Articles

Age-restricted communities provide a great alternative for elderly people who want to stay active and remain in their homes rather than move into to a nursing or assisted living facility. If you manage an age-restricted community, you'll face some special management concerns about the declining health of the community's members. As time goes on and residents get older, some may start to suffer from dementia or other mental problems that can lead to sometimes violent or otherwise dangerous behavior.

Florida condos and HOAs may soon be weathering a financial storm, thanks to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA announced recently that it will prohibit continued rebating of amounts paid for flood insurance in the Sunshine State. Many Florida communities that are susceptible to natural disasters there, including hurricanes, currently receive these rebates.

In an April memorandum, the federal government ended the practice of providing associations with rebates on flood insurance premiums. The change will take effect on Oct. 1, 2012.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott must make a decision on legislation that could wreak financial damage on homeowners associations. The proposed law, Senate Bill 1196, shields developers against claims from the Sunshine State’s homeowner associations when they ask for payments to repair poor work on common-area infrastructures. The bill’s builder-friendly protections are being criticized by planned…

If your community's spring cleaning plans include painting, don't agree to a “time and materials” paint job, where the contractor charges you at the end of the job for all the time it spent on the job and the materials it bought to do the job. With time and materials jobs, you run the risk of having an inflated bill. There are too many variables involved in a painting job that can add to the cost in that type of agreement.

Question: To cut down on payroll, would it be okay for an association to lay off some of its maintenance crew and rehire them as independent contractors? Answer: It would be a big mistake. Tax authorities would be quick to reclassify such workers as employees. For more information on the tax consequences of employees vs.…

Community associations generally prefer that members occupy their own units, rather than lease them to others. But why is it a good idea to limit the leasing of units? Limiting your members’ ability to lease units can keep your community easier for you and your staff to manage on a day-to-day basis and can have…

Q: As a community association manager, what can I ask a job applicant about drug and alcohol use without facing a discrimination lawsuit? A: You must be very careful if you have 15 or more employees. While you want a workplace free of drug- and alcohol-related problems, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) bars companies…

Upon completion of the 2012 Community Association Managers Survey, you will be entered into a drawing for a $100 American Express gift card! The survey asks about how overhead expenses are straining your community’s purse strings, and will take approximately 5 to 6 minutes to complete. Your answers will be treated confidentially and will never…

Facts: A planned unit development (PUD) zoning ordinance established a residential community with a homeowners association. The association's declaration had a restrictive covenant banning members from operating businesses from their homes. The association later discovered that two members were running day care businesses in their homes, which violated the restrictive covenant in the declaration.

Q Is there any benefit to knowing about new on-site employees' preexisting injuries? How can I get this information?