HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - March 10, 2017
Published: Fri, 03/10/17
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HOA’s Effort to Be Neighborly May Have Backfired
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In this week’s tip, we address a reader’s question over who’s responsible when drainage issues arise on land between owners. A complication: Their drainage drama is on land subject to an easement.
In a nutshell, the HOA at issue was doing other work in that area and decided to install a French drain to fix the drainage disputes between the two owners, one whose lot was higher than the other and thus drained into the lower lot.
Twelve years later, the fix may have failed. What next?
This one might be simple.
“My partner, Sandra Gottleib, has a saying that if the association touches it, it owns it,” states David C. Swedelson, the principal at Swedelson & Gottlieb, a law firm that represents associations in the Los Angeles area. “This association did work, and then what did they do? They forgot about it. They didn’t keep the drain clear. If I were the homeowner, I’d argue there was some liability in failing to maintain the French drain system.”
Stephen Marcus, a partner at Marcus, Errico, Emmer, Brooks in Braintree, which represents about 4,000 associations, mostly condos, in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, would go further back in time to make another point. “The association should have had some agreement between the parties stating that anything they were doing was simply to be good neighbors,” he argues. “That way, they weren’t taking responsibility for the issue. This is also something the board should have addressed with their own legal counsel: If we do nothing, who’s responsible?”
Swedelson agrees that type of legal agreement might have helped in this situation, if it were recorded to put all future buyers of the properties on notice of the status quo—to a point. “That could be helpful if it’s drafted properly,” he says. “It should be a covenant to run with the land, and it should be recorded. Because these two, current owners could sell, and without it, there would be no agreement with the new owners.
“But I think here’s the problem,” adds Swedelson. “Even with that agreement, the association would still have liability here because they were negligent. If they’re going to do this work, they have to maintain it.”
Marcus generally agrees with the requirement of ongoing maintenance. Oh, but the issue is much more complicated than this initial discussion. Find out why in our new article: https://www.hoaleader.com/members/2516.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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HOA's Effort to Be Neighborly May Have Backfired
In this week's tip, we address a reader's question over who's responsible when drainage issues arise on land between owners. A complication: Their drainage drama is on land subject to an easement.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/HOAs-Effort-Be-Neighborly-May-Have-Backfired.cfm
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Did This HOA Step into a Duty It Didn't Have Before?
An HOAleader.com reader writes, "We have an equestrian easement dedicated to the public in our California common-interest development of 124 single-family homes. It runs between two homes that have a slope between them.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Did-This-HOA-Step-into-Duty-It-Didnt-Have-Before.cfm
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Racism Hits HOAleader; What If It Hits Your HOA, Too?
In this week's tip we tackle what's quite frankly an ugly subject--racism. The topic emerged after a reader downloaded several HOAleader.com articles and products. Then out of the blue, he emailed us a rant that began with the following premise: "Blacks have an undeveloped 'Reptilian Brain' that deals primarily on a fear and aggressive level, as evident by their documented statistical criminal nature." What followed was a lengthy treatise filled with blatant racism.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Racism-Hits-HOAleader-What-It-Hits-Your-HOA-Too.cfm
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5 Tips for Neutralizing a Racist HOA Owner or Board Member
We're not coming up with this topic out of thin air or to be provocative. A reader downloaded several HOAleader.com articles and products. Then out of the blue, he emailed us a rant that began with the following premise: "Blacks have an undeveloped 'Reptilian Brain' that deals primarily on a fear and aggressive level, as evident by their documented statistical criminal nature." What followed was a lengthy treatise filled with blatant racism.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/5-Tips-for-Neutralizing-Racist-HOA-Owner-or-Board-Member.cfm
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Do HOA Owners Need to Hire Licensed Contractors?
In this week's tip, we explain that you may not have the authority you think you have when it comes to insisting owners use licensed contractors for every project in their unit.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Do-HOA-Owners-Need-Hire-Licensed-Contractors.cfm
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