HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - June 20, 2014
Published: Fri, 06/20/14
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Let's Make a Deal! Putting Owners to Work to Pay Off HOA Fees
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In this week's tip, we lend some advice to a kind-hearted reader who's
considering proposing a barter arrangement to allow struggling
homeowners to work to pay for association fees.
Our experts universally admire our reader for compassion. But they also
universally advise against a plan like the one the reader proposes.
"It's an admirable idea, and it might work on occasion in practice," says
Matthew A. Drewes, a partner at Thomsen & Nybeck PA in Edina, Minn., who
represents associations. "But it's too much of a slippery slope and
therefore in general a bad idea."
Matthew Zifrony, who advises homeowners and condo associations at Tripp
Scott, a Ft. Lauderdale law firm, also understands the reader's intention.
"This is a tough one," says Zifrony, who's also served as the president of his
homeowners association. "Board members are human beings, and it's easy to
get caught up in the 'I need your help' conversation. But I wouldn't
recommend doing it because I think the board's looking for trouble."
In fact, our experts all believe the risks are too great for an association to
assume, for many reasons. Here's just one:
* It increases the association's employment liability.
"Boards should absolutely not do this because it opens up everybody to
liability," says Corbin Seti, senior vice president of community and
lifestyle services at FirstService Residential in Las Vegas. "The moment
you hire owners, they're employees, and that's added risk especially in a
state like California. There was a case in California where an association
hired an owner, and then he sued them for some reason and won. Now you've put
that whole association in jeopardy trying to help the homeowner."
There are three more very good reasons our experts aren't advocates of
work-for-assessment arrangements. Get them, along with advice for our
good-Samaritan homeowner, in our new article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/1023.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Thursday, June 26, 2014
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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Who Fixes What in HOA Units After a Disaster?
Sadly, your residents are bound to eventually face damage from natural
disasters like earthquakes, tornadoes, and storms. The question is who
pays for repairs to the interior of units? For example, if an earthquake
creates cracks in owners' walls, is that considered the responsibility of
those owners or the HOA? Here our experts lay out some answers.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Who-Fixes-What-in-HOA-Units-After-Disaster.cfm
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Can You--and Should You--Help HOA Owners in Dire Financial Straits?
Here our experts discuss whether a barter arrangement can work for
homeowner association fees.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Should-You-Help-HOA-Owners-in-Dire-Financial-Straits.cfm
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When HOA Owners Say, "Those New Rules Don't Apply to Me!"
In this week's tip, we answer a reader's question about whether a new
$500-per-pet deposit--when there was none before--is enforceable
without exception.
In some instances, depending on your state law, your governing documents,
and your past practice, you may be required to "grandfather" in existing
owners. That means you exempt them from new rules that may cause a hardship
for a period of time or until some event happens.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/When-HOA-Owners-Say-Those-New-Rules-Dont-Apply-Me.cfm
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What You Should Know About HOAs and Community Gardening
A small but growing number of associations are setting aside space for
homeowners to get their hands dirty. Here we give an overview of community
gardens and offer suggestions for creating rules and regulations to ensure
that what's intended to be a good, neighborhood-building activity doesn't
backfire.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/What-You-Should-Know-About-HOAs-Community-Gardening.cfm
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Do Big HOA Rule Changes Require Exemptions? And What's a Fair Pet Deposit?
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "I have lived in a Dallas condominium for 11
years, and I have had two pets for the past seven years, which is in compliance
with our current rules and regulations. The board is proposing a rule change
which will require all pet owners to pay a $500 deposit for each pet. I
consider this proposal to be a 'substantial change' to our rules and
regulations and will only apply to new owners, and existing owners cannot be
required to pay this deposit. Any substantial change to our rules in the past
has not included present owners."
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Do-Big-HOA-Rule-Changes-Require-Exemptions-Whats-Fair-Pet-Deposit.cfm
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