HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - October 20, 2017
Published: Fri, 10/20/17
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How to Serve as an HOA Board Member When You Have Ownership Concerns, Too
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In this week’s tip, we commiserate with you about how hard it is to be both an HOA board member and an owner in your community. We know it’s hard to balance your role as a board member with that of being an HOA owner, and that can sometimes lead to uncomfortable situations even when that’s not your intention.
Here are two examples of how this can become a challenge, along with tips for ensuring you’re representing yourself and your community appropriately in all the decisions you make.
Scenario 1: “I was just shooting the breeze!”
“I’ve seen this problem arise in a variety of different examples,” explains James R. McCormick Jr., a partner at Peters & Freedman LLP in Encinitas, Calif., who represents associations. “One is where you have a board member who’s maybe having a drink with the next door neighbor.
“The neighbor says, ‘I want to enclose my patio; I think it’d look really cool,’” continues McCormick. “The board member says, ‘Sounds like it’d be really cool.’
“To the board member, that’s just a couple of friends hanging out,” notes McCormick. “The board member may not realize the other person just thought, ‘Hey, a board member just gave me authority to enclose my patio!’
“I advise board members to worry about apparent authority, which is where it appears you have authority to act,” advises McCormick. “In those cases, they should tell people that the board has to provide notice and vote on things like that. Because members don’t know that, they often think any board member can bind the association with a simple comment.”
Scenario 2: “I have my own interests to consider, too.”
“If board members own property in the community, they’re always owners like everyone else,” states Lisa Magill, of counsel at Kaye, Bender & Rembaum in Pompano Beach, Fla., who advises Florida community associations. “Conflicts of interest arise quite often, and board members need to understand the various aspects of fiduciary duty.
“Here’s a common example,” explains Magill. “A real estate agent is on the board, and the board is considering rental restrictions due to owner complaints about renters. But that board member doesn’t want to limit his or her business prospects.
“I generally don’t require people to recuse themselves,” says Magill. “They do have to disclose these situations, which most people serving on boards already know, and the minutes need to reflect that the person was a real estate agent. And then they could really, truly believe that limiting rentals isn’t right not because they’re a real estate agent but because they really, truly believe it’s bad for the community.”
Read all 7 Scenarios: Are You an HOA Board Member or an Owner? Or Both? in our new article, https://www.hoaleader.com/members/3618.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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7 Scenarios: Are You an HOA Board Member or an Owner? Or Both?
It's hard to balance your role as a board member with that of being an HOA owner, and that can sometimes lead to uncomfortable situations even when that's not your intention.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/7-Scenarios-Are-You-HOA-Board-Member-or-Owner-Or-Both.cfm
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How to Protect Yourself and Your HOA from the Neighborhood Sociopath
Did you miss yesterday's webinar on how to protect yourself and your HOA from the neighborhood sociopath? You missed a great instructional session! Get the recording so your entire board can watch on demand.
Have you run into any owners or residents who show contempt for and consistently disregard your HOA's rules? One in 25 people is a sociopath, or a person who regularly exhibits asocial or antisocial behavior. Sociopaths look like your everyday neighbors, but they can be scary and intimidating--and they can turn your HOA into a battleground. Learn how to wisely and safely handle the most difficult owners and residents you'll ever face, led by two community association experts with decades of hands-on experience in advising associations.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/products/hoa-neighborhood-sociopath-b.cfm
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Live, from Your HOA! It's a Board Meeting!
Sometimes it seems like Facebook Live is taking over the world. OK, we're joking. (Sort of. Check out our Facebook page.) Seriously, though, in this week's tip, we discuss whether can you use that platform or another live platform to stream your meetings? Why do it? Can it help your community? What can go wrong?
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/public/Live-from-Your-HOA-Its-Board-Meeting.cfm
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Live Streaming Your HOA Meeting, Part I
This is the first in a two--part series on live streaming HOA meetings. In this article, we discuss the pros and cons of this idea. Sometimes it seems like Facebook Live is taking over the world.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Live-Streaming-Your-HOA-Meeting-Part-I.cfm
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The Lessons of Harvey, Irma, and Wildfires, Even If Your HOA Was Unscathed
Our hearts have been and still are with our readers who were affected by disasters in the past two months. To recap, in late August, hundreds of thousands of Texas residents were swamped by disastrous rain and flooding from Hurricane Harvey. Then hurricanes Irma and Maria hit residents in Florida, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands (among others). And while those disasters were making life miserable--and dangerous--for those in their way, wildfires in California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Montana, Utah, and Washington were menacing those states' residents.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/public/Lessons-Harvey-Irma-Wildfires-Even-Your-HOA-Unscathed.cfm
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