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About CAN

/ Owner - June 8, 2012

“HOA Reserves: Our board is searching for kit or workbooks to do a study of our needs and planning for adequate reserves for replacement or repair. Thanks for this marvelous site. Has benefited our HOA board members greatly.”

The Community Associations Network, LLC (CAN) was formed to create a single, public, free, internet resource for community associations and the people and firms that work with them. The phrase “re-inventing the wheel” has been used often to describe association operations, where each board of directors wrestles with a problem or issue as if it has never been dealt with before. Chances are it has, but there was no way to find out about it. CAN is going to try and change that. CAN is not affiliated with one individual, company or group, instead we try and bring you the widest possible scope of information, products and services to help you with this housing type. It is our hope that by doing this you’ll find a good, positive answer to questions and issues that may confront you.

BACKGROUND

The principal (and only employee) of CAN has worked in the community association industry for over 50 years.  He’s been a manager, consultant, web designer for numerous industry-related web sites, executive director of one of the largest coalition of the largest management companies in the U.S, and has worked with associations ranging in size from 2 units to 60,000.  He was one of the early staff members of the Community Associations Institute where he served as Director of Member Services, helping members out with issues, working with the growing number of local chapters, running the national conferences and heading up the transition to computer technology (yes, he goes back a long way). He started this site in 2003 as a weekly compilation of news articles, and it has continually grown to where it now links to over 30,000 articles and news stories.

DAILY NEWS

The CAN Daily Condo & HOA News is compiled from multiple news sources. It will also accept news releases from industry-related companies and organizations for the “Industry-related News” section. Starting in late 2020 various news organizations, including the largest, Gannett, started labeling  multiple news stories as “Subscriber Only”.  The number of these items continues to grow as newspapers block more and more content.  As a policy, we don’t link to “Subscriber Only” stories and as a result, the number of news items we link to continues to shrink.  Very often, we are able to link to either Google, Yahoo or MSN, if they post the complete story, but this is usually a few days after the original story appeared.  The news organizations are now trying to force these internet sources to pay for these stories, so I’m not sure where this is going to go.  We’ll keep to trying to keep you up-to-date on news items as best we can.

LINKS

The vast majority of links on these pages will take you to other web sites. The reason for this is to provide recognition for the authors of the articles and to introduce you to their web sites. Each link will open a new window, which will allow you to return to this site simply by closing that window. If you would like to recommend an article or piece of information that is available on the internet, simply Contact Us with the link.  Likewise, if you would like a link removed, send the link to the same address.

A FEW ARTICLES

Here are links to a few articles that we’ve either written or been quoted in:

Florida Building Collapse Highlights Serious Challenges Facing Condo Board (TopRetirements.com)

Things Co-op / Condo Boards Should Learn from Recent News (Habitat)

Management Matters – Traits of Effective Property Managers (The South Florida Cooperator)

Oh Say Can You See…..  (Ontario Condo Law Blog – the links on this page are gone, but the article is still nice)

Home Owners Associations –Friend or Foe  (TopRetirements.com)

Policies

The Community Associations Network “Resource Center” (CAN) provides general information about community associations and related professions. The individual authors are solely responsible for the content of their articles. The reader should not rely on information contained in the site for their specific situation, but should consult their own legal or financial counsel, or other expert for advice. Links to outside resources are checked periodically, but may be broken or changed without our knowledge. CAN does not collect any specific information about site visitors unless voluntarily given and any information collected is neither shared, sold or leased to third parties.

Much of the information found at this site is, in fact, links to information on other sites not affiliated with CAN. CAN is not responsible for the content of those articles or the information provided. If you would like the link to your site removed, please contact us and we will remove it immediately. All news items are links to news sources and stories found on the internet. CAN can not be held responsible for the accuracy of those items – that lies with the originating site.

The material on this site is for reference only. You do not have the right to reproduce or publish any of the information without the express written consent of either CAN in the case of original content, or the author of the specific content. If the content is found through a link from this site to another site, check the copyright or re-print policies on that site.

News and Article Selection

CAN selects which news items and articles to link to based on the editors belief in the informational or educational benefits of the item.  If the item appears to be mostly a self-promotion, then it will probably not be selected or would be listed in the “Industry News” section.  The best way to explain this is that “it’s our site and we’ll do what we want!” We do not link to articles from what we describe as “HOA Haters”.  These are sites where the authors don’t believe there is any good in community associations.  Again, this is our choice.

The fact that most of the News items reflect negatively on associations can be explained simply by news media companies produce exceptions to the norm, not the norm.  That’s what makes it news.   It should also be noted that most news stories rarely have all of the information needed to determine who or what the real problem is.  Rarely do they quote the governing documents and rarely do they get both sides before “going to press”.   However, CAN believes there are “lessons to be learned” from these stories so we will continue to link to them.

 Advertising

CAN does not accept individual ads.  We use Google Ads as a means to cover the costs of maintaining this web site.  Visitors have the option, through Google Ads, to affect changes to the ads they see when visiting the site.  CAN has opted for limitations on the ads so that you should not see ads for adult sites or sites that may contain potential problems for your device.  If you have a problem with the advertising, access your Google account and visit “Control the Ads You See” to make changes.  CAN bears no responsibility for the ads that appear on our site on your device.

Links

CAN links to many different pages in different sites not related to CAN. Page addresses sometimes change without notice and the link may no longer be valid. CAN will check these regularly but some may be missed. Links to newspaper articles are the most likely to be broken abruptly.

CAN will remove any link upon request.

Privacy Policy

This privacy policy tells you how we use personal information collected at this site. Please read this privacy policy before using the site or submitting any personal information. By using the site, you are accepting the practices described in this privacy policy. These practices may be changed, but any changes will be posted and changes will only apply to activities and information on a going forward, not retroactive basis. You are encouraged to review the privacy policy whenever you visit the site to make sure that you understand how any personal information you provide will be used.

Note: the privacy practices set forth in this privacy policy are for this web site only. If you link to other web sites, please review the privacy policies posted at those sites.

Collection of Information

We collect personally identifiable information, like names, postal addresses, email addresses, etc., when voluntarily submitted by our visitors.  This information is only used to fulfill your specific request, unless you give us permission to use it in another manner.  We do not keep a mailing list.

Cookie/Tracking Technology

The Site may use cookie and tracking technology depending on the features offered. Cookie and tracking technology are useful for gathering information such as browser type and operating system, tracking the number of visitors to the Site, and understanding how visitors use the Site. Cookies can also help customize the Site for visitors. Personal information cannot be collected via cookies and other tracking technology, however, if you previously provided personally identifiable information, cookies may be tied to such information.  Aggregate cookie and tracking information may be shared with third parties. We do not collect this information, but advertisers, such as Google, might.

Distribution of Information

We may share information with governmental agencies or other companies assisting us in fraud prevention or investigation. We may do so when: (1) permitted or required by law; or, (2) trying to protect against or prevent actual or potential fraud or unauthorized transactions; or, (3) investigating fraud which has already taken place. The information is not provided to these companies for marketing purposes.

Commitment to Data Security

Your personally identifiable information is kept secure. Only authorized employees, agents and contractors (who have agreed to keep information secure and confidential) have access to this information. All emails and newsletters from this site allow you to opt out of further mailings.

Privacy Contact Information

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments about our privacy policy you may contact us.

Contact Us

We reserve the right to make changes to this policy. Any changes to this policy will be posted.

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