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Condo | HOA Lawyers

Jeffery Kaman

Jeffrey E. Kaman is the Administration Department and Columbus Office Chairs. Jeff earned his law degree from the Cleveland Marshall College of Law, after graduating with honors from Loyola University Chicago with degrees in Honors History and Political Science.

Jeffrey Kaman

When the Board Decides to Raise Late Fees – Keep It Reasonable

With increasing postage rates and other costs, some boards are considering raising the association’s administrative “late fee” assessed to delinquent owners.  When an owner fails to make timely required payments some administrative actions are taken including account reviews, second billing statements, and the sending of delinquency reports to legal counsel.  Ohio Condominium and homeowner associations […]

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Ten Percent Into Reserves Is NOT The Law For Condominiums

The 2004 amendments to the Ohio Condominium Act placed often confusing and misleading language into the reserve requirement stating “…provided that the amount set aside annually for reserves shall not be less than 10% of the budget for that year…” This language is commonly misunderstood to mean that condominium associations only have to fund reserves

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Infection Within the Community By Jeffrey E. Kaman, Esq.

If a member of the community association becomes infected with COVID-19, first and foremost the board and professional management should take guidance from the local health department, and defer to them on when and how to communicate the issue to the public or other residents.  Infections within buildings that share access points and common elements

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COVID-19 Community Association Legal Resource Guide

Community associations represent a significant portion of our population and an even more significant portion of high density residential areas. So, preparing for and administering a community during the present pandemic and state of emergency provides community association boards with unique challenges.  Community associations generally do not have a legal duty to protect the health

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Dos and Don’ts for Amendment Votes

Amendments to the Declaration and Bylaws will keep the documents current under the law and reflect the actual operation and administration of the community.  Despite these positive purposes, rounding up owner votes can sometimes be slow and tedious.  Following are some Dos and Don’ts to encourage owners to vote and to keep the votes rolling

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Signature Cards Must Be Up To Date

Signature cards are used by banks to verify that the party using an account actually has authority to use the account.  These accounts include, but are not limited to, the association’s operating accounts, reserve accounts, certificate of deposit accounts, and money market accounts.  One of the more commonly missed steps following the election or appointment

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Does the association have the power to require owners to provide the name, address, and phone number of tenants?

On this topic, the law is different for condominium associations and home owner associations. Ohio Revised Code 5311.09 requires condominium owners to provide contact information regarding both themselves and tenants of the condominium to the board.  Specifically, the statute requires owners to report the following information: The owner’s physical home address The owner’s home and

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Safeguarding Association Reserve Funds over $250,000.00

Since the passage of the Ohio Condominium Act in 2004 and the Ohio Planned Community Act in 2010, Ohio’s community associations have been building reserve funds to repair and replace major capital items without the need for special assessments.  Fortunately, many associations have built substantial reserve funds and are now more financially sound than ever. 

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