HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - December 5, 2014
Published: Fri, 12/05/14
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How to Get Your HOA Developer's Attention Pre-Transition
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Is your developer being stingy with information? In this week's tip, we
discuss the very common problem of developers giving the cold shoulder to
owners until they transfer control to unit owners.
Do developers sometimes ignore homeowners before turnover? "Sure they
do," says Ben Solomon, an attorney and founder of the Association Law Group
in Miami Beach, Fla., who for more than a decade has advised more than 500
associations and also represents developers through his second law firm,
Solomon & Furshman LLP. "I've seen varying degrees of involvement from
developers. Some oversee the community dormantly, without involvement
from the owners, and some do it actively and include owners."
That's true. "We work quite a bit with developers, and some don't listen to
homeowners," explains Jenny Key, the Austin, Texas-based vice president
of RealManage, a San Rafael, Calif., association management firm that
oversees properties in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida,
Louisiana, Nevada, and Texas.
Key has also seen a range when it comes to how involved developers permit
owners to be before transition. "We work with some developers who are wide
open, and they put homeowners on the board as soon as it makes sense, even if
they're not required to," she says. "Others keep them far away because
having them involved is more work.
"When it comes to the transition to homeowner control and the subsequent
years, things go much more smoothly when developers have involved owners,"
says Key. "But I've also seen it backfire, usually with condos. I've seen
homeowners who've been involved several years before transition. Then
when other owners have complained about decisions that were made, those
owners have started claiming they didn't know those decisions were being
made, saying, 'I was just a resident on the board.' I don't know that it's ever
perfect before transition."
Key adds one more point. Homeowners who've purchased may have been told
owners don't have much input pre-transition. But many give that issue only
passing consideration when buying. "Sometimes the problem is that
homeowners are coming off their sales pitch where the real estate agent was
selling this property in this lovely community," she says."The
homeowner's expectations may be a little out of line with reality. Because
pre-transition, developers don't give a lot of information to homeowners,
and there's not a lot of involvement for them, either."
How much control do developers have pre-transition? Find out, and get seven
tips to make your developer more responsive, in our new article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/1102.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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HOA Board Waiting for Developer Transition; 7 Tips to Handle Developer
Control
An HOAleader.com reader writes, "I live in the state of Delaware… [and] our
community is in the early stages of development; there are about 100
lived-in homes. The community is about seven years old… I have lived here
less than two years. Our developer has appointed a board of directors
consisting of three of his employees and probably not surprisingly
maintains solid control of the community.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/HOA-Board-Waiting-for-Developer-Transition-7-Tips-Handle-Developer-Control.cfm
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What Insurance Provisions Should Be in Your HOA Management Contract?
An HOAleader.com reader writes, "I'm a board member at a 710-unit
private-residence HOA in South Carolina. We're in the process of
renegotiating the management contract with our offsite property manager.
I'm seeking to have a mutual indemnification provision in the contract so
that each party is responsible for its own negligent acts. I'm also looking
to require the property manager to add the HOA as an additional insured on the
property manager's automobile and commercial general liability
policies.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/What-Insurance-Provisions-Should-Be-in-Your-HOA-Management-Contract.cfm
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How to Manage and Account for Your HOA's Budget and Reserves--and Is This
Manager Out of Line?
In this week's tip, we answer a reader's two-part question: How should HOA
reserves be treated on a budget? And is it hinky for a manager to do work and get
paid out of reserves while the board sits idly by and lets the manager take
charge?
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/How-Manage-Account-for-Your-HOAs-Budget-Reservesand-This-Manager-Out-Line.cfm
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How to Treat Your HOA's Reserves--and Is This Manager Going Rogue?
An HOAleader.com reader writes, "I am in a dispute with the management
company as to how the reserve funds should be handled. He insists that the
monthly minimum of 10 percent of gross income that should be set aside for
reserves not show up … as an expense. Please verify if you can, when a check is
written to fund the reserves should it be posted as an expense or against the
'Other liability' [line]?
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/How-Treat-Your-HOAs-Reservesand-This-Manager-Going-Rogue.cfm
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HOA, Owners Association, and Master Association: What's the Difference?
An HOAleader.com reader writes, "Our community consists of 13 buildings,
each with its own CC&Rs, bylaws, etc. In 1974, 100 percent of the owners
formed an owners' association (note: NOT an HOA; this would be under
different rules and regulations, and we aren't incorporated). We believe
this is referred to as a master association.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/HOA-Owners-Association-Master-Association-Whats-Difference.cfm
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