Recently, I bought new mountain bike, after not owning a bike for years. When the bike arrived, I unpacked it, put it together, bolted on the wheels and handlebars, hopped on and just rode off. People often say you never forget how to ride a bike to mean that, once learned, certain skills never go away. Sadly, that same phrase does not apply to many aspects of managing associations. While a manager's skills endure and improve, the facts and issues for each project, and even within the same project, can differ significantly. It's a bit like the difference between knowing how to ride a bike in general and knowing how to operate a specialized piece of equipment like a track bike or downhill mountain bike, yet that analogy even falls a bit short. read more

Committees can be a productive tool for condominium and homeowners associations. Committees, such as budget committees or architectural control committees, can promote increased participation by owners, benefit from unique owner expertise, and help reduce the workload imposed on volunteer board members. However, to properly benefit from the use of committees, it is essential that they are created and operated properly. read more

Since our enforcement hearing presentation at WSCAI's Made for Managers Day a couple of weeks ago, we have been getting a lot of feedback on the variety of procedures employed for community association enforcement hearings, generally with the question "is it okay to do it this way?" First, a big thanks to all of you who attended our presentation (and MFMD 2017 in general)! Second, the primary takeaway from our presentation and, for those of you who did not attend, for enforcement hearings in general is twofold: 1) Follow your governing documents; and 2) be reasonable. read more

My colleagues and I have blogged about the importance of recognizing requests for reasonable accommodations/modifications, carefully and thoughtfully considering them, and properly responding in a timely manner. We like to think our posts on this topic have helped a few association boards make better decisions, but if the case discussed below is any indication, more information and discussion is needed. read more

This is the time of the year when many community associations hold board member elections. The process is easy, right? The association identifies the number of open positions, solicits nominations, sends out a meeting notice with candidate information and proxies in accordance with the governing documents (usually bylaws), and conducts the meeting following protocols outlined in the governing documents or Robert's Rules. If applicable, nominations are taken from the floor, and after giving the candidates an opportunity to briefly speak and answer questions, the vote is taken and the candidate or candidates who receive the highest number of votes, win(s). Easy, right? Not necessarily. read more