HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - January 31, 2020
Published: Fri, 01/31/20
=================================================================
Wellness Checks? Helping Owners Evacuate? Condo/HOA Duties as Owners Age in Place
=================================================================
In this week’s tip, we talk about the future of condo/HOA services in response to a reader’s question about the duties of a condo or HOA board in helping residents who are aging in place and immobile.
This is becoming, and will continue to be, more and more of a challenge for communities, even those that aren’t 55+.
Let’s start with 55+ communities. “A lot of our communities are 55+,” reports Susan Hawks McClintic, co-managing shareholder and the chair of the community association transactional practice group at the law firm of Epsten APC in San Diego. “They don’t have this responsibility, and hopefully they don’t take on more than what they have. That’s more of an issue; I did a presentation on it about two months ago.
“There are communities out there that have almost like a civic association or service district within it, where they’re doing wellness checks and other things like that to help those who are aging in place,” she explains. “That’s very scary. If you’re going to undertake that, you’re going to have liability if you don’t do it properly.
“And there’s a natural tendency, especially in these communities, to take that on,” admits McClintic. “They start to feel like they have an obligation to do that. I had an association want to set up a committee to formalize checking on people occasionally. You’d have lay people supposedly checking on their neighbors to make sure they’re OK and don’t need any assistance.
“In that case, as a lawyer, I have to let those boards know the association’s potential liability,” she notes. “Very often, the way to get boards to understand the scope of the liability is to say something like, ‘Make sure you talk to your insurance agent to be sure you have coverage for these types of activities.’ For a lot of them, that takes care of the issue right there.”
Our other experts haven’t faced this issue often, even in non-55+ communities, though it troubles them and tugs at their hearts.
“I think that’s going to open up a whole new area of management and board responsibility,” predicts Brad van Rooyen, founder and senior member of Tampa, Fla.-based HomeRiver Group and its national specialist for community association management and the president of Home Encounter. “There’s nothing I can see in most governing documents or statutes that provides some burden of checking on your neighbor.
“It comes down to the village approach to the community,” he notes. “It’s about taking time to know your neighbors around you. If you haven’t seen them in a while, what steps should you take? That’s a really interesting question.”
It is, indeed. Read what our experts think in our new article: https://www.hoaleader.com/members/4053.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
=================================================================
Upcoming Event
How to Handle the Growing Challenges of Service and Emotional Support Animals
An Exclusive HOAleader.com Webinar
With Practical Tips for Condo and HOA Boards
Thursday, February 27, 2020
2:00 p.m. Eastern
Learn more or register now:
https://www.hoaleader.com/products/hoa-challenges-service-emotional-support-animals-a.cfm
Members save $30!
=================================================================
Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
=================================================================
Do Condo/HOA Managers or Lawyers Have to Report a Board Acting Improperly?
A topic has been suggested to us, and we think it's worth discussing. Can your condo or HOA manager or lawyer report you to some authority if they believe you're acting inappropriately? Essentially, the question asks if there's something like a "mandatory reporter" situation, as there is with teachers and heath care workers when abuse is suspected, under which community association advisors can or must report board activity to an authority.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Do-CondoHOA-Managers-or-Lawyers-Have-Report-Board-Acting-Improperly.cfm
=================================================================
When Condo/HOA Owners Don't Pay Out of a Personal Account
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "Is there a problem when an HOA property is owned by an individual (per the deed), but the owner pays HOA dues using a check from their business? If the check bounces, who's responsible, the owner or the business? Does accepting checks from the business put us in a weak position if we have to take a lien later as an owner quits paying? Am I worrying about nothing?"
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/When-CondoHOA-Owners-Dont-Pay-Out-Personal-Account.cfm
=================================================================
Cleaning and Digitizing Old, Messy Copies of Condo/HOA Documents: Must Owners Vote?
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "In my HOA, the bylaws were set in 1999. There were faxed to the county, and the only records we have are copies of copies. Our amendments are a bit of a mess and poorly organized..."
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Cleaning-Digitizing-Old-Messy-Copies-CondoHOA-Documents-Must-Owners-Vote.cfm
=================================================================
What To Do If You're Threatened with a Lawsuit Over Your Condo/HOA Website
Florida community association lawyers are reporting a new trend: Condo and HOA boards are being threatened with lawsuits alleging that their website isn't compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act because visually impaired people can't access it. Is this a valid claim, and should you be doing anything?
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/What-Do-Youre-Threatened-with-Lawsuit-Over-Your-CondoHOA-Website.cfm
=================================================================
How to Read Your Association's Financial Reports
Watch this information-filled webinar led by two community association management experts. These two veteran industry leaders will cover the major financial reports for community associations, recordkeeping, how to spot potential fraud, and much more.
Click here for the webinar:
https://www.hoaleader.com/products/how-to-read-hoa-financial-reports-b.cfm
=================================================================
Get your own copy!
Subscribe to the HOAleader.com Tip of the Week at:
https://www.hoaleader.com/public/department49.cfm
=================================================================
Please feel free to forward the *entire text* of this email to others.
Copyright 2020, Plain-English Media, LLC
(866) 641-4548
https://www.hoaleader.com