Crime & Security
Should You Let Owners Install Their Own Security Lighting?
The desire for security lighting by owners with security concerns can put associations and boards in a difficult position, especially when their CC&Rs prohibit exterior or high-intensity lighting. What should your clients do when owners request permission to install lights that can be both protective and disruptive? “Lighting is said to be a deterrent to…
Community Association Governance
Board Recalls: Triggers and Challenges
When owners start talking about board recalls, managers need to pay attention — and also take care that they don’t cross any lines. “Managers have to be absolutely neutral on recalls, but it’s a somewhat widely breached ethical requirement,” says Kelly Richardson, a partner in the law firm Richardson Ober De Nichilo in Pasadena, Calif.…
Community Association Governance
Are Short-Term Vacation Rentals Considered “Single Family Use”?
Many community associations trying to limit short-term rentals have found their battle complicated by the fact that their CC&Rs were drafted long before the days of Airbnb and VRBO. With CC&Rs that contain no provision explicitly addressing such rentals, some have turned to their single-family residence restrictions. “Associations try to hang their hat on that…
Dispute Resolution
Association Pays $125,000 to Settle Case Over $500 Fine for Owner’s Allegedly Abusive Behavior
After numerous allegations of abusive behavior, a Chicago condo association imposed a $500 fine on an owner. It led to years of costly litigation, a $125,000 payment to the owner, and a court ruling that could haunt associations for years to come (Boucher v. 111 East Chestnut Street Condominium Ass’n, Inc., Ill. App. June 14,…
Crime & Security
Owners’ Individual Security Lighting: Yay or Nay?
The desire for security lighting by owners with security concerns can put associations and boards in a difficult position, especially when their CC&Rs prohibit exterior or high-intensity lighting. What should your clients do when owners request permission to install lights that can be both protective and disruptive?The Balancing Act“Lighting is said to be a deterrent…
Communications
Stop Overwhelming New Owners – How To Streamline Your Welcome Packets
Welcome packets for new owners in community associations are going through a makeover in more and more communities. The trend can be summed up succinctly: Less is more. The welcome packet should be more than a cursory administrative task. Done right, it can generate positive feelings toward the community, the association, and the manager. It…
Community Association Governance
Board Recalls: What Everyone Needs to Remember
When owners start talking about board recalls, managers need to pay attention — and also take care that they don’t cross any lines. “Managers have to be absolutely neutral on recalls, but it’s a somewhat widely breached ethical requirement,” says Kelly Richardson, a partner in the law firm Richardson Ober De Nichilo in Pasadena, Calif.…
Community Association Governance
Short-Term Rentals Don’t Violate Single-Family Residence Restriction
The California Court of Appeals recently shot down the argument that a single-family residence restriction prohibited short-term rentals (Lastavich v. Nob Hill Homowners Ass’n, Cal App. Dec 2, 2020). Many community associations trying to limit short-term rentals have found their battle complicated by the fact that their CC&Rs were drafted long before the days of…
Communications
What the Pandemic Has Taught Us About Working Remotely
The COVID-19 pandemic has worn everyone down — but the people who’ve been leading during a year of remote community association management say there are lessons all managers can take from this experience: The first is that work-from-home is here to stay. “Being into this now just under a year, remote working has actually worked…
Communications
A Welcome Change: Managers Slim Down Their New-Owner Packets
Welcome packets for new owners in community associations are going through a makeover in more and more communities. The trend can be summed up succinctly: Less is more.A Necessary NuisanceThe welcome packet should be more than a cursory administrative task. Done right, it can generate positive feelings toward the community, the association, and the manager.…