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TOWN HALL MEETINGS
 QUESTION:
There have been issues that residents don't feel comfortable bringing
up at the board meeting (open forum). A resident thought of a town hall
meeting to discuss these problems. Can we hold this meeting in the
clubhouse? Should we call it a "gathering" rather than a meeting? Is it
illegal for us to gather to discuss problems we are having with our
association?
ANSWER: Members have the right to use the clubhouse to peaceably assemble and discuss any matter of interest to other members. Wikipedia describes the right to assemble as:
Freedom
of assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of
association, is the individual right to come together and collectively
express, promote, pursue and defend common interests. The right to
freedom of association is recognized as a human right, a political
freedom and a civil liberty.
Advertising for Meeting. You
can call it a gathering but there is nothing wrong with "meeting"
provided your invitation does not wrongly imply it is an official
meeting of the membership. You are also allowed to advertise the meeting
through mailings and postings on bulletin boards (provided the bulletin
board postings stay within the association's published rules). What you
cannot do is transact business, i.e., amend documents, vote on special
assessments, elect or remove directors, etc. For votes on such matters,
you must petition the board to call a special meeting of the membership.
SKYLIGHTS
 QUESTION: Is the skylight in a condominium considered part of the roof? Is it an association repair or a homeowner repair?
ANSWER: It depends on who installed it and what your governing documents require.
Original Construction.
If the skylight is part of the development's original construction, it
is part of the common area roof and is the association's responsibility
to repair and maintain unless your CC&Rs state otherwise. Sometimes
CC&Rs specifically assign skylight maintenance to the unit owner.
Owner Addition. If the skylight was installed without association approval, the owner could be forced to remove it. If
an owner installed the skylight with association approval, typically
the owner agrees to repair and maintain the skylight. Where this becomes
a problem is with subsequent owners when it starts leaking. The
subsequent owner will argue that he did not install the skylight and
will point to the CC&Rs that the association is responsible for
maintaining the roofs.
Covenant to Maintain. To avoid
disputes related to owner-installed skylights, we record a covenant
signed by the owner at the time the skylight is installed. The covenant
makes the owner and all subsequent owners responsible for repairing and
maintaining the skylight. If the owner refuses to sign the covenant,
installation of the skylight is not approved.
FEEDBACK
 Public Employee Pensions & State Deficit.
A lot of good comments pro and con continue to pour in on this subject.
Let's hope our new governor and legislature resolve California's
massive deficit in a fair and cost-effective manner.
Late Charges.
If I miss payment number one I get a late charge. If payment number two
is assessed and I make a single payment, my association applies it
toward my first assessment. That leaves the second assessment in arrears
and another late charge is levied. So until I get 100% caught up I get a
late charge every month. -David A.
RESPONSE: The practice is lawful. The Davis-Stirling Act addresses the priority of payments by delinquent owners as follows:
(a)
A regular or special assessment and any late charges, reasonable fees
and costs of collection, reasonable attorney's fees, if any, and
interest, if any, as determined in accordance with Section 1366, shall
be a debt of the owner of the separate interest at the time the
assessment or other sums are levied. . . .
(b)
Any payments made by the owner of a separate interest toward the debt
set forth, as required in subdivision (a), shall first be applied to the
assessments owed, and, only after the assessments owed are paid in full
shall the payments be applied to the fees and costs of collection,
attorney's fees, late charges, or interest. . . . (Civil Code §1367.1)
The
statute does not prohibit associations from adopting collection
policies that apply payments to the oldest outstanding assessments.
Support FHA Loans.
Last week's feedback about FHA financing reflects a short-sighted
viewpoint. Every real estate transaction involves both a buyer and a
seller, and for HOA properties the seller is a member of the
association. The ability to sell to an FHA buyer increases the value of
the property being sold by expanding the market for that unit. It is a
fiduciary responsibility of the HOA board to attempt to maintain
property values for the members. -Vaughn H.
Oppose FHA Loans. I
agree with last week's feedback. Why should I support one buyer so they
can put only 3 1/2% down . . . just to walk away from the property in
two years? Our HOA is 19 years old and has had only 2 foreclosures
because most people put 10%+ down on their property when they moved in.
-Maureen C.
Sincerely,
Adrian J. Adams, Esq.
Adams Kessler PLC
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