HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - August 3, 2018
Published: Fri, 08/03/18
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Condo and HOA Kickbacks: No, Everybody Doesn’t Do It
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In this week’s tip, we discuss a practice that some might consider normal — hey, you scratch my back, I scratch yours! — but that is a very bad idea and sometimes illegal.
We’re talking about taking “kickbacks” from service providers.
A reader sent us a link to this blog post about the potential that managers or boards may be getting what some might call kickbacks for signing a long-term contract with an internet service provider.
“I’ve heard enough rumors over the years to know that there’s enough smoke to think there might be fire that the management company was getting a benefit for signing a contract,” reports Robert E. Ducharme, founder of Ducharme Law in Stratham, N.H., who specializes in representing community associations.
“In one case, the management company owned a unit in one place, and in exchange for signing for signing the snow removal contract for that property, the manager was getting another property plowed, too,” he recalls.
Christopher J. Shields, a partner at Pavese Law Firm in Ft. Myers, Fla., who’s represented associations for decades, has also heard rumblings about this type of practice. “Let’s hope this is rare or doesn’t happen at all,” he states. “Over the many years I’ve been practicing law, you hear whispers and suspicions, or you think people are chummy with certain vendors or contractors.
“So the question is: Is it common?” he summarizes. “Let’s hope not at all. Is it acceptable? Absolutely not.”
In fact, this is so unacceptable that some states explicitly ban it. Read about state laws that prohibit such arrangements, along with tips on how to handle the issue if your state doesn’t address this by law, in our new article: https://www.hoaleader.com/members/3764.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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Condos, HOAs, and Kickbacks from Vendors: What You Need to Know
A reader sent us a link to this this blog post about the potential that managers or boards may be getting what some might call kickbacks- for signing a long-term contract with an internet service provider.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Condos-HOAs-Kickbacks-from-Vendors-What-You-Need-Know.cfm
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Collect More, and Collect It More Easily: Best Practices for Condo/HOA Debt Collection
Join us for an in-depth webinar on August 23 led by two HOA debt-collection experts--one of California's leading community association lawyers and an experienced professional in association management.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/products/condo-hoa-debt-collection-best-practices-a.cfm
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Can HOA Fix This Mess Before It Leads to Road Rage?
An HOAleader.com reader asks, I presently live in a small rural community. A POA was created some 40 years ago with the intent of being responsible for the roads. The county told the developer to either create a POA or to follow county specs on roads and turn them over to the county.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Can-HOA-Fix-This-Mess-Before-It-Leads-Road-Rage.cfm
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Can You Require Owners to Give You a Key to Their Home?
This is a simple issue, right? But back up. Why would an association need owners' keys? Is it assuming liability by collecting them? Is it legal to demand that owners give you one? How can you address noncompliant owners? And are all of the answers to these questions applicable to communities with single-family homes as much as they are to shared-wall properties like condos and townhomes?
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Can-You-Require-Owners-Give-You-Key-Their-Home.cfm
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An HOA Situation So Rare, Our Expert Thinks This HOA May Be Doing It Wrong
In this week's tip, we answer an HOAleader.com reader's question about how an independent, elected architectural review committee can get the HOA board to quit trying to influence the committee.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/public/HOA-Situation-So-Rare-Our-Expert-Thinks-This-HOA-May-Be-Doing-It-Wrong.cfm
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