Summary Not following ALL of the required procedures when preparing amendments to your association governing documents can be VERY expensive. Take the time, money and effort to do it right. The Facts In 2015 the board for Forest Lakes Master Association distributed notice that it would be holding a vote to amend its voting procedure […]
The Business Judgment Rule can be a great protection for condo and HOA boards—but only if the board is following the documents. Facts. The Declaration for an HOA stated that the Board had the discretion to raise the “maximum annual assessment” without a vote of the homeowners as long as it was “in an amount
How is the Business Judgment Rule Applied to Board Actions? Read More »
The Board of Directors always has the power to make and amend Rules and Regulations on its own, without owner approval…right? Wrong. The Board’s rule-making power and authority completely depends upon what authority is given by the Declaration and Bylaws, and as we know, all associations’ Declarations and Bylaws are different! This is true in
Know What is in Your Documents—The Board Might Not Have the Authority You Think it Does… Read More »
A unit owner sought to expand their unit by building additional living space on the roof of the association. The declaration, like all declarations, defined the various units and their locations. Unlike many declarations, this one allowed top floor unit owners to expand their units on the roof of the building. Expanding a unit would,
Declaration Amendment – Sometimes There is No Other Way to Accomplish Something Read More »
As Condominium and HOA attorneys, we often receive questions from our clients dealing with all the issues that can get in the way of conducting a successful annual meeting. Most often, it is the issue of not being able to achieve a quorum of owners in attendance—which stymies the Association’s ability to hold Board member
Summary Your Association should ensure that the language and definitions in governing documents reflect the intentions of the Association. If they don’t, amend them, don’t just pretend they say something they don’t say Facts Sunburst Farms East (the “Association”) is a residential community consisting of four sections with individual lots (Sections 2, 3, 4, and
The Language Used in Documents, Amendments and Motions Matters Read More »
Does your condominium or homeowners association (HOA) have owners who don’t pay their assessments? Owners are finding more excuses to avoid paying their assessments. Filing multiple bankruptcies, submitting payments with conditional language, NSF payments, claiming they don’t owe since they don’t use the common elements. . . The list goes on and on. So how
Dealing with Sophisticated Debtors Read More »
Facts The dispute in this case centered on what rights owners of lots that did not have frontage on a lake (“Non-Lake Lot Owners”) had to place a dock in the lake based on the restrictive rights for their homeowner’s association (“HOA”) which were recorded in 1922. The HOA consisted of 146 lots. All Non-Lake
HOAs & Riparian Rights-Can I Put a Dock Here? Read More »
You have moved into an association or just got elected to the Board of your association and you are wondering – now what? The answer is simple: you need to at least know what documents you have, what they say, and what they should say. The Question is, “Are the documents that we have –
Condo Association & HOA Documents in Less Than 1 Minute Read More »
Summary Earlier this year, I blogged on the case of Johnson v. Board of Directors of Forest Lakes Master Association, 454 P.3d 623 (2019) unpublished (Kansas) and explained how improperly passing and/or filing amendments can be VERY expensive. This is true in every state, and today we learn of another way that amendment errors can
Improper Amendments Are VERY Expensive Read More »
