HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - March 20, 2015
Published: Fri, 03/20/15
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Avoid Big Communication Problems at Small HOAs
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This really happened at a small, six-unit association in the Midwest:
Several owners typically take their issues and concerns to one or the other
of the three board members. On Super Bowl Sunday, one of the owners was
angrily texting a board member over and over. The board member responded
several times, “Please bring your concerns to all members.”
No go. It actually exploded into the texting owner sending an angry email to
all owners saying the board member who wouldn’t engage on the Super Bowl
Sunday texts should step down from the board for failing to perform.
Thankfully, the owner later apologized. But this issue of personal
communications with board members will assuredly arise again. In this
week’s tip, we explain why this practice can be cause problems.
“We teach other people how to treat us—that’s a basic rule of human nature,”
asserts Elizabeth White, a shareholder and head of the community
associations practice at the law firm of LeClairRyan in Williamsburg, Va.
“In addition, I’ve been knee-deep in an association with a small dissident
group that’s literally shutting down operations with an overwhelming
number of emails, blog posts, and so on directed to board members. That’s why
boards need to have some ground rules for how owners will interact with board
members.”
It can also raise legal problems. “Knowledge by any director of something is
usually imputed to the corporation,” says White. “So if an owner tells one
board member something, you can run into trouble if you have an individual
director who doesn’t use good judgment or doesn’t appreciate the
importance of passing that information to the full board.”
White says you can—and should—train owners to operate more effectively for
all. “Particularly in a small environment, it’s really tough to say, ‘We’re
going to impose a structure here,’” she admits. “But that’s what you need to
do to be in control of the association. An owner in a six-unit condo might
think, ‘Why can’t I send texts to this board member?’ The answer is that
you’ll never have anybody who wants to serve on that board if you don’t have
ground rules. Being on a board doesn’t mean you have to be available 24/7 to
demanding owners.”
Get tips to help your owners interact positively with all board members in
our new article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/1151.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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Small-HOA Challenges: When Owners Deal Privately with One Board Member
Small associations often operation less formally than
mega-associations, and often that works to everybody's benefit. But the
familiarity that comes with compact associations can also result in
difficult situations.
Here's an example that actually happened at a small, six-unit association
in the Midwest: Several owners typically take their issues and concerns to
one or the other of the three board members. On Super Bowl Sunday, one of the
owners was angrily texting a board member over and over. The board member
responded several times, "Please bring your concerns to all members."
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/SmallHOA-Challenges-When-Owners-Deal-Privately-with-One-Board-Member.cfm
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What Election Records Can Owners See After the Election
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "Tabulating the election was performed by a
recently hired employee [at our Florida association] . . . Some members
asked if they could view the tabulation. Denied. Candidate now wants to view
ballots . . . President of board says, 'That could create a problem, and
you're not entitled.'"
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/What-Election-Records-Can-Owners-See-After-Election.cfm
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Time to "Charge" into the Brave New World of Electric Cars at Your HOA?
In this week's tip, we put you in the driver's seat when it comes to questions
about electric car charging stations.
Electric cars aren't taking over the country--yet. But there's certainly
growing interest in them.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Time-Charge-into-Brave-New-World-Electric-Cars-at-Your-HOA.cfm
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Electric Cars: New Questions Emerge at HOAs
Our experts are seeing HOAs face more and more questions about electric
cars. Here we discuss some basics about handling the "charged" issue.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Electric-Cars-New-Questions-Emerge-at-HOAs.cfm
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Does an HOA's One-Vote-Per-Unit Rule Apply to Married Board Members?
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "My husband and I own a townhouse in a
development of 56 units. Our board was down to one [person], and we are now
both on the board trying to get it together. We now have five members
consisting of two couples and one single board member. The question has come
up since we only have one vote for one unit, can we each have one vote as a board
member, or do we together only get one vote as we vote on board issues?"
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Does-HOAs-OneVotePerUnit-Rule-Apply-Married-Board-Members.cfm
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