said, “It is only the very foolish who claim they know the intent of another.” 


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Do we need to get a petition to get us out of the Burning Tree Master Association?

No. The Covenant you made when you purchased your home is a legal binding contract for you to do what is in your subdivisions Covenant. The Covenants in all subdivisions require homeowners pay ONLY for upkeep, repair and maintenance of the common facilities and land in their own subdivision. THERE ARE NO COMMON FACILITIES OR LAND! Should you get a letter from the Burning Tree Master Association assessing you, remember that the Burning Tree Master Association  has no right whatsoever, to do that. It is not in your covenants, it is not in the Burning Tree Master Association ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION . Hang on to anything you receive as evidence!  


NOTE: This takes away nothing from homeowners who wish to purchase an associate membership to use the  Burning Tree Master Association (BTMA) pool.

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Were you aware that even if you live in the BURNING TREE EAST subdivisions there are certain homes  that do not fall under the HOA?   


Burning Tree East has two areas according to the  Covenants. These  shared Covenants state that the two areas are to each have their own Area Homeowners Association. That would mean Area #6 is  not a part of the Area #5 Association.  Area #6 would need to have their  own corporation filed with the Secretary of State and set up their own by-laws. However, no records have  been found by any agency, stating Burning Tree Area #6 is a corporation with the state of Oklahoma. So if you are  in what the Burning Tree East Covenants refer to as Area #6  that corporation does not exist  according to the office of the Secretary of State of Oklahoma.



Not sure if you are in Burning Tree Area 5 or Area 6? ?
Start here: Tulsa County Assessor (under subdivision type in Burning Tree East to look for your name to find your lot and block.)

If your property is located in any of the following  you are in Area #6 and your area is not a corporation.  Thus, you are not tied in to Burning Tree Area #5 and certainly not to the Burning Tree Master Association. (Burning Tree Area #5 is the only corporation for Burning Tree East. So if you are in one of the following areas you are not part of the HOA for Burning Tree East.)

• Lots 1-4 block 1
• Lots 1-3 Block 3;
• Lots 1-13 Block 4.

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Maybe you heard that Burning Tree East got their HOA up and running for Area #5. 
Be sure to read the Oklahoma Statutes regarding the requirements of holding the meeting to elect directors. They cannot keep it quiet and then just ask who wants to be President and  point to someone....especially when that someone doesn't even live in the Burning Tree Area #5!!!!

Notification must be sent to all homeowners living in Burning Tree Area #5 (to let them know there was going to be a meeting? (State law requires that all homeowners be notified of an election and there are several requirements that MUST be followed to have an election.)

How was it decided (and by whom)regarding who was made President when there are qualified people who actually live in  the incorporated area of Burning Tree East subdivision– Area #5. The one that was announced as President (without any notice of an election allowing homeowners to vote) lives in an unincorporated area so has no tie in to Burning Tree Area #5 or Burning Tree Master Association.

The area where he lives (according to the Burning Tree East Certificate of Dedication) was to have been incorporated at some point. However, the Secretary of State’s records doee not show that it was ever done.  So why is he taking over as President of BT East when he isn’t even a part of it?

FACT: Area #6 can’t be merged with Area #5 without a petition agreed to by a majority of all the homeowners in Burning Tree Area #5 agreeing to change their covenants to allow Area #6 to be part of #5! This requires signatures of homeowners and the document be filed at the courthouse. There are fees to do this. Maybe the homeowners in that area want to spend the money to set up their corporation for Area #6, but only if they can get 100% of the homeowners in that area signing that they agree to have a MANDATORY HOA. (Read the Oklahoma Statutes!)

Tulsa, OK