Burke County homeowners face HOA fee hikes months after water crisis

CONNELLY SPRINGS, N.C. — Homeowners in a Burke County community say they are facing sharp increases in their neighborhood fees.

In May, Channel 9’s Dave Faherty reported on water issues in the Pine Mountain community, south of Morganton, that left some without running water for weeks. Residents told Faherty they are now being asked to pay thousands of dollars in property association fees.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• Water restored for hundreds of homes in Burke County after month-long issue
• Families without water for weeks as property association seeks money for repairs

The property owners association says those increases are needed “to get Pine Mountain into a more stable financial situation,” but some homeowners say they’re not sure where the money is going.

Lynn Nguyen is getting ready to move into his new home at Pine Mountain, but before that happens, he said he was hit with a property owners bill of $3,800.

“There’s no communication,” Nguyen said. “If you send an email and you ask show us some of the paperwork on where the money is going — nothing. It’s just nothing.“

Lynn isn’t alone. Stephanie Wagner lives in one of the dozens of condos in the community and says her new property owners association bill is $4,200 annually.

“It’s impacted us greatly because times are hard, and that’s a big jump from a thousand,” Wagner said.

The increase in fees comes after a pump broke in one of the wells at Pine Mountain, forcing some residents to get water out of a nearby stream to flush their toilets.

“There has been a huge amount of deferred maintenance here over the last many years and we are trying to ‘right the ship’ as quickly as we can without overburdening the owners,” Chase Billow, the president of the Pine Mountain Property Owners Association, said.

He also said no reserve fund has been kept in the community for years. Pine Mountain has 1,200 lots and 27 miles of road but only 100 homeowners right now and 30 residents who own condos.

“In California they have a 20% cap on dues that can be raised,” homeowner Kimberly Hovis said. “We had a 97% increase.”

Channel 9 reached out to the North Carolina Attorney General who says there are no statutes that limit how much an HOA can charge in fees, but boards must comply with its governing documents when setting them.

The board says it has held two public meetings at a local fire station and published the proposed budget prior to final approval.

©2026 Cox Media Group