So this family in Colorado hung up a peace wreath or whatever. The association said no dice, the hangers say screw off.
What is the next step (in general)? I assume the association must sue in court, right? What would they demand? I would guess specific performance, as in take whatever you have that is offensive down.
But in reality, would this not drag out over a long time? And during this period, what if you painted your house pink for a year or two whilst the case works its way through the courts?
How does this kind of disagreement usually unfold, given a court interjection?
In some areas, you can put yourself into a deep financial quagmire for an eternity.
They can keep you on the hook for many years, and effectively prevent you from selling your house until things are settled.
The ones I’ve dealt with are full of petty bureaucrats, the housewives and retirees that will spend endless amounts of association money on their petty squabbles.
The power just goes to their heads.
Depending on how the Condo Association documents are written, the association could fine you. If you don’t pay, the fine gets attached as a lien against your condo. Then they foreclose on the lien if you don’t pay it.
If something is not allowed in the associations documents (the main one is usually called “Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions,” or “CC&R’s”), there is a fine. These fines are usually intended to obtain compliance with the rule, not for income. The association does not need to sue to levy the fines, but to actually get the money, the liens and whatnot Gfactor and others have spoken of can be necessary.
A court’s job in the matter would be to check the actual problem and rule on that, but also on matters like overreaching authority or selective enforcement, which could have happened here if not for the backing off by the board.