HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - April 28, 2017
Published: Fri, 04/28/17
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Why You Should Care About Another HOA’s Balcony Collapse
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In this week’s tip, we talk about what you should do in the wake of the February
collapse of a second-floor, wood balcony of a condo association in the
Florida panhandle.
Thankfully, the incident caused only injuries, not fatalities. But 11
people harmed is nothing to dismiss, even if it didn’t happen in your
community. It’s still smart to understand how condo associations can get to
this point and what to do to prevent it from happening in your association.
“I think this serves as a great example for those associations that are
deferring maintenance,” states James R. McCormick Jr., a partner at Peters
& Freedman LLP in Encinitas, Calif., who represents associations. “This
could have been the result of improper or faulty construction. But if this
balcony fell as a result of deferred maintenance, we as an industry should
use it to encourage associations to avoid this type of disaster in the future
by performing proper maintenance.”
What steps should you take? Here are the first two of five:
1. Don’t have a reserve study? Do one now. “First of all, have a reserve study
with a site visit to have someone visibly inspect these types of
components,” advises Mary Arnold, CMCA®, AMS®, the Austin, Texas-based
national director of training and community association management
support at RealManage, a San Rafael, Calif., association management firm
that oversees properties in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida,
Louisiana, Nevada, and Texas.
“That way, you can plan for maintenance,” says Arnold.
2. Check your local and state regulations. Depending on the building
component, there may be state or local rules that dictate your maintenance
plan.
“If you’re talking balconies and structural integrity, you have to keep in
mind that if you’re in the city of Chicago and you’re a high-rise, there’s an
ordinance that requires building facades to be inspected and any other
structural and other deficiencies corrected,” states Michael Kim who,
through his Chicago law firm, Michael C. Kim & Associates, represents about
500 associations.
“That goes back to the porch collapse in Lincoln Park in 2003,” adds Kim,
referring to a tragedy that killed 13 people and wounded more than 50. “That
was a tragic situation, and there’s a valid public safety concern that
should be shared by association members as well.
“So under Chicago’s ordinance, there’s a requirement that for certain
categories of buildings, from time to time there be a hands-on—literally a
scaffolding along the building façade where the engineer can see and
touch—inspection,” says Kim. “And depending on the category of building,
in intervening years, they can typically get by with a visual inspection.
That typically means using binoculars and inspecting from the ground
level. The ordinance sets up a time frame for inspections.”
Read three more steps you should be taking in our new article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/2539.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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Why You Should Care About Another HOA's Balcony Collapse
In this week's tip, we talk about what you should do in the wake of the February
collapse of a second-floor, wood balcony of a condo association in the
Florida panhandle. Thankfully, the incident caused only injuries, not
fatalities. But 11 people harmed is nothing to dismiss, even if it didn't
happen in your community. It's still smart to understand how condo
associations can get to this point and what to do to prevent it from happening
in your association.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/public/Why-You-Should-Care-About-Another-HOAs-Balcony-Collapse.cfm
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Florida Condo Balcony Collapses: 5 Things You Need To Do
A second-floor, wood balcony of a condo association in the Florida
panhandle collapsed in February, thankfully causing only injuries, not
fatalities. But 11 people harmed is nothing to dismiss, even if it didn't
happen in your community. It's still smart to understand how condo
associations can get to this point and what to do to prevent it from happening
in your association.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Florida-Condo-Balcony-Collapses-5-Things-You-Need-Do.cfm
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How to Notice Up Your HOA Board Meetings
An HOAleader.com reader writes, I live in Minnesota. Our HOA consists of 600
units. I have sent an email request three times to attend the next board of
directors HOA homeowner forum according to our HOA governing documents.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/How-Notice-Up-Your-HOA-Board-Meetings.cfm
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Why It's a Bad Idea to Create an Executive Committee of the HOA Board
An HOAleader.com reader writes, We have a five-member board. However three
of the five board members have formed an executive committee to exclude me
and another member from executive session meetings/participating in most
board business.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Why-Its-Bad-Idea-Create-Executive-Committee-HOA-Board.cfm
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HOA Board Members and Fiduciary Duties: What You Must Know to Fulfill Your
Duty to Your Association and Protect Yourself from Personal Liability
When you volunteered to serve your community association as a board member,
did you realize you were agreeing to set aside your own interests and act as a
fiduciary on behalf of the entire association? Are you confident you know
every scenario where you might trip up and expose yourself to personal
liability by failing to live up to this important duty? Set aside an hour of
your time to learn what you need to know and ensure you're not risking your own
financial security by making common--but easily avoidable--mistakes
while volunteering as an HOA board member.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/products/fiduciary-duties-and-hoa-board-members-b.cfm
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