HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - March 2, 2018
Published: Fri, 03/02/18
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HOA’s Data Made Public for 10 Months; How Would You Respond?
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You’re entrusted with all kinds of confidential information. Do you have a plan in case some of it is accidentally released—and not even by you!
In this week’s tip, we answer an HOAleader.com reader’s question, which is essentially: Our HOA’s manager gave a real estate agent accounts receivable and bank statements, all of which eventually landed on Google for 10 months; what’s the HOA’s liability, and how should the board respond (this one appears to be remaining mum)?
Our experts have differing responses to this situation, in part because it’s not clear what information was posted online. Did it include actually members’ names? Did it have actual bank account numbers? Such questions aren’t crystal clear here.
Brad van Rooyen, a partner at Home Encounter, a Tampa, Fla., company that manages community associations, isn’t on a red-alert status considering what he knows so far and his state’s laws.
“This is one where I’d need to understand more of how the information got there,” he says. “Depending on your state, the law is pretty clear. If a homeowner does a records request to an association, you’re entitled to that information.
“Under Florida law, if a homeowner requests copies of the financials, including the accounts receivable, as a member of the association, your name isn’t protected from a member of the association wanting to know who’s current,” explains van Rooyen.
“That’s the argument I always make to boards,” he adds. “If you redact that information, you still have to have an account number or address available depending on how your accounts receivable runs. You could redact the member’s name, but most account numbers are used with some combination of the address or something along those lines. So it doesn’t make it too difficult for homeowners’ information to get out.
“Hopefully, bank statements are redacted just for privacy,” van Rooyen states. “But even when something’s been redacted, there’s software out there can make things unredacted pretty quickly, especially if it was electronically redacted. What’s the difference if this information is going to a homeowner who requested it per their state’s statue and their computer gets hacked? That’s going to happen.
“So I’m a little on the fence,” he explains. “I get that this information got out there. And there’s a greater need for security in the industry as it moves to the digital environment. More communities are storing things in the cloud to make sure you have a plan and redundancy plan, and I think you need an IT specialist to advise you on how to protect your data from falling into the wrong hands. I think this issue will become more prevalent in the years ahead.”
Another Florida expert is similarly unsure of the damage here, but for another reason. Read about that--and also read about why a California expert says this is very bad news for the HOA--in our new article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/3687.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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HOA's Data Made Public for 10 Months; How Would You Respond?
You're entrusted with all kinds of confidential information. Do you have a plan in case some of it is accidentally released--and not even by you!
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/HOAs-Data-Made-Public-for-10-Months-How-Would-You-Respond.cfm
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What's Your Risk--and Plan--If There's a Breach of Your HOA Data?
An HOAeader.com reader explains a recent data breach and worries about the association's exposure: "Our property manager didn't follow their own internal processes and sent an unredacted accounts receivable file, bank statements, and information to a real estate agent. The real estate agent had an unknown breach, and the information would up on Google--exposed for around 10 months. The management company was notified in October by a member and was asked for clarification by a board member, and it pointed to a previous company. (The information was left out there.)
Click here to read full article: h
ttps://www.hoaleader.com/members/Whats-Your-Risk-and-Plan-If-Theres-Breach-Your-HOA-Data.cfm
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Whoops! Did You Forget to Ask Your HOA or Condo's Owners for Permission?
Is your board humming along, making decisions and moving on? In this week's tip, we answer a reader's question from the HOAleader.com Discussion Forum about whether a board can do that without informing owners of the major decisions it's making.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/public/Whoops-Did-You-Forget-Ask-Your-HOA-or-Condos-Owners-for-Permission.cfm
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When You Need Your HOA or Condo Owners' Approval to Act
An HOAleader.com reader asks: We moved into a large PUD with more than 100 ponds. We purchased our home because of the amenities and the ambience of the fountains within this community. The fountain's light in the pond next to my home burnt out, and I called, and they replaced it.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/When-You-Need-Your-HOA-or-Condo-Owners-Approval-Act.cfm
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What's My Line? The Roles, Duties, and Responsibilities of HOA or Condo Board Members
We regularly hear from association members who want more detail about their responsibilities--or who want an easy way to educate their newly elected fellow board members about what, exactly, board members do. They ask: What's the president supposed to do? How about the vice president, secretary, and treasurer? They also ask much more detailed questions on how their board can and should operate, like: "What's apparent authority?" "Who can act alone and when?" "Who chooses the officers?" "When am I personally liable for my actions as a board member?" And more. Watch this in-depth webinar today. It's led by two community association experts: A lawyer with nearly two decades of hands-on experience in advising associations, along with an industry-leading association manager who can speak to what he sees when it comes to on-the-ground roles of board members.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/products/roles-hoa-condo-board-members-b.cfm
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You may recall a fact often cited by many HOA insiders: The biggest challenges boards face are "the 3 Ps," which stand for Parking, Pets, and People. In this brand-new, exclusive report from HOAleader.com, our editorial team and our legal and management experts nationwide have come together to provide information on best practices for handling the difficult issues you face with residents' animals in your community.
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https://www.hoaleader.com/details.cfm
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