Washington homeowner receives an $18,500 HOA bill for a supposedly "recent" water system issue, discovers the board has known about it for 18 years: 'I feel like a lawsuit is coming to a head'

Author image for Cata Holmes
Cata Holmes • Writer
Jul 21, 2026 7:15 PM EDT

This "emergency" repair feels different when everyone has known about it for nearly 20 years.

A Washington homeowner was stunned to receive an $18,500 HOA assessment with only two months to pay. The charge was tied to major repairs for the community's water system, but the board later admitted it had known about the problem for 18 years. After years of fee increases and little communication, residents were threatened with liens and interest for nonpayment.

I'm not lying when I say I'm new to the whole HOA situation. Aside from living with my parents, I've been a tenant and have always dealt with my landlord directly. So, as you can expect, these types of stories astonish me, because it feels like a huge scam from top to bottom. And I think it most likely is. 

According to the OP, there has been a water plumbing issue, and the HOA wanted to get it fixed. So, essentially, they sent all the residents the invoice with the repair cost. Apparently, the water problem was an emergency, so everyone had to pay as soon as possible so the issue wouldn't get worse and end up flooding the whole complex. 

By now we have our first red flag: there was no discussion involving this issue, and the HOA demanded everyone pay ASAP. For the writer here, it would take him five years to be able to finish paying that huge amount of money, and that seemed impossible. So that's when he decided to take the bull by the horns and get deep into this issue. And what he discovered is going to end up in a huge lawsuit for the HOA.

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  • Homeowner expressing frustration after receiving a large assessment and questioning decisions made by community leadership.
    via Unsplash+ (via Christopher Luther)

    Homeowner expressing frustration after receiving a large assessment and questioning decisions made by community leadership.

    Person depicted is a model.

  • This cannot be legal. I'm in WA state on an island with water table issues. We are on a private well system.
    via Bl*odyThirst
  • I bought the house in 2021 and there was no mention of any of these issues in that process. The first summer I was there, there were issues with the well and the HOA told everyone to conserve water. I'd just planted about 30 trees and lost all of them bc I didn't water. When I requested the HOA reimburse me, they said they didn't want to set a precedent and denied.
    via Bl*odyThirst
  • The following year, they tell all homeowners that we will need to pay $7000 to repair the water system. Then they raised the HOA fees $100 a month to help pay for said water fixes. And then...crickets. Nothing from 2023 fee raise until this year at the annual meeting in May
    via Bl*odyThirst
  • The board tells us they have to fix it immediately and they send out this invoice after telling everyone they were going to do it at the annual meeting. It wasn't a vote, no choice in the matter. I appealed to them via email; it would take me 5 years to pay that off!
    via Bl*odyThirst
  • Apparently I wasn't the only one who had a similar response. The board responded to everyone haughtily and said. "This isn't a surprise; no one should be shocked; we've known about this for 18 years. If people don't pay, we will put a lien on their home and will charge 12% interest."
    via Bl*odyThirst
  • I thanked the board for putting it in writing that they've known about this for 18 years and I've only been in my house for 5 while they've said nothing for the last 3 years to boot.
    via Bl*odyThirst
  • I've never been late or missed paying HOA dues. I have had issues with my neighbor. He went to the board meeting in 2022 and complained and whined and b hed about me having someone on my property living in an RV.
    via Bl*odyThirst
  • Mind you, I understood this probably wasn't within the rules but I looked around and saw three of my neighbors doing exactly that and decided it was fine. The board allowed that neighbor to stand up and talk sh about me while I wasn't even there and then the HOA president showed up at my house and told me my RV had to go.
    via Bl*odyThirst
  • I said, "When you enforce the rules on everyone, I'll follow the rules." They made one other person (another woman) get her trailer off her property but have allowed two male owned and occupied homes to continue with their RVs on their property.
    via Bl*odyThirst
  • I feel like a lawsuit is coming to a head and I told them as much if they put a lien on my house.
    via Bl*odyThirst
  • Community water treatment infrastructure requiring major repairs and long-term investment from local homeowners and residents.
    via Unsplash+ (via Getty Images)

    Community water treatment infrastructure requiring major repairs and long-term investment from local homeowners and residents.

    Image does not depict the actual water system discussed in the story.

  • The comment section was very helpful to the OP, because they not only identified where he lived to help him more, but they were thorough with the advice, telling him to be careful when filing a lawsuit against the HOA, since most of their rules are covered by the law.

  • Vurrag Be very careful when you buy a home with shared "private" water system. More horror stories than not.
    via Bl*odyThirst
  • hedge36 "The following year, they tell all homeowners that we will need to pay $7000 to repair the water system. Then they raised the HOA fees $100 a month to help pay for said water fixes." So what was the result of the $7000 "repair"?
    via Bl*odyThirst
  • CMWalsh88 It's called a special assessment and it is an important reason why you should evaluate the HOA reserves and for HOA's to do reserve study's. If you don't feel that the reserve is properly funded for the potential expenses you should sell or purchase insurance to cover the special assessment. No one wants to pay more in dues but a properly funded reserve is ment to cover these things.
    via Bl*odyThirst
  • Bklyn ThrowAway1 You bought a house on an island with an HOA...I feel for 'ya...
    via Bl*odyThirst
  • Tacticus1 I know what sub we are in, but you bought a home in an unforgiving environment, and the cost of living in that environment will have to be paid one way or another. It sounds like the HOA maybe hasn't been run very well (pun intended?), but it's also possible that there isn't a cheaper way around the issue.
    via Bl*odyThirst
  • Player-non-player When we were looking, everyone here is on private well or shared wells. We passed 3 houses cause of a shared well. Too many possible future hassles.
    via Bl*odyThirst
  • Residential neighborhood governed by a homeowners association facing unexpected maintenance costs and community disputes.
    via Unsplash+ (via Jason Hawke)

    Residential neighborhood governed by a homeowners association facing unexpected maintenance costs and community disputes.

    This photograph is a generic representation.

  • yesillhaveonemore This is an HOA in a bad spot, not an HOA acting maliciously.
    via Bl*odyThirst
  • Ashamed-Lemon-9839 First thing I did when buying a home with an HOA was to review their financial condition specifically their reserves. I backed out of one deal because there were no reserves meaning huge loans in the future for large repairs. I think you don't have any recourse. Most HOA's insure their board against lawsuits.
    via Bl*odyThirst
  • throwaway3113151 Well, who else should pay for it if not the homeowners? Someone has to pay for the costs.
    via Bl*odyThirst

  • In my opinion,  the OP should be the one who stands out from the rest of the homeowners and demands a clear answer. HOA cannot expect families to put that amount of money out of nowhere for a problem that has been existing for the past 18 years.

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