January 2012

As I mentioned this morning in an earlier blog posting, data on complaints received by the HOA Information Office during 2011 was published in the Colorado Real Estate News. Again, to be clear, the information published was a synopsis of complaint information and is not the actual report which the HOA Information Officer is soon expected to deliver to the Director of the Division of Real Estate.  However, the information is published by the Department of Regulatory Agencies ("DORA") and here are some items I found particularly interesting:Continue Reading Synopsis of Data on HOA Complaints to the HOA Information Office

Many of us in the HOA industry in Colorado have been anxiously awaiting publication of information regarding the report from the HOA Information Officer to the Director of the Division of Real Estate on complaints received relating to HOAs.  A synopsis of findings of the HOA Information Center on complaints was just published in the Colorado Real Estate News.   …

Last year during the 2011 legislative session, Representative Cindy Acree was successful in passing House Bill 11-1110 to address open meetings and transparency in governance for “Residential Nonprofit Corporations.” As originally drafted, the bill would have included homeowners’ associations (“HOAs”) that were similarly regulated under the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (“CCIOA”). Since this wasn’t the intent of the bill, Representative Acree specifically excluded HOAs from the definition of "Residential Nonprofit Corporations" and focused upon independent senior living facilities. Continue Reading Bill Introduced to Address Open Meetings for Residential Nonprofit Corporations

Have you ever had an opportunity to review minutes of a meeting, and from what is written, you are able to create a mental picture of who was actually speaking and what they were saying? Not only that, from the words written, you can glean the emotion with which everything was said and delivered. That’s all well and good for writing a novel, but it is the exact opposite of what should be done when preparing minutes.

Minutes should be minutes, not hours. That’s what we say when we are provided with a copy of the minutes of a board meeting or members’ meeting and they go on for pages and pages, with a transcription of everything said and the demeanor in which it was said.Continue Reading Minutes Should Be Minutes, Not Hours

In my posting yesterday, I blogged on 2012 New Year Resolutions for directors of HOAs with an emphasis on their personal development as leaders of their communities. In that posting, I invited board members to provide me with governance topics they would like us to blog on. One of the first responses I received was a great one that dealt with the often misunderstood topic of executive sessions. Continue Reading HOA Boards and Executive Session: What You Need to Know

Last year at this time, I blogged on recommended New Year Resolutions for HOA boards. In that posting, I focused on boards taking a serious look at the fiscal health of their communities and their plans to fund reserves. While that posting was based upon policy issues, I thought it would be worthwhile this year to address the individual development of directors with a focus upon excellence. With that in mind, here are some New Year Resolutions directors of homeowners’ associations (“HOAs”) may want to consider:Continue Reading 2012 New Year Resolutions for HOA Directors