Property-management firm faces lawsuits over HOA management agreements

FORT COLLINS — A Northern Colorado property-management company that at one time handled the affairs for multiple homeowners associations in Larimer and Weld counties is the subject of two lawsuits, one of its owners has filed for bankruptcy — her second —  and the company appears to be curtailing its HOA business.

NoCo Real Estate Solutions Inc., which has done business as Poudre Property Services among other trade names, is the subject of lawsuits filed by Carlson Farms Homeowners Association of Johnstown and River West P.U.D. Community Association in Larimer County.

The River West case is scheduled for a three-day trial April 10, 2024. The Carlson Farms lawsuit, filed against both the management company and one of its owners, is at least partially on hold because of the Aug. 28 personal bankruptcy filing of NoCo minority owner Sandra Oldenburg and her husband, Lee Oldenburg. The Chapter 13 plan was filed Nov. 9.

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The company has been rapidly shedding homeowners associations that it once managed, and some have raised concerns about their finances as a result of the termination notices. At one time, according to an online resource, Poudre Property Services managed 16 associations in Larimer and Weld counties. The company’s website now lists six.

One of those, Mountain Vista Homeowners Association in Loveland, received a 60-day notice of termination Oct. 30. Another, Buckhorn Village HOA in Loveland, while not listed on the company’s website as a client, claimed dues to members were rising 72% “to recover debt.” The debt, one property owner alleged on NextDoor, was because utility bills and taxes had not been paid since 2021.

A message left at NoCo’s office last week was not returned. Emails sent to the owners of the company last week were also not acknowledged.

The Carlson Farms lawsuit was first filed Feb. 17 and amended Oct. 16. Responses and counterclaims were filed April 7 and April 11. 

Carlson Farms, a Johnstown development, claimed in its lawsuit that NoCo engaged in improper conduct, inferior record keeping, and was not able to account for “hundreds of thousands of dollars in association funds.”

It alleged that NoCo provided documentation in 2021 showing cash balances in excess of $400,000, at one point almost $500,000, but by October 2022 the reserve accounts had slipped to $150,000. The association alleged that requests for bank statements were not provided and when the association changed management companies, checks drawn to transfer money from the association’s old accounts to new accounts didn’t match account numbers that had been provided earlier.

The association claimed breach of contract, conversion, civil theft, fraudulent misrepresentation and other allegations.

NoCo in its response said that Carlson Farms suffered from “vitriol and acrimony” between past and present members of the board of the association and that as a result information provided to the board was confused.

“The association’s board was divided and in turmoil. On numerous occasions, the president of the association overrode the treasurer’s requests and directed defendants not to take instructions from the treasurer,” NoCo wrote in its response.

The management company received conflicting instructions, and the discrepancy between what the association thought it had in cash reserves and what actually existed was explained by those conflicts. NoCo said that “the purported discrepancies to which the plaintiff refers is the difference between actual cash reserves on hand and the report that the board wanted that included all past oil and gas royalties,” the response said.

It blamed the situation on an “inept transition” between boards, and certain board members used “any crumb of misleading information to disparage the defendants.” 

In its counterclaim, NoCo charges defamation, breach of contract terms, civil conspiracy and other charges that were damaging not only to the company but to the health of its owners.

In the River West case, the HOA claimed “immediate danger of suffering irreparable harm” because of the potential of default on vendor contracts and failure to meet the association’s fiduciary and statutory obligations to owners.

It also alleged that NoCo failed to provide records of income and expenses and when replaced by a new management company, NoCo failed to provide turnover documents, records and funds.

“Defendant has failed to identify financial institutions where the association’s funds are being held … failed to file taxes for 2019-2022” and overdrew one account. 

It claimed breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties and negligence and demanded an accounting of the organization’s finances.

In its answer, NoCo denied some allegations and explained that the overdraft came about because of a transfer to a new bank account — deposits were going into the new account and expenses were being paid out of the old account. 

The company said that “damages, if any, are directly or indirectly attributable to the actions and inactions of its past board of directors and present board of directors and the inability of the board to communicate effectively, act reasonably and act in the best interests of the association.”

While the River West case is scheduled for trial in April next year, the Carlson Farms case, at least in part, is on hold because of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing of minority owner Sandra Oldenburg. Oldenburg is the daughter of the management company’s founder, John Bickerton. The bankruptcy filing said that Oldenburg is a vice president and 15% owner of the company.

The bankruptcy is Oldenburg’s second. In 2005, when known as Sandra Bickerton, she claimed debts exceeding assets in a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy, and the court discharged the debtor in 2006.

In the August Chapter 13 reorganization filing, the Oldenburgs claimed assets of $841,800, including a home valued at $650,000, and liabilities of $751,252, more than half of them at least partially secured.

The detailed filing shows debts to the IRS of $30,000; to 13 credit card companies with multiple cards to some of those companies; a debt to Carlson Farms of $100,000, debts to six banks, and debts to Macy’s, Nordstroms and others.

Sandra Oldenburg’s employment is with NoCo Real Estate; Lee Oldenburg’s employment is as a business teacher in the Weld County RE4 school district in Windsor.

The bankruptcy court established a Nov. 22 date for objections to the reorganization plan and scheduled a hearing for Dec. 14.

The cases are:

Carlson Farms Homeowners Association vs. NoCo Real Estate Solutions Inc. and Sandra Oldenburg, case number 2023cv30125 filed Feb. 17, 2023, in Larimer County District Court.

River West P.U.D. Community Association vs. NoCo Real Estate Solutions Inc., case number 2023cv30305, filed April 21, 2023, in Larimer County District Court.

Sandra Oldenburg and Lee Oldenburg, Chapter 13 bankruptcy, case number 2023-13858, filed Aug. 28, 2023, in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado.