HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - January 7, 2011
Published: Thu, 01/06/11
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Are Your Manager or Fellow Board Members Secretive?
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In this week's tip, we answer a reader's request for help in
getting association records from a secretive board or manager.
Our experts' advice serves as a helpful reminder to all board
members about the importance of transparency at associations.
In every state, board members have a right to association
documents necessary to fulfill their duties. "If our reader is a
board member, the board has the right to the documentation
related to running the association," says James R. McCormick Jr.,
a partner at Peters & Freedman LLP in Encinitas, Calif., who
represents associations. "Even if some members are being
secretive with the rest, all board members are entitled to all
the corporate records because it allows them to carry out their
duties. If it's not a board member who's asking but a member,
that's different."
In California, there's an easy remedy for owners not on their
association's board. "Once owners look into it and see their
rights, they can get the information because it's much harder for
a board to get away with this in California," explains Robert M.
DeNichilo, an attorney at DeNichilo & Lindsley LLP in Irvine,
Calif., who specializes in representing community associations.
"Under California's Davis-Stirling Act, which governs community
associations, members have the statutory right to review
documents. They're entitled to attorneys' fees if they win, and
there's even a civil penalty if associations don't provide
documents that members are entitled to receive. They can call a
lawyer or file a small claims action themselves seeking the
documents and the civil penalty."
Even if you're not in California, you have options. You can take
a shot at small-claims court. Read your state's law to identify
the documents you're entitled to, and then specifically ask for
them in your small-claims request. "Where I see members fail is
that their requests are overbroad and vague," says DeNichilo. "In
California, the statute identifies with some particularity the
documents members are entitled to review. The key for members is
to ask for what's in the statute so they have a much higher
chance of getting the documents."
For even more ideas to break through a board or manager's wall of
secrecy, see our new article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/public/523.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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How to Achieve a Well-Planned Annual Meeting
In a new article, we offer six recommendations for ending your
history of boring and poorly attended annual meetings.
In this edition of the HOAleader.com "Tip of the Week", we offer
one of those six tips. Hint: It's all in the planning.
Click here to read full article:
< http://www.hoaleader.com/public/522.cfm >
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6 Tips for Planning a Successful HOA Annual Meeting
Is your annual meeting just around the corner? Begin planning now
because successful meetings don't happen by themselves.
Click here to read full article:
< http://www.hoaleader.com/members/521.cfm >
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6 Tips for Recruiting Future HOA Leaders
One of the main causes of burnout among active HOA board members
and volunteers is the fact that they're doing too much. But that'
s often a necessity, since recruiting future leaders is a
perennial challenge. Here, we offer six tips for identifying
potential leaders in your condo or homeowners association and
techniques you can use woo those residents into becoming involved.
Click here to read full article:
< http://www.hoaleader.com/members/519.cfm >
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Tips for Happy HOA Holidays!
This week's tip is a reminder that one way to bring your
community together is to party!
Click here to read full article:
< http://www.hoaleader.com/public/518.cfm >
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