HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - June 23, 2017
Published: Fri, 06/23/17
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Owners Use Proxies to Pass a Rule Banning the Use of Proxies in That Day’s HOA Election
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In this week’s tip, we have to tell a reader some troubling news: The member vote held on the day of their election to ban proxy use in the election probably won’t withstand the challenge it’s facing.
Here’s the back story. An HOAleader.com reader writes, “At our last membership meeting, a resident made a motion to not allow proxies to be used in the election of the board members. The motion was seconded, and the attending members used their proxies to vote on it.
“The motion passed, and a resident running for the board holding 23 proxies only got 5 votes. That resident is now contesting the election, even though it was obvious the attending residents did not want that person on the board because of that person’s historic proxy abuse as a board member. Anyone have any thoughts on whether or not restricting the proxies this way by the membership was proper and or legal?”
Let’s stipulate that our experts don’t know what state our reader is in—and state law will likely matter on the use of proxies—and they have no idea what this reader’s governing documents say.
Having said that, our experts from various states across the country are uncomfortable with this move of members voting at a meeting at which an election will take place to not permit proxies in that very election (but using their proxies to pass that new rule!).
“That makes absolutely no sense to me,” says Amy Tinetti, a shareholder at Hughes Gill Cochrane Tinetti P.C., which represents hundreds of condos and HOAs in Northern California. “In California, we can’t amend our governing documents without a vote of our members. That has to be by secret ballot, not at a meeting. We can, however, amend our governing documents to prohibit proxies altogether because they tend to be abused, and we don’t really need them anymore because ballots are done by mail.”
This process probably won’t hold up in other states, either. Find out why, and whether this board should order a new election, in our new article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/2565.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Special Report
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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Owners Use Proxies to Pass a Rule Banning the Use of Proxies in That Day's HOA Election
In this week's tip, we have to tell a reader some troubling news: The member vote held on the day of their election to ban proxy use in the election probably won't withstand the challenge it's facing.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/public/Owners-Use-Proxies-Pass-Rule-Banning-Use-Proxies-in-That-Days-HOA-Election.cfm
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Did These HOA Owners Totally Break the Rules?
An HOAleader.com reader writes, "At our last membership meeting, a resident made a motion to not allow proxies to be used in the election of the board members. The motion was seconded, and the attending members used their proxies to vote on it.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Did-These-HOA-Owners-Totally-Break-Rules.cfm
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"Hire" Your Owners to be Your Next HOA Election Inspectors
When you hear the words "election inspectors," your first thought is probably: We can't afford that! "In California, especially in Los Angeles, there are many smaller associations with 10, 20, 30, or 40 units," says David C. Swedelson, the principal at Swedelson & Gottlieb, a law firm that represents associations in the Los Angeles area. "If they were required to bring in outside inspectors, it would be very expensive."
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Hire-Your-Owners-be-Your-Next-HOA-Election-Inspectors.cfm
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Rentals in Your HOA or Condo Getting You Down? What HOA Boards Need to Know About Regulating Rentals
Did you miss yesterday's webinar on regulating rentals in your HOA or condo association? Rentals are one of the toughest issues to control at HOAs, and they've become even more difficult to oversee now that websites like Airbnb and VRBO have caught fire, facilitating short term rentals for home owners. What's a responsible HOA or condo board to do? View this "must watch" webinar on how to create a smart--and enforceable--rental policy at your HOA. You'll hear two community association lawyers with decades of hands-on experience in advising associations share their best advice.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/products/regulating-rentals-in-your-hoa-b.cfm
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6 Things to Ask Potential HOA Board Appointees
In this week's tip, we help you prepare for that rare unicorn sighting. We're kidding. What we're actually referring to is the possibility that you'll have to fill a board seat by appointment, and you'll have several willing candidates. What to do?
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/public/6-Things-Ask-Potential-HOA-Board-Appointees.cfm
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