HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - February 5, 2021
Published: Fri, 02/05/21
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Read This Before You Sign That Contract With a Condo/HOA Attorney
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Last month, our experts offered tips on strengthening the association's position in a construction contract. In this week's tip, we discuss another contract issue: What should be covered in your contract for services with your community association lawyer?
Are there provisions condo and HOA boards really should include or provisions that should worry them if they see them in a contract?
Our experts say that when they've taken over representation of a condo or HOA and seen a previous lawyer's retainer agreement, they've generally not seen much that has surprised them.
"Usually retainer agreements are very, very general, and they basically include the rates and how the client can be charged," reports Joan Lewis-Heard, a senior associate at SwedelsonGottlieb in Los Angeles, who at any given time represents hundreds of condos and HOAs throughout California. "There's been nothing that has made me stop and say, 'Oh, my goodness!'"
Molly Peacock, counsel at Rees Broome in Tysons Corner, Va., who has represented condos and HOAs for 15 years, has sometimes been taken aback at what her colleagues have charged to represent community associations. "I've been surprised at rates that I thought were very much higher than mine," she says. "And I've wondered what the community was getting in exchange for those higher rates. My rates aren't the lowest in my area, and our clients are nonprofits, so it's hard to charge what developers' lawyers charge."
That's also true for Wil Washington, founder of Chadwick, Washington, Moriarty, Elmore & Bunn in Fairfax, Va., who is licensed in Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Maryland and has been practicing community association law for more than three decades. "There are a handful of people who do this in our industry, so we've seen each other's contracts, and our differences aren't particularly great," he says. "I do see sometimes that an attorney will give certain services in the retainer that we don't or that they charge substantially more. That's always interesting, and sometimes it's something we've used in marketing."
What specific services has Washington seen offered that his firm won't offer? Find out, and hear about three provisions that are wise to include in your agreement with your lawyer, in our new article: https://www.hoaleader.com/members/4271.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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