HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - May 29, 2015
Published: Fri, 05/29/15
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It May be Time to Shelve Robert’s Rules at Your HOA
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In this week’s tip, we go boldly where few have gone before. We ask whether you should table Robert’s Rules of Order.
Many experts aren’t fans at all. “There’s a certain level of decorum you want at your meetings, but it’s hard to have a lay person follow them,” says Joshua Krut, a partner at Weiss Serota Helfman Cole Bierman & Popok, a law firm with offices in Ft. Lauderdale and Coral Gables, Fla. “I’ve seen only one or two presidents who were able to follow them over all these years in my practice. They’re very technical, not necessary, and it’s confusing to owners or the audience also.”
Few states or governing documents require HOAs to use Robert’s Rules, but some HOAs voluntarily adopt the long-established guidelines. “I haven’t seen boards adopt Robert’s Rules, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it [specified] in governing documents that they’ll use them,” says Andrew Schlegel, CCAM®, executive vice president of community management for Orange County and Los Angeles at FirstService Residential-California in Aliso Viejo.
That’s also true for James R. McCormick Jr. “I don’t see very many documents requiring them, and I’ve yet to see an association adopt them under my guidance,” says the partner at Peters & Freedman LLP in Encinitas, Calif., who represents associations. “We have taken over associations that have adopted them previously. I don’t know why; probably a parliamentarian was on the board and wanted to do that.”
But some documents do have such a directive, particularly those written eons ago. “A lot of the older documents do say that,” says Nancy T. Polomis, a partner at Hellmuth & Johnson PLLC who advises homeowners associations. “Or boards adopt it.”
There are several schools of thought on Robert’s Rules. Find out more, and get tips on how to create rules you can live by in our new article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/1182.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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Keeping HOA Meetings in Order: To Use Robert's or Not?
Do you follow Robert's Rules of Order during meetings? If so, why?
Few states or governing documents require HOAs to use Robert's Rules, but
some HOAs voluntarily adopt the long-established guidelines. Yet many
experts aren't fans at all.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Keeping-HOA-Meetings-in-Order-Use-Roberts-or-Not.cfm
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Your HOA's Mechanicals Are Noisy! Should You Care?
Here's a problem our experts have seen time and time again: Complaints that
the HOA's innards are too noisy for nearby unit owners. In this week's tip, we
suggest that you investigate before dismissing them as the cries of people
who should have known what they were getting into.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/public/Your-HOAs-Mechanicals-Are-Noisy-Should-You-Care.cfm
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Can This Noise be Silenced? 4 Tips to Tell If It's the HOA's Responsibility
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "I live in a building where a noise problem has
developed that results from water pressure. When the water goes on and off, a
very loud thud occurs. As a resident (also a seven-year board member), this
is disruptive and also negatively impacts the value of my unit. The sound
isn't coming from my unit, but from above and next door. What's the best way to
determine responsibility for this (either surrounding units or HOA)? I'm
presuming it's the HOA since it's more of a generalized plumbing problem. As
a note, I'm having trouble getting the building manager to take this
seriously since it's hard to document a noise problem."
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Can-This-Noise-be-Silenced-4-Tips-Tell-Its-HOAs-Responsibility.cfm
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It's Time to Start Working on Your HOA's 2015 Taxes. Seriously.
In this week's tip, we give you a big jump on filing your HOA's tax returns next
year. And if you take our advice now, we promise you'll probably be much less
stressed later.
We're offering this advice because unfortunately, an HOAleader.com
reader just learned the HOA's accountant has done the returns wrong for
seven years--and it was a CPA supposedly familiar with HOAs.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Its-Time-Start-Working-on-Your-HOAs-2015-Taxes-Seriously.cfm
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Get Ready for Next Year's HOA Tax Filing
Yes, tax time is over for some HOAs. But not all, depending on whether they
operate on a calendar year or some other system. Here we offer a few tax tips
and lend a hand to a reader who's just found out his HOA's accountant mucked up
his association's tax filing.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Get-Ready-for-Next-Years-HOA-Tax-Filing.cfm
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