HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - October 21, 2011
Published: Fri, 10/14/11
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Beware Before You Use this Tactic to Trim Your HOA's Budget
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Looking to cut cost from your already-too-small HOA budget?
Isn't everybody, these days?
In this week's tip, we discuss the dangers of amending your
HOA governing documents to make owners responsible for
maintenance that your HOA's been responsible for until now.
"Sure, I see this," says Ben Solomon, an attorney and founder
of the Association Law Group in Miami Beach, Fla.,
who advises more than 500 associations and represents
developers through his second law firm, Solomon &
Furshman LLP. "There's painting, landscaping--all kinds of
things HOAs are shifting to owners. It's very unusual for
those changes to be authorized post-turnover because the
owners have to approve them. I see it much more where
developers make those options. But I have some associations
where the HOA maintains everything, and I have some where
owners do everything."
Forcing owners to cover costs that your HOA has covered
until now has its appeal. You reduce the HOA's budget and,
therefore, owners' assessments.
But homeowners may not be as good at maintenance as a
good HOA would be. And spotty maintenance to limited
common elements may cause problems for adjacent homeowners
and the HOA in the long run.
The biggest risk, however, may be that your HOA will look
less pristine. "You're not only talking about damages that
could result, but you're talking about your community's
aesthetic beauty," says Steven Daniels, coordinating partner
of Arnstein & Lehr's West Palm Beach, Fla., office, who has
advised hundreds of HOAs. "Take our tile roofs here in
Florida. Once you start steam-cleaning them, you have to
clean them more often. If a typical roof here looks pretty
good for six years and then you pressure-clean it, it won't
look good for another six years. It'll look good for only
three years. So now you have to clean them more often.
If owners weren't keen on taking on that responsibility in
the first place, they might not do it as often as
they should. So the tiles will look dirty and
hurt community values."
Solomon agrees. "Although it's attractive to minimize the
monthly maintenance fees by passing fees to owners,
it can be problematic because it will affect the
community's aesthetic uniformity," he says. "People will
be painting or patching their driveways at different
times. So it definitely can have an effect on aesthetics.
And just like some owners won't follow your rules or
pay assessments, you'll have owners not doing maintenance.
So you'll have higher fees and fines against owners."
And what happens if your owners don't do the repairs?
Can your HOA do them and bill the owners?
Find out in our new article: The Pros and Cons
of Transferring Maintenance Costs to HOA Owners:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/637.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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What If a Fellow HOA Board Member or Candidate Seems Shady?
This week's tip is a must if you've got a sneaking suspicion that
a candidate for your board isn't what she seems. Or maybe your
HOA is considering adopting rules governing who can and can't be
on the board.
Click here to read full article:
< http://www.hoaleader.com/public/636.cfm >
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Is Your HOA's Developer Shirking His Responsibilities?
In this week's tip, we give you a head start on holding your
developer to his obligations.
Click here to read full article:
< http://www.hoaleader.com/public/634.cfm >
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The Pros and Cons of HOA Self-Insurance
Some HOAs are so large and their insurance premiums so hefty that
they toy with the idea of self-insurance. Here, we explain what
self-insurance is and discuss the risks.
Click here to read full article:
< http://www.hoaleader.com/members/632.cfm >
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Signs, Signs, Everywhere Are Signs. Can You Ban Them?
Tired of seeing owners' flyers on every elevator in your building
or blowing around the grounds like tumbleweed? In this week's tip,
we discuss whether you can and should restrict owners from
posting flyers.
Click here to read full article:
< http://www.hoaleader.com/public/630.cfm >
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3 Ways to Save Money on HOA Purchases
Are there ways you can save on products your HOA purchases? Here
are three ideas from a board member and our experts.
Click here to read full article:
< http://www.hoaleader.com/members/631.cfm >
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