Mechanic's Lien on Plaza Hotel Condos — A Case Study for Other Boards

In April on Habitatmag.com, Tom Soter broke the story of condo owners at Manhattan's famed, partially converted Plaza Hotel being hit by an $8.3 million "mechanic's lien." It was placed by a subcontractor against developer Elad Properties, a.k.a. El-Ad Properties — which in a separate building, says a condo-board president, has consistently ignored orders by the New York State Attorney General's office to correct a similar situation. Here is an update, along with a primer on mechanic's liens and what boards can do about them.   Read more

Collection Policy Checklist

Collecting assessments is the life blood of community associations.  Where assessment collection problems are widespread in an association, the board may be forced to delay or curtail needed maintenance or repair, causing property values to drop. Adopting a policy which provides a systematic, disciplined approach to collecting delinquencies forms the foundation of a successful program for avoiding financial loss to the association as a result of owner delinquencies.  The board of directors can adopt a collection policy without special owner approval based upon the authority granted to it by statute and the association's governing documents.  This checklist will explore the elements of a workable collection policy and the issues which a board and the association's attorney should consider in framing and implementing a collection policy.    Read more:

Guide for Firewise Developments is Now Available

Wildfires that damage homes and businesses are increasing in severity throughout the country, as growth patterns put more homes and neighborhoods in areas naturally prone to fire. While the national Firewise Communities® program has long advocated action in existing communities to minimize fire hazards to homes, its new publication, Safer from the Start: A Guide to Firewise-Friendly Developments, seeks to help create Firewise communities from the ground up.  Read more    Download PDF Guide

Resident Vs. Board

Jack has heard talk that the board has voted to continue a contract with the poorly-run lawn care company the association has contracted with for years. Rumor has it that damage was done to a window by a careless worker and a complaint has even been filed. As the unappointed spokesperson for the condo owners, Jack has spoken numerous times to the association board president (Eric) about this issue and has asked to see the current lawn service contract and the complaint. Jack has yet to receive any of the records he has requested and is getting more convinced that something does not add up.   Read more

Checking Credentials, Covering Bases

Those who handle the management of any kind of residential building deal with contractors and contracts regularly—but they aren’t the only ones who should know about the process. It’s not necessarily an arcane topic—whether the project is a major roof repair or complete window replacement, the construction process is usually pretty much the same. But what if mistakes are made in the construction process, either by the managing agent, a consultant or someone else in charge of these matters? Who’s responsible? Whose insurance coverage comes into play? What recourse exists for building communities having problems with their contractors?   Read more

HOA Proxies with Moxie

A proxy is a legal authorization for one person to act on behalf of another. It is commonly used in homeowner association Annual Meetings to achieve the quorum required to hold a legal meeting. The normal routine is to mail proxy forms along with the meeting notice and ask that they be filled out and returned to the secretary or manager by a certain date whether an owner plans to attend the meeting or not. While the person designated by the proxy could be anyone of legal age, usually a relative, friend or board member is chosen.  Proxy returns can be notoriously poor due to disinterest or apathy. However, if a meeting quorum is not achieved, HOA business cannot be legally transacted. So getting proxies to ensure a quorum is extremely important. So what is the secret to getting them? Here are several ways to “0“moxify”1” (improve) proxy returns:  Read more

Should the Association File a Defamation Lawsuit?

Communication is the Key

According to Merriam-Webster, communication is “sending, giving, or exchanging information and ideas”. The Community Associations Institute (CAI) defines persons who are good communicators as having the “knowledge and experience to produce positive relationships, to help create a pleasant social environment and to establish a firm basis for problem solving”. Effective communication may be the single most important tool available to the board of directors and the manager to promote a positive and cooperative spirit in the association. If a board does not communicate effectively, the directors could find themselves dealing with apathy. Perhaps some of the apathy starts because not enough information is transmitted from the board to the residents about projects or the day-to-day issues of the association.    Read more

Will Collecting Delinquent Association Dues Get Easier? Soon?

The U.S. economy on Main Street, where all of us are living and working, is not getting better. The U.S. Government is trying to bail out Wall Street, where none of us are, in the hope that Wall Street will provide loans and liquidity to Main Street, but that hope is not being realized as this article was written. Twenty (20) Banks had failed— just in the first three months of 2009. Milton Friedman (1912-2006) won the Nobel Prize in Economics. He was not generally a believer in governmental solutions. A few of his quotes are:  Read more:

Swimming Pools and Playgrounds Legal Check Up

With summer here its time to make sure that your Association pools and playgrounds are ready for action.  Most associations do not perform legal checkups however, with the proliferation of lawsuits and regulations, there are sound reasons for doing so.  An association interested in performing a swimming pool or playground legal checkup should consider the following:               Read more:

HOA Musical Meetings

A well conducted meeting is like a music to your ears. Using a well thought out plan, the Chair cues, directs and closes the meeting much like a conductor. Conducting successful meetings doesn't happen by chance. There is a combination of clear purpose coupled with ground rules. Here are some tips that can make your meetings like music to the ears.  Lay out the ground rules. Without ground rules, small issues become major time wasters and important matters do not receive the attention they deserve. Ground rules discourage an individual from monopolizing the meeting with personal concerns or issues previously discussed. Ground rules should be fair, easily understood and encourage a courteous and intelligent exchange.   Read more

Dissident Residents: Communication Is Key to Avoiding "Shadow Boards"

Hayden Coleman, an attorney who serves on his Manhattan co-op's board, recently had to lead an information campaign to counter misinformation spreading among shareholders. It involved a proposal to put big-ticket items to a vote of all shareholders — a move that Coleman says "would have been an absolute disaster. In practice, it was going to hamstring the board from acting quickly" when necessary. But what can boards do when dissident residents want to micromanage, or call for what appear to be solutions but that are unworkable or unfeasible?   Read more

Warning: Blogging Can Be Hazardous to Your Wealth

When you blog or post videos on YouTube, your message can spread anywhere and you could land in a courtroom facing a major lawsuit.  Will your insurance cover your costs?  Maybe. As the Internet explodes with bloggers and personal social media posts, court dockets are filling fast with lawsuits drawn from bruised egos rather than broken bones.  According to The Media Law Resource Center in New York, courts have settled about $17.4 million in trial awards resulting from blogs and Web site postings with many more awaiting jury outcomes.   Read more

Managing millennials

When you Google "managing millennials", you'll receive about 36,000 results. "Millennials and work," brings back 158,000. There's no question that managing, and working with, millennials – or Generation Y - is a hot topic. And a general review of much of the discussion around millennials can lead you to believe that they are (a) a pain in the neck; (b) need extreme coddling; (c) resented and mistrusted; (d) a special interest group; or (e) just plain subversive.   Read more

VA: Clotheslines blow through culture again
The simple, nostalgic act of hanging clothes outside to dry, regaining popularity as an eco-friendly act, has become a full-blown political flap....

CA: Homeowner arrested for allegedly attacking HOA board member  A man who allegedly expressed anger against his Home Owner's Association by wielding a hammer and two-by-four at a board member was arrested by police on Wednesday....

FL: Davenport Subdvision Legacy Park Files Chapter 11  The homeowners' association for the Legacy Park subdivision in Davenport has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, mainly for an unpaid bill of more than $100,000 to the development's cable company....

TX: Lake Highlands HOA retreats on disabled vet's decals  A Lake Highlands homeowners association is backing down from a fight it picked with a retired Marine. "This has all been blown way out of proportion," Darenda Hardy, president of the Woodlands on the Creek II HOA...

OR: Drying clothes naturally
A bill that cleared the Oregon House recently would prohibit homeowner associations and condo associations from banning clotheslines in areas maintained by individual homeowners. The bill could soon reach the Senate floor....

ME: Maine woman charged with embezzling from Portsmouth condo groups
A trend of high dollar amount embezzlement cases against bookkeepers continued on Monday when local police arrested a Berwick, Maine, woman on charges she stole upward of $30,000 from two local condominium associations....

MD: No fines levied against condo building after gas leak  No fines have been levied against a condo building, evacuated after a recent carbon monoxide leak, for not having detectors as required by law....

MD: Police sorry for improper citations
Montgomery County Police are voiding parking tickets and apologizing to residents of the Fernshire Farms neighborhood in Gaithersburg after a four-year officer gave her book of parking tickets to a tow truck driver who issued them last month....