3 Things That Condo Boards Need To Know

The boards that manage condominium associations often receive no attention from condo owners and residents until something goes wrong. Your work may vacillate between being incredibly mundane and intensely stressful depending on the behaviors of the people who live in the condos.There are ways that you and the other board members can protect your authority and maximize the overall benefit to everyone living in the community from the establishment of your rules and their enforcement.What three things should all condo board members know?

Delinquent owners may have to reimburse you for fees and attorney costs

Condominium association fees help maintain the whole facility. Sadly, individual property owners sometimes fall behind on their payments. If you have to take a non-compliant property owner to court to collect their unpaid condo association fees, you can also potentially hold them accountable for the costs that the association incurs.Court fees, attorney expenses and other provable costs can increase what you claim from the owner. In other words, you won't lose as much money as you recover by taking them to court.

Well-written documents protect you before a problem arises

Too many condo associations only give their outdated documents a close look after an expensive conflict with a property owner. You don't need to wait until things go wrong to protect the community with carefully created documents.The board can draft new documents and update its contract now so that they are in a better position to take action in a later conflict. Custom-created and highly-detailed documents can help you avoid conflicts or navigate them successfully when they arise. 

A lawyer can be invaluable when planning your budget

Accountants aren't the only ones that can give your association advice about the budget for a big project or the next fiscal year. Having an attorney assist with the creation of your budget or review budget proposals can help you identify oversights and mistakes before they impact the rights of the association or property owners.Being proactive about how to protect the entire community and the authority of the board can minimize conflict and ensure that you have the necessary authority to enforce community standards in the event of a dispute with the property owner.Learning more about the proper management of a condominium association board can help you and other board members minimize conflicts and costs for your community.