HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - September 23, 2022
Published: Fri, 09/23/22
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HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - September 23, 2022
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In this week's tip, we highlight news from one of HOAleader.com's readers: The insurer wants to see our anti-harassment policy!
After an HOAleader.com reader asked whether there's a law in Pennsylvania requiring that community associations have an anti-harassment policy, another reader chimed in to say that some insurers now require such a policy.
Here's what that reader reported: "I was recently getting quotes for directors' and officers' insurance and discovered that some companies turned us down because we have vacation rentals. The company that would insure us required that we have an anti-harassment policy."
Read the full exchange on the HOAleader.com Discussion Forum for more detail, but our reader concludes: "We didn't want to be in the policing how neighbors treat each other business, but we have to, it turns out."
We've covered HUD's policy on neighbor-to-neighbor disputes. Essentially, it says that if one resident is harassing another on the basis of race or another protected class, your condo or HOA may be obligated to step in. Consult with your lawyer for advice specific to your community.
On the issue of insurers seeking policies, our experts are, quite frankly, surprised.
That said, if your insurer pipes up, we've got you covered. In our HOA Policies: 25 Sample Policies Every Homeowners Association Board of Directors Should Consider special report, we've given you a jumpstart in creating a policy for your community by providing you with "Language for Neighbor-to-Neighbor Disputes."
But is this insurer's request the start of a trend?
"We don't get a lot of requests for these policies here, and I haven't seen requests from insurers for them," reports Melissa Garcia, a shareholder at Altitude Community Law PC in Lakewood, Colo., who provides advice and counsel to Colorado associations in all areas of community association law. "We're also not huge fans of this type of policy; they don't necessarily do anything.
"So we've drafted them where it's clear there's been harassment happening," says Garcia. "But most of the time, what people call harassment is just enforcement."
Alex Noland, CCAL, founder of Noland Law PC in San Francisco, which represents 200-plus community associations throughout California, is also taken aback. "I haven't heard of that, and it worries me if it's true for carriers generally.
Find out why, and hear a cautionary tale from another one of our experts, in our new article: https://www.hoaleader.com/members/4586.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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What Condos and HOAs Are Doing to Combat Inflation
At our recent "Ask Us Anything" webinar, a listener asked: What actions can an HOA board take to preserve the purchasing power of the association's reserve fund, given the current 8.5% rate of inflation?
Click here for more:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/What-Condos-HOAs-Are-Doing-Combat-Inflation.cfm
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The Most-Violated Rules Driving Condo/HOA Boards Around the Bend
Let's have some fun, shall we? We asked our experts to name the HOA rules that were getting trampled on so often that boards were losing their patience. We also asked for solutions that finally ended the rule breaking and stress. Did the board change the rule to give it more teeth? Undo the rule? Impose a huge fine as an example?
Click here for more:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Most-Violated-Rules-Driving-Condo-HOA-Boards-Around-Bend.cfm
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Trend Watch: Are Condos/HOAs Under Attack?
An ecologist advocating for homeowners to get over their green lawns recently asserted: "There is a national movement to reduce the power of homeowner associations," he said. He cited such examples as the recently passed Maryland legislation that bans HOA rules against so-called low-impact landscaping like pollinator or rain gardens...
Click here for more:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Trend-Watch-Are-Condos-HOAs-Under-Attack.cfm
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Can Your Condo/HOA Board Be an Advocate in Votes on Amendments? Elections?
An HOAleader reader asks if it's OK for a board, after its first attempt to pass an amendment failed, to set up a committee to advocate for the amendment. Here, we ask our experts when a board can push for owners to vote certain ways (example two: could it ever advocate for a candidate or against a candidate in a board election?)...
Click here for more:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Can-Your-CondoHOA-Board-Be-Advocate-in-Votes-on-Amendments-Elections.cfm
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HOA Reinvestment Fees and Transfer Fees: What's the Difference (and $2,200?!)?
A Utah real estate agent reports that a buyer she was working with on a home purchase in an HOA got smacked with a $2,000 "reinvestment fee" apparently set by the HOA. And that's in addition to a $100 transfer fee.
Click here for more:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/HOA-Reinvestment-Fees-Transfer-Fees-Whats-Difference-and-2200.cfm
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