HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - August 7, 2020
Published: Fri, 08/07/20
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COVID-19: Are You Also Seeing Mental Health Challenges at Your Condo/HOA?
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The attorneys at Eisinger Law in Florida say they've seen a noticeable uptick in calls from the firm's more than 800 Florida homeowners and condominium association clients over mental health issues. Boards are expressing concern and seeking counsel regarding unit owners or residents who are showing acute and ongoing signs of mental illness.
In this week's tip, we discuss how you can proceed if you experience a similar situation.
Carolina Sznajderman Sheir is a partner at Eisinger Law in Hollywood, Fla., and she says this isn't a new issue but one that's become more difficult due to the pandemic.
"I'd experienced the problem on many occasions prior to COVID-19," she states. "But it's much worse now because people are in their homes more, and they don't have the ability to go to their doctors—a lot of people have stopped going to the doctor for fear of exposure to the virus. Normally in a community association, you have people going to their jobs and being occupied with other matters of life. Now you have buildings at full capacity, and everyone is running into each other. It doesn't make for a healthy environment."
The problem isn't just residents with mental health issues, Sheir says, but also encompasses other matters, such as domestic violence. "To finally to get any relief, the matter has to escalate to an intolerable level," she says. "Everybody sees it happen and wants to report it, but nobody has the power to do anything. For me to go to court to seek an injunction to have someone removed from the property, my file has to be several inches thick to show a nuisance."
She recently had a situation in which an individual who wasn't in a good mental state became paranoid. "He began to engage in hallucinating, or I don't know the exact term, but he started believing his neighbors were stealing from him, and he began pacing back and forth," recalls Sheir. "He mistakenly went to a unit that didn't belong to him, got agitated, and threatened violence against the unit owner.
Find out what Sheir and our other experts recommend to their clients—and why one of our experts argues boards have to act because it's the right thing to do—in our new article: https://www.hoaleader.com/members/4171.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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You Can Stop Condo/HOA Owners Seeking Forgiveness, Not Permission, for Alterations
We answer a reader's question about what a board can do that very second they see a violation that's nearly impossible to undo after the fact. Think removing a massive tree. Painting a home the wrong color. What's the right course of action?
Click here to read full article:
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When a Condo/HOA Owner Goes Rogue to Save the Association Money
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "Our office recently acquired an HOA with six units. Fund limitations have prevented the HOA from doing major repairs without special assessments. One of the homeowners decided to take matters into his own hands and has had work performed in the common areas without approval from the board. The owner has also paid for the 'Band-Aid' repairs.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/When-CondoHOA-Owner-Goes-Rogue-Save-Association-Money.cfm
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How to Be a Better Condo/HOA Board Member (While Reducing the Stress of the Job)
Join us for an in-depth webinar on August 20 led by two long-time community association experts who've worked with literally hundreds of condos and HOAs between them and, by extension, literally thousands of board members, will draw on their years of experience and share their advice for being your best as a board member--and at the same time, dramatically reducing the stress of the role you've volunteered to fill.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/products/how-to-be-better-condo-hoa-board-member-a.cfm
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COVID-19: Are You or Your Condo/HOA Board Colleagues Contemplating Resigning?
We're hearing from readers and our experts that board members are, at the very least, grumbling about wanting to resign because they don't want to handle the challenges that have come with COVID-19. Here, we investigate the scope of the problem and offer tips on going forward if some of your board members feel the same.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/COVID19-Are-You-or-Your-CondoHOA-Board-Colleagues-Contemplating-Resigning.cfm
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Does Your Condo/HOA Secretary Need to Be a Board Member? What About Other Officers?
An HOAleader.com reader has a seemingly simple question, and it's one another reader also wants the answer to: "Does the secretary on the board of directors need to be a board member or just a homeowner in Florida?"
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Does-Your-CondoHOA-Secretary-Need-Be-Board-Member-What-About-Other-Officers.cfm
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