Editors Note:  The Community Associations Network will be changing it's outbound (SMTP) mail server this week, so that the next edition will hit your e-mail in-box from a new address.  We will be sending out a special note with the new e-mail address so that you may add it to your address book or whatever you have to do to allow it into your in-box through your spam-blocking software.

What is "Due Process"

In case you missed it, there has been a discussion on the web among HOA practitioners about what is required with regard to hearings in HOAs and how "due process" is a factor. The first thing you should all know is what "due process" means. 

"Due process (more fully due process of law) is the principle that the government must respect all of the legal rights that are owed to a person according to the law of the land. As developed through a large body of case law in the United States, this principle gives individuals a varying ability to enforce their rights against alleged violations by governments and their agents (that is, state actors), but normally not against other private citizens ... Due process has also been frequently interpreted as placing limitations on laws and legal proceedings, in order for judges instead of legislators to define and guarantee fundamental fairness, justice, and liberty. ..." (www.wikipedia.org - my emphasis)

 It may help to understand that HOAs and Condo Associations are not really "State Actors" because they are not public or governmental agencies. Even so, there are some situations where they have been put in that category by judges, and certainly, legislators and others discussing HOA and Condo issues have used the term pretty freely so I will just go with the idea that "due process" in the context of HOAs and Condos means fundamental fairness.   Read more

Things I know Now... I Wish I'd Known Then

It’s been a few years but some of you may remember previous articles I’ve written with this same title.  I do so because with time has come wisdom and I have learned a lot of things that I wish I had known back when I started as a manager because it would have made life so much easier. Here are some things I know now I wish I'd known then:  Embrace Change. "Change management" is the unsung skill of the community manager, as they continually balance what was with what is with what is going to be within the communities they manage. This skillful ability to manage continual change (this week's Board is next week's has-beens) is a skill for which community managers are seldom appreciated.  Read more

Real Money Saving Ideas for Real Community Associations

Everyone is talking about saving money and cutting expenses in these hard economic times. But what does that really mean to you and your association? How does an association cut expenses? I don’t know very many associations that have extra money to spend; most struggle just to pay the basic operating expenses. With assessment income down and operating expenses up, many associations are finding it hard to pay vendors and continue services. Here are a few real, inexpensive ways to save a little – and perhaps a lot of - money.   Read more

Photo Op HOA Reserves

A reserve study identifies a homeowner association's future repairs and replacements like a snapshot in time. Imagine that you could picture the buildings and grounds as they would be in five, ten, even thirty years. A reserve study acts just like that by estimating the useful life of the common elements and the cost to replace them in the future based on current cost adjusted by inflation.   Read more

Financial Reports: The Need, the Problem and the Solution

The oldest surviving forms of the Greek language are crude scratchings on clay tablets found buried in the ruins of ancient Greek palaces destroyed 3,200 years ago. Known as Linear B, this primitive script does not recount Homeric deeds nor record mythological fables nor preserve primitive philosophy. Translated, these ancient tablets tell us "Kokalos repaid the following quantity of olive oil to Eumedes...648 liters." Hardly soaring prose, this passage would fit perfectly in your association's financial reports beside the journal entry "Arthur Koenig/Reimbursement for carport damage...$543.92." What did these illiterate barbarian kings over three thousand years before the California Civil Code have in common with your board of directors?   Read more

Seven Primary Condominium Financial Issues in a Distressed Economy

We are living in desperate economic times and no person, business or condominium association is immune from the effects of our distressed economy. In fact, condominium associations have seen an explosion of economic related issues in recent months adversely affecting the operation of their association.   From unit owners failing to pay monthly assessments and increased unit foreclosure filings, budgetary issues are a topic at virtually every board meeting; however, with sound decisions and policies, condominium boards can mitigate the effects of the seven primary financial issues in a  distressed economy.   Read more

9 Things You Need To Know About Homeowner's Associations

[Good article from the Denver Post about things buyers need to consider when moving into an HOA] 

FL: Lenders' latest foreclosure strategy: waiting
Across Florida, tens of thousands of foreclosed homes are being left in limbo, between homeowners who have abandoned them and banks that have not yet taken possession of them....

VA: Beset by woes, Norfolk condo owners left in lurch
But the vibrant East Ocean View community that developers envisioned six years ago has not materialized....

IL: Mold making condo less than a home
The condominium association has been locked in litigation with the building's general contractor, developer and eight subcontractors for more than a year, trying to recoup more than $8 million to pay for the repairs....

TX: HOA Fight May Cause Loss Of Services
The Village at Woodlake Condominiums were once a prime place to live on the city's northeast side off of FM 78. But now, the pool is closed and the complex is in danger of losing some basic services because of a fight involving the homeowners' association....

CA: HOA to cut amenities for residents delinquent on fees
Residents who are delinquent on their homeowners association fees will be denied access to community amenities and community-based Internet and e-mail access unless they bring their accounts current...

WA: Sudden Valley to crack down on delinquent dues payers
The Sudden Valley Community Association will get tough on delinquent property owners by taking legal action against those with unpaid dues....

NV: New Rules Help HOA's Maintain, Collect
No matter where the location, a foreclosed home affects other homes on the block. Now, HOA's have some recourse....

MN: Homeowners Drop Lawsuit Against Mason City
The Pebble Creek Homeowners Association and the city of Mason City were set to go to trial Wednesday, but the homeowners are giving up...

AZ: Viewpoint homeowners win case against RCSC
The members of the Viewpoint Lake Homeowners Association have won their case against the the Recreation Centers of Sun City....

IL: Condo's tax bill reduced but still not paid
For the condo owners at 1120 Lake St., there's some good news and some bad news....

OH: Willowick condo owners won't pay twice for trash
After more than three months, Willowick condominium owners now know that their rubbish removal will be taken care of - without paying twice...

TX: Damaged condo complex goes unrepaired months after Hurricane Ike
Take a tour of The Landing condominiums in El Lago on Clear Lake, and what you'll see looks like the way Hurricane Ike left it 10 months ago: a washed-ashore boat still sits in the parking lot, the pool is filled with a greenish mix, and some of the residents...

CO: Aspen/Pitkin County Housing looks to get tough on unpaid homeowner dues
The Aspen/Pitkin County Housing Authority is poised to take a hard line with owners of employee housing who refuse to pay homeowner dues....

WA: Goats arrive to landscape Issaquah Highlands hillsides
Issaquah Highlands Community Association Landscape Manager Russ Ayers said he and his colleagues hoped for the goats to cut down on unsightly, unwanted vegetation....

TN: Water harvesting idea has some in Lake Tansi on edge
But members of the POA worry there is not enough information about the project and possible effects on the lake and community....

MD: Residents call for new board amid accusations
Residents of the North Sherwood Forest Homeowners Association say some of its board and management have used money given to them for the nearby Intercounty Connector to hire an attorney to enforce alleged property violations....

FL: Community associations confront squatters
Has a squatter moved into your community? That's the case for The Circle Villa Condominium Association in Lauderhill. "We have at least several unit-owner squatters and one renter squatter," said Dorine Neal, president of the 96-unit condo association. "The nu...

DC: The City Forces Developers to Sell Cheap Condos. But Can You Find Them?
Peltzer's now informing all of her friends about the affordable-condo process' which is key because the average D.C. real-estate agent doesn't know or isn't talking about the deals. Nor is the average developer, it seems, or the average city housing officia...

FL: Condo partially built in Brunswick without permit
A partially built condominium on Brunswick's main gateway was constructed without a city permit or a state-mandated general contractor's license....