Take good care of your property (maintenance), fund Reserves, perform Reserve projects in a timely manner, minimize known hazards, and tell your insurance agent about it!

Not propaganda. No doubt there are plenty of dysfunctional boards and associations. But there are plenty of associations doing well, and we're here to encourage and equip more boards to lead their associations well.

If it is a common area maintenance responsibility, yes.

Consider a new insurance product - special assessment insurance. See www.feesible.com/

see www.feesible.com

The calculation is done for the current items/projects on the component list. So to your question, "just the first seal project". No one is being asked to provide for, or be financially prepared for, future cycles. If you keep up with current cycles, the future cycles take care of themselves.

Reserve studies are not locked at 30 year projections (at least we don't). For us, it is comprised of items that are 3-50 years lifespan. We do our sealing every 8-9 years, so our reserve shows us collecting for 8 or 9 years and then replacing it. We do however stay in contact with our vendor and update the cost every year or every 2 years, to make sure we are staying current on costs for this item as well as other items, beyond just adding straight % increase. The inflation this last couple of years really crept up on us, especially big ticket item like roof replacement. Our complex (single story 10-plex and single story 6-plex) is right at 25 years old, we started having a couple of leaks around roof vents a couple of years ago, and got estimates for roof replacement. The last 20years + of board management was a bit complacent (their philosophy was there social security wasn't increasing so dues didn't need to either, and they figured we would never truly use all the money in our accounts, and was using a $100,000 figure to replace both roofs. While fixing the leaks we started getting quotes. We got quotes of $75k for the 6-plex and $115k for the 10-plex.

Remember - your Reserve Study professional should have a national designation (RS or PRA), and they are hired by the association to provide independent budget guidance to the board. Nothing association-owned is ever sold. Individual homeowners have nothing to do with Reserve Study provider selection, or Reserve Study creation.

My concern is when the management company is the problem. National designation is just a piece of paper. Not a reflection on you or your company.

Every board should be reviewing the standard four financial reports every month, minimizing chance for fraud or theft. Don't let the fox be the only one watching the chicken coop!

@@reservestudies I agree.

Do you know the legit reason why HOAs exist in the first place? It's similar to why Unions exist: to protect the rights and safety of the individual involved.

HOAs are a Real Estate reality. Buck and his board are doing a great job to care for the association, its owners, and our environment in the process!

@@reservestudies I've found that it helps to remind people why the HOA exists, the purpose being that it is there to bring the entire neighborhood up to building code, and ensure the safety of the residents; a lot of HOAs tend to additionally try to increase property value, which technically extends beyond the spirit of why they were created; as their primary objective is to prevent things such as damage from Strong Winds (Roofing) spreading damage to someone else's home, preventing residents from catching heatstroke (HVAC), protecting against landslides & wildfires (lawn care), protecting against Freezing/Bursting Pipes (Insulation), etc.

Remember that the board is legally responsible to protect the physical and financial assets of the association. In doing so, the nice side effect is that they end up caring for the physical and financial best interests of the homeowners. I am of the opinion a board's primary duties are not just to "prevent bad things from happening".

@@reservestudies The difference between the two is that one allows the individual to maintain self-governance over what they ultimately do with their property; this primarily affects farmers and landscaping, but can also affect how lively a place seems; whereas merely looking out for everyone's safety, which was the original purpose of the first HOA, will not infringe upon a Homeowner's property rights beyond ensuring everyone is using a standardized building code to mitigate damage during disasters. Everything from Earthquakes, to Fire Storms, to Tornadoes, to Landslides, to Snap-Freezes, to Floods; this is what the HOA was constructed to protect against; resulting in reduced insurance costs, fewer insurance claims, lower crime rates, tight-knit neighborhoods, higher property values, friendlier neighbors, increased inclusivity, and a deeper understanding of one's community.

Please seek legal counsel on this. Our understanding is that the Fair Debt Collection Act only applies to third party individuals/companies working on behalf of the association. We can also report that many boards offer payment plans.

Dear WinterGardens-dr7hb, Thank you for your important question. Firstly, I apologize for not responding sooner; I did not have the opportunity to view the video on KZfaq. Here is the information you requested: From a community-level perspective, the association, as a first-party creditor, is not required to comply with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). However, it is advisable to adhere to its guidelines where possible. Payment plans offered directly by the association to its members fall outside the scope of the FDCPA. Once first-party notifications and payment plan offers have been exhausted, and it becomes necessary to engage a licensed entity for collection, FDCPA compliance is required. This requirement does not apply if a lien and trustee company is conducting a non-judicial foreclosure, as per the ruling in Obdusky v. McCarthy. Holding: A business engaged in no more than nonjudicial foreclosure proceedings is not a “debt collector” under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, except for the limited purpose of enforcing security interests under 15 U. S. C. §1692f(6). Judgment: Affirmed, 9-0, in an opinion by Justice Breyer on March 20, 2019. Justice Sotomayor filed a concurring opinion. Please let me know if you have any further questions, or if you wish to have a demo of our service please contact me at [email protected]

Again, transparency and communication are hallmarks of a well-functioning board. Keep the homeowners informed, with nothing to hide. We're going to "sing that song" on the podcast over and over again!

I Agree. And the management company threatens to sue you. Adding insult to injury, because they are using the HOA money.

Transparency and communication are hallmarks of a well-functioning board. Keep the owners informed, with nothing to hide. We're going to "sing that song" over and over again!

If the Management is accused of misappropriation of funds by the owners, the board had not been a well-functioning board. The video mocks the owners and threatens them, the victims of a possible crime, with counter-suit and libel. The Management clearly was not transparent, nor proactively communicating with the worried owners. Not being aware of the owners' concern and not nipping it in the bud allowed it to escalate. Owners did not wake up one day and decide to sue. It was out done of frustration with the insufficient response from the Management. The HOA Board works for the Owners, the Management Company works for the HOA board.

Kindness is everything

You are welcome!

Well said.

You are assuming that keeping owners happy means not doing their collective fiduciary duty, for which all owners are responsible. Owners are grownups, not children - they should understand that the budget has to be maintained, with sufficient Operating and Reserve funds. It is the duty of the HOA volunteers to remind them of all owners of their collective duty.

@@brianhulse4527 Not really - I just don't agree with you regarding the board's primary duty. If owners are unhappy about the association's budget and assessments, it is the board's responsibility to educate the owners regarding the long- and short-term maintenance and replacement costs and be completely transparent about budget expenditures. It would be great if all owners were legally fiduciarily responsible, but only the board has that legal responsibility.

The board's job is to maintain, protect, and enhance the common areas, not to make association members "happy". Boards serve the corporation, not individual members.

@@reservestudies so you have said. But the Corporation is owned by the individual members - who are collectively responsible for the actions of the volunteer HOA, and the maintenance of the common areas. The corporation is the owners. The owners are kept happy by the HOA board and Management Co listening to them, and negotiating an agreement that both sides can accept. The Bylaws are written by the Corporation Owners, they can be re-written.

Questions and clarifications are fine. Boardmembers need to do their research. But yes, discussions should take place with other board members in board meetings.

My HOA, e.g. has a ditch in the streets (asphalt) about 12 inches wide and 5 inches deep, and is getting worse. I pointed this out to new potential home buyers who clearly did not care. They are starry-eyed, fearful that others will get the house and end up paying more than the asking price. A house that was purchased at $175,000 new was sold for almost $800,000. We have a poorly funded reserve study because we have no BOD, no annual meetings, no elections. The management co. is the lead instigator of embezzling our money, along with a few fake BOD/officers. The corp. BVH, Inc. is currently suspended by the FTB. I cannot afford an attorney, and have been to small claims court without the support of the other homeowners mainly because they are afraid. I have been physically battered, at least 3 times, once being trapped in my car door while mace was being sprayed directly into my eyes and nose. This is no longer any form of a democracy. We are segregated and easy prey because the real estate criminals know that most people don't have the time to read the CC&Rs and the Bylaws which are meant for lawyers to read. The only positive is I know where my enemies live. I will be 71 in a week, have a reverse mortgage and live alone in Los Angeles. FYI.

Sorry to hear! Boards are humans too, and they sometimes make mistakes. See if you can schedule a meeting to get things "out on the table" and reach an amicable solution before responding with a letter from your attorney. In that case, generally only the attorneys win.