Directors Serve Until Someone Else is Elected

Occasionally, we work with boards of directors that have not held an election for some time, usually because nobody else has ever expressed an interest in running as a candidate. A recent decision from the Michigan Court of Appeals makes clear that the board’s decisions are not invalidated just because elections have not been held.…

Board Members Expected to Have Thick Skin

Contentious elections of an association’s board of directors can result in some serious allegations against candidates being communicated to an association’s members. “The board is wasting our money!” “He’s lazy and doesn’t want to do anything!” “She’s horrible at this!” While board members and candidates may feel wronged by inaccurate or false statements, they should…

3 Reasons Your Community Association Assessments Are Too Low

When we speak with directors and other leaders from Michigan community associations, especially those from homeowners associations and subdivisions, we hear some common refrains when discussing the inadequacy of their regular monthly assessment/dues amounts. The Board may be fully aware that income is not sufficient to meet projected future costs, but for many reasons, the…

When the Inmates Take Over the Asylum and a Good Board Loses Control

Those of us who have been involved in representing community associations (in my case, for over forty-five years) have, no doubt, experienced a situation where so-called dissidents in a community association, for clearly irrational reasons, strive to seize control of the association so they can further their “platform”, which frequently leads to the demise of…

On the Board: Legal Aid

By Robert M. Meisner, Esq. Listen up, board members: The community association attorney does not work for you. The attorney is accountable to the entity that hired him or her, namely the community association itself. The board members govern the association, but they are not the client. Some community association board members believe the association…

Condominium Boards and Ethics: The top 5 reasons that your Association needs a Code of Conduct

Condominium associations are largely governed by volunteer directors that receive little training with respect to their fiduciary duties and potential ethical issues that they may face. Each director has a fiduciary duty of care and duty of loyalty to act in the best interest of the association.  Unfortunately, many directors blur the lines between what…

What is a reserve study and does your Association need one?

A reserve study is an inspection of the common elements that is intended to analyze the repair and replacement needs of a Condominium or HOA. A reserve study serves two important purposes. First, a reserve study allows for an Association to accurately budget for major repairs over an extended period of time and avoid large additional…