In these inflationary times, some board members say their community has taken action to save money. Read on to find out how three communities have reportedly saved hundreds of thousands of dollars. Cutting the Cable Cord “We’re in a dire position due to the previous board refusing to increase maintenance fees for more than 10…

Brad van Rooyen recently took a contrarian position, so we’re checking in with other experts to get their feedback. The founder and senior member of Tampa, Fla.-based HomeRiver Group and its national specialist for community association management, which oversee more than 230 associations throughout Florida, recently noted that he’s advising his clients to hold off…

“No, no, no,” are the first words out of the mouth of Brad van Rooyen, founder and senior member of Tampa, Fla.-based HomeRiver Group and its national specialist for community association management, which oversee more than 230 associations throughout Florida. That was in response to a report that the Thornton Place condo board voted to…

A reader of our sister publication, HOAleader.com, asks: “I’m looking for any best practices related to the use of architects to help an architectural review committee review project submittals. More specifically, we’re looking at how an architect consultant should interact with the committee when the architect submits a project for the committee to review.” Here,…

With the cost of fixing older condos in Florida becoming exorbitant, and with renting much more profitable for developers, buyouts and deconversions of entire condo buildings are trendy. And the process can be messy. Sometimes, there’s a formal offer. Other times, investors quietly amass properties, and you don’t realize you’re a takeover target until investors…

When a Black man who was fishing in his own HOA’s pond was approached by White residents asking if he belonged, he began posting videos of the encounters on social media. Then the HOA president asked him to stop posting videos. “I think this is a greater societal issue,” says Brendan Bunn, CCAL, a partner…

More than 60 homeowners in a San Mateo, Calif., HOA are disputing their board’s decision to remove 20 trees based on the advice of their expert arborist. The local government has even denied the association’s request for a permit to remove the trees, saying the trees aren’t dying, diseased, or a danger. Now what? What’s…

A reader of our sister publication, HOAleader.com, who attended an August webinar on regulating rentals, asked a question during the Q&A portion we couldn’t get to since there were so many questions: Can a 55-and-older community require that at least one renter be 55 or older? Let’s find out.  Tightly Run Ships Let’s start with…

An Indiana HOA has had enough of a nearby owner’s house parties, for which he charges hundreds of dollars for admission, and that have resulted in gunfire, traffic, and noise. A court has agreed. Here, we explain the problem and the court’s solution. And we check in with our experts on whether this is the…

An HOA lawyer says Florida law requires that condos must keep minutes from the beginning of the development ad infinitum. Is that a common requirement in states? And would your condo or HOA actually meet that standard today if you were ordered to produce all those minutes? If not, is it worth having someone go…