Corrected Link: HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - November 30, 2013
Published: Sat, 11/30/13
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HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - November 30, 2013
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Don't Get Caught in These Three Common HOA Lawsuits
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In this week's tip, we reveal three of the most common reasons
HOAs get slapped with lawsuits.
"The good news is that we don't see as many cases against
associations as you think," says Bob Diamond, a partner at the
law firm Reed Smith in Falls Church, Va., who helped write the
Washington, D.C., condo act in 1976 and worked on the Uniform
Condo Act, which 24 states have adopted. "To say, 'Everybody's
likely to get sued' isn't accurate. We have more cases in our
other litigation practices than we have against associations.
The difference between this and a corporate-type lawsuit is that
this involves people's homes, which makes people very emotional.
And they're much harder to resolve than disputes between two
businesspeople."
With that in mind, what are the most common lawsuits HOAs face?
"That's easy," says Diamond. "It's all the issues of everyday
living or money."
Other experts agree and offer a summary of three of the most
frequent claims made against associations.
1. Upkeep failures.
"The top reason is usually the failure of the association to
either maintain, repair, or replace common elements or units after
a casualty a natural event," says Randy Opotowsky, a partner at
The Steeg Law Firm in New Orleans, who represents 15-20
associations at any given time. "The obligation in Louisiana is
for the association to maintain the common areas and sometimes,
notwithstanding what insurance may or may not cover, depending on
the type of damage or loss, it may also be responsible for
repairing units. If your roof has become worn out and started to
leak and caused damage to a unit, under most Louisiana condo docs
and the state's condo act, the association is really responsible
for repairs to the unit. That's as opposed to a hurricane that
may cause damage to both the common area and units."
2. Denial of architectural plans.
"We see suits in which you have a homeowner who wanted to do
something architecturally and got turned down," says Diamond.
"And he sues over that."
3. Election disputes.
"We do a lot of recalls and a lot of election disputes," says
Alessandra Stivelman, an associate attorney who specializes in
community association law at Eisinger Brown Lewis Frankel &
Chaiet in Hollywood, Fla. "Those are really time-consuming, and
associations hate them. In addition, a lot of issues we deal
with when associations get sued are for failure to keep up with
the common elements and failure to comply with a records
request or inspection."
Discover our experts' complete list of the seven most common
reasons HOAs get sued--and get tips to avoid lawsuits--in our
new article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/The-Top-Seven-Reasons-HOAs-Get-Sued.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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The Top Seven Reasons HOAs Get Sued
Smart HOA boards need to know the answers to two questions: What are the most
common reasons associations get sued? And how do they head off those costly
cases? Here are answers.
Click here to read full article:
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Don't Get Soaked by a Risky HOA Water-Use Policy
In this week's tip, we discuss whether a homeowners association board of
directors should divvy up costs for water use based on the number of
residents in units and whether it can demand on-the-spot inspections to be
sure owners with washers are paying the association's required washer
tariff.
Click here to read full article:
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How to Police Utility Use When Your HOA Is Paying the Bill
In response to a reader's question, we discuss the challenges an HOA's water
policy creates and ask whether it's necessary or unwise. We also address
whether any fair housing issues, or other state or federal laws, are
implicated by using number of residents as a basis to assess water costs.
Click here to read full article:
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Know When to Say No to Your HOA Manager
In this week's tip, we answer a reader's question, and in the process address
whether an HOA manager is protecting or harming its client.
Click here to read full article:
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