HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - March 27, 2015
Published: Fri, 03/27/15
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What to Do When Your HOA’s Owners or Employees are at Risk from Within
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In this week’s tip, we discuss the murky and scary topic of your duty when you suspect someone within your HOA is a danger to others.
It’s rare, but violence happens at HOAs. The latest? On Oct. 3, 2014, Jeremy Holland, the property manager of The President of Palm Beach condominium association, was shot in the head allegedly by a former doorman who’d been fired the month before, according to the Palm Beach Daily News. Thankfully, Holland is recovering.
That troubling incident raises questions for HOAs nationwide. Nearly every association has angry owners, and it’s also common for employees to become frustrated with their job. But in rare cases, owners or employees are more than angry. They’re dangerous.
Do associations have a duty to warn of or prevent an attack from dangerous owners or employees? Should you begin to think about which owners could actually hurt another owner, a board member, or a manager or employee? Or is that stepping too far outside the HOA’s role?
HOA experts say time and time again that while addressing security is important, HOAs can’t guarantee the safety and security of their owners when it comes to crime and personal injury.
Whether that rule holds true when board members or management begin to suspect that a homeowner or an HOA employee poses a specific risk to safety is a slightly different question.
“The standard in California is based on the Frances T. v. Village Green Condos case,” says James R. McCormick Jr., a partner at Peters & Freedman LLP in Encinitas, Calif., who represents associations.
Frances T. is a landmark case in which an association was held responsible because there was a cluster of crimes combined with insufficient lighting in the community. A homeowner sued the association alleging negligence when she was raped in her home after the association forced the woman to remove lighting she’d installed on her property. The appellate court held that the facts were sufficient to create a duty on the association’s part.
Find out the lessons of Frances T, and get tips on how to handle potentially dangerous situations in our new article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/1156.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Upcoming Event
How to Protect Yourself and Your HOA from the Neighborhood Sociopath
An Exclusive HOAleader.com Webinar
With Practical Tips for Condo and HOA Boards
Thursday, April 9, 2015
2-3 p.m. Eastern
Learn more or Register now
http://www.hoaleader.com/snip/190.htm
Members save $30!
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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HOA Owners and Employees Can be Annoying. What If You Think They're
Dangerous?
On Oct. 3, 2014, Jeremy Holland, the property manager of The President of
Palm Beach condominium association, was shot in the head allegedly by a
former doorman who'd been fired the month before, according to the Palm
Beach Daily News. Thankfully, Holland is recovering.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/HOA-Owners-Employees-Can-be-Annoying-What-You-Think-Theyre-Dangerous.cfm
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Can You Ask Your Developer to Beef Up Funding Pre-Transition?
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "Our HOA is still under developer's control
using 'deficit funding' as a way to help support our HOA. We are presently
about 70% complete and expect to [do] a 'take-over transfer' within the next
12 to 18 months. Since 2012, construction has increased the community by
about 80 new homes. All those recent sales have produced a fund referred to as
'capital contribution' that's collected at closing.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Can-You-Ask-Your-Developer-Beef-Up-Funding-PreTransition.cfm
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How to Protect Yourself and Your HOA from the Neighborhood Sociopath
Run into any owners or residents who show contempt for and consistently
disregard your HOA's rules? One in 25 people is a sociopath, or a person who
regularly exhibits asocial or antisocial behavior. Sociopaths look like
your everyday neighbors, but they can be scary and intimidating--and they
can turn your HOA into a battleground.
Join us for a cutting-edge webinar on April 9 on how to wisely and safely
handle the most difficult owners and residents you'll ever face, led by two
community association experts with decades of hands-on experience in
advising associations.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/snip/190.htm
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Avoid Big Communication Problems at Small HOAs
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."
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Avoid-Big-Communication-Problems-at-Small-HOAs.cfm
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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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