Homeowners at the Village of Towne Lake in Woodstock are questioning who actually runs their gated community after learning that a property management contract signed by the neighborhood's original developer could keep him effectively in control of the homeowners association until 2040. Residents point to a tripled HOA budget over the past five years, a management fee topping $190,000 annually, and a fence dispute that left one homeowner facing torn-down work and a pile of debris in his driveway.
David Pearson, the original developer of the Village of Towne Lake, signed a property management contract with himself in 2020, according to reporting by 11Alive. Under that arrangement, Pearson holds 20 votes for every lot he owns, and residents estimate he controls somewhere between 101 and 120 votes out of the roughly 319 properties in the community, giving him control of about one-third of any vote. Board member Becky Repic, who moved to the neighborhood in early 2016, said she believes Pearson controls five lots himself.
The community's declaration told homeowners that control would transfer to residents at the end of 2025, but the management contract with Pearson's company runs through 2040, according to the same 11Alive investigation. Repic described the arrangement as unusual, saying the HOA-developer relationship at Towne Lake is unique and that the board's responsibilities are more limited than those of a traditional HOA.
Fence Torn Down, Survey Denied
Homeowner Jason Searcy spent about $3,600 to build a fence that, according to 11Alive, was constructed by an approved contractor at an approved height on professionally surveyed land. A neighbor claimed the fence was installed three inches across the property line, and it was ultimately torn down, leaving debris in Searcy's driveway. Searcy said the new fence also interferes with access to gas and power lines and blocks access around a utility box.
Searcy told 11Alive, “I never received any sort of reimbursement or communication. Just my survey is different than yours.” He said he was denied access to the survey used to justify tearing down his fence. The property management company handles budget setting and covenant-violation identification for the community, and 11Alive reported it is contractually obligated to serve the Village of Towne Lake HOA.
Compensation and Contract Terms Under Scrutiny
The property management contract charges $79,000 a year or 20 percent of the budget, whichever is greater, and compensation to the company has run $190,634 annually over the past two years, per 11Alive's reporting. Other property management companies quoted between $40,000 and $45,000 for comparable services. Attorney Randy Lipshutz told the outlet the fee itself is not illegal so long as the board approves the contract, but he said the contract's transfer of nearly all board authority to the property manager may violate the nonprofit corporation code, and that developer costs should typically come from home sales rather than a future management contract.
The HOA contract also bars the association from making disparaging remarks about Pearson or his property management company, and requires $1,580,000 in liquidated damages if the association tries to terminate it, according to the report. Homeowners have one vote per property, unlike Pearson's 20 votes per lot. Meanwhile, the HOA budget has tripled over the past five years, funding street resurfacing, curb work, signage, landscaping upgrades, three turfed dog parks, clubhouse renovations, roofing, fencing, and security improvements, per 11Alive.
Audit Standoff and Financial Records
The HOA board approved finding an independent auditor, but the property management company, identified in the report as DPC, refused to participate in the proposed audit. Repic said the board never explicitly authorized hiring an external auditor and that the board instead requested a financial review; one homeowner was approved to review some financial records and reported finding nothing out of order, according to Repic, who added that no evidence of financial fraud had been produced. DPC has said it will hire its own auditor to review the books, and separately plans to hire an external auditor for all DPC-managed HOAs, per 11Alive.
Repic said about 300 of the community's 319 homeowners are very happy with the Village of Towne Lake, even as other residents report concerns about lack of transparency, harassment, and questionable financial decisions. She also said she contacted Davidson Homes twice without receiving a response. Homeowners could be required to pay $5 million to purchase the community's amenities, and a derivative lawsuit against the board would require more than 60 homeowners to join, a threshold tied to the Georgia Nonprofit Corporation Code's requirement of either 50 members or holders of at least 5 percent of total voting power under O.C.G.A. § 14-3-631, which also imposes a 90-day written demand period before such a suit can proceed.
Georgia's New Oversight Law Enters the Picture
The dispute arrives just as Georgia begins rolling out new statewide protections for HOA residents. Governor Brian Kemp signed Senate Bill 406, the Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act, on May 12, establishing state oversight and a formal administrative complaint process for HOA disputes under the Georgia Secretary of State's office, according to Fmglaw. The Georgia Secretary of State has already launched a website for HOA complaints and will begin reviewing them in January 2027, with homeowners required to file complaints within 60 days of the disputed issue. At least one Village of Towne Lake homeowner has already submitted a complaint to the state, per 11Alive.
Starting January 1, 2027, SB 406 will require all Georgia HOAs to register annually with the Secretary of State, and non-compliant associations will forfeit their legal authority to impose fines, issue liens, or initiate judicial foreclosures, according to Chartwell Law. The same law will also require registered HOAs to submit audited financial records and doubles the minimum threshold of delinquent assessment debt required before an HOA can initiate foreclosure, from $2,000 to $4,000, while restricting eligible debt strictly to unpaid regular dues rather than fines or fees.
Not everyone in the industry welcomed the change. The Community Associations Institute's Georgia Legislative Action Committee actively opposed SB 406 during the legislative session, arguing the bill improperly treats private self-governed housing communities like state-regulated entities, per its advocacy blog. Under Georgia's Nonprofit Corporation Code, association members already possess a statutory right to inspect and copy financial books, accounting records, and meeting minutes upon written request given at least five business days in advance, a right that predates SB 406.
Georgia now contains more than 11,200 community associations covering roughly 2.3 million residents across nearly 890,000 homes, making it one of the fastest-growing HOA markets in the Southeast, according to research cited by PayHOA. The Village of Towne Lake's contractual questions, including how a decades-long developer management deal squares with the state's new fiduciary standards, are expected to test how far that mediation framework can reach once it takes effect. Pearson declined to answer questions from 11Alive for its investigation.
