HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - March 28, 2014
Published: Fri, 03/28/14
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Owners: You've Exceeded Your HOA Guest Limit!
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In this week's tip, we address a thorny yet persistent problem: Your HOA has
rental restrictions. But you're constantly facing the question of owners
with frequent guests--sometimes when the owners aren't even present--whom
you suspect are actually renters.
Is the answer restricting the number of guests owners can have at one time?
What about restricting the number of guests when owners aren't present? If
so, how in the world do you regulate these types of guest provisions?
"We get this all the time," says Nathaniel Abbate Jr., a partner at Makower
Abbate & Associates PLLC in Farmington Hills, Mich., who represents
associations. "We'll contact an owner and say, 'It looks like you're
renting out your unit, but we don't have a lease on file.' Under most
governing documents in Michigan, owners are required to provide a lease.
And under the Michigan condo act, it says the association is entitled to an
advance copy of a lease 10 days before an owner presents it to a prospective
tenant so the association can verify that it meets requirements of the
governing documents or the Michigan condo act. The owner will say: 'It's not
a guest; my son's in town housesitting while I'm staying down in Florida.'
The "Pshaw! She's not a tenant; she's a guest!" response is also a common
occurrence in Bill Worrall's world. "Absolutely, we have short-term
rentals in which unit owners are claiming those tenants are guests," says
the vice president of Hollywood, Fla.-based FirstService Residential,
which manages 1,300 condominium and homeowner associations totaling
310,000 residential units. "It becomes the burden of the association to
prove the guest isn't truly a guest."
The issue hasn't been much of a challenge for Robert Galvin, a partner at
Davis, Malm & D'Agostine PC in Boston who specializes in representing
condos and co-ops. "The issue is very, very rare, but it usually occurs when
you invite a number of guests to the pool," he explains. "There usually will
be a rule where the board will say, 'You can only have one or up to four guests in
the pool Saturday mornings.' But guests in units aren't usually a problem,
and it's very rare to see the issue in bylaws."
Despite the potential for abuse, it's uncommon for associations to put many
restrictions on guests. Perhaps that's because they're such a landmine to
enforce? Find out why--and alternatives to guest restrictions--in our new
article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/985.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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How Many HOA Guests Are Too Many? And What If the Owner's Not Home?
Here's a common problem: Your HOA has rental restrictions. But you're
constantly facing questions about owners with frequent
guests--sometimes when the owners aren't even present--whom you suspect
are actually renters.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/How-Many-HOA-Guests-Are-Too-Many-And-What-If-the-Owners-Not-Home.cfm
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Do Built and Unbuilt Units Have to Pay the Same HOA Assessment?
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "Our condominium has built units that are
basically the same and therefore pay the same annual assessment. The
condominium also has unbuilt units that are owned by the bank through a
foreclosure. Since all the assessment funds are for maintenance and repair
of the common elements owned by the association, reserves for future
expenses to enhance or replace the common elements, and other normal
monthly expenses to run the condominium, should the built and unbuilt units
be paying the same assessment amount? Both built and unbuilt own the same
percentage of the all the common elements within the condominium. This
condominium is in the state of Wisconsin."
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Do-Built-and-Unbuilt-Units-Have-to-Pay-the-Same-HOA-Assessment.cfm
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Home Owners to HOA Board: We Want This Service, But Not That. OK?
In this week's tip, we answer a reader's question about whether owners can
simply decline HOA services it provides to reduce its liability and that of
its owners.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Owners-to-HOA-Board-We-Want-This-Service-But-Not-That.cfm
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"No Salt for Me!" When Owners Can Opt Out of HOA Services
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "We're a 70-unit HOA in Pennsylvania. Some of
the homeowners have requested to opt out of having their driveway and steps
leading to their front door having sodium chloride spread on them. The board
is concerned we may be opening ourselves or other homeowners to legal
problems if we agree not to treat these properties. Is there any language we
can send to homeowners requesting they sign to absolve the HOA?"
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/No-Salt-for-Me-When-Owners-Can-Opt-Out-of-HOA-Services.cfm
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Fussing with Your HOA Election Can Risk Your Board's Integrity; Discussion
Forum Follow Up
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "I live in a 600-unit condominium in Dallas.
Three of our five board positions are open for election, which is scheduled
to close Jan. 30, 2014. A notice to submit nominations was posted in our
weekly newsletter; only three people submitted their nomination for the
three positions prior to the deadline. The current board is unhappy that we
only have three nominees, so the board has cancelled the election eight days
prior the election deadline, reopened the nomination for an additional
week, and rescheduled the election two weeks later, February 15. Although a
majority of owners have already voted, the board has voided the original
ballots and has said everyone must vote again."
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Fussing-with-Your-HOA-Election-Can-Risk-Your-Boards-Integrity.cfm
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Anger and Apathy at Your HOA:
Best Practices to Beat These Bedeviling Issues
Are angry and disruptive owners increasingly taking their toll on you, your fellow community association board members, and your community? Are you frustrated by the apathy among your fellow homeowners that's also all too common? Take a deep breath and start turning those stress-inducing challenges into worries of the past! Join us for an in-depth webinar on April 17 led by two professionals experienced in successfully managing anger and apathy challenges among HOA owners--a California lawyer and a Florida community manager who've each represented community associations for more than a decade.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/snip/159.htm
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