Hellmuth & Johnson attorney, Phaedra Howard discusses various topics with HOALeader.com:
Condo/HOA Project Is Reserved and Budgeted: Any Further Action Needed Before It Begins?
An HOAleader.com reader asks: “It has been the past practice of the board to forego any specific approval of projects that are included in the reserve study and are within the annual budget for the relevant category. Is this an acceptable way to approve expenses?”
Read full article here.
Did This Condo Board Fail to Accept a Win and Create a Bigger Problem?
We received a copy of a lawsuit an owner in Massachusetts filed against their condo.
Our thought: This board didn’t know when to accept victory and move on.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Before we ask our experts if they think the same, here’s the skinny that led to this lawsuit.
Read full article here.
A Worrisome Trend for Condo/HOA Boards Is Emerging in State Legislatures
Have you been watching news from state legislators across the country? You should be because they often don’t understand how condos and HOAs work, yet they plow through with legislation that makes your job harder.
It’s actually a trend.
The latest example comes from California, where legislators enacted a new law that became effectively immediately that capped fines at HOAs to $100. This is similar to changes made to Colorado law in 2022. And just a few months ago, Minnesota lawmakers imposed a dispute resolution system on condos and HOAs that’s drawing attention.
Read full article here.
Check Out These Holy Cow Provisions In a Condo/HOA Onsite Manager’s Contract
We saw a board member ask whether it’s normal for an onsite association manager’s contract to say that it requires a unanimous board vote to terminate the contract, that the manager will get severance if they’re terminated, and the contract is indefinite unless terminated.
Yowza. Our experts say these provisions need a second look. Let’s take each separately.
Read full article here.
Two Female HOA Board Members Say the Three Males Don’t Follow the Law: What Now?
In this week’s tip, we answer an HOAleader.com reader’s question about an apparently rogue board that the reader believes is divided by gender.
According to our reader, the majority, all men, often provide no notice of meetings or cancelled meetings or decisions they’ve made. And the women are fed up.
Read full article here.
How Can the Minority on this HOA Board Get the Majority Back on Track?
An HOAleader.com reader asks: “I’m a board member and secretary of our association. It’s a divided board of two women and three men, with the men ALWAYS making the decisions and acting on them and not communicating with the women beforehand (who are very intelligent and successful in field of architecture and education and real estate).”
Real full article here.
5 Tips for Smart Condo/HOA Camera System Policies and Procedures
An online poster asks: For those who have security cameras, do you have a written policy in place? When do videos get reviewed? Who has access to view activity? Is it video and audio?
Read full article here.