A "for sale" sign is only going to go up for a limited period of time, and will be taken down when the unit is sold. Just because the bylaws prohibit them does not mean that the association immediately has to call out the big guns. Doing so will only cause the seller to leave the condominium on a sour note. I recommend that associations adopt a friendly letter to send to selling co-owners reminding them of the bylaws, but noting that the board of directors will allow the sign to remain until the unit is sold or for 90 days, whichever is shorter.
If the sign is a political sign, again these go up for limited periods of time and are taken down after the election. The board may wish to adopt a policy allowing a limited number of these signs maybe one per candidate or one per unit a limited size, allow them to be posted only in a designated area, limit them to being erected not more than [insert your figure here] days before the election, and provide that the association will dispose of them if not removed within [again, insert your figure here] days after the election.
Other signs should be considered on the basis of what they are advertising; I have yet to have a board ask if they can remove a yellow ribbon around a tree, but most boards would remove or request removal of a sign advertising a commercial business. I occasionally get a co-owner who argues that the sign restriction violates his "constitutional right to free speech. As the Michigan Court of Appeals has noted, by purchasing a unit in a condominium, "each unit owner [gives] up a certain degree of freedom of choice which he might otherwise enjoy in separate, privately owned property.
If the association wishes to enforce a sign restriction, the proper remedy is to file suit in the circuit court seeking an injunction requiring removal of the sign. A co-owner is flying a flag outside his unit and refuses to take it down; what do we do? Both Michigan and federal statutes protect the right of a co-owner or homeowner association member to fly an American flag, under certain conditions. If the flag is an American flag and does not exceed 3 feet by 5 feet and does not cause a hazard to the health and safety of other residents the Michigan Condominium Act allows a co-owner is allowed to fly such a flag "outside" of his unit.
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If the flag is another type of flag, then the condominium documents may authorize the association to compel the owner to take it down; see the section on handling bylaw violations above. Setting forth all the rules is beyond the scope of this FAQ page, so consult your attorney for specifics, but the general rules are:. Again, these rules are very general. The FCC takes a dim view of associations' interfering with an individual's reception, so care is needed to make sure that the associations' policies, and enforcement of those policies, do not run afoul of the FCC's regulations or the association may wind up taking a trip to Washington, DC to defend itself.
Parking is limited at our complex and problems continually arise. How do we address the issue? Parking is an issue that comes up so regularly that Steve wrote an entire article about it. The first question to ask is whether the co-owner is disabled and is requesting the modification to accommodate the disability. If so, special rules apply and you should consult an attorney to make sure that you don't run afoul of federal and state disability laws. Failure to comply can make the association liable for actual damages, in some cases punitive damages, and for the co-owner's costs and attorney fees.
If the co-owner is not disabled, the Michigan Condominium Act provides that a co-owner may make alterations and modifications to his unit subject to the terms and conditions of the condominium documents. Most condominium documents prohibit alterations without the express written approval of the association. If yours contains this prohibition, then the board may condition approval on such terms as the board considers appropriate.
If the alteration or modification affects the structural integrity of the unit or common elements, the board may wish for plans and drawings to be certified by an architect or engineer. In most cases, the association will wish to enter into a written agreement with the co-owner which specifies how long the improvement will stay, who pays the cost to maintain it, and under what conditions the premises have to be restored to their pre-existing condition.
This agreement should be recorded in the chain of title to the unit so that subsequent purchasers are on notice of the terms of the association's grant of consent. Someone sold their unit on a land contract; do we treat the seller or the purchaser as the "owner" of the unit? The Michigan Condominium Act provides that " 'Co-owner' includes land contract vendees [purchasers] and land contract vendors[sellers], who are considered jointly and severally liable under this act and the condominium documents, except as the recorded condominium documents provide otherwise.
Sometimes I get sellers who claim their land contract obligates the purchaser to pay assessments or otherwise comply remedy the alleged violation. This provision of the act means an association does not get caught in the middle of such finger pointing between the seller and the purchaser. Some condominium documents provide that a land contract seller is not personally liable for unpaid assessments until such time as the seller forfeits or forecloses the land contract and regains possession of the premises.
Even under these types of provisions, nothing prevents the association from foreclosing its lien against both the land contract seller and the land contract purchaser.
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What should the association's insurance cover, and what should the co-owner's insurance cover? The short answer is that the governing documents will apportion and assign insurance responsibility between the association and the co-owner, so read your documents. The association should also carry liability insurance to cover slip-and-fall type accidents. If the association has employees, it needs workmen's compensation insurance.
If it owns a vehicle, it needs auto insurance. Your best bet is to find a competent insurance agent who is familiar with the needs of condominiums, provide him with a complete set of the association's documents, and ask him to provide coverage appropriate for the associations's risks as stated in the documents.
A co-owner's insurance should cover "everything else," but what that may entail depends upon the risks the co-owner is willing to assume. On many occasions, Steve has seen a co-owner's company deny coverage on the basis that something should be covered by the association's policy, and have the associations company deny coverage on the basis that the homeowner's policy should cover the loss.
If the co-owner has insurance from the same company as the association, the co-owner will not be caught in the middle of this finger pointing game because the company is going to cover the loss under one or the other policies. Our documents specify that our meetings will be conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order; what are Robert's Rules of Order? Henry Martyn Robert wrote a book in setting forth procedures by which an assembly conducts its meetings and its business in an orderly fashion.
As noted in the Foreword to the edition "The enduring principle underlying Robert's Rules of Order is that, though the minority shall be heard and absentees protected, the majority shall decide. There have been no less than 11 editions of Roberts Rules of Order published over the years, according to the official website. Unless one has had a class in parliamentary procedure or was on the debate team in high school or college or is a community association lawyer , one has probably never heard of Robert's Rules of Order. The main point of this provision of your documents is that everyone gets to speak his peace at association meetings and the business of the association gets accomplished.
For all but the very largest community associations, the formality of Roberts is probably not necessary. If you do get a member of your association who delights in interrupting with "points of order," I recommend appointing him on the spot to be the parliamentarian for the meeting. Usually, this person either wants to make his or her point or to try to befuddle the meeting leader; if you try to appoint him parliamentarian you will very quickly know which is his purpose.
The developer shall be liable for any deficiency in this amount at the transitional control date. An example may help clarify what is meant by a "noncumulative" basis. In a perfect world, the association would have been adequately funding its reserves so that, as capital replacements become necessary roads, roofs, etc. The concept is fairly simple: Determine its expected useful life. Determine where you are in its expected useful life.
Determine the cost of replacing the item.
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Then do the math. If the project is new, or if the roofs were just replaced last year, then there are 15 years left in the expected useful life. One makes this analysis for each and every item for which the association has replacement responsibility under the condominium documents. Discount inflation because the association will be should be earning interest on the reserves. If the reserve analysis does not work out exactly roofs fail early, costs rise faster than inflation, etc. If this sounds difficult and time consuming, know that there are several companies who will do a reserve study for an association, providing the association with both a valuable "check-up" on the health of the physical plant of the condominium project as well as a detailed roadmap for funding the reserves.
What's the difference between an "additional" assessment and a "special" assessment? Most condominium documents differentiate between "additional" assessments and "special" assessments. An additional assessment may be levied by the board of directors without a vote of the co-owners. A special assessment requires approval of the co-owners by a certain majority or percentage as stated in the condominium documents. Additional assessments levied by the board are usually authorized for budgetary shortfalls, repair or replacement of existing common elements, additions to the common element not exceeding a specified sum each year, or for emergencies.
Special assessments which require a vote of the co-owners are basically anything else not covered as an additional assessment. Funding the installation of a pool or tennis court where none existed before would be an example of an item requiring a special assessment. Can we fund the cost of repairing our [roofs, roads, swimming pool, etc. Steve has sheparded several associations through the loan process, and there are lenders see below who will lend to condominium associations.
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Your documents may require approval of members before the board can borrow money, and you may have to amend your documents to grant a lien to or otherwise satisfy your prospective lender. Steve's fundamental objection to funding replacements and repairs by loan is that there is already a mechanism in place to fund these: Borrowing the money from a lender just injects additional costs closing costs, fees, interest to the costs of the repairs. Why not simply assess the membership and avoid the additional cost and paperwork? There is an argument to be made that borrowing the money and paying it back over time lessens the blow of a one-time assessment due immediately, but if the association has been adequately funding its reserves, the additional assessment should not be that much anyway.
Steve Sowell lists these lenders as a courtesy and makes no recommendations. Investigate carefully and make your own informed decision as to which lender to borrow from. We have some "snowbirds" who go to Florida or Nevada, or California, etc. How do we gain access to their unit in the event of emergencies?
Most documents provide that an association has access to a unit on prior notice for inspection or repair of general or limited common elements, and without notice in the event of emergencies. Some documents provide that, if the co-owner does not provide access, the association can gain acces by any reasonably necessary means and charge the cost back to the owner. For non-emergencies, I recommend a first letter to the owner asking them to contact the association to set up a date and time for the inspection. If no contact is made, follow up with a second letter advising that the association will be at the unit on a specified date and, if no one is there to grant the association access, the association will obtain access through a locksmith and if applicable charge the cost back to the unit.
In any event, if the owner objects to entry, the association cannot "breach the peace" in gaining access to a unit. At that point, the association must seek a court order granting access. Can you give us some guidelines for moving from self-management to hiring a management company?
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First, do your homework. There are some excellent management companies, quite a few mediocre management companies, and a few really poor management companies in Michigan. Review the web site. Ask for, and contact, references. Second, recognize that the management company is going to do things differently than the board is used to doing them. The financial report may be in a different format if the management company uses different software.
The management company will have its own methods and processes for handling maintenance requests and there will be a learning curve for your members to start using them. Give the management company the benefit of the doubt; it may take six months for the the transition to be completed, but the board should thereafter find that its burden has been significantly lessened by transitioning to professional management. However the dollar security deposit is only a hold on your credit card and not a charge. It will only become a charge if after your departure we discover missing items from the condo or damage.
The hold will be placed on your credit card 5 days before your arrival and will be released after 28 days. Others will have it in their contract that your credit card will be charged for lost or damaged items. None of these are considered unusual. You're going to be held responsible for damages no matter what method they use. That would be the least best method imo. Most people claim that they're responsible and careful. And most people do get their full security deposit back. If that's the case you should have nothing to worry about.
It's the ones who aren't so careful that make security deposits necessary. I saw this post a few weeks ago but was already booked for the time we're going to be there: All of your saved places can be found here in My Trips. Log in to get trip updates and message other travellers. Browse forums All Browse by destination. What are the most popular tours in Kauai? Kauai Eco Adventure Helicopter Tour. Kauai Waterfall Picnic Tour and Na Pali Sunset Dinner Cruise.
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