Condo Association Management Blog

Is condo association social fundraising a taxable event?

Our Florida condo association is seeking to raise finances for Social purposes (raffles, 50/50 etc). Are there restrictions on what or how these are operated? And, are we likely to attract tax (local or Federal) on such income? Finally, donations, whether cash or goods for social purposes (such as benches or special plantings). Are these considered "income" even if specified for use ONLY for social usage?

Condo association forcing us out for smoking. What can we do?

My neighbor has complained to the condo association about my husband's cigarette smoke seeping into her condo. She was a smoker when she moved in about 6 yrs. ago. Now she says she has asthma and the smoke irritates it. My husband and myself are being threatened with a fine of $100.00 a day until we stop smoking or sell our condo. We have lived in these two towers for over 23 yrs and now we are very unhappy over this situation. What can we do to end this horrible nightmare? We feel she does not have to put us through this since she once smoked. We have been told the cigarette smoke is seeping through the outlets between her bedroom and ours. PLEASE HELP US.

Can condo association president use assessment funds without approval

Can the condo association president use a special assessment for another purpose without any vote from the condo association owners?

How much does a condo association or HOA reserve study cost?

We are an 18 unit condo association in SW Florida built in 1970. Any idea of approximately how much an initial Reserve Study might cost?

Is there a limit to an increase in condo association dues or fees?

Is there a limit to an annual increase in condo association or HOA dues? Our's has been raised from $194 dollars a month to $295 dollars a month in one year. Is this reasonable?

How does our condo association file a lien without a lawyer?

How do we put a lien on arrears for delinquent condo fees, without going through a lawyer?

Has anyone worked with a mortgage company to reduce condo debt?

Hi, I have recently begun volunteering for my Condo Board. We have terrible problems with delinquency at my community. We have owners in the many thousands of dollars in debt and it has been going on for years. I have heard that many condo boards will send letters to mortgage companies that are doing business with delinquent owners. I have heard if we advise the mortgage company that their customer is in severe debt to the condo association and that it has been going on for years, that the mortgage company may take this information into account if the loan is a boarderline foreclosure... Do you know anything about this practice? Do you know of any websites that have example letters? Thanks

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Sample ByLaws for a Condo Association or HOA

Association Membership

Section 1. Members. All residents of this community association, condo association or homeowners association who are 18 years of age or older are eligible to be members of this Corporation. All members of the Corporation may vote for and are eligible to be officers of the Corporation.

Section 2. Annual Condo Association Meeting. The membership shall elect a Condo Board of Directors at the annual meeting to be held in the community at a time designated by the President of the Corporation. The membership and Board of Directors shall be notified not less than 15 days before the date of the annual meeting. Notice shall be given by posting the scheduled date, time, and place of the meeting in at least three prominent public locations in the community. The annual meeting shall be open to the public.

Section 3. Regular Condo Meetings. The Condo Board of Directors will meet regularly on the __________ of every month. These meetings shall be open to the public and shall be publicly noticed by posting the scheduled date, time and place of the meeting in at least three prominent, public locations in the Community.

Section 4. Special Condo Meetings. Special meetings of the membership may be called by or at the request of the Chair or any three Directors or by a petition of ten percent of the registered members. These meetings shall be public and shall be publicly noticed at least 15 days in advance by posting the date, time, place and purpose of the meeting in at least three prominent, public locations in the community. The members may not address any matter which is not stated in the public notice as the purpose of the meeting.

Section 5. Quorum. members of the Condo Board of Directors constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of the Board. affirmative votes are required for any action taken by the Board.

Section 6. Condo Association Voting and Voting by Proxy. All members are entitled to vote and shall have the right to do so in person or by an agent authorized by a written proxy executed by the member filed with the Secretary of the Corporation. Such proxy shall by valid only if executed in favor of another member and no proxy shall be valid after the expiration of eleven months from the date of its execution.

Section 7. Order of Business. The order of business at all meetings of the members shall be as follows:

A. Roll Call

B. Proof of Notice of Meeting or Waiver of Notice

C. Reading and Approval of Minutes of Preceding Meeting

D. Reports of Directors

E. Reports of Committees

F. Unfinished Business

G. New Business

H. Election of Directors (if applicable)

I. Adjournment

Board of Directors

Section 1. Condo Directors. The number of directors shall be seven. Directors shall be members of the Corporation and shall act on good faith charge of the members of the Corporation.

Section 2. Term of Office. The term of office for each director shall be for three years from the time of his or her election at the annual meeting until his or her successor has been elected and qualified. All officers are elected by and from the directors for one year terms. To allow for terms to expire each year, initially the directors' terms shall be as follows:

1. Director Three Years Term Expires 2003

2. Director Three Years Term Expires 2003

3. Director Three Years Term Expires 2004

4. Director Three Years Term Expires 2004

5. Director Three Years Term Expires 2005

6. Director Three Years Term Expires 2005

7. Director Three Years Term Expires 2005

The initial seats shall be assigned by drawing straws.

Section 3. Vacancies. Except as otherwise provided, any vacancies occurring in the Condo Board of Directors, whether by resignation or removal, shall be filled by the majority vote of the remaining Directors. In the event of the simultaneous resignation and/or removal of three or more Directors, the membership shall hold new elections to fill those vacant positions on the Board. Those Directors so elected will serve for the remaining portion of the unexpired term.

Section 4. Removal of Directors. Any Director may be removed by a majority of the members who vote on the issue providing that just cause has been established and whenever, in their judgement, the best interests of the Corporation would be served by doing so.

Condo Association and Election Voting Rules

Section 1.Condo Association or HOA Election Notice. A notice of vacancies for expired terms of office for Board of Directors and a notice that an election shall be held shall be prepared and posted by the Secretary and shall contain the following:

1. Whether the election is general or special

2. Date of the election

3. Location of the meeting where the election will be held

4. Time of election meeting

5. Seats or office to be filled

6. A statement describing voter qualifications

Section 2. Nominations. Nominations for Board of Directors shall be open nomination from the floor at the annual membership meeting.

Section 3. Ballots. Ballots will be on plain white paper with a space for writing in the nominee's name and a blank square for marking a vote next to the nominee's name.

Section 4. Voting Procedures. Voting procedures are as follows:

1. The Secretary shall check for the member's name on the Master List of members. If the member's name appears on the master membership list, that person is deemed qualified to vote.

2. Qualified voters shall give his/her name to the Secretary and then write it on the blank list or membership roster.

3. Voters shall mark the ballot next to the name of the nominees they wish to vote for, as provided in

Section 3: Ballots.

4. Voting will be by secret ballot. Ballots will be marked in pen. After the ballot is marked, the voter will fold it and deposit it in the ballot box.

Section 5. Tallying Procedures. Before counting the ballots, the Secretary shall check to make sure that the number of member's names signed on the membership roster is equal to the number of ballots in the ballot box.  The ballot box shall be opened in public. The ballots shall be tallied by the Secretary or a committee of judges selected from the membership and recorded by the Treasurer.

Section 6. Certifying the Election. The election shall be certified by the President and Vice-President of the Corporation. Nominees receiving the greatest number of the votes cast shall be considered elected

Directors. For example. If two seats are to be filled, the top two vote getters are the newly elected directors.The Secretary shall post a copy of the report of election results in three public places the day after the election results are known. The notice shall include:

1. That the election has been certified by the President or Vice-President,

2. That the final results of the election, and

3. A list of the names of the new Directors.

Officers

Section 1. Selection of Officers. The Board of Condo Directors shall elect from among themselves the following officers; President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer. This shall be the first order of business of the first meeting of the Board of Directors following the elections of Directors at the annual meeting.

Section 2. President. The President is the principal executive office of the Corporation and shall, in general, supervise and control all of the business and affairs of the Corporation. He/She shall preside at all meetings of the Board of Directors. He/She shall sign contracts or other instruments which the Board of Directors has authorized to be executed.

Appendix C

Section 3. Vice-President. In the absence of the President, or in the event of his/her inability or refusal to act, the Vice-President will perform the duties of the President, and when so acting will have all the powers of and be subject to all the restrictions upon the President.

Section 4. Secretary and Treasurer.

The Secretary shall:

1. Keep a journal of proceedings of the Corporation, record all votes at meetings of the Corporation,

and provide for the electronic recording of meetings of the Corporation when possible,

2. Provide for the standardization and maintenance of all forms, books, and records of the Corporation, and

3. Keep the Corporate seal and affix the seal to all contracts and instruments authorized to be

executed by the Corporation.

The Treasurer shall:

1. Manage, deposit, and invest all funds of the Corporation as directed by the Board of Directors,

2. Disburse money for all corporate obligations, and

3. Keep regular books or accounts of all corporate financial transactions, and provide for financial

reports or audits as directed by the Board of Directors.

Chapter Five

Contracts, Checks, Deposits and Funds Finances

Section 1. Contracts. The Board of Directors, at the direction of the membership, may authorize any officer or officers, agent or agents of the Corporation, in addition to the officers so authorized by these Bylaws, to enter into any contract or execute and deliver any instrument in the name of and on behalf of the Corporation, and such authority may be general or confined to specific instances as authorized by the Board of Directors.

Section 2. Checks, Draft Signing Authority. All checks, drafts, or orders for payment of money, notes or other evidence of indebtedness issued in the name of the Corporation and in such a manner as shall be determined from time to time by the Board of Directors, shall be signed by the Treasurer and shall be countersigned by the President or Vice-President of the Corporation.

Section 3. Deposits. All funds of the Corporation shall be deposited from time to time to the credit of the Corporation in such banks, trust companies, or other depositories as the Board of Directors may select.

Section 4. Gifts. The Board of Directors may accept on behalf of the Corporation any contribution, gift, bequest, or device for any special purpose for the Corporation.

Section 5. Grants. No grant monies from the State, federal or other governmental entity shall be applied for without the majority vote approving such application at a meeting of the members of the Corporation.

Section 6. Dues. Dues may or may not be assessed by the Board of Directors, but may not exceed five dollars per member per year.

Section 7. Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of the Corporation shall begin on the first day of July and end on the last day of June the following year.

Books and Records

The Corporation shall keep correct and complete records of financial transactions and accounts, and shall also keep minutes of the proceedings of its Board of Directors. All books and records of the Corporation may be inspected by any member, or his/her agent or attorney, for any purpose at any reasonable time.

Amendment to Bylaws

The bylaws may be amended by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members voting at an annual meeting. The text of the proposed amendment must be included in the public notice announcing the time, date and place of the annual meeting.

Adoption of Bylaws

This is to certify that the above bylaws were adopted by the Board of Directors at a meeting on the day

of , 200_.

_______________________________

President

_______________________________

Secretary

 

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Are your condo association common areas protected from pets and gardening?

Our condo association bylaws say no pets allowed and no alterations of the common elements by owners. Our Bylaws say nothing about bird feeders and bird baths on or near decks. Some owners want these things (not me) - including being allowed to dig up the common elements for their own gardens. (One owner/BOARD MEMBER has already dug up three different grassy areas for her own gardening, and the board has done nothing about it.)

I currently have an owner below me and one to the right of me that both have bird feeders. My deck railing, deck, and patio furniture are spotted with bird shit - LOTS! The board is putting together a survey for the owners to address these subjects.

What kind of problems have other condo associations had concerning allowing pets, allowing bird feeders and bird baths, and letting owners dig up common elements for their own personal gardening? HELP!

Condo Association help wanted: Violations, Board Harassment and Notifications

What is proper notification for Violations and Board harassment, as per Rules and Regulations. I cannot find what the proper notice requirements are for violations anywhere in our condo association's Rules & Regs, By-Laws or Declaration. This is an unbelievable story. I do see that certified, return receipt has proper notice for other items.

I also just received a Cease and Desist from an Attorney about two specific issues and the attorney sent it by Regular Mail and then Certified with Return Receipt. The issue is - The Oaks Board Secretary sent a nasty email at almost midnight screaming violations and fines. It was totally abusive and way out of line. As far as we know, it was not proper notice to us, nor are there any minutes saying that had a meeting and agreed to send this email that night - we put up our Christmas lights that same afternoon on or deck in the back of the building away from the street. Then a couple weeks later a letter was dropped in the hallway outside our door, not under it (normally they stuff papers underneath). This had 6 violation issues with only one stating a time or place (left door to the condo open). The rest were just as stupid. And if we ever do them again, we are doomed for life.... we might as well just seal ourselves in here. Again, no minutes from any Board meeting saying that The Oaks Board discussed or decided to do this. We are guessing due to the nature of the writing that both were actually written by the partner of the Secretary of the Board who is an part-time attorney who sometimes does free work for the Board - very verbal, nasty and basically ridiculous and out of control. The main violation we consider a Violation of our Constitutional Amendment to Freedom of Religion. Being able to celebrate the holiday with our lights, which we've done for 7 years here already. The Board made a new Rule so we couldn't have our colored Christmas lights on the deck - off the main street, looking into the trees. You guessed it, the President and another Board member are outwardly anti-Catholic. They call them seasonal decorations but this rule was made and directed at us in retaliation last year for calling in University City to cite code violations at The Oaks. This thrown down letter we do not consider proper notice, it also had all these "made up" fines which do not comply with the actual fines listed in the Rules and Regs at The Oaks. (By the way, this and the last Condo Board has voted after the fact to approve items when they have made decisions improperly). We then received a Cease and Desist Letter from an Attorney re contacting Property Management and the Insurance Company which happens to be the same one we use for our Condo Association Insurance. My agent advised me to contact the other agent who we also know personally.

Just this week, we find another "dropped in the hallway" piece of paper, page 2 not provided - Board Minutes from this past week - all about how we, have "recently been assessed fines related to our violation of the Rules and Regs, despite ample warnings". Here's the kicker now, The Oaks Rules and Regs also state that proper procedure to request a hearing is to notify the Property Manager but the attorney wrote in the Cease and Desist that we are not allowed to have any contact with the property manager. And the Rules and Regs require we request a hearing thru the Property Manager. This has really gotten out of hand -and it's all in retaliation for calling in University City for about 30 Code Violations which this and the last Board was cited for. That's a lot. And they were real issues, water leaking, black mold, sitting water, emergency lights not working at all, rotted wood, just to mention a few. We live one block from Clayon in a very nice neighborhood. The building is valued at over 5+ million and these Board have been negligent and the Boards over the past couple years have been negligent and breached their fiduciary duty until we were left with no choice after numerous ignored requests to fix broken or damaged items. And one prior Board member told me they just fixed the items to get it done by the date with no regard to the quality of work done. In this case, I believe the Oaks Board is trying to sidestep the critical issue of dangerous black mold growing in some of our storage lockers which are limited common areas via harassment of us thereby intimidating all other owners by putting half truths in the Board Minutes. The Board told us at the Annual meeting in December (but did not put in writing) that it is our responsibility to fix the drywall and mold issues. Funny, the last Board fixed the other lockers out of condo association funds. ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED. Any lawyers in Clayton or St. Louis who are "really" knowledgeable about these issues. I think the attorney hired to counsel the Condo Association Board used to be with the AG office and appears to be an expert in this area. Thanks.