2014

Please join me for a free Legislative Update on HOA legislation which was signed into law during the 2014 legislative session in Colorado.  I will also provide on update on the latest information you need to know about the licensure of community association managers and what we might expect during the 2015 legislative session.  This Legislative Update, hosted by the Aspen Pitkin County…

For a court to have authority to make legal decisions and enter a judgment against someone, the court must have both personal and subject matter jurisdiction over that person.  Subject matter jurisdiction involves the court’s ability or power to hear certain types of cases, whereas personal jurisdiction is the court’s power over a particular party.  The court obtains personal jurisdiction over a defendant when the plaintiff obtains proper service of process of the summons and other related documents, including the complaint.  Service of process is the way by which a party receives notice of the initiation of the litigation and is thereby afforded an opportunity to respond.

Continue Reading Service of Process – What is it?

The Colorado Division of Real Estate has just published FAQs to address questions relating to manager licensure.  The FAQs provide excellent information pertaining to who needs to be licensed, the timeline for the licensure process, steps managers must take to apply for licensure, the credential and testing requirements relating to licensure and other important information. …

We frequently hear people say that common areas are owned by their association. And, while that is true in many cases, it is not true when referring to condominiums. In fact, the single fact distinguishing condominiums from any other type of common interest community is how the property making up the project, other than the individual units, is owned.
Continue Reading Whose Land is it Anyway? And Why do we Care?

I’m the granddaughter of Midwestern dairy farmers who grew up during the Great Depression, and my parents own a small town HVAC/plumbing business. As a child, I often heard some version of the following: “I can make that.” “We don’t need to hire someone. I can fix it.” “Why would we pay someone for that work? I can do it myself.” With this do-it-yourself attitude ingrained in my psyche, I can’t help but feel guilty when I need to call a plumber to unclog a drain or when I hire someone to clean my house. The frugality—and wherewithal—that my parents and grandparents modeled for me certainly left an impression. Yet I’ve also come to realize that my life sometimes requires different choices.

Yes, I can play plumber and unclog a sink drain. I’ve done it: I’ve gathered the equipment, removed U-traps, brushed pipes clean, disposed of clogged pipe nastiness, and put everything back together. Sometimes I’ve succeeded. But on other occasions I’ve removed the drain stopper and struggled to get it reconnected, or, as one of my college roommates will recount, my work has resulted in leaks where I could not get the old mismatched pipes to fit securely. Yes, I’ve played plumber and channeled my inner DIY-er, but I’m not a plumber. I would not offer to fix someone else’s drain, and I most definitely would not venture into my HOA’s clubhouse armed with a plunger and pipe putty.Continue Reading This Lawyer is Not a Plumber: Are you hiring the right professionals to serve your association?

I recently prepared a package of the nine mandatory policies for a community association. The board of that association read the policies very carefully and sent back a number of questions, asking why I had drafted various provisions the way I had, or why I had included them at all.

When drafting the mandatory policies, there is no single source. The “nine mandatory policies” or “SB-100” policies originate from Senate Bill 05-100 signed into law in 2005. Originally there were seven mandatory policies, with the dispute resolution requirement added in 2006 and the reserve study requirement added in 2009. Since SB-100 became law there have also been many other additions and amendments to the Colorado Common Interest Act (CCIOA) and Colorado Revised Nonprofit Act that affect these policies.Continue Reading Where do governance policies come from?

The community association manager class presented by Winzenburg, Leff, Purvis & Payne, which was originally scheduled for this Wednesday (July 9th), has been rescheduled for Wednesday, July 16th at noon.  We hope you will join us next Wednesday for "Everything you need to know about Board of Directors Meetings."  If you have not already signed up attend this free teleconference class on Colorado law, please contact Allison Grout at agrout@wlpplaw.com…

Have you signed up for our free manager classes on Colorado law yet?

As previously blogged by Lindsay Smith, Winzenburg, Leff, Purvis & Payne, LLP is offering free lunchtime teleconference classes for community association managers designed to help prepare managers to take the Colorado law portion of the licensing examination.  The next class is scheduled for July 9…

It is not uncommon for homeowners to wonder where all their dues are going.  Some owners might see their dues go up with no visible changes to the property and even get suspicious.  Of course, associations often bear a lot of expenses that are not directly related to property condition, such as insurance, management, and…

If you have ever served on the board of directors of an HOA, you know that some members are never happy to see their annual assessments increased.  In fact, some folks can be downright hostile when faced with an increase.  This can even be true when an assessment increase is absolutely necessary to adequately fund reserves to be financially prepared to handle major repairs and replacements to association common elements.   

When boards are unwilling to propose essential assessment increases or members are unwilling to ratify budgets with these increases, it is not uncommon to see a couple of things happen.  First, these associations tend to defer routine maintenance on common elements which reduces the remaining useful life of components like roofs, siding and asphalt.  Second, these associations may not have enough funds in reserves to cover the costs associated with these major repairs and replacements.  In such cases, without levying a special assessment or obtaining a loan to cover the associated costs, the infrastructure of these communities will begin to erode and eventually fall apart.Continue Reading Failing to Reserve and Deferred Maintenance is a Recipe for Disaster