Couple Battles Homeowners Association Over Bricks

HOUSTON - Want to live close to Lake Houston? Then The Commons of Lake Houston is the place to be. It's a subdivision filled with posh homes on spacious, manicured lots.

"We love working on our house and it's been great to work on it," homeowner Ben Corbin said.

When Corbin and his wife Cindy Kroth bought their place it had been vacant for two years.

"The neighbors talk about grass being waist high as you drive by," Kroth said.

Now most people would say the couple's house looks like something out of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. But not the couple's homeowners association who they say described their newly painted brick as hideous.

"And she said if the paint was not removed from the brick the property could be foreclosed on and that I could face jail time over this painting of the brick," Corbin said.

Since when is painting brick against the law? Fox 26 Investigates went to association president Brandon Paul to find out.

But the association president had nothing to say to us and apparently had nothing to say to the couple on the day the brick painting got underway.

"He was in the driveway next door and didn't say a word," Kroth said.

But after the paint dried, the couple got a letter from the association claiming brick painting is a deed restriction violation and it had to be removed.

"It can not be removed," Kroth said. "You would have to remove the brick from the house."

With the homeowners association making threats against them, the couple had to hire an attorney.

"We're paying an attorney, their paying an attorney," Kroth said.

And both attorneys were making money firing letters off to each other.

In his letter the couple's attorney states there's nothing in the deed restrictions about painted brick being a violation. If it was then the subdivisions most famous resident would have some explaining to do.

Legendary boxing champ George Foreman has a painted brick fence that surrounds his huge estate. The couple's attorney says the association approved the remodeling and painting plans his clients submitted with no questions asked.

We asked the association president plenty of questions, he chose to ignore all of them.

What happened soon after Fox 26 Investigates showed up came as a welcome surprise to Corbin and Kroth.

"We have spent thousands of dollars in legal fees and haven't been able to get any response," Kroth said. "And as soon as Randy and you guys show up, you attended the meeting, you confronted them and within 24 hours they had dropped it and the board president resigned"

Now the couple says they can start enjoying the fruits of their labor.

"We can finally take a deep breath, relax and enjoy our beautiful house," Kroth said.