How do most association work any ccr's changes?

We recently have our finalized copy of HOA CC'rs that our current board has been working on for over a year. The packet gives us 14 days to review and vote yes, not and then that's it.

I heard of many other HOA's having meetings to discuss and clarify the ccr's at hand is this or has this been done at other HOA"s ??

are you in the process of having control of the association being turned over from the developer?

Noelle - this involves Bylaws, but the process worked well for us.

1. A committee came up with new wording for bylaws.
2. The board checked for legality and consistency.
3. The committee held several "readings" of the proposed bylaws in the evenings. Members could come up and hear the explanation of each bylaw change. Some minor ajustments were made due to general membership input. About 35 people came up for each of the three evening readings.
4. The board gave its stamp of "approval" to the proposed bylaws.
5. At the annual meeting, the changes were again explained and the vote went very smoothly.

The voters speak . . .

Board did not explain the need.

Get an ad hoc committee established to see what really needs changing.

Why should any community vote in changes that are "not so good for them." What are the changes that you think are not so good? Why can't you take these out and vote in the rest? For your information, an alert for Maryland Homeowners' Association:

MHA By-law Revision Alert!

Posted: 12/12/2009 12:00:00 AM

If you live in an association that is working to revise or amend HOA/Condo governing documents, here are some important tips to keep in mind as you review and prepare to vote on those changes. Homeowners, or a committee of homeowners, should review the new wording thoroughly, comparing existing wording to new wording line-by-line. This works best by having old text and new text in different fonts or colors while reviewing the documents.

1. Beware of boiler plate documents that completely replace old documents with new, and perhaps inappropriate, by-laws. MHA recommends that you never vote for totally new by-laws unless every line is explained to you.

2. Beware of language that states the homeowners should pay "all attorney fees actually incurred by the Board of Directors." This wording obligates homeowners to pay for the Board's attorney's fees, as well as their own attorney's fees. Such wording sets up a "no-win" situation for homeowners and could lead to bankruptcy and/or foreclosure. California has addressed this issue with Civil Code 1354 which states "in an action to enforce the governing documents, the prevailing party shall be awarded reasonable attorney's fees and costs."

3.Beware of wording that gives the Board the ability to file a lien for unpaid fines and then foreclose on the property. Wording such as: "the Board shall have the power to impose reasonable fines which shall constitute a lien upon the property and shall be collected in the same manner as any other assessment levied” or “in the event fines are not paid, such fines shall be collectible in the same manner as assessments” should be avoided. Recently, California and Florida have passed legislation to prohibit associations from including fines in a lien and fines may not be characterized, nor treated in the governing documents, as an assessment which becomes a lien. Arizona has passed legislation that an association can file a lien for unpaid fines, but the lien cannot be collected until the property changes ownership.

MHA recommends that before voting for any amendments to governing documents, homeowners carefully examine changes. If you do not understand the implications of the new wording, vote no. Further, beware of a “Directed Proxy” that gives your vote to someone else. You might be voting for a bylaw change when you never intended to. Arizona has already banned proxy voting. This state uses an "absentee ballot." The absentee ballot must set forth each proposed action.