Lake Norman area residents say developer HOA control left them without a voice
Residents of a Mooresville waterfront community say they’ve spent years paying dues into a homeowners association they have almost no ability to influence because the neighborhood remained under developer control long after people moved in.
Homeowners in the Waterfront at Langtree development told The Charlotte Observer the HOA has now been developer-run for over five years, with residents unable to elect their own board, choose an HOA president, or vote on most decisions that affect the community. As construction continues, the developer has kept control of the association’s governing seats, a scenario legal experts say is common in North Carolina and often leaves homeowners feeling powerless.
“It’s very frustrating because we have no power,” said Kathy Worek, who bought her home in 2021. “We’re all spending $200 a month and the only thing we get to vote on is the budget.”
She said the structure creates an imbalance that homeowners didn’t expect when they bought into the lakefront community.
The frustrations in Mooresville echo a common concern across the state: North Carolina has no statutory deadline for when developers must turn an HOA over to homeowners. That means the length of developer control depends almost entirely on each neighborhood’s covenants and governing documents and, in some cases, whether the developer still holds unsold lots.
How developer control works
Most planned communities begin with the developer controlling the HOA. During construction, developers typically appoint board members, oversee budgets and capital projects, and maintain authority over financial decisions. That structure is intended to ensure continuity while the neighborhood is built out.
But in practice, developer control can stretch for years after residents have moved in, said Jim White, a Raleigh attorney who represents homeowners in HOA disputes. White said he routinely sees developers maintain control “longer than residents might be comfortable with.”
Some developers, he added, retain control even once most homes are sold.
White described cases where developers hold onto one or two lots or carve out parcels that are difficult to sell so they can delay turnover. In some communities, developer-owned lots carry multiple votes compared to the single vote allocated to each homeowner, making it nearly impossible for residents to elect their own board, he said.
“It creates this illusion of democracy,” White said. “Everybody technically has a vote, but the developer’s votes are structured in such a way that until their last lot is gone, there is not much that can be done.”
Residents say the effect on daily life is clear. Homeowners say they have limited access to financial information and little clarity on how decisions are made.
These concerns are not unique, White said. He has seen instances where developers structured financial transactions or loans in ways that benefited themselves rather than the HOA. In some cases, he said, developers used their control of the board “to circumvent responsibilities” and approve repayments or interest on funds that, by contract, should have been contributed directly to the community.
Under state law, HOAs in North Carolina are governed by the Planned Community Act and are often structured as private nonprofit associations, and the act does not set a statewide deadline for when developers must relinquish control of the HOA, White said.
He believes the underlying problem is larger than any single neighborhood.
“They’re company towns, and it’s the same problem with a mill town owned by the mill owner, or the HOA town owned by the developer,” White said. “Their interest is the interest of the developer, not the interest of the residents.”
In a statement to the Observer, JRN Development said the community is being built in two phases and that HOA control will transfer to homeowners once construction on Phase 2 is complete and the road is finished. The company said the city of Charlotte requires the road to be completed after all construction is done, and that this is the final outstanding piece of infrastructure.
JRN said that it is unaware of other concerns raised by residents about fees or oversight.
This story was originally published December 1, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
