HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - January 14, 2011
Published: Thu, 01/13/11
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Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Good HOA Board Member?
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Great condo HOA board members possess most, if not all, of 10
particular personality traits that we outline in a new article.
In this week's tip, we discuss three of them.
1. The willingness to dig in. You can't run an association well
without digging into the details--and that takes hard work and
commitment. "Board members have to take the time to review and
understand their governing documents," explains Matthew A. Drewes,
a partner at Thomsen & Nybeck PA in Edina, Minn., who represents
associations. "I've seen board members who don't fully understand
the documents they're trying to operate under and enforce because
they haven't taken the time to read them."
2. The ability to play fair. "Bad board members typically fall
into one of two categories, says Nathaniel Abbate, Jr., a partner
at Makower Abbate & Associates PLLC in Farmington Hills, Mich.,
who represents associations. "They either have a vendetta against
one person in particular or think, 'I'm in charge, and I'm going
to enforce these rules against everybody but my friends,'" he
says. "It makes for a very difficult time in an association when
board members go full-tilt against an owner for doing something
that board members or their friends are doing, like parking RVs
in their driveway. You can't be a, 'Do as I say and not as I do'
kind of person on the board."
3. The good sense to ask for help. "You need an understanding of
when it's effective to consult an appropriate professional like
an engineer, accountant, or attorney," says Drewes. "Due to the
technical nature of the problems boards can face, the association
would benefit from the unique perspective of someone trained in
the discipline they're trying to address."
Then you must be able to go a step further--you have to listen!
"One thing I think boards have to be able to do is listen to
experts," says Abbate. "You wear a lot of hats as a board member,
but there's a time you pass the hat and can insulate yourself
from liability and do your association a service by listening to
what an expert in the field has to say."
Maybe that's a reserve analyst whom you ask, 'What's the useful
life of the roofs on our units? What's it going to cost when we
have to start replacing them? What are the pros and cons of doing
a lick-and-a-promise repair or a full-fledged rebuild?'" Abbate
explains. "Many board members are financially savvy and come to
conclusions on their own, but the best way to operate is to rely
on experts. And in Michigan, if you do rely on an expert for
advice--whether it's a lawyer, accountant, tax expert, or
insurance broker--you can't possibly be held to have breached your
fiduciary duties."
To test whether you have all 10 Traits of Successful HOA Board
Members, see our new article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/527.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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Are Your Manager or Fellow Board Members Secretive?
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.
Click here to read full article:
< http://www.hoaleader.com/public/526.cfm >
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How to Respond When Owners Propose Amendments to HOA Governing
Documents
On occasion, owners take matters into their own hands and propose
an amendment to their homeowners association's governing
documents, sending the proposal to some or all board members and
fellow residents.
How should you react to that type of initiative on a member's
part? Is it a good thing? Can it create problems? Here our
experts provide answers.
Click here to read full article:
< http://www.hoaleader.com/members/525.cfm >
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Three Ideas for Restarting Stalled Decisions on Your HOA Board
Sometimes, your homeowner association board just can't reach
resolution on an issue, and a decision keeps getting tabled. How
can you unstall that process?
Here our experts offer three tips for resolving tough decisions
that probably could be made by the HOA board but that the board
can't or doesn't think it should make without owner consensus.
Click here to read full article:
< http://www.hoaleader.com/members/524.cfm >
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How to "Reform" Secretive HOA Managers and Board Members;
Discussion Forum Follow-Up
Secrecy breeds mistrust. Yet some HOA boards and managers insist
on keeping information close. When that happens, owners feel
helpless and either get mad or give up, and neither is good for
the smooth operation of a homeowners association.
Click here to read full article:
< http://www.hoaleader.com/members/523.cfm >
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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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