HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - April 5, 2019
Published: Fri, 04/05/19
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You Can Save Money on Condo/HOA Legal Fees with 7 Simple Steps
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In this week’s tip, we help you save money on a necessary but frustratingly costly expense: Legal fees.
Here’s something we hear from readers all over the country: They sometimes hesitate to get even necessary legal advice because of cost.
That’s not the best move. A better move would be to work with your lawyer to set expectations and limits—wherever possible—on your lawyer’s work. Here’s the first of seven ways to do that so you can ultimately work smarter with your legal team:
1. Designate your manager or a single board member to be the point person with your legal team.
“We typically recommend appointing a legal liaison,” says Kevin M. Hirzel, managing member of Hirzel Law in Farmington, Mich., and a College of Community Association Lawyers fellow. “That typically helps with efficiency and saving money.
“That means boards have one person contacting us so there aren’t five people asking us the same question,” he explains. “We prefer to set it up so that the entire board would funnel all questions through one person, and that person will call or send us an email. Then we’ll respond in writing to the whole board so that everybody has the same information.”
It could also be your manager who serves as this liaison. “Board members shouldn’t go directly to the association’s attorney unless that’s a decision made by the board to handle matters that way,” contends Barbara Holland, CPM, regional manager for FirstService Residential in Las Vegas. “Generally, when there’s an issue, my experience is that management is instructed to go to the attorney.”
Molly Peacock, a partner at Rees Broome in Tysons Corner, Va., who’s represented condos and HOAs for nearly 15 years, has several managers she finds very helpful on this front. “A manager can have a huge influence on controlling legal costs,” she says. “I have some managers who are superb. I enjoy working with them because they’re excellent with how they use me.”
Read all 7 Ways to Save Money and Work Better with Your Condo/HOA Lawyer in our new article: https://www.hoaleader.com/members/3893.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Upcoming Event
Rentals in Your HOA or Condo Getting You Down?
What HOA Boards Need to Know About Regulating Rentals
An Exclusive HOAleader.com Webinar
With Practical Tips for Condo and HOA Boards
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
2:00 p.m. Eastern
Learn more or register now:
https://www.hoaleader.com/products/regulating-rentals-hoa-webinar-a.cfm
Members save $30!
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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7 Ways to Save Money and Work Better with Your Condo/HOA Lawyer
Here's something we hear from readers all over the country: They sometimes hesitate to get even necessary legal advice because of cost.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/7-Ways-Save-Money-Work-Better-with-Your-CondoHOA-Lawyer.cfm
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Regulating Rentals in Your HOA
Join us for a must-attend webinar on April 24 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-hoa-webinar-a.cfm
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Should You Be Worried If Directors Have an Employment Relationship?
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "We have an employer/employee relationship between two directors. Is anyone aware of any case law or instance where this has been dealt with in Florida?" Forget Florida. Has any state addressed this unique situation? Here, we find out and discuss the possible challenges that arise.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Should-You-Be-Worried-Directors-Have-Employment-Relationship.cfm
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What to Know about Charging for Your Condo or HOA's Social Events
An HOAleader.com reader writes, "I'm a resident in a newly-formed condo community in New York, and the board installed a social committee monthly fee for each unit; whether you're a married couple or single, you pay the same dollar amount.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/What-Know-about-Charging-for-Your-Condo-or-HOAs-Social-Events.cfm
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How Your Condo/HOA Can Help the Country Become a No-Kill Animal Zone
In this week's tip, we explain how you could help keep animals from being dropped at shelters, where most don't make it out alive.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/public/How-Your-CondoHOA-Can-Help-Country-Become-NoKill-Animal-Zone.cfm
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Free Upgrade to Group Membership
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HOAleader.com members can now get a free upgrade to group
membership.
With a group membership, the rest of your HOA or condo board--up to 9 additional members--will get their own member accounts.
Plus, when you register for a webinar, your entire group can register for the price of one person. Everyone gets their own dial-in information, no need to huddle in one location.
It's a fantastic value.
Make your job easier. Help the rest of your board get up to speed on HOA management best practices by adding them to your HOAleader.com membership today for no cost.
Already a member? Create complimentary accounts for the other members of your HOA board now:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/main.cfm
Not a member yet? Sign up now with our low individual rates and then add your fellow board members for no additional cost:
http://www.hoaleader.com/details.cfm
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