Roseview has fallen on tough times since the builder, Cornerstone Development, can't sell their remaining inventory for enough to pay off their loans with Venture Bank. Most of the homes are listed at short sale prices right now. The least of their problems is worrying about the HOA and getting people to mow their lawns. Follow Bobbie's advice below and get the existing homeowners involved. You can't depend on the builder for anything now. If Venture takes the homes back it will get worse. You're not alone. Many new neighborhoods with standing inventories of $250,000+ homes are going through these problems. When the market improves you'll be OK.

I'm giving you my some general thoughts I have about HOA issues. I am only licensed in the State of Ohio, so in WA there may be differences. I'm just trying to give you some issues you may want to consider, from a point of view from another state.

Yes, you need to obtain all of the condo documents (Declarations, By Laws, Rules & Regulations, etc). This info should help you find out if the developer is still involved with the HOA. But, even more important is to find out where the condo maintenance fees are that all of the HOA members are paying. In many states, HOA's are to have funds to run the day-to-day needs & requirements of your HOA, but, also, must have a reserve acount for extraordinary expenses. Most HOAs hire a management company to take care of the day-to-day needs & requirements of a condo development, such as mowing, landscaping, pool maintenance, snow removal (in colder areas), common area maintenance, etc. Where are you mailing your monthly maintenace fees? Who is controlling the money? Has a management company been in contact with the members? Is your developer still in business? If so, contact the developer for answers. Try to get a group of interested neighbors to help you with the process. If all else fails, contact an attorney who will agree to do an initial consultation for free, as he or she may be needed to represent the HOA in the future.

It's possible that the builder granted the HOA over to the association-at which time it is the responsibility of the home owners to make the association viable. The HOA docs should be recorded; you may be able to find them in your title report from when you purchased; if not, you can contact a title company for a copy. You can call Rainier Title @ 1 866 333 2626.