HOA Pool Rule Prejudice

Swimming pools and children. For some homeowner associations, the two do not always go together well. Some HOAs wishing to create "adults only" pool time have adopted rules that prohibit children from the swimming pool during certain times and in the process have violated the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 ("the Act").  The Act was amended in 1988 to prohibit discrimination against any person in their use of a dwelling based on their "familial status." The Act defines "familial status" as a situation where one or more minors are domiciled with a parent, legal guardian, or the designee of a parent or guardian.  Read more

Top 5 Defenses in Collections & How to Beat Them

Nearly half of the delinquent homeowners turned over to the HindmanSanchez Collections Department either pay off their balance or enter into some sort of payment arrangement relatively quickly in the process.  For those homeowners that don’t, it becomes necessary to take the next legal step: filing a county court lawsuit.   The majority of those homeowners that are sued either make a written payment agreement (Stipulation) or simply do not respond (Default).  In the case of default, we ask the court to enter a judgment (the Court’s decision that the homeowner owes money to the association).  About 1 out of 10 homeowners respond and deny the allegations of the lawsuit.  They are required to file an answer with the court.  An answer is the written statement of the homeowner in response to the lawsuit.  The answer must set forth at least one valid defense.  Below are the top 5 defenses that the collection attorneys see raised in response to the typical collection lawsuit.  After each common defense are a few short suggestions on how the association can overcome the defense and prevail in the lawsuit.  Read more

Prepare for an Emergency

What is an Emergency? An emergency is in the eye of the beholder. Homeowners, board members and residents often feel that whatever affects them is the emergency. That can be anything from a past due account to a violation letter to property and safety issues. Managers focus on the day-to-day issues of accounts and violations as a part of their routine. Recently, with Katrina, the blizzards in Colorado, flooding in Illinois and Ohio and fires in California, Georgia and Florida, the task of dealing with these types of disasters is once again in the forefront. Most communities do not have a disaster/emergency plan for their members. The purpose of this article is to urge community associations and management companies to spend the time to plan ahead, using the following steps to create a unique plan specifically for their association.  Read more

Essential Terms of Contracts for Maintenance & Repair Work

Many contractors provide a bare bones contract form to boards of directors or management for maintenance and repair work.  Unaware that the contract provided by the contractor fails to protect the association against the many perils that could occur during the performance or lack of performance of a contract, the contracts are signed as presented.  When things go wrong, the association’s remedies could be limited.  It is always a good idea to have an attorney review any contract which the board is to sign.  This ounce of prevention costs relatively little up front and could save the association thousands of dollars in the future if  the project ends disastrously.  Essential contracts terms, which can be included in an addendum to the contract, include the following:   Read more

Variances in the Architectural Review Process

Applying architectural guidelines and procedures uniformly is a major objective of the Architectural Review Committee (ARC).  Like the board, the ARC should treat everyone the same.  It should not, for example, require one owner to submit a $250 deposit to review plans, while reviewing a committee members’ neighbor’s plans for free,  or approve one person’s request to install a particular shed, while denying installation of an identical shed for another person. Occasionally, however, a situation will arise where the regular application of the architectural guidelines is inappropriate or unfair.  What can the ARC do in these situations?  Under what circumstances can the ARC grant a variance (i.e. approval to do something contrary to the governing documents)?   When determining whether to grant a variance, here are some steps to consider:   Read more

Less is Best When Refining Your Rules and Regulations

Here’s a challenge. Take out your current set of Rules and Regulations. Now, pretend you are a brand new homeowner who really wants to work with the board and management by actually reading this package of rules. Be honest. What are your reactions and opinions? Keep them in mind as you read the rest of this article. Far too many associations have created rules and regulations that seem old, wordy, and sometimes conflicting with each other, with little sense of organization and order. They may have been frequently updated as each new board encounters a new situation that the directors felt required another rule. Community association practitioners know the consequence: pages and pages of hard to understand and hard to enforce rules and other rules that might have been relevant once and are no longer valid and are just ignored. Here are some steps you can take to refine your Rules and Regulations so they are more effective:   Read more

Mass Notification Comes of Age

While mass notification systems are not a new concept, continually assessing security needs and incorporating available technological advances are among the most important steps of any facility executive’s emergency preparedness strategy.   Read more

Discrimination Disallowed for the Developmentally Disabled

A condo board can exercise its right of first refusal to reject a potential apartment-buyer in order to buy the apartment itself. It typically happens if the sale price is too low, and so the board purchases the place to resell at a higher price later. Or, the board needs the space for something like a super's apartment or a community room. Or, the board's concerned a potential owner will affect on the building's quality of life, as with a celebrity who might bring a media circus. The Business Judgment Rule protects a board's ability to make decisions for any reason, except discrimination. That covers more than just things likes race and religion. It also means people with mental disabilities.   Read more

Community Controversies and the Media

Time for an E-break?

Social networking sites are fast becoming public enemy number one in the workplace. In fact, if you believe everything you read in the media, it's a wonder that anybody does any work at all in between staying on top of their virtual social lives.  All of which means that the battle lines are well and truly drawn between po-faced employers keen for staff to actually do something productive in the office and those ever-so-hip on-line enterprises equally desperate to prove that the latest social networking fad isn't the end of working life as we know it.  Read more

Make Lighting Upgrades Match the Paybacks

Amidst all the buzz about new energy-efficient lighting technologies and how much money they save, a fair amount of grumbling may still be heard. Many facility executives who have done lighting upgrades are looking eagerly at their energy and maintenance bills and are surprised (and frustrated) they haven’t realized the savings they were expecting. Some have been so dissatisfied that they are putting off more lighting upgrades until they feel certain such efforts will bear financial fruit.   Read more

Investing Reserve Funds for Fun and Profit

If your building is lucky enough or prudent enough to have multimillion-dollar capital reserves, keeping them intact and growing them brings unique albeit pleasant problems. The real estate boom of recent years saw some co-ops, for instance, convert commercial rental units into additional shares and selling them, while others acquired large sums via flip taxes. Whatever the reason, cash accumulated quickly, and it's now up to you to make maximum use of those funds.   Read more

Condo Trends: Vacationers Want No Mess, No Stress Experience

Vacation condo renters are looking for an easy experience during a week on the coast. Investment beach condos can be a good second home, providing income and funds for owners who want a rental they can relax in as well as build wealth. So what can make that little getaway a cash cow? Repeat rentals. Picard Realty Rentals in Orange Beach, Alabama published tips on its website on how to guarantee long-term loyalty from your vacationing tenants.  Read more

Over the Hedge

It was a sunny morning in March when an Evanston attorney whom we will call Frank clicked his garage-door remote and started backing out. "Then I realized that there was a refrigerator directly behind my car," he recalls. And not just any refrigerator; this was a round-shouldered model from the 1930s worthy of the Henry Ford Museum. "I knew who'd put it there because all winter long they'd had guys emptying their house out and leaving weird stuff by my garbage cans." Stuff like a lampshade the size of a bass drum with 6-inch-long orange fringe, an ancient typewriter with its keys jammed, and a portrait of a German shepherd silhouetted against the sky, "like something Hitler would paint."   Read more

Few California Homeowners Buy Earthquake Insurance

Less than 12 percent of California homeowners own earthquake insurance policies, and even fewer small business owners have purchased quake coverage, leaving millions of Californians financially unprotected in the event of a catastrophic earthquake. Scientists today released a report outlining a likely 7.8-magnitude quake scenario along the San Andreas Fault. The quake is projected to level communities, water networks and freeway systems; as well as killing and injuring thousands of Southern Californians. The report is the scientific framework for “The Great Southern California Shakeout,” a massive earthquake preparedness drill scheduled for November 13th.   Read more