Barbara Holland is a certified property manager and holds the supervisory community manager certificate with the state of Nevada. She is an author and educator on real estate management. Questions may be sent to holland744o@gmail.com.
This week, we are turning over the column to the Nevada Chapter, Community Associations Institute’s Community Interests magazine staff. This column, which first appeared in the online Community Interests magazine , cai-nevada.org, looks at little-known financial resources for your homeowners association.
Q: I recently found your column in the Sunday paper and wanted to ask a question. My homeowners association states in the community rules that there are to be no pets over 25 pounds, as there is a two-dog limit rule, with having both dogs at a 45-pound limit for two pets.
Q: I used to own a condo and always found your articles on a variety of subjects helpful and interesting. My question relates to garbage cans in non-condo developments. I have neighbors who leave them in front of their garage doors 100 percent of the time. Now, many of the other residents are doing the same thing.
As to the first question, I would not say security is common per se, but there are associations that have security guards present at their association meetings.
Every day we communicate, be it our telephone conversations, our emails and our letters. As community managers and homeowners association board members, we communicate when we send governing documents, budgets and financial reports to our residents.
This column addresses homeowner association violations and fines and what the board should consider in this process.
I thought it would be worthwhile to have an article on homeowners associations’ violations and fines so that our boards’ enforcement process and procedures follow state laws.
The dog has two spots in our yard where he relieves himself. When he pees, our grass turns yellow and dies. We have had to replace with new sod about three times. We have not been able to catch the culprit.
Unfortunately, there is not too much an association can do, other than send the homeowner a letter to not only inform them of the problem but also to ask for contact information for any future issues.
As for condominium associations, owners can install an antenna on balcony or patio if the patio or balcony is a limited common element, restricted for the owner’s exclusive use. Again, installation rules would be permissible and may require that the owner cover the antenna as long as such a requirement does not impair an owner’s ability to receive a signal or unreasonably delay or increase the cost of installation, maintenance or use.
To obtain FHA approval does require some paperwork. The board would have to place this issue on an agenda and approve it, instructing the management company to pursue the action item.
The association should consider a revision in its rules, assuming the current regulation is not in the covenants, conditions and restrictions, which would allow a homeowner reasonable time to load and unload an RV. For many associations, their regulations allow 24 hours.
My wife and I live in a homeowners association duplex community. We now have roof rats in our crawl space. I’m sure we are liable to have the exterminator get rid of them.
You have a number of concerns. The first being the lack of experience of the current board of directors. Unfortunately, we do have a problem as too many qualified homeowners do not wish to serve on the board. We have to ask the question, why? For some homeowners, it is a matter of time; for others, it is a thankless volunteer job. Associations that are having problems finding homeowners to serve should review how they operate. In some cases, modifications of board meetings to make them more meaningful and less stressful would be a big start.
As to the removing of the fireplace within the clubhouse without homeowner approval, you would need to review the association’s covenants, conditions and restrictions. As a general rule of thumb, community rules would require homeowners approval to change of one of the amenities.
