Blog

By Karen St. Onge, Esq.

This article first appeared in our Fall 2022 Communicator Magazine.

Although attorneys advise homeowner associations and community managers in preparation for appearing in small claims court and assist with appeals, more often community managers and board members go it alone since the amount in controversy does not seem to warrant the expense. (CCP §116.530, 116.540, Civil Code §4100). Here is what senior community managers in the Bay Area and Central Valley had to say about their experiences in small claims court.

FIRST SIGNS YOU ARE HEADING TO SMALL CLAIMS COURT

According to a manager who has appeared hundreds of times in small claims court, the first sign that the association is going to get sued by a member of the association is a request for association records. The first thing she does is open a file and starts tracking everything that is requested and produced, in detail, and document every interaction with that member.

SHOULD YOU FILE IN SMALL CLAI...

California’s New Composting Law

By Aaron A. Hayes, Esq.

This article first appeared in our Fall 2022 Communicator Magazine.

Green compost bins will soon join California’s familiar blue recycle bins along our curbs as the latest trend in waste management. While already familiar in some areas, Senate Bill ("S.B.") 1383 extends mandatory organic waste composting statewide as part of California’s comprehensive Short-Lived Climate Pollutants strategy.

S.B. 1383’s stated goal is to substantially reduce organic waste in landfills by requiring cities and towns to collect compostable waste separately from other refuse, then divert it to approved organic processing facilities. Although S.B. 1383 became effective January 1, 2022, local jurisdictions have until January 2024 to become fully compliant.

SIGNIFICANCE OF SB 1383 FOR COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS

Planned Developments

Planned developments consisting of single-family homes will likely see little operational change at the association level...

By D.W. Haney, CPA (Retired)

Most HOA disputes, dysfunctions, and disruptions are due to financial and standard of care stewardship issues. Who pays what, when, and why? And unfortunately, HOA financial statements produced today are misleading and fail to reflect the community’s economic reality.

In general, HOA directors, managers, and advisors do not have the skill sets necessary to understand, analyze, and respond to the financial statement stories contained in GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) compliant financial statements. These statements are a foreign language to most, who oftentimes do not seek the advice of financial translators and guides to help them on this important piece of the HOA journey.

One big piece in this puzzle is the Statement of Financial Position (balance sheet). Here we will examine the three different methods to tell the financial strength story: cash basis, full accrual, equity designation. (There is a fourth method on the scene right now—c...

By Eric Lecky

As Every Community manager and community association leader knows, building components begin to fail as they age—and your pipes are no exception. Depending on the material, a building’s pipes may begin to develop age-related cracks and leaks within a few decades of installation, sometimes less.

The question then becomes: When do you repair the pipe and when do you replace the entire piping system?

KNOWING WHEN TO RE-PIPE

Based on estimated useful life tables, some piping materials may begin to fail after 30 years, while others may not show signs of age until 50 years. Because pipe replacement is expensive, you could start assessing your piping systems periodically when your building reaches 20 years old, giving yourself time to reserve funds for a future re-pipe.

Unfortunately, most community managers and boards aren’t regularly testing their pipes, and so they first face the decision to repair or replace when their properties are already experiencing frequent leaks ...

By Trent Nelson

Imagine taking an evening walk as the sun sets across the beautiful lake or pond in your community. The sky is pink and orange, crickets are chirping, and a warm breeze blows across the water. Now, imagine looking down at the steep shoreline in front of you, finding that it’s bare, crumbling, and so unstable that you’re wary to venture to the edge. Not only is this an unsightly and even dangerous distraction, but it can make residents question the management priorities of their association and deter new homeowners from settling down in the community.

Even the most well-cared-for lakes and ponds are incomplete without regular shoreline maintenance. Preventive management is necessary to support the health and longevity of the overall ecosystem, and management efforts can vary for each part of the shoreline. However, before jumping into implementing proactive and ongoing strategies, existing erosion issues must be addressed.

The most effective solution for severe erosio...

Co-ops, Airspace Condos, Non-DS Elections, Lake Communities, Public Facilities, and More
By John D. Hansen, Esq. & Becky Jolly, CCAM 

This article is about the unusual topics that apply to common interest developments (CIDs), but are not often discussed in articles and presentations. Here we will share our knowledge and experience with those who deal with these "outsider" CIDs as we examine co-ops including mobile home parks, airspace condos, elections that do not use secret ballots, communities with water features that have unique issues, and CIDs that maintain public parks and facilities.

CO-OPS

A cooperative (co-op) is one of four CID types in California. Members and subleases are approved by committee or board through an application process. Primarily mobile home parks, they can also include condo-style developments that are similar to apartments. A member has a membership in the corporation, coupled with a right to occupy a space or residence. Members do not actually own their u...

By Trent Nelson

As An Aquatic specialist with more than a decade of experience, I’ve assisted hundreds of property managers with their lake and stormwater pond management needs over the years. Despite the diverse types of lakes and ponds they oversee, I’ve noticed that many clients have the same set of concerns or misconceptions about their waterbodies. These often come to light as we work together to design a freshwater management program. Let’s take an in-depth look at some of these common assumptions. 

1. LAKES AND PONDS ARE PERMANENT FIXTURES IN THE LANDSCAPE

While lakes and ponds can be long-lasting features in our communities, they are not permanent. They fill with sediment that erodes from the shoreline or flows in during rainstorms. Weed growth and decomposition may lead to the development of muck. And trash, tree branches, and other pollutants can build up over time.

The aging of a lake or pond is a natural phenomenon, but can be highly accelerated through human activity a...

Common, Costly and Concerning
By Steven Fielding

THE GOVERNING BOARDS of condominium associations worry about many things. Reserves, rules enforcement, insurance costs, maintenance, pets, parking, and COVID are on a long list of things that keep trustees and association managers up at night. Water heaters probably are not, but they should be. Here are a few hard – or soggy – facts:

• Water damage is one of the two leading property damage risks faced by homeowners, representing nearly one-third of all homeowner claims filed annually, exceeded only by wind and hail damage.
• One in every 50 insured homeowners files a water damage claim every year; the average claim cost is about $7,000, adding up to more than $2.5 billion in insured losses annually, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
• There are no statistics on how many of those claims are attributable to water heaters, but 75 percent of all water heaters will fail – usually without warning – within 12 years of their purch
...

By Kelly Zibell, AMS, PCAM

Demographic changes are taking place both in the workplace and in community associations. Seventy-five percent of the workforce will consist of millennials by 2025, but more than 97 percent of homeowner leaders are traditionalists, baby boomers, and Generation Xers, according to an analysis from my company. This means that strategies for leading employees and working with residents and homeowner leaders should take generational differences into consideration.

Each generation in the workplace or in a community – from traditionalists to Generation Z – has distinct work or volunteer motivations, aspire to diverse career goals, and require specific types of communication, engagement, and management styles. The table shows a summary of attributes that distinguish each of these five generations.

Management company executives and association boards must learn how to address the changing needs of a multigenerational workforce or membership to ensure they remain co...

A Quick Look At Safety And Fair Housing Rules

By Ellen Schuster, Esq. 

THE IDEA OF kids playing in parking lots makes directors and managers wince – and for good reason. The potential for injury evokes concerns about safety and association liability issues. But boards must balance these concerns with restrictive rules that may violate fair housing laws.

Like landlords, associations have the duty to protect residents from foreseeable risks of harm. Frances T. v. Village Green Owners Association (1986) 42 Cal.3d 490.¹

It is foreseeable that people – especially children – who play in areas where cars are driving may be hit and injured by a car. This means that the association may have a duty to protect people from the risk of being hit and injured by a car. To meet this duty, many boards adopt rules prohibiting play or recreation and requiring children to be supervised by adults when in common area parking lots. Sounds simple enough, right?

Simple solutions become complex when fair h...