Month: September 2019

Who doesn’t love dogs? When they’re barking all day, defecating in common areas, or worse — lots of people. This week’s article provides community association boards and their managers some valuable guidance for handling dog-related issues. Dogs can get the neighbors’ dander up in numerous ways. “The handling of dog waste is probably the number-one…

Even the most ardent dog lovers can get fed up with their neighbors’ pooches, and no one knows that better than the boards of directors and managers who must field the resulting complaints. With so many dog owners thinking of Fido as a member of the family, the proper response calls for a sensitive touch.…

Hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, wildfires, and thunderstorms, hail storms, and other kinds of freak storms — no community association is immune to disasters these days. Most boards of directors recognize this, but they may find the very idea of disaster planning and response intimidating. This week’s article explains how managers can help their boards reduce the…

While few doubt the importance of disaster preparedness for community associations, boards of directors can find it daunting. And rightly so — well-intentioned boards can make emergency planning and response mistakes that ultimately cause more damage and even leave them open to liability. It’s up to association managers to provide some critical guidance and help…

You’ve probably seen it before — an owner adds some type of restrictive endorsement in the memo portion of a check in hopes of pulling a fast one. This week’s article explains how a condo association in Ohio has now spent years in court as a result of such an endorsement. The case provides some…

Attorney Daniel Miske, of Milwaukee, Wis., firm Husch Blackwell LLP, calls them “professional debtors” — the kind of people who try to evade their financial obligations by, for example, getting cute with the endorsements on their payment checks. An owner in Ohio dragged a condo association through years of litigation because of such an endorsement.…

Maybe your boards like cumulative voting because it strikes them as fair. Perhaps they haven’t even thought about it and just continue the practice because “we always have.” Or maybe they’re thinking about adopting it now. If any of your clients are in one of these scenarios, they need to know the full picture about…

Cumulative voting for board elections isn’t common, but community associations that do use it should take the time to evaluate whether it’s the right path to continue to follow. On its face, it might seem fairly democratic. In reality, it can give place too much power in some voters’ hands — including voters who don’t…