Last Thursday, as Chair of CAI’s Colorado Legislative Action Committee, I served on a panel for a Town Hall Meeting hosted by State Representatives Angela Williams, Su Ryden, Rhonda Fields, Nancy Todd and State Senator Morgan Carroll. The topic of the evening revolved around HOAs, the problems folks living in them sometimes experience and whether Colorado law needs to be revised to address these problems.

As I listened to homeowner advocates and folks who have experienced real problems with their HOAs, three important principles for empowerment came to mind:  (1) homeowners are empowered when they are knowledgable; (2) homeowners are empowered when they participate in the governance of their HOAs; and (3) homeowners are empowered when they focus upon and are part of real and reasonable solutions.Continue Reading Knowledge, Participation and Solutions Empower Homeowners

Last week, attorney Gary Kujawski began his employment as the HOA Information Officer with the Colorado Division of Real Estate.  Since this important position has been vacant for about six months, we are thrilled to see that it has been filled and are certain that Mr. Kujawski will use his knowledge and experience in training to provide homeowners and…

One of the routine questions I receive from boards of HOAs and homeowners, is whether notice is required to be given to owners for regular and special meetings of the board.  While CCIOA requires that meetings of boards be open to owners and provides owners with a right to speak before the board takes formal action on an issue…

We occasionally get questions about whether a homeowners association should obtain its own workers’ compensation insurance, and when we recommend “Yes,” the inevitable question is “Why; we don’t have any employees?”Continue Reading Of Course You Don’t Need Workers’ Compensation Insurance – Or Do You?

I recently read an article where a homeowner was upset about her condominium association initiating foreclosure proceedings against her for her failure to pay her assessments. While people may read this article and feel sorry for the homeowner, one should keep in mind that the homeowner failed to appear at court to protect her interests and, more likely than not, failed to respond to the Association and its attorneys attempts to contact the homeowner prior to the foreclosure proceedings even being initiated. It does not appear that the homeowner is the helpless victim of the actions of a condominium association, but instead, that the homeowner apparently avoided her obligation to pay assessments and did not take any action to prevent the events that followed.   Continue Reading Before You Start Pointing Fingers….

I recently worked with a client who had purchased a property at the sheriff’s sale on a homeowners association lien.  We frequently take properties through this kind of judicial foreclosure, and so from my perspective, everything was pretty cut and dry.  The client had a lot of questions, and I found myself discussing some basic rules of real property law.  Today, I found this article about a purchaser of a property foreclosed on by an HOA, and decided it might be appropriate to set out some general information about liens and the effect of foreclosure.Continue Reading Foreclosures and Liens – Some Basics

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) has published FAQs on the latest revisions to the condominium approval guidelines that were published last Thursday in HUD Mortgagee Letter 2012-18. These latest revisions will remain in effect until August 31, 2014 – unless further extended by the Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”). 

During this period…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") has just released updated guidelines relating to FHA certification for condominium associations. Based upon a preliminary review of the new guidelines conducted by Community Associations Institute, here is an update relating to the changes:Continue Reading New FHA Condominium Guidelines Released

Those of us who specialize in community association law spend a whole lot of time at HOA board meetings. Based upon experience, I can tell you that how well a meeting is run can make a world of difference in the amount of business which gets accomplished and whether the interactions at the meeting are constructive. While board meetings are open to members and they are encouraged to attend, it’s important to remember that these meetings are held for the purpose of conducting important association business. 

I’m a huge fan of boards blowing the dust off and utilizing their HOA’s Conduct of Meetings Policy. This is one of the 9 required Responsible Governance Policies which HOAs are required to have under Colorado law. (These policies are commonly referred to as the “SB 100 Policies”). A well written Conduct of Meetings Policy will address the procedures utilized to promote productive meetings in the member meeting and board meeting settings. A well written policy should also address the ability of homeowners to speak in an open forum and prior to the board taking formal action on a matter. Continue Reading Rules of the Road for Productive Board Meetings

On Saturday morning, State Senator Linda Newell, who represents most of the South Metro Denver area, held a phenomenal Town Hall Meeting which focused on homeowners’ associations (“HOAs”) and related issues. The turnout for the meeting was excellent and the participants were there to learn and share their stories in a collaborative manner. It was my pleasure to share information about HOAs and to lead this great group of folks in discussing HOA-related issues. It was also an honor to work with Senator Newell who is one of those rare legislators who truly works across the aisle in this hyper-partisan political world we live in. 

While many issues were discussed, a noticeable trend at the Town Hall Meeting was the challenges faced by self-managed HOAs. In particular, the challenges associated with the maintenance, repair and replacement of physical components of structures the HOAs are responsible for and budgeting and setting assessments at a level necessary to meet these obligations. One homeowner shared her story of trying to sell her unit in a condominium association, only to be thwarted by the fact that the concrete patio on the back of her unit is pulling away and is in a horrible state of disrepair. This patio is the responsibility of her HOA and it doesn’t look like the HOA has the funds necessary to deal with the problem. 

 

Let’s face it; serving on the board of directors of an HOA is a big responsibility. The boards of self-managed HOAs have the same responsibilities as the boards which benefit from the advice and assistance of professional community association managers. Without the expertise of these professional community association managers, many self-managed boards struggle to obtain the information necessary to carry out their responsibilities and to fulfill their fiduciary duty to the communities they serve. 

 

So what are these folks to do? Here are some tips:Continue Reading Senator Newell’s Town Hall Meeting Highlights Challenges of Self-Managed HOAs