Time to Think About Spring Maintenance

You’re not going to be mowing grass or planting shrubs any time soon, but you should be touching base with your landscape contractor to review the spring clean-up and planting schedule. If the board is planning a capital project or significant repair work in the spring, it’s better to begin soliciting bids in February, when contractors are (relatively) idle, than in April, when their dance cards are more likely to be filled and you will have more trouble attracting attention, especially if you have smaller projects that will be competing with much larger ones. You’ve no doubt heard the lecture about the importance of preventive maintenance more than once, but, judging by the number of associations that ignore the advice, it is worth repeating — especially these days, when financial pressures are squeezing association budgets, increasing the temptation to ignore or defer essential maintenance. The advice associations don’t want to hear but need to heed: The maintenance requirements you ignore today will become the major, costly capital expenditures you can’t ignore in the future.             Read more

The Importance of the Yearly Audit

The governing documents for many associations require that a yearly audit be completed on the financial records of the association. An audit is designed to provide reasonable but not absolute assurance that financial statements prepared by the treasurer, management company or outsourced bookkeeper are fairly presented and in conformity with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ (AICPA). Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Some associations have the option of obtaining a review or compilation. A review is less inclusive than an audit and does not provide the assurance offered by an audit of disclosure of significant matters. A compilation is the lowest level of financial review offered by a Certified Public Accountant. It is designed to reveal obvious material errors the auditor may notice as he or she recompiles the financial statements provided by the association into an appropriate year-end format. Unfortunately, many documents and state statutes do not require a financial review by an accounting firm on any level.    Read more

Navigating Through This Tough Real Estate Market

The recession has hit nearly every sector of our economy including community associations.  Foreclosures or delinquency rates are at about 1 in 10 homes nationwide, slightly ahead of our national unemployment rate.  Foreclosure rates are the highest in many years for many states and second highest rates ever on record for Wisconsin where I am from.  While Milwaukee County was hit with near record foreclosures in 2008, Waukesha County seems to have caught up in January and the news is not likely to get better any time soon.  As I write this, nearly 100 foreclosures occurred in a single day in Wisconsin.  While we don’t know of any easy way to monitor what is happening specifically within community associations, if you are a Board Member, it is fairly easy to see what is happening in your neighborhood or municipality.  At what point will this affect the operation of your community association?    Read more (Word Doc)

What Are HOA Lawyers Saying About Solar Installations In HOA?

In today's world, owners are, by their own initiative, seeking to be environmentally conscious. Outside clothes drying is coming back strong. See my blog link (California Condo & HOA blog) to read more on that subject. Energy savings is in vogue. Solar installations are in vogue. The general public (and lots of industry vendors and professionals for that matter) are not very well informed about rights of owners and rights of the HOAs. The California legislature has ruled on this subject and they push solar installations. (Civil Code Section 714 and 714.1 ­ note, this is not in the Davis Stirling Act but can be pulled up on the California government website at www.ca.gov ­ navigate to Law and Legislation and the 29 California Codes.)   Read more

Like a Moth to a Flame

Moths give off "pheronomes," a scent that attracts mates from many miles away. Oh, that it were so easy to attract volunteers at a homeowner association. Just spritz a bit of Eau de Volunteer about and stand back! So what does it really take to attract good volunteers? Here are a couple of suggestions:   Read more

Recoat of Many Colors

Of all roofing designs used in homeowner associations, flat roofs are the most problematic, particularly in rain, wind or snow prone areas. The need for consistent and quality maintenance is extremely important for maximum performance and longest life. Recoating built-up flat roofs is a fundamental preventive maintenance which should be performed at least every five years and included in the reserve plan.   Read more

Changing the Guard

A homeowner succumbs to the relentless pressure from his neighbors and steps up to become a board member of his condominium or homeowner association.  Alternatively, he attends an annual meeting and nodding off as the landscape committee chair gives her report on rhododendron reclamation efforts, an outgoing board member nominates him to run for directorship; he wakes just in time to hear the outgoing president offer congratulations for obtaining sufficient votes, notwithstanding that he ran unopposed.  Or perhaps, when the homeowner fills out the entry form in the clubhouse for a free week-long timeshare in Hawaii, he fails to see the fine print stating that the card also served as a nomination form for a board director position at the next annual meeting.  Read more  (PDF) 

Brand New Board and Shoddy Construction: A Case Study

It started as a standard request from a fledgling board to represent its unit-owners against the sponsor of the recently constructed condominium at 88 Washington Place in Manhattan. The unit-owners were experiencing flooding and leaks through windows; electrical system failures; lack of heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer; lack of furniture in the lobby; and a failure on the part of the sponsor to pay common charges.      Read more

We Gotta Get Quorum! - Learning From Experience

It was 5PM on the day of the Turnover Meeting for one of the condominium properties in my Northern Virginia portfolio. When I headed out to the meeting, I was optimistic that we would meet quorum. Optimistic, but not certain. The community documents required the presence in person or by proxy of unit owners representing 25% or more of the common element interest. We had received proxies representing 21.5%. After waiting twenty minutes past the scheduled start time for the meeting, we were forced to cancel the meeting due to the inability to obtain a quorum. We came close but at 23.8%, had to re-schedule to a “date certain”. We stayed another forty-five minutes as an informal gathering. The time was well spent, having met many homeowners face-to-face for the first time. However, we failed to meet the number one priority of the evening. We were not able to hold an election to establish their first “homeowner controlled” board of directors. As such, the condominium unit owners association could not be transferred from developer control to owner control.          Read more

The Green Facts of Light

Innovation and continuous improvement in the field of lighting have given rise to tremendous energy-saving opportunities.  Lighting is an area in which there is enormous energy-efficient potential, starting at the design stage by incorporating modern energy-efficient lamps and luminaries.  Following responsible operational practices also can significantly reduce associated energy costs.  Lighting is not only a very high priority when considering condominium retrofitting, but also is a high-return, low-risk investment.  Read more   (PDF)

More News Stories

VT: Clothes flap: Lawmaker pushes 'right to dry' outdoors
Sen. Richard McCormack, D-Washington, thinks so. For nearly 20 years, McCormack has been pushing a proposed new law that would make it clear that Vermonters have the right to dry their garments on outdoor clotheslines....

MA: Nautica condo complex owners sue Edward A. Fish companies
But eight years after the Nautica was completed, some of its residents are suing the companies that built and then managed the site....

WA: Condo building owner, bank accused of fraud
Federal regulators could look into allegations that a Bellevue luxury condo building owner conspired with a major bank to defraud six Central Asian immigrants out of $174,000 in down payments....

FL: Residents May Be Locked Out Of Community
They also received letters from their management company, Sentry Incorporated, which said those who don't pay their fees will have their transponders and access codes to get into the gated community, disabled....

AZ: HOA Abandoned, Homeowners Upset
About 75 residents met with lawyers Thursday night to try to figure out how they can get the amenities they expected when they bought their property. They decided to form a committee to look into their options....

SC: Condo repairs lag for months
Fifteen months later, the condominiums still are uninhabitable. The outside landscaping still is torn up, leaving a blight on the 170-unit complex and keeping two families from returning to their homes....

NV: More Trouble in HOA Probe
With a taskforce of FBI Agents and Metro Detectives investigating an alleged scam that may have raked in hundreds of millions of dollars, you might think the chief suspects would lay low or get out of town. That is not the case regarding one very large homeown...

CT: City-owned medical office again fails to sell
Since foreclosing on the 3,217-square-foot medical office in January 2004, the city has paid $100,000 toward $3,200 monthly condo fees. The city admits it still owes $80,000, while the condominium association put that figure at $101,649.29, as of Jan. 31....

FL: HOA signage request nixed
All council members stated that it was not a matter of not wanting to help the HOA get back its signs, but that they needed to do it in a way that did not require the signs be in the right of way....

CA: Segway Not Welcome at Eco-Development- Even if You Have a Disability
A resident of eco-community and tourist destination the Sea Ranch in Northern California, de Losada certainly thought his Segway was the perfect choice for the green lifestyle promoted by the community...

AZ: Maricopa Community battles foreclosure problem
On almost every street there is a foreclosure or bank owned sign in the front yard. Dozens of other homes are for sale. In the past two years there have been almost 1,000 foreclosures in Maricopa, "I wonder in the next few years if it will be like a ghost town...

CA: Alternative energy bill advances
A Senate panel voted Tuesday for an alternative energy bill that would ensure a homeowner association can't restrict a homeowner's right to install and use solar energy systems....

CT: Lesser Gets Busy at the Capitol
The other bill that Lesser has sponsored is called "An Act Concerning the Freedom to Dry." If passed, it would bar any statutes that restrict the right to use solar power to dry laundry....

CA: Boring in on a woodpecker controversy
To the woodpeckers, the ridge-top homes in Rossmoor are the perfect place to stash their food. For years, the energetic birds have bored holes in more than a dozen town houses and hidden acorns in the walls. The homes look as if they have been raked by machine...