While good business practices are fundamental to getting the job done right, "people" practices are equally important. While most HOA elections are not barraged with volunteer candidates, the membership does care what the Board does. When the Board doesn’t do it right, some members simmer at a slow boil, some bellow a great hue and cry and others beat tar and feather drums. The picture isn’t pretty for otherwise well intentioned directors.

A truly effective and perceptive Board understands the need to keep members in the loop and business open and transparent. This "fishbowl" style of management is difficult for some directors to deal with since it seems cumbersome and intrusive. In reality, running business transparently is largely symbolic and requires little more from the Board other than a few member friendly attitudes and practices. Here are a few of the most important ones:

• Board Meetings open to members and held in guest friendly venues, locations and times.
• Members may express dissenting opinions and question Board actions
• The Board responds respectfully to dissenters.
• HOA website archives need to know information and facilitates information and maintenance requests.
• Meeting minutes are distributed within a week of the meeting.
• New owners receive welcome packets with "need to know" information.
• Newsletters are distributed at least quarterly.
• All rules and design guidelines are written and compiled in one location for easy access.
• Rules are few and truly necessary.
• Rules include the reason for enactment, a reasonable penalty and right to appeal.
• Board policies that affect lifestyle and ownership responsibilities are circulated to owners for comment prior to enactment.

Using these member friendly business practices demonstrates that the Board operates in the open plus respects the other members and their opinions. Simply communicating that attitude will keep most members satisfied that the Board is doing a good job. Failure to provide these kind of services results in discord and suspicion which promotes hassles that the Board doesn’t need.

Another benefit of member friendly business practices is that they get the Board organized and prepared to do business. With these systems in place, crisis management becomes rare and the directors can hang up their firefighter suits.

Still another benefit of this management style is that serving on a Board that has a clear plan of action is personally rewarding. As others observe the rewards, they too will volunteer to be part of a winning team. Getting things done attracts achievers. Success begets more success. Happy members mean a harmonious community. (Do I hear a sweet refrain of "carefree living"?) When it comes to HOA business, keep it transparent by practicing Fishbowl Management.

For more on this, see the "Planning Tools" section.    BACK

Scenarios & Solutions
Homeowner association boards can find themselves faced with scenarios that call for discernment, wisdom and compromise. If the Board is too intractable in its thinking, conflict and resentment ensues. Here are some common scenarios taken from actual incidents and how they played out.

Security Bars. An elderly widow living is a first floor condo asks the Board for permission to install security bars on the outside of her windows. There have been no break-ins in the condominium but some in the area. Since installation of security bars would be an alteration of the common area and would be aesthetically unattractive, the Board denies the request.

The owner has the bars installed anyway and the HOA’s attorney demands she remove them or suffer fines. The owner’s lawyer counters that the owner is fearful and that an accommodation should be granted. The parties negotiate a settlement wherein the owner is allowed to keep the bars under the conditions that they be painted the same color as the trim and upon sale, she remove them. The agreement is memorialized in a written document which is recorded in the deed records so that future purchasers will be aware of the agreement.

Heat Pumps. A condo owner petitions to install a heat pump to increase the efficiency of his heating system and provide air conditioning. The only location available for the heat pump is outside in the common area. The Architectural Review Committee denies it due to encroachment in the common area. The owner appeals to the Board which agrees to the installation provided that the owner pay to modify the landscaping to screen the heat pump from view and be responsible for all maintenance and related damage it may cause. The agreement is recorded on the deed record.

Other owners make the same request of the Board which are denied due to visibility from the street and inability to screen the installation properly. The Board formalizes the heat pump installation criteria in a resolution articulating under what conditions they may be installed.

Handicap Ramps. A wheelchair restricted owner requests permission to install a ramp in the common area to overcome steps to his unit entry door. Permission is granted provided the ramp is built to code, painted to match the building and that the ramp is removed when the owner moves. The agreement is memorialized and recorded.

Several years later, the owner must move into an assisted living facility and leaves the unit to a family member. When the Board demands removal of the ramp, the new owner claims a work related injury caused a back injury and the ramp is easier to negotiate. The Board agrees to extend the use of the ramp if the new owner can produce the worker’s compensation determination and a letter from her doctor stating the need for the ramp.

Decks/Patios/Fences/Awnings. In a condominium with enclosed courtyards for each unit, an owner builds a deck and installs a hot tub without permission from the HOA. A neighbor makes a formal request for the same and is denied. When it’s pointed out that there is an existing installation, the Board agrees to grant the request and grandfather the existing installation provided the owners handle all maintenance, pay for related damages (dryrot, water leaks, etc.) and restrict usage to certain hours. The same standard is applied to all future such requests.

Pets. In a planned community with a mandatory leash requirement, a reclusive owner keeps two pit bulls. They have broken their leashes on several occasions and scared the living daylights out of passer bys. The Board advises the owner that the dogs must go but the owner won’t budge.

The HOA’s attorney files suit for injunctive relief and the court awards it with attorney fees. The costs are levied against the owner. When the owner threatens to set the dogs on the Board, he and his dogs are removed permanently, the HOA’s attorney gets a court order to have the dogs removed permanently and the HOA eventually gets paid when the condo sells.

Conclusion. An important consideration in reaching compromises is the cost of attorney fees and who pays them. In protracted disputes, the fees can get quite large. On the one hand, incurring such fees may be worthwhile because the HOA should avoid setting a poor precedent simply because someone resists complying with the covenants.

On the other hand, the Board doesn’t want to squander precious cash to enforce a relatively insignificant issue when a compromise can be reached that would satisfy the owner and protect the HOA.

HOA covenants will usually be upheld by the court if they are clear on their face and are uniformly and consistently enforced. If the Board enacts a rule that goes beyond the covenants, it must be intended for the health and happiness of the residents or to reinforce home market values.

That said, the Board is encouraged to seek compromise whenever possible as long as it doesn’t impair the power of the HOA to enforce the covenants. When faced with the option to fight or compromise, lean toward the latter.

By J. David Bennett of Landye Bennett Blumstein    BACK

The Traveling Drip
Building leaks can be maddening when water makes its way from the outside in. It can drip through the ceiling, a light fixture or window frame. The water is usually fairly easy to clean up but unless the point of entry can be found and fixed, the drip, drip, drip goes on and on and on.

Water likes to travel like a hobo riding the rails: It jumps on and jumps off unpredictably. This is particularly true in common wall housing that share roofs, walls, ceilings and floors. Water can sneak in above one unit and leak mysteriously in a totally different one a great distance away, confounding both the occupants and those charged with the repair. To make matters worse, the leak often only happens during a storm and after hours at time and a half rate. ARGHHHHHH!

So what are some of the sources of these vexing drips and what can be done about them?

Roof Defects, Ponding or Flashing. The roof is the first place to suspect for leaks. When the rain stops, inspect the roof looking for missing shingles, lifted seams, unusual ponding. Leaks often begin around flashing or where two roofs join, particularly if one was added on later. Leaf clogs can back water up beyond the valley flashing and penetrate the roof. This can also happen if the valley is too narrow for the amount of water running down it.

It is fairly common for water to leak around chimneys, especially on the uproof side. Check to see if flashing there is intact. Also check for "kick-out" flashing where vertical walls meet the roof and gutters. Kick-out flashing is designed to push water away from a vertical wall into the gutter. If it’s missing, water will run down the wall and find a point of entry. It also is a major source of dryrot in rainy locales.

If the leak is coming down a wall from the ceiling, start looking up. Go into the attic space with a flashlight and backtrack from the spot above the ceiling toward the roof. Check both sides of rafters because water may run

down them to the wall. Look carefully around all vent pipes going through the roof and around the chimney, if you have one. You can sometimes narrow the search by running a hose over the suspect area to see if the leak resumes.

Wind Driven Moisture. When rain and snow rides the wind, strange things happen. With enough lateral force, moisture can be driven up through roof vents. If the moisture happens to be snow, temperature may have to moderate before the snow melts and begins to drip. If wind driven moisture is common, a different style of vent may be needed. Wind can also drive moisture into openings in the siding, trim, doors and windows. Inspect these areas to determine if there are points of entry. Recaulk and/or flash as necessary.

Ice Dams When snow builds up on the roof, ice dams can form as the snow melts, back water up under shingles and cause leaks. Ice dams need to be removed to relieve the ponding. Products like Grace Ice & Water Shield under the lowest 3'-6' drip edge of a pitched roof help prevent leaks from ice dam backups.

Siding & Trim Flashing & Caulking. Caulking should be redone with every paint cycle and beefed up every year, especially around windows and doors. Use high grade flexible caulking with a warranty as long as the paint cycle to prevent premature failure. Of course, make sure it’s applied it properly. Siding and trim locations often lack metal flashing on the top edge which often leads to leaks, particularly if the building has minimal roof overhang to deflect rain. Caulking in those locations is no substitute for proper flashing. If it’s absent, make it so.

Rain Gutter Overflows. Undersized gutters will often overflow during high volume rainstorms which could prompt siding or window related leaks If such storms are frequent, consider supersizing your gutter system. Clogging is usually the cause of overflows. Make sure offending trees are cut back to reduce gutter debris and provide more frequent gutter cleaning, especially to hotspots that are prone to clogging. Experiment with various products like Gutter Helmet or Gutter Guard that claim to help prevent clogs by deflecting leaves, needles and other tree debris.

As you sleuth the Case of the Traveling Drip, remember that the enemy is elusive and persistent. Roofing contractors are pretty good at identifying the source and making corrections but it may take some trial and error, especially if the roof has multiple levels and transitions. With patience and persistence, you can send this freeloader packing.   BACK