Have you received phone calls to your office from residents constantly asking about the community’s guest policies? Or, how to obtain another parking sticker? Reading long, traditional documents may be too difficult or time-consuming compared to the ease of calling the management company. What if you were to gather all the questions and add answers […]
Do You Know Who Your Registered Agent Is? (NC)
North Carolina corporations, whether for-profit or nonprofit, must have a registered agent name filed with the NC Secretary of State. Planned communities (i.e., homeowner associations) created on or after January 1, 1999 by statute must be incorporated. And almost all homeowner and condominium associations in North Carolina ARE incorporated, regardless of when they were created. […]
Access to HOA Membership List Must be for a Proper Purpose (CA)
As part of the ongoing management of a homeowners association (“HOA”), the HOA is obligated to prepare and maintain certain “association records,” most of which must be made available for inspection by the HOA’s members. However, the right to inspect and copy certain association records is not absolute, as some records may be withheld from […]
Why Your HOA Needs a Written Collections Policy (AZ)
Some Homeowners Associations are lucky enough to have minimal collections concerns. However some, are constantly dealing the delinquency of homeowners falling behind on dues. No matter where your HOA sits on this spectrum, it is vital for your community to have a written collection policy documented for the HOA, and a managing partner to handle […]
How to Create The Ultimate Operations Calendar for Your Community
The start of a new year is about more than just changing the calendar on the wall. It’s an opportunity to strategically plan your community association’s operations calendar for the next year to ensure you complete all necessary tasks and meet all compliance requirements. But where do you even start when it comes to setting […]
The Accidental Employee
Many homeowner associations employ hired help to perform various functions for the association (e.g., management, maintenance, landscaping, bookkeeping, etc.). Associations may also need outside expertise when undertaking special projects or construction work. This help may take the form “contractors” or “consultants” to perform work for the association on a short term or as needed basis. […]
Tips for Submitting Repair & Maintenance Requests
Your community management company has two primary goals: to increase your property value and to facilitate the enjoyment of the community for all residents. Part of ensuring that the community looks attractive is to address maintenance requests right away, so your management company assumes the role of facilitating communication between residents and the community association’s […]
Proper Record-Keeping: Keeping a Paper Trail
Like any company, a multifamily residential community generates a lot of paperwork in the course of doing business, from employment records to tenant records and more. It can be an enormous amount of stuff to manage, and knowing what to keep—as well as what can be tossed —isn’t always obvious. In operating a multifamily community, […]
How to Go Paperless in Your HOA
Everyone knows that going paperless makes a better impact on the environment. But despite that, many homeowners association are still mostly using paper for their documents and communication. It seems the green initiative may not be enough reason for some HOAs to make the switch. Read the article……………
Spring Cleaning Checklist: A Property Manager “Must-Do” List
Spring cleaning isn’t just for unit owners. As we move out of the winter months, now is a great time to make sure your property is “spic and span” for the rest of 2016. Read the article………….
The Importance of Process
We often get questions about how important it is that a particular notice goes out as required by the Bylaws or the Declaration or a particular policy. Typically, a manager or a board member will call and explain that they’ve been sending out notices a certain way for a number of years (nobody can really […]
Do Your Board Meetings Include Proper Minutes?
During meetings for your homeowners association, the Minutes are what record all actions taken during the proceedings between members. This is a requirement with any homeowners association, and it’s important to be sure all important details are included and accounted for. Read the article………….
Moving Management Companies Can Result In Lost Files: How To Prevent
The new management company cannot seem to find all our files – what can we do?” A recent complaint received by CCOC is but one of many echoing the same cry for help. This is a major problem for Associations, but where does the onus lie: the management company or the Association. The answer, unfortunately, […]
How To Write a Condominium Property Manager Job Description
A booming, reputable condo community that’s always at capacity doesn’t get there by hiring a bad condominium property manager. Read the article…………
Tips for staying on top of condo work orders!
Do you like to wake up early and get started on your emails from home? Or are you more likely to hit snooze and answer emails over dinner? Use your body’s natural time clock to build a schedule that works for you. Tackle tasks when your energy is at the highest regardless of if that […]
How Is the Motion to Lay on the Table Misused?
Because the motion to Lay on the Table is not debatable, requires only a majority vote, and has high precedence, members are too often tempted to use it to kill the main motion. This is an improper use of the motion to Lay on the Table and an example of railroading (see Robert’s 210, 215–16). […]
HOA Calendar Planning
There is an old saying that goes, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. Nothing is truer when it comes to a homeowner associations. If your HOA does not already have one, forging an Annual Planning Calendar will be an enormous step toward solving many nagging maintenance and administrative problems. What goes into […]
Where Did Everything Go?
Florida law 718.111(12) obligates “outgoing board members to return all official records … to the incoming board.” Why did the legislature have to go out of its way to create a specific law to obligate a proper transition from one board to the other? There must be a problem here. The problem is that community […]
Do Your HOA Board Members Know Which Documents Are Open for Review?
As an HOA board member, you should know what homeowners association documents your members are entitled to review. Association members are welcome to read official association documents. There’s nothing secret about the business of the association. In fact, you should already have copies of key documents like the bylaws or rules readily available. […]
Will Your Co-op or Condo Lose Its Corporate Status? Because It Happens (NY)
Dean Starkman, a board member of a 12-unit Brooklyn Heights co-op. negotiated with a lender to refinance the mortgage on his apartment, a fairly routine affair. He had assembled all the required paperwork and, he recalls, “the last piece of the puzzle was our certificate of good standing as a corporation.” At that point, the […]
Requests to Inspect and Copy Community Association or Company Records: Should it be this complicated?
A Virginia Beach jury found a condominium association liable for failing to permit unit owners an opportunity to inspect and copy association records. Not only must the condo board allow inspection and copying, they must pay for an audit of the association records and pay $50,000 for the unit owners’ attorneys’ fees. Read more………
Here’s a Riddle: What Takes More Than a Minute, But Less Than a Minute to Lose?
Unlike earlier articles we have written about the necessity to memorialize and document actions taken by condominium and subdivision boards and their constituent members, there is an equally important matter which, unfortunately, I just sort of assumed would be understood, but perhaps it is worth repeating. Read more……..
Spring Cleaning Inside and Out!
Even though it’s hard to tell sometimes, spring is finally here in Wisconsin. For many of us, springtime means spring cleaning. Maybe for you that means it’s time to clean out your garage or your attic, but there are things that condo associations can do as well. Read more……….
Keeping Track of Paperwork: Properly Managing HOA Records
While keeping the records of the association is not the most fascinating part of serving on a board, it is in some ways the most important. In fact, the flow of paperwork is the lifeblood of the community.
Keeping Track of Paperwork: Properly Managing Association Records
While keeping the records of the association is not the most fascinating part of serving on a board of trustees, it is in some ways the most important. In fact, the flow of paperwork is the lifeblood of the community. Read more……..
A Minute on Meeting Minutes
Adopted meeting minutes are the official record of actions taken at a meeting. As a result, well-written minutes can be invaluable. In the event of a dispute, minutes are the best proof of whether a proposal was adopted or the exact wording of a motion. Read more……
Should Annual Meetings Approve Minutes?
Like board meetings, an annual meeting of a nonprofit, condominium association, or homeowner association should keep accurate minutes. After all, adopted minutes are the official record of actions taken at a meeting. Well-written minutes may be the best proof of whether a proposal was adopted or the exact wording of a motion, possibly even years […]
Making Your Board Meeting Minutes Available To The Public
Our neighborhood’s homeowners’ association (HOA) was early to the web and early to posting board minutes online, starting in 2002. Our association has always had an “open door” policy to the documents created for the association, and minutes and the monthly balance sheet have been public the entire time. Read more……
Rules on Records: Importance of Good Record-Keeping
It’s no secret that helping to run a board of directors or board of trustees for a condo association is a thankless task. There are a lot of issues to take care of, and board members are strictly volunteers Read more…..
So Now You’re On the Board
The first steps to superior board performance are clarifying your board’s job and then following through with appropriate plans, actions and evaluation of results. The checklists presented here are intended to assist you in those tasks. They cover a significant number of your responsibilities. The checklists will apply to virtually any association. To use them, […]