Question: Volunteers are an important part HOA living. But how does a board deal with owners who are totally negative, derail attempts to reach a consensus, disrupt meetings and yet want to serve on committees?

Answer: Consensus is not required in an HOA. HOAs are designed to work like a representative democracy. That means that the board is elected and given authority to make decisions. The fact that some members don't like how the board runs things is no surprise. Welcome to America. The board should respond to their challenges within reason but not waste time trying to placate them. That can be a full time job and waste of time considering they are rarely, if ever, satisfied.

The board is under no obligation to appoint anyone that wants to serve to a committee. Committee appointments should make sense and the board typically wants members that will help, not hinder, the board's work. For more on this topic, see Regenesis.net Committees section.

The board does not need to tolerate disruptions at meetings. Meetings should be structured so that members have a right to speak during a member forum but not otherwise unless the board president asks for their opinion. If they disrupt a board meeting, they should be asked to leave. If they refuse, the president should adjourn the meeting and refuse to admit them at future board meetings until they promise to behave. For more on this topic, see Regenesis.net Meetings section.

If these folks are going door to door trying to stir discontent, the board should do periodic informational newsletters and flyers to set the record straight. There are some irritating aspects about free speech but truth is truth and lies are lies and fortunately most people can tell the difference. Take heart.

Question: Our HOA recently established a reserve account which is earning interest income. The board doesn't want the HOA to pay tax on the interest income, so each owner was issued a Form 1099 for a portion of the interest income with instructions to report the interest on their individual returns. The actual interest remains in the reserve account in the HOA's name. Is this proper?

Answer: If the reserve funds belong to the HOA (usually the case), taxes on interest income cannot be passed through to individual members. The HOA is responsible for recognizing and paying the resulting tax.

Question: A unit owner requested deck repairs based on burn damage caused by a barbecue. He claims he didn't do it which may be true. He purchased the unit several years ago. Is the HOA responsible? He claims the HOA should have inspected the deck before he bought it.

Answer: The damage was not caused by normal wear and tear. Damage caused by a resident, even a previous resident, is not the responsibility of the HOA. And the HOA is not responsible to inspect units that are for sale. It should maintain all units in a consistent and cost effective manner, not to increase a particular unit's marketability. The current owner is the one responsible to inspect the property he is purchasing. If he had an issue with the deck, he should have dealt with the prior owner on it.

For more innovative homeowner association management strategies, see Regenesis.net.

Published: December 24, 2008

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Richard Thompson owns Regenesis, a management consulting company that specializes in condominium and homeowner associations. He is a nationally recognized expert on HOA management issues. Regenesis publishes The Regenesis Report, a monthly newsletter for HOA boards, developers and managers. To subscribe, go to Regenesis.net. He can be contacted by email at .