Homeowners Association

I am not sure where to even start this post but I would like to alert you to the truth regarding our pending Homeowners Association.

The truth is, that by Panamanian law, we do not have a development in the true sense of the word. In order to have a development, all homeowners must be in agreement at the time that they purchase the lots, with the covenants and restrictions registered with the development. These covenants and restrictions, in order to be effective, must be in Spanish and registered against the title of each lot, so that when the lot is sold the C&Rs go with it. If they are not registered at that time then, there is no development, the roads are public Panamanian property and it can be gated, but if someone complains the Municipality will make us take the gates down. Anybody is free to use the roads. There will be no restrictions regarding land use so that anyone could build a bamboo hut next to your half million dollar home. One could raise pigs or worse yet, fighting cocks that begin to crow at 3:00 AM and continue throught the day.

In order to change this situation and register the C&R's after the fact, each and every one of the lot owners must agree to accepting the C&R's and then allow them to be registered against the title to his/her lot. There is a $300 charge for registering them after the fact. If even ONE person of the 41 lot owners refuses to accept the C&R's, there will forever be no development. We can still have the park and the pool but there will be no Homeowners Association and no obligation to pay any maintenance fees. Some may chose to pay and some may not and there is no legal recourse to collect from those who refuse to pay. There will be no land use restrictions which could become a huge problem as the lots get sold off to others. We are pretty much all of the same mind at this time but others in the future may not be.