HOALeader.com - Tip of the Week - December 19, 2008
Published: Fri, 12/19/08
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A New Year's Resolution: Protect Yourself and Your Homeowner
Association--Understand Your Fiduciary Duty
A reader recently posted an inquiry on the HOAleader.com
dicussion forum, asking for clarification of board members'
fiduciary duty to the HOA. It's a common concern among board
members.
We recently spoke to several experts about how board members
can be confident they are living up to their fiduciary duty.
"When you're acting as a fiduciary, you're serving in a
representative capacity, and you must put the interest of the
association's homeowners collectively first," says Michael S.
Hunter, an attorney and partner at Horack Talley in Charlotte,
N.C.
Justin D. Park, an attorney at Romero Park & Wiggins P.S. in
Bellevue, Wash., told us about a how this issue played out in a
case he was involved in where a homeowner sued the HOA.
"The association split into a couple of factions. One group
supported the homeowner, and the other didn't," he explains.
"I had to explain to board members that they were the opposing
party in the lawsuit brought by the homeowner and that regardless
of how they felt about that homeowner, if they were at a meeting at
which the lawsuit was discussed, they couldn't tell the homeowner
about the discussions.
"One board member recused himself from the discussions saying, 'I
can't tell you that I'm not going to talk to this homeowner.' We
were glad he did. It was the responsible thing to do."
For additional information on your responsibilities as a fiduciary,
and some specific missteps that could land you *personally* in hot
water, see our recently posted article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/206.cfm
Please note: in observation of the Christmas and New Year's
holidays, there will be no "Tip of the Week" until Jan. 9.
Finally, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you and your
family a very happy and safe holiday season.
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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Living Up to Your Fiduciary Duty as an HOA Board Member
"Fiduciary" is not just a big word. It carries legal consequences
if you--even unknowingly--breach that duty. Here's what you need
to know about fulfilling your fiduciary duty as an association
board member.
Click here to read full article:
< http://www.hoaleader.com/members/206.cfm >
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Best Practices for Working with Your HOA Management Company
You can build a positive working relationship with your
management company. Here's how.
Click here to read full article:
< http://www.hoaleader.com/members/205.cfm >
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HOA Disputes: When Can--and Can't--Alternative Dispute Resolution
Help?
I hate to write a tip about disputes this close to the holidays,
but let's face it: the holidays can bring out the best in people,
and they can just as easily bring out the worst.
This week's tip is for you if you've got a dispute in your
homeowners association that has boiled over, a
Click here to read full article:
< http://www.hoaleader.com/public/204.cfm >
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The Politics of Noise in HOAs
Whether you live in a condo or a single-family home, your board
is bound to run into complaints about Loud Lucys or Noisy Nates.
They're the neighbors who have loud parties late into the night
or who neighbors can hear arguing even though their homes are 10
feet apart.
Here's what you need to know about reducing the volume on noise
complaints.
Click here to read full article:
< http://www.hoaleader.com/members/203.cfm >
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Clearing the Air on Second-hand Smoke
Recently a homeowner association in California lost a court case
in which non-smoking owners complained of second-hand smoke from
neighboring units. Here's what you need to know about the case,
along with tips on how your association can handle complaints of
second-hand smoke.
Click here to read full article:
< http://www.hoaleader.com/members/202.cfm >
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