HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - October 31, 2014
Published: Fri, 10/31/14
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HOA Board Wants to Shop and Have Owners Foot the Bill
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In this week's tip, we ask: Who decides when and how your HOA should grow?
It's in response to a reader's question, one aspect of which is whether his
HOA board can, and should, purchase a lot next door for boat parking when only
about 35 percent of owners have boats-and when the funds will come from
reserves.
As a general rule, this type of action is going to require owner approval.
"It's important to check your governing documents, which will likely
provide a path the board must complete to make a capital improvement," says
Debra A. Warren, CMCA, CCAM, PCAM, senior vice president at Dallas-based
Associa(r), a community association management company with offices
throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. "Most governing
documents I've seen very clearly require a vote of the members if there's
going to be a capital improvement. And that's defined as an addition or
improvement to the common area that doesn't exist when the building is
built. Also, if an improvement costs more than 5 percent of the annual
budget, in California, owners must approve it. That's not very much money in
most cases."
Ohio has similar requirements. "In Ohio, for both condos and HOAs, you're
going to want to put that to a vote, but especially with condos," says Bob
Kmiecik, a partner at Kaman & Cusimano LLC, which represents associations
throughout Ohio. "If a condo association wants to hold title to a property
that's not otherwise a part of the association, it can do so, but the board has
to get a vote of 75 percent of owners. That's consistent with the idea that my
money goes to what we have, and if we're going to expand that, there has to be a
supermajority to do it. In addition, most associations can't spend money
for capital additions that exceed a certain portion of their budget or
$5,000 without a vote of owners."
That's not the only sticky wicket in this HOA's potential purchase. Read the
rest in our new article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/1087.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Thursday, November 13, 2014
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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What's an Appropriate HOA Purchase, and How Can You Tell?
An HOAleader.com reader writes, "…I have a unit in a 110-unit complex with
110 boat slips (complete with water and electric each slip) located in Ocean
Springs, Miss. The complex is 27 to 22 years old to the best of my knowledge.
Roofs and units were rebuilt seven years ago after Katrina. We have had roof
leaks, some structure cracking, water leaks under the road way, and the
harbor area isn't insured.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Whats-Appropriate-HOA-Purchase-How-Can-You-Tell.cfm
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Buy, Sell, Trade Bulletin Board: What Else Can Your HOA Take On?
In this week's tip, we warn against stepping into territory that's not part
of your HOA's mission. It's in response to a reader's request for tips for
creating an online bulletin board in conjunction with the HOA's website
where owners could buy, sell, or trade goods and services. Our experts have
many concerns, starting with this one:
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Buy-Sell-Trade-Bulletin-Board-What-Else-Can-Your-HOA-Take-On.cfm
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Should Your HOA Be in the Business of Marketing Owners' Goods and Services?
An HOAleader.com reader writes, "Our 550-unit association is considering
creating and maintaining an electronic 'bulletin board' through or in
conjunction with our website, where owners could buy, sell or trade goods
and services. It would not (in concept) be available to people outside of the
association. Besides the obvious legal requirements that the association
have no responsibility for the goods or the transactions, does anyone have
any experience they could offer as guidance as part of our research?"
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Should-Your-HOA-Be-in-Business-Marketing-Owners-Goods-Services.cfm
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How to Handle Owners' Requests for Agenda Items
What do you do when owners ask you to place items on your meeting agenda? You
should have a formal process so owners feel, and are, heard. Here are tips for
evaluating and responding to owners' requests to include items on a meeting
agenda.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/How-Handle-Owners-Requests-for-Agenda-Items.cfm
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HOA Board Members and Fiduciary Duties: What You Must Know to Fulfill Your
Duty to Your Association and Protect Yourself from Personal Liability
When you volunteered to serve your community association as a board member,
did you realize you were agreeing to set aside your own interests and act as a
fiduciary on behalf of the entire association? Are you confident you know
every scenario where you might trip up and expose yourself to personal
liability by failing to live up to this important duty?
Set aside an hour of your time to learn what you need to know and ensure you're
not risking your own financial security by making common--but easily
avoidable--mistakes while volunteering as an HOA board member. Join us for
in an in-depth webinar on November 13.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/snip/177.htm
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50 Tips for HOA and Condo Boards, Volume 2:
Homeowners Association Management Best Practices
This report is a follow-up to our earlier special report, 50 HOA Management
Tips: Best Practices for Homeowners Association Boards. It is filled with
new and cutting-edge advice from our editorial team and experts on HOA
governance and management from across the country. You'll find tips to
minimize your legal risk, tips to improve your collections, tips to manage
the human side of HOA leadership, tips to streamline rule enforcement, tips
to save your association money, and much more.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/public/50-Tips-for-HOA-and-Condo-Boards-Volume-2.cfm
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