General
State Laws and your governing documents prohibit board members from being paid for their service to the association. This does not preclude board members from being reimbursed for actual expenses related to the HOA.
Simply fill out an Expense Reimbursements form and submit it to our office.
Restrictive covenants are provisions in a deed limiting the use of the property and prohibiting certain uses. They are similar in effect to equitable servitudes, but restrictive covenants run with the land because the restrictions are contained in the deed. Restrictive covenants are typically used by land developers to establish minimum house sizes, setback lines, and aesthetic requirements thought to enhance the neighborhood. Also known as: CC&R's, DCC&R's, Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, Governing Documents, Deed Restrictions.
The Community Manager and Association Coordinator work directly with their Board Members to handle the association's daily needs. Many times the managers may be out of the office attending to a properties needs. To enable the managers to handle that responsibility effectively, our Resident Services department is available to take your homeowners calls between 8:00am - 6:00pm (EST) Monday through Friday. Please have your Homeowners contact Resident Services by phone (704-565-5009/888-565-1226), email, live chat or support ticket.
The most common description of the secretary's role includes the keeping of all the minutes and records of the association and the distribution of all required notices. It is difficult to fully concentrate on the meeting when required to take minutes. For this reason, it is strongly encouraged that another board member accepts this task. See our article on "Taking Minutes - Who's job is it and why" for more information.
We do not charge a "Transfer Fee". We charge a "Processing Fee" to process closing information prior to closing. The parties involved in the real estate transaction will decide who pays this processing fee. However, the "Requesting Party" is responsible for this fee and must acknowledge our "Agreement Authorization Request" before the order will be processed. Payment of the fee is not contingent upon closing or settlement and is due no later than 90 days after the requested information is delivered. We offer several different packages for obtaining closing information prior to closing. These packages run anywhere between $65-$400 depending on how much information you order and how quickly you want to obtain that information.
As part of this process, some Associations may require a "Working Capital Contribution" at the time of sale of the property. Neither of these are deemed Transfer Fees under state laws.
We do not charge a "Transfer Fee". We charge a "Processing Fee" to process closing information prior to closing. The parties involved in the real estate transaction will decide who pays this processing fee. However, the "Requesting Party" is responsible for this fee and must acknowledge our "Agreement Authorization Request" before the order will be processed. Payment of the fee is not contingent upon closing or settlement and is due no later than 90 days after the requested information is delivered. We offer several different packages for obtaining closing information prior to closing. These packages run anywhere between $65-$400 depending on how much information you order and how quickly you want to obtain that information.
As part of this process, some Associations may require a "Working Capital Contribution" at the time of sale of the property. Neither of these are deemed Transfer Fees under state laws.
ABSOLUTELY NOT. Minutes are a record of actions taken, not a record of the conversation. Should the association ever be required to turn over items due to a lawsuit, anything contained on those tapes (including side conversations, off-hand comments, etc) could be entered into evidence and used against the association and its board of directors.
Annual Meetings
The Proxy form is used to designate another person to vote on the member's (homeowner) behalf at the Annual Meeting. Elections of officers must be performed at a duly called meeting as stated in the Association's bylaws. According to Roberts Rules of order, regardless if you have a nominating committee, nominations must be taken from the floor of the meeting prior to the election vote. Sending both of these forms with the Annual Meeting notice to your homeowners helps streamline the process to keep the meeting running smoothly.
Unfortunately this is very common. We recommend sending notices well in advance, and then following up with several reminders as the date approaches. Many times the low attendance can actually indicate that owners are generally satisfied with the Association and do not feel compelled to get involved. Of course, the opposite could also be true. If Annual meetings are “heated and contentious”, many owners will choose not to attend in the future. We encourage you to have a clear meeting agenda, stick to it and invite owners with specific issues to attend a Board meeting to discuss their individual concerns.
Accounting Questions
Accounting Questions
The monthly financial reports show how much money is in each of your association's bank accounts. You can locate this information on the Balance Sheet.
Financial reports are generated and emailed to your board no later than the end of the first full business week of the month for the previous month.
Please see Understanding Your Monthly Financials section of the board member resource guide for more information on this topic.
A Balance Sheet figure shown under the heading retained earnings is the sum of all profits retained since the Association's inception. Retained earnings are reduced by losses, and are also called accumulated earnings, accumulated profit, accumulated income, accumulated surplus, earned surplus, undistributed earnings, or undivided profits.
We process invoices based on budgeted expenses. Invoices for Insurance and utilities (water, sewer, electricity, gas) receive priority to ensure those services remain in place. Invoices for contracted services such as landscaping or pool maintenance are also budgeted items and would be processed as normal. Invoices that are unexpected, non-budgeted would be held until we confer with a Board member.
Yes. Please contact your Association Coordinator or Community Manager with the details and we will be glad to recode the GL for the invoice.
Provided the vendor has submitted the Vendor Application and insurance certificate, Checks are cut on Tuesday and Friday of each week (excluding holidays). Landscapers are paid on the 15th of each month.
Landscapers are paid monthly on or around the 15th. The full monthly payment is made to the vendor after 2 weeks of service is provided to the HOA. Therefore, the vendor is paid for 2 weeks of service and prepaid for the remaining 2 weeks of service for the month. This limits the risk to the association for vendors who bill in advance for services.
We don’t recommend using late fees or fines as “expected income” as it is not guaranteed income to the association. Late fees or fines should not be utilized as a source of revenue, they are to encourage compliance. Once an owner is in compliance, it is recommended that the association waive or reduce those fines to a reasonable amount.
The Association accounts must remain within our control for security purposes. We only partner with specific banks that provide direct integration into our systems to allow us to provide many of the financial services your Association enjoys today. Lockbox (mail in payment processing), Treasury Services (ACH), and Merchant Services (Credit Cards) are all features provided free of charge to your association by one of our partner banks. Additionally, Your accounts are tied to our management system in order to allow us real time reporting for your financials. If your association has a website, any online payments are deposited directly into this operating account and immediately posted to the owner’s association account. The same process applies for payments that are mailed into the processing center. Moving from a partner bank will cause a significant loss in flexibility to your homeowners, as well as timely information to your board. If you insist on having accounts at other institutions, there will be additional fees for us to reconcile those accounts, make manual deposits, as well as possible other bank fees. Other banks charge fees such as Analysis fees, Merchant Service, and Treasury Service fees. (There are currently no bank fees for accounts held at our designated bank.)
Vendors can email invoices to billing@communityassociationmanagement.com or mail to Community Association Management c/o Your Associations Name P.O. Box 79032, Charlotte NC. 28271-0030
Reserves
- To maintain the property's value and appearance
A reserve study helps maintain the property's value and the property owner's investment. By identifying and budgeting for future capital improvements, the property's common elements continue to look attractive and well-kept, adding to the community's overall quality of life.
- To fulfill the board of directors' fiduciary responsibility
Board members of community associations have a fiduciary responsibility to their members. Directors are legally bound to use sound business judgment in guiding the association and cannot ignore major capital expenditures or eliminate them from the budget.
- To establish sound financial planning and budget direction
A comprehensive reserve study lays out a schedule of major repairs or replacements to common property elements and applies cost estimates to them. To ensure property owners have adequate reserve funding to cover anticipated costs, a reserve funding plan typically spans 30 years. In short, it's your blueprint for the future.
- To comply with state law
Many states now require community associations to disclose reserves, accumulate reserves or have professional reserve studies conducted. It's anticipated more states will adopt similar legislation.
- To comply with FHA certification requirements
Underfunding - requiring Special assessments, bank loans, deferred maintenance or a combination; Overfunding - Paying too much (more than owners "fair share") for the benefit of future owners; Board Member Liability - Exposure to claims of fiscal irresponsibility and loss of D&O insurance coverage
Most Board Members are not qualified to prepare a reserve study or a reserve budget. Attempting to do so may increase your liability exposure and result in the loss of your D&O insurance coverage. Whenever possible, use an experienced, qualified Reserve Specialist to prepare a reserve study because of the technical detail involved.
What is sufficient for one community is not always sufficient for the next. As a rule of thumb for communities without amenities, we recommend one (1) years operating budget. Please contact your Community Manager or Association Coordinator to discuss this topic further.
This is a common question. Before deciding to reduce your dues, we highly recommend an official Reserve Study to determine precisely what is considered to be “enough money”. If you have performed an official reserve study for your association and it is determined that your association’s reserve account is currently over-funded…the Board could make a decision to either stop any increases or even reduce the assessments. We caution you to be very careful in doing this, especially if you may have a difficult time raising the dues again in the future if your needs change. For Example, Does the community have to vote to increase beyond a certain amount?
Collections
Collections
This information can be found on the Board Portal within the Associations Website by selecting "Board Member Aging Report" or within your monthly financial packet by reviewing the "Aging Report".
You can review all accounts in collections through the Board Member Portal on the Associations website, or you may contact your Association Coordinator or Community Manager for an updated PDF report.
The Collections process can take a considerable amount of time. Depending on the criteria set by your board for the lien and foreclosure process, it can take up to 225 days of delinquency before an owner is ever referred to the attorney for foreclosure. Once the account has been sent to the attorney, the process can take up to 120 days or longer depending on several factors such as bankruptcy filings, lender foreclosures, short sales, etc.
Once the account has been sent to the attorney, the process can take up to 120 days or longer depending on several factors such as bankruptcy filings, lender foreclosures, short sales, etc. Your Association Coordinator or Community Manager would be happy to contact the attorney and provide an update, however the information we obtain may be very limited due to the length of time it takes to process a foreclosure.
See the Collections process for more information on this topic.
The Board of Directors (or perhaps a previous board) adopted a collections resolution that outlined the stages of collection for your association. Once the board adopts the collection policy, we follow the policy and accounts automatically proceed to lien if an account meets the criteria as outlined in the policy. We automate this process to ensure every delinquent homeowner is treated the same, thus eliminating the potential risk of a Board randomly selecting which owners to pursue. Your aging report will show the status of all delinquent accounts. See the Collections process for more information on this topic.
Most undisputed collections activities are capped at $1200.00 in Attorney Fees plus cost of court and required advertising in North Carolina. This includes the initial lien filing as well as the foreclosure. If the Foreclosure is disputed, it can cost considerably more.
The fee is for processing the account in collections. The fee, in certain circumstances, may not be charged back to the owner. Those circumstances often depending on your governing documents.
Once a lender forecloses, the Association’s lien against the previous owner becomes uncollectable. First and second mortgage loans are superior to an associations lien. Once the lender forecloses, the associations lien is "extinguished" and becomes unenforceable against the property. The only other option is a money judgement against the owner, but often the costs to the association out way any potential recovery from the delinquent homeowner.
Once a delinquent owner surrenders the property through bankruptcy or foreclosure, the debt is automatically written off as uncollectable. The aging report will only show active delinquent accounts.
Once a homeowners account is paid in full, they will no longer show on the Aging Report. This information is available in real time from the Board Member Portal on the Associations Website, and provided monthly in your financial packet.
No. Your governing documents do not provide the board with the authority to waive Assessments. Those must be charged equally (or by pro-rata share) to every owner. The Board can choose to waive all or part of any Late fees or fines.
The Association's role is to collect assessments. There are times when waiving a late fee (or portion of several late fees) in an effort to collect regular assessments just makes good sense. We recommend you have a clear policy established to deal with repeat offenders.
We do not recommend it. The Association has already spent money to collect the debt, and if attorney fees are waived, the association will lose money.
We do not notify the Board if someone defaults on a payment plan, other than the change of status on the monthly aging report. If there is a default, the collection process defined by the Board will resume.
Architectural
ARC/ACC requests are approved or denied from within the Board Member Portal on the Association Website. You can download step by step directions here or watch an instructional video for help with the process.
Compliance/Violations
The offending homeowner must be informed he/she is in violation of the CCR’s and or Rules and Regulations of the community. Written notices are preferred. If necessary, follow through with a Hearing Before the Board and subsequent fines and/or barring them from access for further non-compliance. Unfortunately, the person must be caught in the act or have some solid proof as to the offender’s identity.
That depends on if your Association's streets have been turned over to the City/State for maintenance or if they are private (owned by the HOA). If the streets are public, the HOA has no authority to fine someone for parking on them. We recommend turning the issue over to the appropriate division of your municipality (code enforcement or police) if it becomes a safety issue. We also recommend communicating to your residents to let them know the dangers of on-street parking.
Unless the association's CCR’s outline a specific procedure for the implementation of fines, you must follow State statutes which, in North Carolina, requires that an owner be given the opportunity to be heard.
We want to ensure that the association stays compliant with state laws and best practices. Unless the association's CCR’s outline a specific procedure for the implementation of fines, you must follow State statutes which, in North Carolina, requires that an owner be given the opportunity to be heard. We recommend South Carolina association's follow the same process as best practice.
After a violation is at the fine stage, and the owner cures the violation, the board may choose to waive some or all of the violation fines. While each circumstance is different, ultimately the goal is to have the issue corrected, not generate additional revenue for the association.
The Association's Governing Documents usually state under what conditions (if any) the Board has the authority to create rules. Most always the Board can only create rules that govern the Common Area and not individual homeowners properties. Rules that affect the homeowners property are classified as "Private Land Use Restrictions" and must be made part of the Declaration of Covenants/Condominium through an amendment. Amendments to the Declaration will require a "Super Majority" vote of the members (homeowners) usually 67% and as high as 90%. Click here for more information on the differences between rules, resolutions and amendments.
Maintenance
The Association's Governing Documents outline the associations responsibility for maintenance and repair, as well as what Association funds may be spent for. Repairing property that does not belong to the Association, and then not charging the Homeowner (Member) for it is not only a breach of the Board's Fiduciary Duty, but also misappropriation of funds.
Most Cities or towns do not provide regular mowing along public streets. Individual homeowners would be encouraged to maintain this small strip of grass simply to prevent any negative affect to their own property and to maintain a consistent appearance. The Association is normally responsible to maintain “Common Area owned by the Association”. Mailboxes are the property and responsibility of individual owners unless the CCR’s specifically state otherwise.
Insurance
D&O insurance protects the Board Members in the event of any litigation that arises as a result of any action or decision by the Board. The insurance will assist (or cover) the cost of litigation or legal defense. As Board Members, you are non-compensated volunteers and should not have to cover your own legal defense for actions that may arise from your service to the community. See this article explanation on the types of insurance for more information.
Endorsements often have limitations or exclusions and therefore may not provide complete coverage in every circumstance. Download Not all Directors and Officers Liability Policies are created equally.pdf for more information.
Your Association Board makes the choice of what carrier (policy provider). We designate the agent in order to reduce the number of insurance agents we correspond with on a regular basis. By utilizing specific agents, we have the ability to make sure such agent is an “expert” when it comes to Association Policies. By doing this, we have a single agent to contact for all policies written through a specific company. In other words, we can contact a single agent for all Nationwide policies versus having 50 different agents. Also combining policies to one or two agents gives our clients the benefit of combined buying power and discounts with the carriers that would otherwise not be available.
Yes. Your Association Board makes the choice of what carrier (policy provider).
The Association is the Policy Holder and owners do not have authority to file claims on their own. (This also helps to eliminate unnecessary or unwarranted claims.) If owners receive a request from their mortgage company for insurance information, the owner needs to obtain a Certificate of Insurance (COI) as the Policy itself does not prove proper proof of coverage. We have a simple process in place for owners to order a COI from our website to insure they receive the most current information that will satisfy a lender request. See this article for more information.
