Real Estate & Property Law

Homeowners - Want Something Done by Your HOA or Condo Board?

I have been getting quite a few emails lately from homeowners who want the board to do something specific that has a cost attached to it. Often there are a few owners that have banded together to accomplish something, only to be met with what seems to be a brick wall when they take their gripe to the Board.

Many boards are avoiding doing many things because of money issues. It's the times, right? And some boards are just resistant to "ideas", preferring to stick to a minimalistic management philosophy such as this: collect money, pay bills.

Many owners have a sense when they contact me that they want to "sue the board" for failure to jump on a proposal to do something. When an owner wants to sue the board to get the particular "thing" done, it costs a lot of money. Sometimes there is a basis to recover the money spent on legal fees; however, even so, a judge can be "mimalistic" in his or her attitude about how much reimbursement should be forthcoming.

If the "thing" costs a lot of money to do, but seems to some of the owners to be a very good idea, the money aspect may be a deterrent to getting neighbor support. So, why not consider at least one other option: spending the money to accomplish or get the "thing" rather than to fund a lawsuit.

People do not understand what it takes to sue someone, and what it takes to win a case. This is one area where a preliminary consultation with an attorney who does have a sense of what it takes to sue, and what it takes to have a chance of winning a case, understanding and able to explain what "cause of action" means and explain it in plain English, can help. I recently had a client who, along with other owners in the association (not a majority, but a reasonable number) wanted to force the board to take action to protect a specific asset of the association. The work to protect this asset would be costly and time consuming and the board frankly did not want the hassle. Absent majority support from the board or membership because of apathy, money, and personal (vs. community) interest in saving the "thing", a lawsuit could be considered premature and possibly futile. Much more information was needed to move forward with the members or with the courts.

One does not have to give up. If you are truly prepared to spend the money for a lawsuit, given the time, energy and monetary issues that attach, and the risks related to winning or losing, and the risks of recovery of that money, perhaps you can at least give some thought to whether that time, energy, and money could otherwise be spent in a more positive way - which might be to take a more positive action. Perhaps there is a way to alleviate the burden on the board and other members and to achieve the ultimate goal by doing, not suing ... Owners ... and boards ... think about that.

Don't be closed minded. Don't bury your heads in the sand.

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Full post as published by California Condo & HOA Law on October 22, 2009 (boomark / email).