September 28, 2009

How about email notice?

Filed under: Uncategorized — Joe @ 7:35 am

Recently a client developer told me that he spend an enormous amount of time and money mailing out notices of the annual meeting of unit owners, especially since the documents said that these notices had to be sent “certified mail”.  This caused me to wonder whether there was an easier way.

It turns out that the simple matter of giving notice is in fact not so easy; the Maine Condominium Act mentions that notice of an annual meeting of unit owners is given by U.S. mail.

There is a way to legally give lots of such notices by email.  It requires a little up front work, but the payoff is enormous.

Got your attention?

Email me at joe@mainecondo.com.  By the way, my answers to this one are not free.   You will have to pay for it (I need to eat too).

Tit for Tat

Filed under: Questions from Bloggers — Joe @ 7:21 am

Question from a board member:

If a condo owner is not paying his/her condo fee, can the Board “hold off” on cutting the lawn around his/her condo and refuse to trim the shrubs and not do “winter clean up” in the Spring, for example, until they resume paying. What can the Board do in such a case?

No, the Board has an independent duty to maintain the common areas and besides, the association has plenty of ways to collect the condo fees, with interest.    The flip side of this coin is that a condo owner has an independent duty to pay condo fees, even if the association doesn’t cut the lawn around the condo unit….

September 27, 2009

Condo Forum in Portland attracts 70

Filed under: In the news — Joe @ 3:47 pm

The Community Associations Institute hosted its third annual forum for condominium association directors on September 12, 2009, at the Clarion Hotel in Portland.   The forum featured programs on conduct of meetings of the board of directors, with actual condominium directors role playing a meeting of the board.  The forum then heard from James O’Donnell of Dirigo Management Company about association budgeting and reserves, and Joseph Carleton about rules and rule enforcement.   Also in attendance were about a dozen vendors of condominium related services.

August 11, 2009

Powers of the Board

Filed under: Questions from Bloggers — Joe @ 3:16 pm

Is it accurate to say that the Board of Directors is authorized by the Maine Condominium Act to manage the condo association effectively and efficiently?

Yes, the Board actually has almost exclusive power to manage the condominium association – some say too much power.  It is easier to list the things that only the unit owners can do.  They are:

A.  amend the Declaration, the Articles of Incorporation and, if provided for in the Declaration or Bylaws, approve amendments to the Bylaws.

B.  terminate the Condominium

C. elect members of the Board or determine the qualifications, powers and duties, or terms of office of Board members, but the Board may fill vacancies in its membership for the unexpired portion of any term.

D. ratify the budget (but the Board has the sole power to adopt the budget, subject to such ratification.

E. remove a Director by a 2/3 vote, after proper notice, according to Section 704 of the Maine Nonprofit Corporation Act.

F. other rights given to owners found in the Declaration of Bylaws.

Number of Directors

Filed under: Factoids,Questions from Bloggers — Joe @ 9:48 am

Is there a rule or regulation regarding the number of Board of Directors a Condominium Association must have to remain a non profit entity?

If the condominium was formed after January 1, 1983, then the condominium association is required to be a Maine Nonprofit Corporation.  The Maine Nonprofit Corporation Act requires all Maine nonprofit corporations to have at least three directors.   The association is required to file an annual report to the Maine Secretary of State each year listing the directors, and if there aren’t at least three names listed, the Secretary of State may not accept your annual report and your status as a nonprofit corporation may be threatened.  I don’t know what the practical consequences of that are.   Be aware that non-profit does not mean tax exempt.  Condominium associations may be liable for income taxes in certain circumstances.

May 13, 2009

Judiciary Committee turns down Condo lien bill

Filed under: Uncategorized — Joe @ 12:51 pm

The Judiciary Committee of the Maine Legislature turned down the proposed bill giving associations six months of condo fees in case of bank foreclosures.  The Committee did approve language which authorized condominium associations to require a six month escrow of condominium fees by associations.  The Maine Legislative Action Committee of the Community Associations Institute, which asked Rep. Cynthia Dill to sponsor the bill, expressed disappointment about the result, and has asked condominium board members in Maine to contact their legislators.

The bill, as approved by the Judiciary Committee, has not been formally acted on by the full Legislature, but approval in its original form is unlikely.

April 26, 2009

Work on Condo lien bill postponed till later

Filed under: In the news,Legislative — Joe @ 3:37 pm

On April 15 the Judiciary Committee discussed the condo lien bill in what is called “work session”.  I was there, along with other members of the Maine legislative Action Committee of CAI.  It was evident that the committee was badly split on the bill.  We discussed the bill with individual legislators on the committee and with representatives of the banking industry, which opposes the bill, to see if we could find some common ground.  It didn’t appear that there was any common ground.

The Judiciary Committee finally decided to table the bill for at least two weeks.  As of this date, the Committee has not rescheduled the work session.

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