Question: Our resident manager has just given notice after years of service and we are scrambling to find a good affordable management company. Do you have any suggestions?

Answer: Only consider those companies that specialize in HOA management. There are specific laws that apply to this industry that rental managers know nothing about, plus the whole dynamic of working with a board of directors and owners that makes HOAs unique. Like with any contractor, references are extremely important as is time in business. Make sure your prospects are geographically close since property inspections, maintenance and meeting attendance are necessary and the HOA pays travel time. Above all, measure all prospective HOA management companies by the same criteria so you can weigh them equally. There is an HOA Management Screening Checklist in the Manager Issues section of Regenesis.net .

Question: Do you have any examples of fines for rules violations? Our attorney says we have some leeway to set them for whatever we think appropriate. We are not interested in being harsh but want to get people's attention.

Answer: Fines should vary depending on the type of offense. They can vary from a flat fine to a per day fine or a combination of both. A flat fee should probably be at least $25 plus, say, $10 a day to get the offender's attention. If the court ever gets involved in a fine dispute (rare), what a judge considers reasonable is difficult to predict but a general guideline is "fair," whatever that means. The fines need to be enough to get the offender's attention without being outrageous. Of course, fining policies should be consistently applied to all offenders and should not single out particular individuals.

Question: What should we do if we levy a fine and it's ignored? Do we continue to send violation letters? Should we have a higher fine for repeat offenders?

Answer: Your Collection Policy should treat unpaid fines the same way as unpaid fees or dues. The HOA should charge interest on past due balances and invoke whatever standardized collection procedure is in place. Some states restrict the HOA's ability to collect fines in the same way as regular fees so check with a knowledgeable HOA attorney in your state before moving forward.

Fine schedules can call for increasing fines for repeat offenders but I recommend that it only apply to those repeat offenses that occur within, say, one year. You need to maintain accurate records to apply this kind of fining.

Question: We have a homeowner that is requesting copies of all books, minutes, financials, etc. What are we required to provide this homeowner?

Answer: The HOA is not required to produce copies on demand but the members are entitled to review most but not all records. Set up an appointment to review specific records during normal business hours. Personal files for other members should not be made available nor should sensitive issues like pending litigation or contract negotiation. Charge a reasonable copying charge for any copies requested which includes somebody's time to do it (like 10¢ a copy). This usually limits how many copies are requested.

A great alternative to this exercise is to have an HOA website where these kinds of records are posted and archived for all members to see whenever they want to. The cost is surprisingly low. For options, see the Regenesis.net HOA Websites .