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ahnbrainerd

Costly Consequences of Overlooking Construction Permits

April 18, 2022 by ahnbrainerd

By Sydney Shaw

Before a homeowner association can begin a new project, whether it’s clearing land for a parking lot or building a bridge over a stream on the property, it must obtain the proper permits from various governing bodies. [Read more…] about Costly Consequences of Overlooking Construction Permits

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Charles Witczak, David J. Byrne, Sydney Shaw

Second, our previous Notice of Annual Meeting and Election of Board members included a dual-purpose document that serves as both a Proxy (i.e., to ensure a Quorum) and as an Absentee Ballot? Some of the Board members, including me, think that this isn’t a good idea and would like to have separate documents. Is this reasonable.?

October 5, 2021 by ahnbrainerd

Reasonable may be irrelevant. Unless “reasonableness” is required concerning a particular action, “reasonableness does not matter. All that matters is whether the notice and ballots are consistent with New Jersey law and the condominium’s bylaws and if so, whether the particular action was undertaken in good faith.

Elysa D. Bergenfeld, Esq
Ansell Grimm & Aaron, P.C.
214 Carnegie Center, Suite 112
Princeton, NJ 08540
Direct Dial: 609-557-1034
e-mail: edb@ansellgrimm.com
Main Office: 609-751-5551
Website: www.ansellgrimm.com

Filed Under: Questions and Answers About Community Association Law

In New Jersey, should the Condominium Association’s Notice of Annual Meeting and Election Ballots for Board members provide a disclosure when one of the Board members running for re-election is also a contractor (who performs work every week)?

October 5, 2021 by ahnbrainerd

It is extremely unlikely that a judge in New Jersey would allow any ballot or notice to have editorial comment about a candidate. 

Elysa D. Bergenfeld, Esq
Ansell Grimm & Aaron, P.C.
214 Carnegie Center, Suite 112
Princeton, NJ 08540
Direct Dial: 609-557-1034
e-mail: edb@ansellgrimm.com
Main Office: 609-751-5551
Website: www.ansellgrimm.com

Filed Under: Questions and Answers About Community Association Law

We do not have the ability to fine. Residents refuse to remove their scooters from hallways. Generally, something in the hallway would be removed by staff. Do we have to allow residents to store their scooters in the hallway because they are disabled? May we take these scooters away ourselves?

June 21, 2021 by ahnbrainerd

First, why is there no ability to fine? Even if there is no provision for that now in the Governing Documents, the (Pennsylvania) Board can enact a fine policy/rule/regulation that is effective going forward.

Next, as to the underlying issue, the residents storing their scooters in the hallways. If that is prohibited by your Governing Documents, and they are not disabled, then enact a find policy (per the preceding paragraph) and enforce it. If one or more of the residents is disabled, then you need to discuss what a reasonable accommodation will be, one that helps that person with their issue and that also keeps the hallways safe for everyone else. If there is no good reason they leave the scooters in the hallways, other than not wanting to take up space in their Unit, then I suggest that is not medically-related (regardless of the need for the scooter) and they should be required to take them into their units.

Sara A. Austin
Austin Law Firm LLC
226 E. Market St.
York, PA 17403
717.846.2246 phone
717.846.2248 fax
saustin@austinlawllc.com
www.austinlawllc.com

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Hallways are general common area. Board has complete authority in that area. Therefore, the scooters can be taken away by the board at any time without warning.

I cannot see how a disability would require a scooter needing to be stored in the hallway. It can easily be stored in the unit instead.

Rinaldo Acri
ACRI Commercial Realty
290 Perry Highway, Suite 1
Pittsburgh, PA 15229-1864
(412) 459-0111
rinaldo.acri@acrirlty.com
www.acrirlty.com

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I would recommend a rule that does not allow storage of personal property in hallways or storage of any items outside any units in common hallways. The rule should be kept fairly generic so that the Association can disallow any person property stored in common areas.

David Hellmuth
Hellmuth & Johnson, PLLC
8050 West 78th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55439
(952) 746-2107
dhellmuth@hjlawfirm.com
www.hjlawfirm.com

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If the residents are in fact disabled, they are entitled to “reasonable accommodations” from the Association. If the scooters are too large or unwieldy to bring into their apartments, then the Association must provide a reasonable location for them. Placing personal property in a hallway is frequently a violation of the local Fire Code, though. In that case, keeping scooters in the hallways would be a violation of law and the Association must look elsewhere, possibly outside the front entrance. If the residents are not disabled, then staff can address the issue as it sees fit (but warn the owners). Meanwhile I would suggest that you send violation notices and if necessary, start legal action. You are not looking to collect additional funds for the Association; you are seeking an incentive for the owners not to continue violating your regulations. Legal fees are a strong lever in that regard.

Kenneth Jacobs
Smith Buss & Jacobs LLP
60 East 42nd Street
Suite 4600
New York, NY 10165
212-688-2400 X4102
kjacobs@sbjlaw.com

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Federal law prohibits the failure to reasonably accommodate disabled persons in residential housing. I assume these residents are disabled. It is very questionable whether leaving a scooter in the hallway would qualify as a “reasonable accommodation” since it raises safety concerns. It is important to discuss with the residents why the scooters cannot be stored inside the unit. Further, it is unclear why this community does not have the ability to fine and whether there are any rules prohibiting this conduct. In general, I do not recommend that associations engage in self-help remedies. I would suggest contacting the local code enforcement official who may be able to issue a cease and desist notice. If possible, this community should adopt a rule prohibiting storage of belongings in hallways and a fine policy.

Eric J. Phillips, Esquire
Hladik, Onorato & Federman, LLP,
298 Wissahickon Avenue
North Wales, PA 19454
Direct Dial: 267-662-9035
Fax: 215-855-9121
ephillips@hoflawgroup.com
www.hoflawgroup.com

Filed Under: Questions and Answers About Community Association Law Tagged With: David G. Hellmuth, Eric J. Phillips, Kenneth Jacobs, Rinaldo Acri, Sara A. Austin

The Attorney’s Role in 
Requests for Proposals (RFPs)

June 11, 2021 by ahnbrainerd

By Sherri Hall

When it comes time to send out a “Request for Proposal” (RFP), a community association may be wondering when to contact their attorney during the process. Oftentimes, associations will have their attorneys review RFPs before sending them out, but some may wait for attorney involvement until after the contract has been awarded. Does the association’s attorney need to review every single RFP beforehand? What are some items that associations should be including in their RFPs?  [Read more…] about The Attorney’s Role in 
Requests for Proposals (RFPs)

Filed Under: Articles, Feature Main

Our Board is trying to lease out an abandoned unit in our condo community. we cannot reach the owner/bank/lender. A Court rendered a decision in our favor that the owner owes the condo almost $50,000 in delinquent monthly common fees. what, if anything, could we pursue?

May 5, 2021 by ahnbrainerd

The Association can pursue the unit owner for the judgment. This would involve locating a bank account or some other assets/property that could be garnished or sold to satisfy the judgment. [Read more…] about Our Board is trying to lease out an abandoned unit in our condo community. we cannot reach the owner/bank/lender. A Court rendered a decision in our favor that the owner owes the condo almost $50,000 in delinquent monthly common fees. what, if anything, could we pursue?

Filed Under: Questions and Answers About Community Association Law Tagged With: Eric J. Phillips, Sara A. Austin

Displaying Flags and a Community Association’s Right to Regulate

April 25, 2021 by ahnbrainerd

By Sherri Hall

With warm weather on the horizon, holidays like Memorial Day and Independence Day will be here before we know it. Along with the holidays and mild weather — flags of all types will soon start popping up all over, including on properties within common interest communities. What can a community association do if things get out of hand with either the type, size or quantity of flags being displayed? When it comes to residents hanging flags, associations have certain rights in terms of regulating what is allowed as well as how and when flags can be displayed.  [Read more…] about Displaying Flags and a Community Association’s Right to Regulate

Filed Under: Articles, Feature Main

How to Prevent and Handle Drainage Issues

April 25, 2021 by ahnbrainerd

By Alyssa Gautieri

A new development is typically built in an open wooded area or park where excess water, such as rain and melted snow, naturally takes its course and soaks into the ground. Once a housing development is built—complete with buildings, parking lots, and roadways—water runoff must find a new place to escape. The water can no longer permeate the soil naturally, which means it may flood roadways, destroy buildings, or erode crops if proper drainage systems are not installed. [Read more…] about How to Prevent and Handle Drainage Issues

Filed Under: Articles, Feature Main

Manger’s Perspective: How Amenities, Maintenance and Projects Have Been Affected During the Pandemic – This Past Year and Looking Forward

April 12, 2021 by ahnbrainerd

By Sherri Hall

As 2021 progresses, many communities are hoping to be able to start reopening some of their amenities this year. Although very few have already reopened, many amenities have been closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. But will reopening require additional maintenance? And has maintenance of the amenities and the communities as a whole been affected by the pandemic? We spoke to Doris Steele, Partner at Spinnaker Management, to get her perspective on the matter.

According to Steele, the CDC regulations have prevented most communities from opening their amenities during the pandemic, mainly because of the cost involved to comply with the requirements. “Many were unable to follow the CDC recommendations with having to hire staff to monitor social distancing, contact tracing, mask wearing and sanitizing, so most communities did not open their amenities since the pandemic started, including their pools,” she said.

Steele noted, however, that while none of the communities her company manages opened their clubhouses or fitness centers during the pandemic, a couple did decide to open their pools. She explained that these associations saw a significant increase in pool-related maintenance costs as they had to purchase sanitizing stations, hire additional staffing to monitor social distancing, perform sanitizing measures every hour, on the hour, and conduct contact tracing..

For those that did not reopen their pools, they still saw their normal pool-related costs during the pandemic, said Steele. Technically, the pools had to be opened (just not for use) in order for maintenance to be performed on them, which Steele said was still necessary. “You have to do pool maintenance no matter what,” she noted.

In order to reopen the gyms and clubhouses, associations will need to ensure they have a cleaning contract in place and will need to have an initial major cleaning performed to get everything sanitized properly. Additionally, the fitness equipment will need to be serviced and cleaned.

Not only will the clubhouses and fitness centers be required to be fully sanitized, but the maintenance of keeping those areas sanitized may be more frequent than it was in the past, said Steele. “This could place an extra burden on the properties in terms of their budgets regarding their amenities,” she said.

While many associations were able to save money in terms of amenity maintenance, this will not be the case in 2021. “What you saved in 2020, you’re certainly not going to save in 2021,” said Steele. “Those retained earnings will be needed in 2021 to open the amenities due to the extra expenditures of sanitizing as per the CDC guidelines.”

Of course, Steele said associations did not remove any of their usual amenity costs from their budgets for 2021 with the idea in mind that the pandemic isn’t going to last forever, and they would eventually be able to reopen. “It’s important to keep those budget line items in there so the common charges reflect what you would normally utilize,” she said. “I think the biggest question in terms of 2021 budgets was, ‘If we do open, where are we going to get the extra money needed to follow the CDC guidelines?’ And I think reopening really depends on the CDC guidelines and the budget of each property and whether or not the property can afford to hire additional staffing to get some of these amenities open.”

Steele said she believes that making certain modifications may help associations tackle this issue and keep costs down as much as possible. “I do see communities moving in this direction to try and get some of their amenities open, but maybe with limited hours,” she noted. “In the approach that I’m taking, we’re talking about it and what it might look like in terms of starting slowly. Ultimately, I think we have to run it by each community and perhaps take a poll. Ask how many people plan to use the fitness center and what hours they would want to go. And try to customize it from there because it’s definitely going to affect the budget.”

Of course, closing amenities wasn’t the only change that took place during the pandemic. Certain projects and their timing were also affected, noted Steele. She explained that early in the pandemic, statewide shutdowns affected some of the bigger projects, as certain contractors were not considered “essential workers” and it was also difficult for some to hire staff during that time. Therefore, for example, a roofing project that started in 2020 and had previously been expected to be finished in 2020 as well may have only been halfway completed with the other half now planned for 2021.

“We did fall behind on some of the bigger ticketed items, and people were concerned that things were taking a long time,” said Steele.

In this case, she said it’s important for property managers to communicate with the unit owners. Having a one-call system, for example, is helpful for being able to send an email to every homeowner at the same time. This can allow managers to let the homeowners know what is taking place regarding certain projects and help alleviate their concerns about what is happening in the community.

Steele noted that with many unit owners home during working hours for the first time, people were more aware of things that they may not have noticed in the past. For example, people who were now forced to work from home were experiencing lawnmowers running while they were trying to work. She said it was, and still is, important for managers to communicate with homeowners and let them know that this is what typically happens when they are at work outside the home.

With everyone being home, Steele said, managers have been receiving more calls from homeowners with concerns and needs. This, she said, has put additional pressure on property managers to have their contractors perform, sometimes even outside of their contracts.

Steele noted that one of the major concerns for managers in 2020 was making sure everything got done that needed to before the first snowfall. “We just kept pushing through and were able to accomplish what was necessary going into the season,” she said. “It wasn’t easy, but we were able to navigate through it while trying to keep the homeowners updated. For the most part, people understood once it was explained to them.”

In terms of routine maintenance, those items weren’t really affected as those contractors were considered “essential,” noted Steele. “They were able to continue working and we were able to keep up the maintenance for the properties,” she said. “Everything still needs to be done. Once the snow is gone and we’re into April, the lawns need to be cared for. We’re still staying on the same schedule,” she said.

Aside from snow removal, winter maintenance items also include any necessary tree pruning or tree removal, which is best done while the trees are dormant from late fall until early spring.

Other than that, Steele explained that during the winter is the time for communities to start gearing up for their spring projects. “Right now is the time to gather contracts and prepare for projects you want to accomplish in the spring,” she said.

It’s also the time to get ready for spring maintenance items including power washing; lawn maintenance such as fertilizing, weeding, and mowing; pool-related items such as acid washing and opening preparations; fire hydrant flushing; inspections of air conditioning systems; and inspections of smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.

In addition, Steele said it’s important to get any damage caused during the winter months taken care of as quickly as possible during the spring, especially trip hazards, as well as any larger projects such as roof or siding replacement.

Filed Under: Articles, Feature Main

We have been told we could be sued for age discrimination if do not remove the rule and signage that no one under the age of 16 was allowed to use the pool without an adult. Is that true?

April 3, 2021 by ahnbrainerd

[Read more…] about We have been told we could be sued for age discrimination if do not remove the rule and signage that no one under the age of 16 was allowed to use the pool without an adult. Is that true?

Filed Under: Questions and Answers About Community Association Law Tagged With: David G. Hellmuth, John Gettinger, Sean A. O’Connor

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