With the collapse of the Champlain Tower South (a part of a condominium located in Surfside, Florida) in June of last year, there has been a search for answers. Condominium owners want to know whether their building is safe, and boards of directors want to make sure they are taking appropriate steps to prevent another disaster similar to the one in Florida. Although the ultimate reasons for the collapse may not be known for years, it is likely that some problems that may have contributed to the collapse are not unique. The Community Associations Institute (CAI) has published recommendations relevant to … Continue reading
Category Archives: HOA & Condo Associations
Do You or Owners Need Assistance Paying HOA/Condo Dues? – The NC Homeowner Assistance Fund May Help
Last year President Biden proposed and Congress adopted the American Rescue Plan, which was a $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue package designed to speed America’s recovery from the Covid pandemic. Among the bill’s many proposals was almost $10 billion for states, territories and tribes to provide relief to vulnerable homeowners through a “Homeowner Assistance Fund.” Monies from the Homeowners Assistance Fund were not immediately available. Instead, each state had to draft a state-specific plan, submit it to the US government, and get the plan approved by the US Treasury. In each state, different sorts of relief were considered, such as mortgage … Continue reading
Robert’s Rules of Order vs The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure vs the AIP Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure
A question came up during a recent online discussion of pros and cons between Robert’s Rules of Order and The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure. One comment asked if Robert’s was “archaic and obsolete.” Here’s my answer. There are several major parliamentary manuals, with Robert’s Rules of Order being the best known. Robert’s Rules and parliamentary procedure are viewed as one and the same by most of the public. Of organizations that have a parliamentary authority in their governing documents, Robert’s is by far the most common choice (some surveys suggest 80%-90%) . State statutes that prescribe a parliamentary authority for some types of … Continue reading
New Appellate Case: Almason v. Southgate on Fairview Condominium Association
In a decision issued today (February 1, 2022), the North Carolina Court of Appeals examined several issues that associations deal with regularly—budget ratification, owner attendance at board meetings, rules governing board meetings, and association records requests. Nothing in the decision is groundbreaking, but the findings of the court may provide comfort that your association practices are proper (or may suggest you need to make some changes). Almason v. Southgate on Fairview Condominium Association, Inc. et al. is an “unpublished opinion,” which means the decision is not controlling legal authority and should not be cited in other cases. However, even unpublished … Continue reading
Voting by Written Ballot and Written Agreement in North Carolina
When it comes to asking homeowners association / condo members to approve or reject matters in North Carolina, there are generally two options: the written ballot and the written agreement. These documents and legally dictated processes may look very similar, but they are legally distinct. This article examines how and when using the written ballot versus a written agreement makes sense and how to use each effectively. Written Ballot When you think about being asked to vote on something, most people probably first think of a ballot. Ballots, by definition, allow someone to vote for or against something. For in-person meetings, ballots … Continue reading
Community Association Records Requests – Who Can Get What, When and Why
Member records requests is a frequent topic of consultation with boards and managers. The law in North Carolina is somewhat nuanced when it comes to what constitutes a record of the association, and who is entitled to review that record and under what circumstances. Here, we look at North Carolina law generally related to records requests and how a community should evaluate and respond to a request for records. In this state, homeowner, property owner and condominium members have certain document inspection rights under the Nonprofit Corporation Act, Chapter 55A of the North Carolina General Statutes, and the Planned Community … Continue reading
Nomination Procedures for Elections
If you are administering an election for your group or association, then you may have questions about how the nomination process works. Do you need to use an election committee? What are nominations from the floor? What about other methods of doing nominations? Fortunately, it’s not as difficult as it may seem. There are six different methods: (1) nominations by the chair, (2) nominations from the floor, (3) nominations by a committee, (4) nominations by ballot, (5) nominations by mail, and (6) nominations by petition. Nominations by the Chair is when the Chair selects candidate(s) for a position. Typically, this method is not … Continue reading
There Is No “Meeting by Ballot” Under New NC Law
Our firm’s attorneys have seen several recent association mailings entitled something to the effect of “Meeting by Ballot” or “Annual Meeting by Ballot.” It appears there is a belief among some that the recent adoption of House Bill 320 (“Modernize Remote Business Access”) created a new method of members meeting through a written instrument. It did not. As discussed in the recent post Does New Law Mean Associations Don’t Have to Hold Annual Meetings?, North Carolina has two main methods for association members to make decisions: Given these two options, it is also possible to combine a virtual meeting (with … Continue reading
How to Run an Effective Online Meeting
With the passage of HB 320 (see Jim Slaughter’s article: Bill Adopted to Allow Electronic Membership Meetings and Voting in North Carolina Associations) we are seeing more communities opting to conduct electronic membership meetings to encourage greater participation and community interest in these meetings. Our attorneys collectively—and particularly our Certified Professional Parliamentarian, Jim Slaughter—have participated in more virtual meetings than anyone, and we find that having good meeting rules in place before the meeting takes place is key to a successful outcome. Although it usually is not necessary to tailor rules for each individual meeting an association has, the issues … Continue reading
Does New Law Mean Associations Don’t Have to Hold Annual Meetings?
Since HB 320 passed (see Bill Adopted to Allow Electronic Membership Meetings and Voting in North Carolina Associations), we’ve had questions to the effect of “Do we have to hold annual member meetings anymore?” The thinking seems to be that because the new law allows decisions by “written ballots or electronic voting” that you could use those methods and forego the annual meeting. That is, a written or electronic ballot could be sent out for everything that needs to be handled at the annual meeting and then have no meeting at all. Anyone who suggests that the new law … Continue reading
NC Governor Signs Bill Allowing Remote Member Meetings
As a follow-up to last week’s Community Association Legislative Update (Bill Adopted to Allow Electronic Membership Meetings and Voting in North Carolina Associations), Governor Roy Cooper signed HB 320 (“Modernize Remote Business Access”) yesterday, September 20. The law takes effect effect immediately. NC homeowner and condominium associations (as well as other nonprofit associations) can now choose to hold virtual member meetings or make decisions without a meeting through written or electronic balloting or electronic voting, so long as certain requirements are met. The new law applies to any member meetings noticed as of today. In addition, remote member meetings noticed and held … Continue reading
Bill Adopted to Allow Electronic Membership Meetings and Voting in North Carolina Associations
NC Community Association Legislative Update – September 15, 2021 Community association (HOA and condo) boards have long been permitted to meet virtually by phone or videoconference, but the ability to hold membership meetings electronically ended with the expiration of the Governor’s Executive Order this spring. Since that time, while members can certainly meet virtually as an informal “town hall” and then vote afterwards by written ballot, it has not been possible to hold virtual membership meetings. And even under the Governor’s prior Executive Order, members could not vote during virtual meetings. That’s all changing with the adoption today of legislation … Continue reading
Throwing Shade—North Carolina / South Carolina Homeowner Right to Sunlight
Once upon a time there was a homeowner with a mountain cottage with a great view. The homeowner lived for years on this quiet property with a fantastic view of the surrounding mountains. Suddenly, a neighbor showed up and began building next door. As part of construction, it became obvious that part of the new neighbor’s home would block the view of the first homeowner. Although the first homeowner may not be happy about it, without some sort of guarantee that his view will remain unchanged, the first homeowner probably has no way to prevent the construction. To avoid this … Continue reading
Guilford County Mask Mandate-Effective August 13, 2021
As a result of the latest COVID-19 surge and the more contagious Delta variant, Guilford County has issued a mask mandate that becomes effective today, August 13, 2021, at 5:00 P.M. The mandate will remain in effect until the earlier of: 1) expiration or termination of the Proclamation of a Local Emergency, 2) January 8, 2022 at 5:00 P.M., or 3) modification or revocation by the Guilford County Board of Health. The mandate states: 1: Individuals must wear Face Coverings when indoors in all businesses, establishments, and public places. 2: All businesses, establishments, and public places must require that all … Continue reading
Changes to Special Assessment Language in North Carolina Realtor Standard “Offer to Purchase and Contract”
As discussed in previous blogs (see What’s Special about Special Assessments?), HOA/condo special assessments are referenced in the North Carolina standard Offer to Purchase and Contract form. By way of background, the NC Bar Association and NC Association of Realtors® have “Joint Forms” used in residential real estate closings. The standard “Offer to Purchase and Contract” (Standard Form 2-T) is used in most any closing involving a Realtor®. Effective July 1, 2021, there are various changes to the Standard Offer to Purchase and Contract, including the following language regarding special assessments: While any of these provisions can be changed contractually … Continue reading
Avoiding Legal Landmines: Advice for HOA/Condo Board Members & Managers
Earlier this week, I presented at the CAI-NC 2021 Annual Conference on how associations, board members and managers can “Avoid Legal Land Mines.” I won’t repeat the presentation here, as the entire program can be found at the CAI-NC website. However, here are tips to help keep your association out of court. Our firm does a huge HOA/condo practice in six different offices. As a result, we regularly see every kind of dispute between owners and associations. Not all will end up in court. After all, a violation over a garbage can being left out is likely not worth litigating. … Continue reading
Safeguarding HOA/Condominium Association Money: Investment considerations and pitfalls
We are often asked by our association clients whether they should invest assessment or reserve funds into the stock market, bonds, money market accounts, CDs, etc. Let me start by stating that I am neither a financial planner nor an accountant, so my take on investment of association funds will center on the Board’s duties to the association and the underlying principal of why associations collect assessments in the first place. First, in North Carolina homeowner and condominium associations are non-profit corporations. They are set up for specific purposes as outlined in the governing documents, which may include maintenance of … Continue reading
Valuable New Resource on Drafting Community Association Governing Documents
The Community Associations Institute has many valuable resources for anyone who assists community associations. While these materials are often of most interest to professional community managers and HOA/condo owners, there are also many excellent publications for attorneys. A recent digital book, Guiding Principles for Community Association Governing Documents: A Resource for Lawyers, will be of interest to anyone who has to draft original association documents or amendments to those documents. This is no little brochure, but has excellent, detailed advice for getting the wording of documents right. The Task Force that compiled the recommendations was appointed by the College of … Continue reading
Should HOA or Condo Bylaws Be Recorded?
We were recently asked whether bylaws amendments should be filed with the local Register of Deeds. The answer, like many things community association related, depends. Condo bylaws in North Carolina are almost always filed with the Register of Deeds, but not HOA bylaws. The difference is due to initial bylaws for condos being recorded with the declaration, and then amendments need to show up in the public record. If HOA bylaws are filed (but should not be), amendments also need to be unless a later amendment makes clear (as we have sometimes done for associations) that subsequent amendments will not … Continue reading
New NC Appellate Case: Williams v Reardon (Covenants and Real Property Marketable Title Act – Part 2)
The North Carolina Court of Appeals has once again determined that restrictive covenants are largely extinguished by operation of the Real Property Marketable Title Act (N.C. Gen. Stat. 47B-1 et seq.) if not included in the chain of title in the preceding thirty years. The decision can be found at C.E. Williams, III et al v. Reardon et al. (Unpublished). Our blog on last month’s Marketable Title Act decision can be found at New NC Appellate Case: C Investments 2, LLC v Auger (Covenants and Real Property Marketable Title Act). This decision leaves one additional case pending for decision in … Continue reading