A Brief History of Garden Oaks with respect to Deed Restriction Enforcement
Garden Oaks neighborhood began in 1937 when the Garden Oaks Company, through its President E. L. Crain, established Section 1 north of the existing Houston Heights area. Garden Oaks ultimately came to have 5 sections, each a separately platted subdivision.
Garden Oaks Company touted the neighborhood as “Houston’s Wooded Wonderland”, stating “Garden Oaks is one of the most attractive subdivisions ever offered the people of Houston. The environment, natural beauty, permanent improvements, comfort, drainage, parks and playgrounds have been preserved for generations to come by careful and thoughtful planning, protective restrictions which include architectural supervision of home building, a maintenance fund, and many other beneficial restrictions.”
Sections 1 and 2 were well established at the beginning of World War II, and Section 3 was under development. Expansion of the neighborhood progressed generally from south to north, and from east to west. The restrictions applicable to Section 5, the last Section designated, were recorded in November 1942.
Garden Oaks Company recorded separate deed restriction documents for each Section. While each section’s documents is slightly different, all provided for a transfer fee of 40 cents per lineal foot (based on the front footage of the lot) to be placed into a maintenance fund when a property was sold, to be used for general neighborhood purposes.
In 1950 Garden Oaks Company dissolved and left architectural review and deed restriction enforcement responsibilities with the Garden Oaks Board of Trustees (GOBOT).
The GOBOT functioned until 1999 when a Texas Civil Court issued a summary judgment in favor of an owner/resident who argued the authority of the GOBOT was not transferred to it from the Garden Oaks Company in conformance with either the existing GO deed restrictions or Texas State law.The GOBOT transferred its remaining funds to that owner to cover legal costs and effectively dissolved.
While the deed restrictions remained in effect, there was no organization with legal standing to enforce them. Individual homeowners were left in the awkward position of suing or threatening to sue their neighbors. To relieve individual neighbors of the sole responsibility of preserving our deed restrictions, the Deed Restrictions Committee of the Garden Oaks Civic Club was formed in 2000.
After considering various alternatives, including having the Garden Oaks Civic Club take over the deed restriction enforcement duties, the committee decided that creating a separate organization as provided for in the Texas Property Code would be the best way to go. That organization, the Garden Oaks Maintenance Organization (GOMO), a non-profit corporation, was presented to the neighborhood at large for approval. Results of the petition drive were:
| Section | Eligible Properties | Eligible Approvals | % | Eligible Land Area | Eligible Land Area Approvals | % |
| 1 | 431 | 325 | 75.41 | 5,958,373 | 4,513,906 | 75.75 |
| 2 | 146 | 113 | 76.00 | 2,692,812 | 2,040,931 | 75.80 |
| 3 | 226 | 151 | 66.81 | 3,165,559 | 2,070,592 | 65.41 |
| 5 | 316 | 206 | 65.19 | 2,793,853 | 1,830,215 | 65.50 |
| Totals | 1119 | 795 |
The Garden Oaks Maintenance Organization was recorded and registered in 2002 as a Texas non-profit corporation and HOA with both mandatory membership and mandatory fees and whose primary purpose is enforcement of the Deed Restrictions.
The sole mandatory fee adopted is a transfer fee paid by buyers at the time a property is sold.
Fee collections have grown from $111 k/year in 2003 to $272 k/year in 2017 and by July, 2018 they totaled more than $3.1 M cumulatively for GOMO’s existence. Operating costs during GOMO’s 16-year tenure in support of the primary function of the HOA have totaled an estimated $1.0 M. GOMO bylaws provided for Member approved investment of “excess funds” in community projects which have totaled more than $1.5 M. Investment of “excess funds” was halted after GOMO was found to be improperly formed with respect to a single homeowner in 2016.
In December 2012, GOMO filed a lawsuit against the owners of a lot in Garden Oaks, Section Three to enforce a deed restriction limiting the property to a two-car garage. The owners responded with a myriad of claims including a claim that GOMO was improperly formed. At trial, the court agreed, but limited the ruling to apply only to the defendants. GOMO filed this bankruptcy to deal with the potential effect of the ruling on the rest of the neighborhood.
GOMO Financials
Note 1) Number of Fees Collected, Income and Expenses on these graphs are for calendar years. GOMO Financial Reports posted elsewhere on this site are based on the GOMO Fiscal Year which runs Nov. 1 - Oct. 31.
Note 2) Expenses are shown starting in 2007 when Quickbooks was adopted.
Note 3) Click on graphs to enlarge.
GOMO Income & Fees (2002-2018 Jul)
GOMO Spending (2007-2018 Jul)
GOMO Average Fee (2002-2018 Jul)
