Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I hear ya, if I didn't live in Massachusetts and could afford a SF in a good location with equivalent standard of living (our condos are gorgeous, beautiful grounds, private, quiet, etc.) I would. Plus I spend about 3 months or more out of state travelling. Maybe find a different condo in a different HOA? ...heck, might move into something worse. And it could be worse.
Quote:
Originally Posted by foxboro82
What? I'm in the area my handle suggests. HOAs abound around here. Many, many condos in this town and surrounding towns, all with HOAs.
I would have guessed Foxboro but people choose their names for all sorts of different reasons (maybe you've had season tickets since '82). I don't think most people in Massachusetts would say HOAs abound, but I think I mistook that you were in a SFH which is why I was so confused. When we were looking for our first house we looked relatively near Foxboro (Dedham, Westwood, Norwood, Canton, Sharon) and didn't see a single house with an HOA, but that was probably in part because we were looking at SFHs and in part because nothing we looked at was built after 1960.
Last edited by jayrandom; 01-01-2015 at 07:45 AM..
When we were looking for our first house we looked relatively near Foxboro (Dedham, Westwood, Norwood, Canton, Sharon) and didn't see a single house with an HOA, but that was probably in part because we were looking at SFHs and in part because nothing we looked at was built before 1960.
...I see...that makes sense. Condo HOAs I think are pretty common in this area between 128 and 495-ish. I wasn't able to afford a decent SFH when in the market so pretty much all I saw were condos in HOAs.
This is a volunteer role, you are non compensated, and the HOA most likely carries a ton of D&O insurance. You are needlessly worrying.
Good point. As a trustee I am covered by D&O, ...but as an HOA member, if the HOA is sued, it will affect me. If someone sues the HOA and wins the case, I could be affected as an HOA member. We do have insurance, but our attorney has pointed out to us potential openings in our rules and regs that could be problematic in this regard.
...point in case although on somewhat of an unrelated circumstance having to do with what seemed to be some gossip that was trying to get stirred by members of our board, our attorney cited a case to us where an HOA member successfully sued for about $1,000,000 - the HOA member was an alleged sex offender and the board thought they were innocently disseminating what turned out to be not completely accurate information,-- the board was trying to act in good faith to alert/protect the community based upon information that it had. Our lawyer was pretty sure the Board's D&O insurance policy excluded coverage related to defamation-type allegations.
So not everything can be covered by even the biggest D&O policies.
...again, this is why lawyers make the money they do...not everything is cut and dry.
Others have pointed out putting my unit in an LLC probably won't protect me. And I can see why that would be.
Last edited by foxboro82; 01-01-2015 at 10:58 AM..
Yes, those are the laws. Some people make rules, bylaws, etc. very much in line with the state laws.
Have you looked into breach of fiduciary duty with an attorney.
You probably know that a corporation needs to have an attorney represent itself. If you are not a corporation, however limited, you do not need an attorney but the condo association would. That will cost them. I have known people with legal experience who represented themselves well in such cases...but best to have that experience or a lawyer yourself.
Legal action could also be an opportunity for you to send out an email blast to all residents about why this expense will be incurred and how you tried to avoid it.
At our last association, when I was asked to run for the board, and knowing all the secrets and conniving and that a non-paying resident had won last time when requirements call for being up to date on dues....etc....I said I would run a great campaign just to be on the board in order to resign and send out that letter about what I found out. But, as you may find out sometime if you haven't already, sometimes you just have to leave the demons to themselves to disintegrate away and move free of that.
Wouldn't something like this last cause the board to want to review their insurance?
I think the point the lawyer was trying to make was 'mindful in your treatment of HOA members and your place as board members, otherwise it might get you in trouble'
But asking to have the insurance reviewed isn't a bad idea.
I think it might make better sense that I find an umbrella policy for myself to insure against incompetent actions by the board members and others. Although I'm sure those policies, at least the ones I can afford, have their limits.
....just to be on the board in order to resign and send out that letter about what I found out.
I don't think you have to resign in order to do that necessarily. I've considered putting together a non-formal blog site on my general findings.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cully
sometimes you just have to leave the demons to themselves to disintegrate away and move free of that.
I think that is probably what the other board members are starting to feel...two of the original four have left since I've been on the board...they're uncomfortable with the questions I ask and the concerns I raise.
I don't think you have to resign in order to do that necessarily. I've considered putting together a non-formal blog site on my general findings.
I think that is probably what the other board members are starting to feel...two of the original four have left since I've been on the board...they're uncomfortable with the questions I ask and the concerns I raise.
Something to think about.....I have heard that some people have been sued because of what they were stating about their hoa in a blog or newsletter. Sued by the hoa corporation. Although if yours isn't incorporated I don't know who sues. I did let residents know things that were in minutes (which were online but not pubicized as such so many residents didn't know. They were also very edited so I expounded on what really happened in the meetings factually.) I know of someone who was in our last hoa before we arrived who had a newsletter that gave another name to the hoa, which may have been a good idea. Those receiving it new who was really being talked about.
Something to think about.....I have heard that some people have been sued because of what they were stating about their hoa in a blog or newsletter. Sued by the hoa corporation.
Yes, that concern is precisely why I haven't actually gone that route. I think it's also why the board is adamant about not having open meetings and/or a website for minutes, etc. They're afraid of the negative publicity the truth could create and potential repercussions.
I'd like to think I have brought some balance to the board. They needed it.
We also have a whole other very ugly issue going on with a piece of land that was divided from the community, put in a separate trust of a select group (some of who are also board members) who are making decisions with a developer and lawyers on getting permits from the town on how the land will be developed - which is ways is questionable on whether decisions being made are in the best interest of the HOA on several levels. Very, very messy in my opinion. Supposedly this was divided nearly a decade ago in order to sell to make the HOA money. But still slogging through the permit process. But if I were one of the people in that separate trust, I would definitely be getting umbrella insurance of some sort.
Last edited by foxboro82; 01-02-2015 at 10:47 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
