The Policyholder's Advocate®
According to the Community Associations Institute’s website,1 about 70 million people live in approximately 315,000 community associations throughout the United States. Thus, if you’re about to purchase a new home, the odds are good that you’ll be buying into an association as homeowners associations are not just for condominiums, but also for townhomes and even single family dwellings too.…
Continue Reading Purchasing a Condominium Unit: Caveat Emptor (Let the Buyer Beware)
The governing documents1 of most, if not all, community interest developments/homeowners associations contain provisions setting forth the rules regarding real property insurance. Typically, an Association is required to obtain and maintain a master policy of fire insurance, naming the Association itself as the insured, for the full insurable value of all of the improvements within the development (the common areas and common structural components of the building including the roofs, exterior walls and exterior plumbing). Individual unit owners are prevented from separately insuring their units or common areas against loss by fire or other casualty covered by the Association’s insurance but may insure their own personal property or improvements they made to their own units.…
Continue Reading Members Rights Under the Association’s Master Policy
At sundown yesterday evening, the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement, came to an end. As the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people – and with its central themes of atonement, repentance and forgiveness – the holiday gave me cause to think about the tensions that exist between a homeowners association board of directors and its members and how those tensions might be eased with some common sense approaches.…
Continue Reading Easing Tensions Between An Association’s Board And Its Members
Community Association Managers (“CAM”) are very busy working with their boards of directors caring for the common areas, handling the association’s financial affairs, collecting assessments, and ensuring that the community’s rules and regulations are enforced. Unfortunately, to cut costs, CAMs are frequently asked to prepare forms and provide advice that should properly be dealt with by an attorney. In this regard, both the CAM and boards must exercise caution to avoid having the CAM participate in the unlicensed practice of law.Community Association Managers (“CAM”) are very busy working with their boards of directors caring for the common areas, handling the association’s financial affairs, collecting assessments, and ensuring that the community’s rules and regulations are enforced. Unfortunately, to cut costs, CAMs are frequently asked to prepare forms and provide advice that should properly be dealt with by an attorney. In this regard, both the CAM and boards must exercise caution to avoid having the CAM participate in the unlicensed practice of law.…
Continue Reading Is Your Association Manager Practicing Law Without a License?
