Homeowners occasionally bring lawsuits against condo board of directors, though it's worth noting that these legal actions often prove unsuccessful. Most homeowner's have never used a litigation lawyer and are unaware of the costs of such a legal action. Regardless, as a board member, it's important to maintain vigilance and avoid any misuse of authority. [...]
We frequently get questions from board members on why certain assets not included. What assets are most likely to be excluded? The general rule is if a component (assets) has a life greater than 30 years its outside the scope of the study. For example, natural gas piping has a life of 50 years [...]
Our blog has discussed over the years the value of having a Reserve Study. It is, after all, one of the best practices an association can take to protect property values. None of us want to see the value of our home slashed and our home equity vanish. But that’s exactly what happens when maintenance [...]
What happens if our association reserves go to zero and we don't have money to do maintenance? Do we go bankrupt? An association that fails to make adequate contributions to their reserve fund are on a path to insolvency. Could the board take on significant debts that it can't pay for? Yes, they could. There [...]
How should we invest our Reserve Fund? We frequently get the question on what should we do with reserves especially with recent inflation increasing costs. Washington State's Laws governing associations (RCW 64.34) is pretty clear. They don't have any restrictions other than an association needs to have a separate reserve account. So the board has [...]
Recently Governor DeSantis signed into law Senate Bill 154 (SB 154). This was an amendment to SB4D One of the more significant updates to the Florida Condominium Act, SB 4D is viewed by many experts in the fields as a crucial step toward preventing another catastrophic incident similar to the Surfside tragedy. SB 154 attempts [...]
8 Facts About Your Washington State Association CC&Rs Over the past 50 years we are seeing more properties that are part of an association which have a governing document called Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs). CC&Rs are rules and limitations that govern a community whether they are in a multi-family building or freestanding home. Typically [...]
What is the Fannie Mae 'unavailable condo and co-op list'? Did you know condo associations can land on the list if it has violations related to structural or mechanical repairs that need to be completed? Imagine a Pacific Northwest condo association that certain lenders won’t touch: It could be a nightmare situation for a buyer, [...]
Key takeaway: A structural integrity reserve study (SIRS) is a non-invasive, visual inspection of critical infrastructure that relates to the safety of a building. Washington's Condominium Act does not require structural or engineering inspections currently but its very possible that with Florida changing its requirements after the Surfside Condominium collapse that could change. However Fannie May [...]
Before a board votes to use reserves to fund a project they should ask three questions to determine whether or not to use HOA or Condominium reserve funds. Members should ask: Is this a maintenance project? Use HOA reserve funds for maintenance projects only. Painting the exterior of the building(s) is a great example of [...]
