Month: October 2018

Mold in any property can present multiple serious health issues. It has been a controversial issue at residential properties in particular, because it can cause serious health problems and be expensive to remediate. Mold prevention techniques and effective remediation of existing mold should be high on your list of maintenance and safety concerns. But perhaps the biggest concern for the community association is the issue of responsibility for mold-related problems.

The financial health of an association depends in large part on monthly payments from members. Those payments are integral because they pay for the services and amenities the members expect and are entitled to. Unfortunately, whether it’s because of financial difficulties or a dispute, sometimes you’ll encounter a member who doesn’t make his monthly payment of assessments. While it seems like just one member failing to contribute is a minor issue, in reality, he harms the entire community.

Facts: A homeowners association was formed in 2013 to govern several homes, which then became a planned community. The association began to charge a yearly fee of $300 to its members, which was used to maintain and repair the only common areas in the association—a road and a gate installed on the roadway. The homeowners were made aware of the $300 per year assessment fee via a hand-delivered letter and a mailed letter. None of the homeowners responded with an objection immediately.

There’s good news for community association managers across the country: For the seventh time in 13 years, Americans living in homeowners associations (HOAs) and condominiums say they’re satisfied in their communities. According to the 2018 Homeowner Satisfaction Survey, conducted by Zogby Analytics for the Foundation for Community Association Research (FCAR), the majority of survey respondents say their association’s rules protect and enhance their property values.

Aside from paint colors, maintenance, or hotly contested board elections, planned communities in various parts of Florida have an additional concern compared to those that are land-locked: rising sea levels.

A Florida homeowners association cut down two palm trees to remove a pro-Donald Trump campaign sign after a homeowner refused to take it down. After the sign was removed and the trees were cut down, the homeowner responded by hanging additional signs and Trump flags on his home.

A law allowing political signs in planned communities has come as a surprise to some Columbia, Mo., homeowners living in neighborhoods run by associations. The law prohibits bans on political yard signs, which is in sharp contrast to widely accepted sign bans.

Now, members of associations are calling community managers to inform them of the legislation so they can post signs.

A Florida homeowners association has sued a mayoral candidate, accusing him of authorizing a company to perform maintenance projects in the community, setting the prices, and then receiving kickbacks from the company while he served on a landscaping committee as part of his tenure on the association board.

Associations, whether large or small, depend heavily on money to operate. Every aspect of keeping a community safe and running smoothly has a cost associated with it. Too often, associations make the news for negative financial reasons—fraud, bankruptcy, or other shortfalls that disrupt the community. However, an association that’s being run effectively combined with a strong local economy could have more money than expected. That’s great news for the association, but it creates the question of how that budgetary surplus should be used.

If the board of directors of the community association you manage has the authority to approve or deny proposed leasing and sales transactions, you might be wondering whether, if there is a denial, you should disclose the reasons behind it. And, if so, what is the best way.