Religious Symbols Dispute Delivers an Old Message Anew: There Are Some Battles Condominium Boards Shouldn’t Fight

The English politician, Tony Benn, described war as “a failure of diplomacy.”  The same might be said of legal battles between condominium owners and community association boards; a bit more diplomacy and a lot more common sense on both sides could probably avoid most of these encounters and community associations would be better off as a result.  A recent decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, resolving a dispute over the placement of religious symbols on exterior doorways, illustrates the point.  The litigation centered on a rule the Shoreline Towers Condominium in Chicago adopted in 2001, barring the placement of “mats, boots, shoes, carts or objects of any sort” outside owners’ doors.  The purpose, board members said at the time, was to prevent clutter in the hallways.  But five years later, a new board interpreted the rule to apply to any exterior decoration — an interpretation they enforced by removing all religious signs and symbols, including the mezuzahs on the doors of Jewish residents. The affected and infuriated owners included Lynne Bloch, who, ironically, had chaired the board committee that adopted the original rule.   Read more

Protecting the Board

Say you’re a new association trustee in your condo. It’s a great honor—you’ve been recognized as a leader, and now you can try to put some of your ideas into effect. However, in your new position, you could now be sued because of your fiduciary responsibility. Rookie trustees—because so many are neither legal, real estate or insurance professionals—can easily make costly, although well-intentioned, mistakes leading to unanticipated problems. And since trustees are volunteers who usually have other jobs and other responsibilities, having to take a lot of time out of their busy schedules to appear in court is the last thing they need. Taking care of board business takes up enough time, and trustees need to be able to concentrate on their duties without having to worry about threats hanging over their heads—or having to pay for their mistakes out of their own pockets.   Read more

The Board's Dilemma:  How Can Community Associations Avoid a Funding Crisis?

How does the board of directors of a community association protect the interests of the owners? Is its primary duty to each owner or to the association as a whole? That dilemma has become increasingly difficult to resolve as the cost of properly maintaining and repairing aging homeowner association projects increases and the funds available to carry out these tasks decreases. What steps can a board take to adequately provide for the future while protecting the owners from overwhelming assessment increases? Is that even possible? These and other questions have been raised by managers and boards of directors who are trying to carry out their duties in the face of diminishing resources. This collection of articles is a sequel to our previous essay: The Uncertain Future of Community Associations.1 That discussion forecast an unhappy end to those community associations that did not adequately budget for future maintenance and repairs.  Read more  (PDF)

On the Rise, or Holding Steady?

Just like in our own personal budget, it seems that the everyday expenses of a co-op or condominium building just keep going up. Among the most prevalent cost hikes, as readers surely know, are fuel, salaries, repairs and the price of materials. Also increasing has been the cost of insurance—or has it? Co-ops and condos typically buy a variety of insurance policies. These can include general liability, umbrella liability, property, equipment breakdown, workers’ compensation, directors and officers, professional liability and fidelity bond coverage and disability benefits law coverage. On a long-term basis, insurance premiums have indeed risen, with a spike in rates especially noticeable after 9/11. During the past few years however, the market has become “soft” and premiums have actually gone down.   Read more

Need for Financing Repairs Escalates

With the aftermath of hurricanes like Wilma and Katrina (even over two years later), the escalation of foreclosures in the real estate market, and the ever increasing construction costs, there is definitely a heightened need for financing of repairs for condominium and homeowner associations.  Only a few banks that have expertise and knowledge in this area have stepped up to the plate to assist these associations, and in so doing, the banks not only fill a need, but provide a boost in the local community economy.  Through the use of loan proceeds, additional cash flow is created, thus providing more funds for purchases and new jobs.  When the costs are too much to bear by individual association residents, the homeowner and condominium associations must look elsewhere.  They are looking to banks to lend assistance in the funding of repairs, refurbishment and safety issues, so that their residents will not be negatively financially impacted.   Read more  (PDF)

Reducing Budget Expenses!

It’s that time of year again for most associations. Many budget committees are busy reviewing those first drafts of the budget submitted by their community association manager. The number one concern is almost always holding fees to a nominal increase, if any. As today’s economy faces the challenges of increasing fuel costs and medical rates rising, how does the board reduce expenses and ensure their budget is a sound instrument to guide them through the coming fiscal year? Owners, along with the board of directors, must realize first and foremost, that a budget is a plan, not a prediction. There are situations that may arise that could not have been foreseen. To help defray additional costs to the association in the event of fire, flood or other emergency situations, two things can be done when budgeting for the coming year to help in the event of these surprises. The first is to build in contingency amounts and the second is to allow for insurance deductibles that may be required to be paid by the association. This will help tremendously when an emergency situation occurs that was obviously not planned for.   Read more

An Insurance Primer for Community Associations

Risk management is the process of planning and implementing policies that will help decrease the possibility of accidental financial and physical loss to the community association. Several types of losses can occur in a community, namely, property, liability, income, and personnel. Theft, fire, wind, flood, and other catastrophes, including hurricanes, tornadoes, and hail storms, can cause property losses. Injury to another person or to another person’s property are considered liability exposures. Income exposures, by comparison, are unsound financial practices such as fraud, embezzlement, and loss of rent resulting from a covered loss of an association-owned unit. Injuries received while on the job for the community association and claims of improper employment practices are personnel losses.   Read more

Stormy Weather

The scenes are indelible: uprooted trees strewn across roadways. Windows broken. Streets flooded. Roofs torn from the homes they were designed to protect. Hurricanes are chaos machines, generating fear and destruction wherever and whenever they strike. Their after-effects can reverberate thousands of miles away and for years after they hit, especially when it comes to insurance coverage. The after-effects of the catastrophic storms that hit Florida in 2004 as well as the unforgettable aftermath of Hurricane Katrina have been felt in the form of increased premiums and policy non-renewals for millions of New England condo owners who live all along the Atlantic seaboard. These changes have made it extraordinarily difficult to secure affordable coverage—or any coverage at all—for many New Englanders.   Read more

HOA Move-In & Out Policy

Americans are a highly mobile society. Considering the amount of personal goods and furniture that many are blessed with, moving a household from one place to another efficiently takes both time and planning. When it comes to homeowner association moves, especially mid and high rise buildings, the logistics often involve coordinating with management, neighbors and others to minimize disruption. Here is a sample policy which can be adapted to your use:  Read more

How to Plan Ahead To Recruit and Train Future Association Board Members

Matthew was frustrated.  Once again his Board of Directors, at Checkered Heights, could not find anyone to serve on the board of his 50 unit homeowner's association. Sure, he knew what was going on. But with five years as the vice president he was fed up with sitting on the board. He wanted a life. They had a great property management company running things, but nothing is automatic and the budget needed annual review. The usual recruitment process was not working. The real question is, was there a recruiting process?   Read more

Accounting Truths about Reserves What Do You Really Know???

An excellent compilation of questions and answers, articles and examples to help you understand how a CPA looks at and deals with your reserve issues .  Read more (Word DOC)

More News

FL: Woman accused of stealing from Royal Lakes homeowners group   A Flowery Branch woman has been arrested for allegedly stealing more than $23,000 from the Royal Lakes Golf and Country Club homeowners association....

CO: Centennial to vote on smoking ban
At their annual meeting in December, Centennial homeowners will be asked to decide whether to enact a property-wide smoking ban at their affordable housing complex....

CT: Guilty Plea In Thefts From Newington Condo Group   A former employee of the Glen Oaks Condominium Association pleaded guilty Tuesday to illegally cashing $9,253 worth of company checks last year to feed his drug habit....

FL: Nudist condo nettles some neighbors   An apartment complex at W Hillsborough Avenue and Countryway Boulevard is going condo and - well - clothing-optional...

NC: Fake grass doesn't make the cut in neighborhood   Les Bernstein thought he had found the perfect solution to his wretched lawn....