HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - May 31, 2019
Published: Fri, 05/31/19
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What to Know About How Your Condo/HOA Owners Make Payments to Your Association
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In this week's tip, we discuss pros and cons of the various ways you can accept payments from your owners.
One way to receive funds from owners is through an online portal. You can create one on your own website, or you can turn to a management company, many of which offer this option.
"Accepting online payment and credit card payments, I believe, is the same thing," explains Steven R. Braten, a shareholder and head of the firm's community association practice at Rosenbaum PLLC in West Palm Beach, Fla.; he has nearly 25 years' experience representing community associations. "In my experience, management companies permit the use of debit cards, credit cards, or ACH payments, and the only way owners can avoid paying a fee is through an ACH payment versus the other two."
Braten is referring primarily to banks' charges for such transactions. Can your association charge a fee for those services? "That would depend on the language of your governing documents," he says. "Do your governing documents authorize the association to charge a fee for accepting payments by credit card or through an online portal? If they do and you're going to charge a fee, we advise that you disclose prominently that there's a fee associated with that convenience because it is a convenience.
"You also should disclose what the fee is going to be, and it shouldn't be a profit center for the association," he adds. "If it's disclosed through the online portal that paying online is optional and a convenience for the owner, they're making the election that they'd rather pay the fee than mail a check. Then I don't see a problem with that practice. You don't have an obligation to provide owners with these payment methods."
That's typically called a resident portal, and many associations and management companies offer that convenience. "Someone can log into our resident portal and pay that way," reports Mary Arnold, CMCA®, AMS®, the Austin, Texas-based vice president of operations of the community manager success group at RealManage, an association management firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas, that oversees properties in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Nevada, and Texas.
Arnold continues by rattling off a ton more payment options for residents in her company's communities. Read all about them, along with advice on whether you should ever accept cash, in our new article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/3920.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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HOA Board Members and Fiduciary Duties:
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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HOA Board Members and Fiduciary Duties
Join us for in an in-depth webinar on June 20 led by two community association experts who will explain in layperson's terms what it means to act as a fiduciary for your association.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/products/hoa-board-fiduciary-duties-personal-liability-webinar-a.cfm
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Religion in Your HOA or Condo
Join us for an informative webinar on July 18 on how to wisely address issues related to religion when they arise at your condo or HOA. You'll hear two community association lawyers with decades of hands-on experience in advising associations.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/products/religion-in-your-hoa-condo-webinar-a.cfm
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Question for Condos/HOAs That Permit Rentals: Is Your Insurance Adequate?
In this week's tip we report on a Virginia Supreme Court case that raises an interesting question for community associations -- are they ever liable for injuries sustained by guests of an individual owner's home during a short-term rental?
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/public/Question-for-CondosHOAs-That-Permit-Rentals-Your-Insurance-Adequate.cfm
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Does Your Condo/HOA Need Extra Insurance If You Permit Rentals?
A Virginia Supreme Court case raises an interesting question for community associations: When are they liable -- if ever -- for injuries sustained by guests of an individual owner's home during a short-term rental?
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/Does-Your-CondoHOA-Need-Extra-Insurance-You-Permit-Rentals.cfm
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Condo/HOA Gardening Policy Dos and Don'ts
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "We're a condominium regime (two units per building like garden homes; 21 buildings total). Our master deed states that anything put in the common area has to be approved by our board in writing.
Click here to read full article:
https://www.hoaleader.com/members/CondoHOA-Gardening-Policy-Dos-Donts.cfm
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