We answer your questions about HOAs and condo boards

We’ve been receiving a fair number of questions about homeowner associations (HOAs), condo boards and the general operations of condo and townhome buildings. Here are some questions we’ve recently received.

Q: When are condo board minutes to be displayed? Do we publish a draft soon after the meeting? Or, after the next condo board meeting when the minutes are approved? Thank you.

A: While the laws in your state may govern your association and your governing documents may also provide some insight, we think that the members of your association would benefit from seeing association board minutes as soon as possible.

Certainly, minutes should not go out unless they have been approved by the board. There are times there are errors by the person taking the notes of the meeting. The board can review the proposed minutes individually after the meeting (or at the start of the next board meeting at the latest) to make sure they reflect what everybody agreed to at the meeting. So, it’s wise to get the board to approve those minutes and get the minutes out as soon as possible.

Your governing documents may note the timing of when you have meetings and when you distribute the meeting minutes. You might want to review those documents and follow the requirements. You also need to be aware of any state laws that govern associations and make sure you inform the members as laid out in the statute.

Finally, when you have an association board that meets infrequently, say quarterly or even annually, it would be helpful for association members if the board would review and approve the minutes quickly after their board meeting. That way, members are kept up to date without having to wait months between meetings to see what the board is up to.

Q: Can a unit owner of a 300-unit condominium building sue the association to recover assessments paid during the last several decades? We believe they have breached their responsibility, given how they didn’t follow the association bylaws along with other irregularities in how the association was run.

We live in Broward County, Florida, and there is no law enforcement authority that will go after associations. Neither the local state’s attorney office nor police department are willing to help out or investigate corporate crimes.

The new condominium building laws that Florida passed relating to reserves for certain condominium buildings is a gold mine for association boards who syphoned the funds as they saw fit in the past and failed to make repairs when needed. They now levy new assessments on the unit owners, utilizing what I would call a double taxation method.

A: We understand your frustration. Florida passed a law that requires high-rise buildings of a certain height and of a certain age to go through an inspection process and then write a plan to make repairs that are needed to the building. The law also requires the association to have those funds available for those repairs now, and not wait years to collect enough funds and then make the repairs.

Here’s how this new law plays out:

Let’s say a Florida homeowners association has $100,000 in reserves. They now hire a company to study the structural and mechanical systems of the property. The study reveals that the property needs $2,000,000 in repairs. Under the new law, the association is required to immediately raise those funds. They will typically do that by either passing a special assessment and or increasing the monthly assessments.

Given that the law requires the association to have all the money in hand, the association must collect cash from its owners. We certainly can empathize with the surprise and financial pain that the affected condo owners will feel when they receive the bill from the association.

When it comes to suing an association, that’s considered a private matter between a homeowner and their association. For this reason, government agencies don’t get involved. If you have a complaint, you’ll have to hire a lawyer to sue the association and its board. But before you do, make sure that you have a good case, that the amount at issue is substantial enough to be worth the time, trouble and expense, and that you have a good likelihood of getting your money back along with the attorney fees you’ve paid.

Q: The woman who runs the homeowners association my daughter lives in has not communicated with my daughter for the past three years. Her assessments used to be $175 per month. Now, the assessments have been raised every year for the past three years and are at $250. The woman who runs the HOA says she is fixing the building issues and that’s why the assessments are going up. But, my daughter says nothing is getting done. Is there someone who can help her?

A: What kind of help does your daughter need or want? For starters, we hope she and the other owners in the building have received and reviewed the budget and minutes for the board meetings. (And we hope that board meetings are happening on a regular schedule, as set in the property’s condo declaration.) If not, she should obtain copies of these documents to have a better understanding of how the assessments are being spent.

Frequently, homeowners forget that when they live in an association they should take the time to read through the association’s board minutes. These minutes typically provide information on what the board is planning with regard to improvements or repairs. It may also include high level cost estimates for the work.

The budget gives an owner a sense of how funds are being spent. While your daughter may say nothing has been done with the buildings, the association may have spent money on items that aren’t readily apparent, including improvements to the heating and cooling system in buildings, replacement of the roof, or repairs to areas of the building that may not be readily noticeable to all of the owners.

Your daughter should also take the time to get to know her neighbors and members of the association’s board. When neighbors get along and talk, they frequently learn a lot about what goes on with their property.

Having said that, if the building does not provide her with copies of these documents, even after she has specifically requested the information, she might have to write a formal letter to the board requesting these documents. If all else fails, and she feels there is something truly bad going on, she might have to get an attorney involved. However, legal help can be expensive.

Finally, an increase in assessments from $175 to $250 over the last five years may seem high, but given what Sam is seeing in the Chicago metropolitan area, some associations have increased their assessments by much more than that over the last several years. In fact, some associations have decided that they shouldn’t put off needed repairs and are increasing assessments to fund their reserves and make those improvements as soon as possible.

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(Ilyce Glink is the author of “100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask” (4th Edition). She is also the CEO of Best Money Moves, a financial wellness technology company. Samuel J. Tamkin is a Chicago-based real estate attorney. Contact Ilyce and Sam through her website, ThinkGlink.com.)