When townhome or condominium owners do work inside or outside of their unit, it could impact the Association. Some issues that need to be discussed and addressed if they will affect the Association are:
1. Will it adversely affect building systems? Example: might water overflow to another unit?
2. Cosmetic issues: will it affect the …
Many states have enacted Megan’s Laws which allow for public notification of convicted sex offender presence within the community. In Colorado, individuals may obtain information about sex offenders through the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s website and through local law enforcement. The CBI website permits any private citizen to search his or her zip code and find the whereabouts of sex offenders that fall into the following categories: sexually violent predator, multiple offender, and failed to register. Other sex offenders are not listed on the website but citizens may request their information from local authorities.
In some cases, where the court determines that the sex offender poses a predatory risk to the community, the court may require community notification of the offender’s presence. Community notification consists of a community meeting to which community members, schools, senior citizens, and recreation facilities in the area where the sex offender intends to locate receive a direct invitation. At the community notification meeting, local law enforcement personnel present educational information about sex offenders, risks to the community, and cautionary steps that parents and children may take to protect themselves, and then reveal the identifying information about the sexually violent predator. Community notification only occurs in the most extreme cases. In most, if not all, cases, offenders are only released into the community after they have served a criminal sentence, undergone evaluations, and participated in some form of rehabilitation. Continue Reading Sex Offenders in My Neighborhood?
The good faith acts of directors of profit or non-profit corporations which are within the powers of the corporation and within the exercise of an honest business judgment are valid. Rywalt v. Writer Corp, 526 P.2d 316, 317 (Colo. App. 1974).
It is educational to review the Rywalt case, above, to show the deference the courts will give to Board decisions. In this case, a group of homeowners sued the Association in an attempt to prevent the Association from entering into an agreement with the developer to build a second tennis court on the common area close to the plaintiffs’ homes. The cost of the tennis court would be borne by the developer. The plaintiffs argued, among other things, that the Association’s decision was arbitrary and capricious. Continue Reading Court Deference to Board Business Decisions
One thing about this business – it is full of surprises. One surprise that occasionally comes to light during our course of representing an association has to do with how common expenses are shared. The declaration of restrictive covenants (which imposes the obligation to pay assessments) should describe how expenses of the association are allocated. In fact, CCIOA mandates that the declaration must allocate the various types of allocated interests: the allocation of voting rights; the allocation of burden of common expenses; and in condominiums, the ownership of the undivided interests in the common elements. In a couple of cases recently we’ve discovered that an association is allocating common expenses in a manner that is different from how the declaration specifies.Continue Reading Assessments According to the Declaration – Who Cares?
A question we are frequently asked by associations is how strictly they should enforce their covenants. This was exactly the dilemma faced by a small patio home community located in North West Denver. Apparently a homeowner had painted her house golden yellow. The color was not unattractive – it actually looked quite nice – but it was clearly not one of the earth tone colors approved by the association. After some investigation by the Association’s Board of Directors, it became apparent that this was an honest mistake by the homeowner. She was new to the community and was unaware that she was restricted in her color choices. Although she was also willing to work with the Association to correct things, money was an issue. She had recently experienced some serious personal problems and could not afford to repaint her house. This is when I received a call from the Board’s president asking “What should we do?”Continue Reading Covenant Enforcement – The Golden Rule
Do you or your manager ever receive calls from your members about a domestic violence problem between other residents in your community? How about speeding in the public streets? What about the wild party with all the noise and disturbance at 2:00 a.m.? WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?! Well, you’re the Association, after all; ENFORCE THE !@##$@@ COVENANTS!! TAKE CARE OF THE PROBLEM!!Continue Reading Why Call The Police When Your Association Can Handle the Problem?
Issue: A large homeowners association is looking to make repairs to the common area fences within the community. What options are available to them to finance this project?
Background: Recently, the Board of Directors of a large homeowners association called our office to discuss a problem. It seems that they had common area fences that were fairly old and in desperate need of some TLC. Unfortunately they did not have any funds available to make the necessary repairs. Pursuant to the Association’s covenants, the Board was severely restricted in the amount it could set for the annual assessments each year (without approval of at least 2/3 of the members, the covenants limited the annual assessment to a 10% increase from the previous year). As a consequence, the Association’s reserve fund was nearly empty. The Board had tried on several occasions to get the members to approve a special assessment, but it was turned down each time. The Board was now wondering what options it had available to pursue.Continue Reading Financing Repairs to the Common Elements
HELLO all board members, homeowners, and those interested in HOA law. As part of a regular feature on the blog, I will be posting a recap of an important (and hopefully interesting) issue that has been recently addressed by our office. Since we find that the same issues tend to repeat themselves often, it is likely that you will read something your association has faced in the past. I hope you find this feature both informational and entertaining.
This weeks topic: Who pays the deductible on the Association’s insurance policy?
A few weeks ago this question was posed to us by a mid-size condominium association following a water leak within a Member’s Unit. Apparently the Member’s hot water heater burst, causing significant damage to the Unit’s drywall and flooring. Shortly after the accident, the Member contacted the Association seeking to make a claim on its hazard insurance policy. Since the Association’s policy covered the interior of the Member’s Unit, and the damages exceeded the policy’s $1,000 deductible, the Association agreed to file a claim with its insurer. However, the Association did not know who should pay the deductible amount.
Continue Reading Who Pays the Insurance Deductible?
Well, here we are, Ash Wednesday; past Martin Luther King’s birthday, President’s Day, and Mardi Gras, and some homeowners still have their Christmas and Hannukah decorations on their homes from those holiday celebrations. As we all know, many restrictive covenants specify a period of time following the specific holiday during which the decorations must be removed from the house. And yet, our weather has been such that, in many cases removing those decorations may not be done safely due to the onslaught of snow storms and the accumulation of snow, all of which seems to have been exacerbated by the regular weekend snow storms. Should the board nevertheless enforce those restrictive covenants and impose fines, or is there an alternative?Continue Reading What To Do About Those Holiday Decorations?
Occasionally, we’ll hear from an association’s board of directors about how proud they are that they haven’t had to raise assessments for some period of time – 10 years, plus or minus. Typically, they are touting what great stewards they have been of their members’ money, and how grateful the members should be. Oftentimes, the comments come in the heat of candidacies for election of members to the board of directors. Sometimes, they even wonder out loud why their members don’t appreciate the money saving efforts of the board. What they are missing follows.Continue Reading Not Increasing Assessments? Good For You – Or Is It?
