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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

After extensive testimony in the House Business, Labor, Economic, and Workforce Development Committee this afternoon, the HOA transfer fee bill (HB14-1254) passed out of committee, with no amendments, for consideration by the House of Representatives. The HOA transfer feel bill is sponsored by Rep. Labuda (D-Denver) and Senator Balmer (R-Centennial) and received bipartisan…

I love the fresh start of a new year. Like many people, I use the last few days of the year to reflect on accomplishments, identify areas for improvement and growth, and set goals for the next twelve months. The last week of the year often slows down enough for reflection and planning, and I can chart my course for things like client relations activities, changes to internal business practices, and training for that three-day bike ride I want to complete in July.

How does your community association plan for the year ahead? If you’re a new board member, perhaps you’re eager to begin addressing concerns that led you to volunteer in the first place. If you’re a seasoned director, you may have a project underway that you intend to see to completion. But what are your goals as a board? Is your board approaching the New Year with a unified vision and voice?Continue Reading Better Communication in 2013

As we head into the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, all of us here at Winzenburg, Leff, Purvis & Payne want to express our THANKS TO:

  • our CLIENTS for allowing us to assist with legal matters and help strengthen their communities through good governance practices, sound decision-making, and recuperation of delinquent assessments
  • the COMMUNITY MANAGERS who lend

…

This at least should be a rule through the letter-writing world: that no angry letter be posted till four-and-twenty hours will have elapsed since it was written. ~ Anthony Trollope

In my life outside of community association law practice, I volunteer with Denver Public Schools (“DPS”). On more than one occasion, my work with DPS, and in other volunteer roles, has allowed me to better relate to the challenges that association board members experience in their roles as community leaders – whether it’s the time commitment, strong emotions, opposing views, an unclear governance model, or thousands of e-mails flooding my inbox, I’ve experienced it.

Most recently, I served as co-chair for a large community committee that participated in a year-long process of monthly, and sometimes weekly, meetings. At the committee’s inception, a member of the general public submitted a Colorado Open Records Act (“CORA”) request to DPS, asking for all documents related to the committee’s work. DPS administration informed me and the rest of the steering committee of this CORA request to make us aware that the contents of our e-mails would get released to the constituent.Continue Reading Association Records: Navigating the Electronic “Paper” Trail

My son’s latest obsession is chess. He joined the chess club at school, got a new chessboard, downloaded chess apps to all the electronics he could get his hands on, and started reading strategy books. On a snow day like today, it’s no surprise that we’re spending part of the time playing chess. In the midst of our moves, I can’t help but think how the game of chess translates to the business of community associations. Whether in chess or association decision-making, the following tips come in handy:

Know the moves. Chess involves a finite number of pieces, and the basic moves are easy enough to learn. As a board member, the “pieces” and moves at your disposal are much more numerous and complex. You will need to understand the moves available to you under your association’s governing documents. You’ll also consider what the association’s budget can support, the politics and dynamics of the community, options presented by vendors, and advice from attorneys, engineers, accountants and management.Continue Reading Does Your Association Board Operate Like a Chess Master?

On March 3, 2008, the Colorado General Assembly sent this legislative session’s first piece of legislation impacting Colorado community associations to Governor Ritter for signing. Upon enactment, House Bill 08-1089 will amend the Colorado Revised Nonprofit Corporation Act to provide new default procedures for board actions taken without meetings. The new legislation aims to facilitate board actions between meetings and addresses the issue of board members who cannot or do not vote on proposed matters within the necessary time period for board action. House Bill 08-1089 will not take effect until August 6, 2008, at the earliest, and remains subject to the possibility of veto or voter referendum.
Continue Reading Update on Legislation Affecting Community Associations: Board Actions without Meeting

Community association board members fill tough roles that require a great deal of attention to association business. We understand that, as board member volunteers, you need guidance from professionals to facilitate informed decision-making, allowing you to uphold your fiduciary duties to the association that you serve. To assist you in evaluating the legal priorities for your community, we have created this Legal Audit checklist. Place a check mark in the box beside each statement that applies to your community association–and don’t forget to complete Part 1 of the Community Association Legal Audit.

My community association has . . .

?   checked that the assessments charged to individual units match the allocated interests stated for those units in the association’s governing documents.

Associations must assess individual units for budgeted expenses in accordance with the allocated interests stated in the governing documents. When we advise clients of discrepancies that we note in unit assessments and allocated interests, we sometimes hear, “We’ve always done it that way; that’s what people are used to.” If the governing documents do not align with the association’s manner of assessing owners, then past mistakes do not support future disregard for the documents.Continue Reading Community Association Legal Audit (Part 2 of 2)