HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - December 11, 2015
Published: Fri, 12/11/15
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Dude, Those Mushrooms Aren’t Supposed to Be in Your Unit!
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In this week’s tip, we disgust you. (Sorry!)
Utah lawyer Tyler LaMarr was contacted after an HOA owner moved furniture
and found mushrooms growing in his walls! Was it time for a construction
defect suit?
“There are multiple factors to consider, so it’s hard to draw a
hard-and-fast line or a one-size-fits-all policy,” says LaMarr, a partner
at Miller Harrison, a law firm in Salt Lake City that represents hundreds of
HOAs throughout the state.
“Deficient construction is common, and litigation over it is pretty
common, too,” notes Harry Styron, a community association attorney at
Styron & Shilling in Ozark, Mo. “I’m doing one case right now with lakefront
condos. It’s four to five stories, and the concrete decks were sloped wrong.
Instead of draining away from the building, the water was draining toward
the building, seeping into the walls and coming into units below from the
patio above.”
Before you take any steps, it’s critical to know the exact cause of whatever
problem your owners are experiencing. “The first thing is that you have to
figure out what you have,” says Matt D. Ober, senior partner at Richardson
Harman Ober, a Pasadena, Calif., law firm with a significant community
association practice. “If you have one person with mushrooms or mold
growing, that’s notice to at least investigate and determine what you have.
You have to inquire. If you found it in one unit, you have to at least ask
everybody: Do they have this condition?
“Construction defect litigation is a process, and it’s a process that
requires constant communication and participation by the homeowner in
things like inspections and filing out surveys,” adds Ober. “You have to
gather your information before pulling the trigger. Once you know how bad it
is and the cost to repair, then you decide whether to sue. Often boards say,
‘We don’t want to spend money on experts investigating because we don’t know
if we want to sue.’ I say whether you’re going to fix it yourself or seek to have
the developer fix it, that money is well spent.”
Do that investigative work right away. Find out why in our new article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/1293.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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Mushrooms Growing in Units; Time for Construction Defect Litigation?
Ewwwww! Utah lawyer Tyler LaMarr was contacted after an HOA owner moved
furniture and found mushrooms growing in his walls! Was it time for a
construction defect suit?
"There are multiple factors to consider, so it's hard to draw a
hard-and-fast line or a one-size-fits-all policy," says LaMarr, a partner
at Miller Harrison, a law firm in Salt Lake City that represents hundreds of
HOAs throughout the state.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Mushrooms-Growing-in-Units-Time-for-Construction-Defect-Litigation.cfm
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You Won't Find This HOA and Owner Kissing Under the Mistletoe!
In this week's tip, we try to suss out who's naughty and who's nice when it
comes to holiday lights.
The question in Idaho is whether an HOA is acting like Scrooge over last
year's festivities in a different location. Last Christmas, lawyer Jeremy
Morris and his wife Kristy hosted a light show complete with carolers,
Santa, and Dolly the camel at their home in Hayden, reports the
Spokesman-Review. The word spread on Facebook, and thousands flocked to
the spectacle, which raised funds for two charities.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/public/You-Wont-Find-This-HOA-Owner-Kissing-Under-Mistletoe.cfm
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Bah, Humbug! What If Owners Created Traffic with a Holiday Display--Last
Year?
A lawyer/homeowner is scoffing at his HOA's pre-emptive strike to curb a
flashy Christmas display. Who's the Scrooge here?
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Bah-Humbug-What-Owners-Created-Traffic-with-Holiday-Display-Last-Year.cfm
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Do You Need HOA Employees to Sign Confidentiality Agreements?
Here's an interesting reader question: "Under what circumstances would an
HOA ask its employees to sign a confidentiality agreement?...?" Here we
find out.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Do-You-Need-HOA-Employees-Sign-Confidentiality-Agreements.cfm
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HOA Owner Repairs Basement. Waits Years. Seeks Reimbursement. What to Do?
A reader has written in and asked how to handle an owner's $8,000 request for
basement repairs made in 2008. Yes, basement. And yes, 2008.
Our experts say a lot of necessary information is missing.
That said, here's a summary roadmap of how you might proceed in evaluating
this type of scenario
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/public/HOA-Owner-Repairs-Basement-Waits-Years-Seeks-Reimbursement-What-Do.cfm
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