HOAs target anti-KB signs

Homeowners in three San Antonio neighborhoods are continuing to battle with KB Home — and now their builder-controlled homeowners associations — about KB's decision to add lower-priced homes to their communities.

Although the fight over changing prices and home sizes has been ongoing for months, at issue now are the “For Sale by Owner” signs planted in some front yards that refer passers-by to the Web site KBLies.com.

Homeowners say the professionally made signs are a way to advertise their homes for sale and meet neighborhood covenants.

But the HOA at the Quarry at Iron Mountain, an upscale community in the Sonterra area, contends the signs violate neighborhood regulations and must be removed by Monday. The HOA board is controlled by KB Home, which has two-thirds of the votes. Covenants say homeowners could be fined $100 a day, and that failure to pay fines could result in a foreclosure proceeding.

Homeowners in Sundance Ridge and Sundance Trails, located west of Loop 1604 near Potranco Road, also have received HOA letters about their yard signs, but will begin having hearings before their board next week.

“I have no faith that they're going to give us any other answer,” Sundance Trails resident Jennifer Czuhajewski said.

Several homeowners from the Quarry at Iron Mountain, Sundance Trails and Sundance Ridge held a news conference Thursday to protest what they say are unfair actions by KB Home and the homeowners associations to suppress their free speech rights.

Quarry at Iron Mountain resident Sharon Cox said she was asked to prove her home is for sale at her HOA hearing earlier this week, and that board members said a legitimate listing would be one with a real estate agent and a number in the Multiple Listing Service.

“We made a sworn statement in front of their attorney that our home was for sale,” Cox said. “Do I need to take a lie detector test? I want to leave this neighborhood.”

There are seven homes listed for sale on the KBLies.com Web site.

“We have a real issue here of constitutional rights,” said Janet Ahmad, president of HomeOwners For Better Building.

Cathy Teague, the spokeswoman for KB Home who sits on the board of the HOAs, said other neighbors have questioned the motivations of the disgruntled homeowners.

“There's no telephone number so that somebody could contact them about the home,” Teague said of the for-sale-by-owner signs. “Any reasonable person would take a look and question whether the intent is to sell the home or to destroy the peace and quiet and harmony of the neighborhood.”

Meanwhile, some other homeowners at the Quarry at Iron Mountain have placed “I love my KB Home” dashboard visors in the windows of their homes or cars.

“We're trying to keep this quiet,” said Fortunato Tinoco, a resident of the Quarry at Iron Mountain who has such a sign in his front window. “It's like when families quarrel. You don't want the whole world to know.”

Tinoco said dozens of other residents signed a petition asking HOA board members to take action against the for-sale-by-owner signs. He does not believe the other homeowners really intend to market their homes for sale.

Resident George Horace, who has an “I love my KB Home” sign, said the negative yard signs have caused potential residents to cancel contracts on homes in the neighborhood. “You can't blame people for walking away,” he said. “They're paying $300,000 for a house. There are plenty of other options.”

Buying a new home in a still-developing community always carries risks, but the stakes have gotten higher as builders face a challenging market. KB has said it had to change the home product in the communities due to the economy.