WHEN CONDOMINIUM BOARD MEMBERS & COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION MANAGERS move on, they often take vital institutional knowledge with them. That’s why it’s essential to keep a running record of maintenance incidents, including pipe leaks.
COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS and their management companies are not immune from online and email fraud attempts and scams. The good news: There are steps you can take to help avoid common fraud tactics and better protect yourself and your communities. We’ve compiled some scams to watch for and tips to help avoid them.
THERE ARE MANY laws and regulations in Washington State that community associations should be aware of and prepared to address. Common area safety and electric vehicle charging are two examples that we elaborate on below.
How you handle your HOA reserve funds really makes a difference in the successful running of your association. Managing HOA reserve funds is important for the longevity and future investments of your association.
As a member of the board, it is your responsibility to stay on top of your reserve fund making sure it is regulated well and in the community’s best interests.
The novel coronavirus compelled communities to confront a number of new challenges with legal implications. The overarching challenge has been for an association to figure out its role in a completely new type of environment.
In Washington State, at least 19 people in King and Snohomish counties had been diagnosed with COVID-19 (as of noon Monday), and 9 people have died. CAI is monitoring the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus and its impact on community associations on a national level, while WSCAI is monitoring on the local level.
Running an effective homeowner’s association (HOA) board meeting is like mastering the zipper merge. When it’s performed properly, everyone knows what they’re supposed to be doing and it looks effortless. It just takes preparation and some practice to get it right.
As a child I was fascinated by maps. My mom would buy the Thomas Guide every year and I would actually spend hours thumbing through it just for fun (for you young pups out there, the Thomas Guide is what your parents would use to find a Saturday garage sale before GPS was invented). If I had a class in school that involved marking up a map with landmarks, capitols, rivers and mountain ranges, I was confident I’d be acing that project. Dora the Explorer and her map have nothing on me. So how lucky am I, as an adult, to have a job where I can spend time pouring over maps; plat maps that is!
This article explains the key requirements for communities to maintain their status—and special legal privileges—as “housing for older persons,” which is of greater importance as the population ages.
Budgeting for bad debt is something that associations should consider doing even in the best of times. Saying that associations need only budget for uncollected assessments in a down economy would be as shortsighted as… well, not budgeting for uncollected assessments.
