|
|
|
STAYED INVOLVED IN YOUR ASSOCIATION
April 1, 2004
Living in a community association can be the most rewarding
or the most frustrating experience of your life! But the
main reason for Unit Owners being unhappy and frustrated is
due to not being involved and informed of the workings and
operations of the Community Association.
In any form of community association, you, the owner, must
stay involved in the workings of the association. The
association always needs owner volunteers for the Board of
Directors and Committees. In a diverse group of people,
there are many people with many talents who should be
willing to participate for the greater good of the
community. In addition, the Board of Directors needs unit
owner participation at meetings for input and guidance and
to help in the overall decision-making process. The
association does not operate on its own without the owners’
involvement. Even if there is a management company or
management staff handling the day-to-day operations and
problems, it is the Board of Directors (the owners) who has
the ultimate responsibility to manage and operate the
association. It does not happen by itself. Otherwise, if
there is no participation, involvement or direction from
the owners, the association will be aimless and not forward
thinking. Problems will arise that could have been or
should have been anticipated by an active community. To
fully protect your investment and your lifestyle, an owner
needs to be involved in the association and its operations.
If this is not possible, you must at least go to Board of
Directors, Committee, Workshop and/or Membership Meetings
in order to stay informed and be able to benefit from the
community association experience and lifestyle. A person's
home is usually the single most important and costly
investment that they will ever make. To leave major
operations and maintenance decisions to others, without
your input and participation, just does not make very good
business sense.
The major cause of unhappiness and misunderstanding for an
owner in a community association is usually the result of a
belief that the association takes care of all maintenance,
repair and replacement problems. This is a misconception
that occurs daily in most communities. This
misunderstanding is usually a result of a lack of a working
knowledge of the documents and the state statutes that
govern your association. In many cases, the owner believes
that because they are paying maintenance fees, everything
that ever needs maintenance, repairs or replacements should
automatically be handled by the association. In most
cases, the documents will provide the guidelines for any
repairs and replacements and will define who is
responsible. If the documents are silent or are in conflict
with state statutes, the state statutes may prevail.
It is the responsibility of the owner of the unit to read
and understand the details of the documents and their
ultimate ramifications upon the unit owner's lifestyle and
budget. It may be assumed that since it is a condominium
unit, everything should be maintained by the association,
however, it is not uncommon to have doors, frames, garage
doors and windows, etc. excluded from documents, as these
elements may be the owner's responsibility and not the
association's. Therefore, it is incumbent for the buyer to
read the documents or have the help of an expert (usually
an attorney who specializes in real estate law) to
interpret the documents for a buyer.
In addition to being knowledgeable about the documents and
the association's maintenance responsibilities, an owner
should be able to read and interpret the association's
budgets, balance sheets and income statements for the last
few years. If there is a problem with any of these
categories, there may be possible future increases in
maintenance assessments in order to make up for past
deficits.
As an owner, if you are unable to read and understand the
association's budgets and balance sheets, have someone who
is knowledgeable to assist you in reading and interpreting
them. In the long run, it could save you a lot of heartache
and money. As a seller, you’ll be able to promote the
financial well being of your community when marketing your
unit.
In a well-managed association you can expect to live in a
community where you are respected as an individual, are
well informed about the workings and operations of the
community and are encouraged to be involved with your
association, either actively or as a member participant. A
well-run association will have an adequate budget to
operate the association. It will have adequate funds for
emergencies, long-term projects and funds set aside for
reserves for major repairs and replacements. There will be
adequate insurance to protect the association from casualty
and liability losses. Professionals are used throughout
the year by the association to help in the operations and
management of the association. The records of the
association are well maintained and readily available for
unit owner inspections. A well run community association,
is not only a place where you want to live but is also a
place where you will be able to maximize your initial
purchase, in the form of a higher resale value.
Most associations are not perfect but are a work in
progress as events, conditions and membership in the
association are constantly changing. No matter what is
happening, the association should have the wherewithal to
deal with most situations and circumstances for the benefit
of the association, either in its operations, its talent
pool of members or from its professional ranks. Either
way, stay actively involved with your association or
participate and attend Board of Directors, Members and
Committee Meetings.
Copyright 2007© Associated Property Management of the Palm Beaches, Inc.
|
|
