HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - February 21, 2020
Published: Fri, 02/21/20
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No More Condo/HOA Violation Notices: Getting Owners to Follow Your Rules
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In this week's tip, we help you get started on a plan to reduce the number of violations in your community.
We're guessing that the hardest part of your board-member job is enforcing the governing documents with people you want to live harmoniously with is right near the top.
That's why we've asked our experts for their best tips for getting your members to follow your community's governing documents in the first place so you don't have to get to those later steps of seeking to correct violations and—the worst part—imposing fines.
Let's hope the developer of your community and the lawyers who drafted the governing documents gave you a head start on this front, notes Elizabeth White, counsel at the law firm of Sands Anderson PC in Williamsburg, Va., where she leads the firm's national community association industry team.
"Enforcement seems so easy from a purely legal perspective," she says. "But from a social perspective, it's about getting buy-in from the homeowners and trying to prevent the enforcement issues to begin with.
"Not everybody should be living in these communities," contends White. "There are people who have no business living in a deed-restricted community. So you hope the proper tone was set in the beginning. Ideally, it starts with developers and home builders making sure the property is marketed so that people know what they're buying into."
That may not always be the case. So White has created a presentation for clients that she's now given literally hundreds of times. "We came up with a HOA 101 presentation," she says. "We explain deed-restricted communities to residents, which is important particularly when they're first-time buyers. When people are new homeowners, their frame of reference is often having lived in an apartment, and they have a landlord-tenant mentality. There's also often this fierce 'nobody's going to tell me what to do' mentality."
That can be true, admits Mitchell Drimmer, who holds a Florida community association manager and a real estate broker's license and is president of Axela, a Miami company that specializes in community association collections. "I lived in an HOA for 20 years, and I didn't even know I was in an HOA," he explains. "I never voted, and the only time I heard from my HOA was when my garbage cans weren't in the right place. They sent me a letter, and I got upset.
"Had someone explained to me, 'You're living in a community association that depends on consistency, cohesiveness, and rules, and these are the rules,' I'd have been put a little less put out when I got that notice," he recalls. "I hate to use the word education. The word the kids use today is that you have to make your residents woke. You have to really spell out: 'You're living in an HOA. You made the choice, and if you don't like it, sell.'"
Boards should do their part, too. Find out actions you can be taking, including six concrete steps that can help owners be more familiar with your governing documents, in our new article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/4064.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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Wait, What? Recalled Condo/HOA Board Member Wants to Run Again
Well, this is interesting. An HOAleader.com reader asks, "When a board of directors are recalled, can they run again in the next election? What can be done to keep a recalled board member from running in the next election? Can a recalled board be kept from ever running as a board member?"
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Wait-What-Recalled-CondoHOA-Board-Member-Wants-Run-Again.cfm
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Board Dramatically Increases Assessment Amount, Then Allegedly Targets Owner Who Complains
According to a complaint by a condo owner, a board notified members of a $1.5 million project, but it's now ballooned into a $2.6 million project--paid for by a special assessment.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Board-Dramatically-Increases-Assessment-Amount-Then-Allegedly-Targets-Owner-Who-Complains.cfm
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Removing Delinquent Condo/HOA Owners' Privileges: Risk of Discrimination Claims?
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "Can an HOA chose to treat delinquent or defaulting homeowners differently or do they all need to be treated the same? Wondering if treating differently raises issues of fairness or discrimination."
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Removing-Delinquent-CondoHOA-Owners-Privileges-Risk-Discrimination-Claims.cfm
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The Challenges of Growing Legalization of Marijuana: What HOA and Condo Association Boards Need to Know
Join us for an in-depth webinar on March 26, where two community association experts will help you understand how you can get ahead of this issue before it becomes a contentious one in your community.
Click here for more info:
https://www.hoaleader.com/products/hoa-challenges-marijuana-legalization-a.cfm
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Another New California Law--But This Is One Boards Everywhere Could Learn From
In our recent webinar on trends, one of our experts cited neglected maintenance as a growing issue and a dangerous one for boards nationwide.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Another-New-California-LawBut-This-One-Boards-Everywhere-Could-Learn-From.cfm
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