2016

Congratulations to Molly Ryan of Metro Property Management, Inc. and Jared Theis of Community Management Specialists, Inc.!  You are the winners of our mint julep baskets.  We will be in contact with you shortly so you can claim your prizes.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by to see us at the CAI-RMC Spring Showcase.  We…

Board members often ask us, “What is the standard of conduct for the board of a common interest community?”  The standard of conduct is known as the Business Judgment Rule.  According to this rule of law, actions taken by directors of a nonprofit corporation in good faith, that are within the powers of the corporation, and that reflect a reasonable and honest exercise of judgment, are valid actions in accordance with the Business Judgment Rule.  Not only does the Business Judgment Rule provide a standard by which directors can measure their conduct, it also provides a legal defense to many claims against the association.Continue Reading The Business Judgment Rule

It’s time for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of CAI’s Spring Showcase!  In honor of the Kentucky Derby, the theme this year is Race to Success.  Winzenburg, Leff, Purvis & Payne will be exhibiting and we hope you will stop by booth 515 to say hello and to enter a drawing for two Mint Julep Baskets.  Come and hang out…

HOA transfer fees are getting some attention in the news again this week. In particular, news coverage has focused on demands that HOA property management companies provide invoices for the transfer fees charged to buyers or sellers of properties within HOAs. There is good news for buyers and sellers in HOAs: access to transfer fee information is already available.

What exactly are transfer fees? Colorado statutes address transfer fees in the three following ways that are relevant to HOAs and their members:

  1. The Colorado Revised Nonprofit Corporation Act expressly authorizes nonprofit corporations to impose transfer fees upon their members unless the articles of incorporation provide otherwise. Most HOAs are formed as nonprofit corporations and have this right to impose transfer fees.
  2. The real property statutes prohibit certain transfer fee covenants, such as those intended to benefit a person or entity who does not hold an interest in the property burdened by the covenant. But transfer fee covenants for fees payable to homeowner associations are not prohibited and are recognized by statute as valid fees.
  3. Community association management companies typically contract with the HOAs they manage to charge transfer fees to the buyers or sellers of properties within those communities. The community association manager statutes and licensing rules impose explicit requirements on managers concerning these transfer fees. Those statutes and rules are the good news for buyers and sellers, and all owners, who want to know what transfer fees apply in their HOAs.

So what rights do owners, buyers, and sellers have to access transfer fee information?Continue Reading HOA Transfer Fees: Access to Information Available Now

A managing agent’s duties to the association can arise out of the common law relationship of an agent to a principal, or by virtue of the contractual relationship between the managing agent and the association, or both. In the same manner that the board has a fiduciary duty to the association and its members, the managing agent, as the agent, has a fiduciary duty to the association as the principal in all matters connected with the agency relationship.Continue Reading Duties of the Managing Agents and Liability for Failure to Carry Out Those Duties

Along with Matt Green from CAI National and Eric Turner from the Colorado Division of Real Estate, yesterday I participated in CAI’s Legislative Update Lunch & Learn in Fort Collins.  While Matt did an outstanding job, I suspect the information which Eric Turner shared relating to manager licensure was particularly interesting to the managers in attendance.  Here are highlights…

House Bill 16-1201 ("HB 1201"), which was introduced by Representative Yeulin Willett (R-Grand Junction) to address a gaping loophole used by folks to keep a dog in HOAs which ban them, was killed by the Democrats in the House Health, Insurance & Environment Committee last week on a 7 to 6 party line vote.

HB 1201 would have regulated how licensed professionals in…

Yesterday, Senate Bill 16-082 ("SB 82") was killed in the Senate Business, Labor & Technology Committee ("Business Committee") by the Republicans on a party line vote. As you will recall from an earlier blog posting, Senator Morgan Carroll introduced SB 82 to protect folks living in HOAs from retaliation when they report an alleged violation of their association’s governing documents…