HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - November 14, 2014
Published: Fri, 11/14/14
=================================================================
Adjourning and Ducking into an HOA Executive Session: Can You Do It?
=================================================================
Raise your hand if your board has done this: "Our board all of the sudden
announced it was going into executive session, and they asked us to leave the
room."
The question we get fairly frequently from readers is: Can they do that?
In this week's tip, we back up a little and give a snapshot of the process a
board has to go through to get to executive session.
Your right to adjourn a board meeting and then to reconvene in private in an
executive session depend on your state's law. Take Florida, for example.
Florida's open meetings rules would prohibit boards from announcing on the
spot the need to go into executive session. "Executive sessions are really
contrary to all the rules of transparency we have here," says Alessandra
Stivelman, an associate attorney who specializes in community
association law at Eisinger Brown Lewis Frankel & Chaiet in Hollywood, Fla.
"Under Florida statute 718.112, all board and committee meetings must be
open except if the board's meeting with the attorney with respect to
potential or pending litigation, to seek litigation advice, and to discuss
personnel matters.
"For an executive session, boards would still have to provide notice
pursuant to the statutory requirements," adds Stivelman. "That means 48
hours notice for condo board meetings, and notice must be posted in a
conspicuous place. The notice would also have to say there will be a closed
meeting. I tell people to say as little as possible, so they should say
something like, 'to discuss proposed or pending litigation' or 'to discuss
personnel matters.'"
Stivelman says it's possible a board could plan a regular meeting and
include notice that a portion will be closed. But she's never seen that
happen. "I suppose you could have a regular board meeting and could figure
out a way to put a closed item on the agenda," she explains. "And then you could
continue the board meeting without the owners. But I've never seen it done
that way. It's always, 'We're having a special meeting to discuss this
pending or proposed litigation.' That way, you don't have owners there you
have to remove."
We've also talked to experts in other states about the process permitted
there. Find out more in our new article,
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/1091.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
=================================================================
Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
=================================================================
Getting to Your HOA's Executive Session, Step by Step
We hear this complaint frequently: Our board all of the sudden announced it
was going into executive session, and they asked us to leave the room. Can
they do that?
Your right to adjourn a board meeting and then to reconvene in private in an
executive session depend on your state's law. Here, we offer up a sampling of
the laws in three states to explain who can call an executive session
meeting, when can it be done, and how, including on what type of notice.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Getting-Your-HOAs-Executive-Session-Step-by-Step.cfm
=================================================================
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. Listen to this
on-demand webinar.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/snip/178.htm
=================================================================
You Sue an HOA Owner, Win, and Get a Money Judgment. Can You Foreclose?
In this week's tip, we offer insight on how to collect a money judgment
against an owner. More specifically, if you, say, go to small claims court
and get a money judgment against an owner, does that automatically turn into
a lien against the owner's unit?
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/You-Sue-HOA-Owner-Win-Get-Money-Judgment-Can-You-Foreclose.cfm
=================================================================
Foreclosing When Owners Don't Maintain: From Small Claims to a Lien
An HOAleader.com reader writes, "I am the president of a small, 22-house
HOA. Our bylaws and covenants are specific regarding our homeowners
keeping up the overall condition of their properties. Very sadly, we have
one HOA member who simply refuses to do so, will not communicate with me at
all, and my attempts to work with her have been going for years.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Foreclosing-When-Owners-Dont-Maintain-From-Small-Claims-Lien.cfm
=================================================================
HOA Board Wants to Shop and Have Owners Foot the Bill
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.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/HOA-Board-Wants-Shop-Have-Owners-Foot-Bill.cfm
=================================================================
Get your own copy!
Subscribe to the HOAleader.com Tip of the Week at:
http://www.hoaleader.com/public/department49.cfm
=================================================================
Please feel free to forward the *entire text* of this email to
others.
Copyright 2014, Plain-English Media, LLC
(866) 641-4548
http://www.hoaleader.com