Transition concerns...

Started by SteveS8 • 6 replies • 1670 views

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SteveS8 (New York)
Posts: 128

Posted:

A resident recently wrote on our community blog, "Until the developer approves of a Transition Committee, he will not provide the financial records which will be key in the overall process. He, also, must authorize the examination of all physical property which will be transferred to the residents on turnover. There are numerous aspects to the transition process which will require developer support."

Our community is about 5 years old now and it looks as if the developer has another 3 or 4 years before he is sold out and gone.

He has stated that it is premature for a Transition Committee to be formed, and when one is, he thinks the current board members would be perfect to serve on it.

Clearly, the four members that are assigned to the board by the developer would not be a great choice, from the homeowners' perspective, and even the 3 homeowner board members do not appear to have the experience and expertise to do the work necessary for transition.

Who actually decides who is on the Transition Committee?

Additionally, if the residents select the people to serve on the Transition Committee, and the developer decides that he does not like those who were selected, is anything stopping him from not working with the committee until it is too late for the committee to accomplish anything?

Thanks!!
Steve

MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836

Posted:

Do you think there are such experts? No one in a HOA is an expert they are all volunteers doing the best they can with what they got. So your really not going to get what your looking for in that aspect. What you can do is do your research and get involved. Ask if you can be part of the committee. If you want something done right, it's best to do it yourself.

Atleast you have homeowners on your board with the developer. This is helpful even if there is a jaded view of that situation. These people have been there since the beginning and has the developer's trust. This is a HUGE asset if it is used correctly. They know more about what is going on than someone who just attends a few meetings a year. Learn to trust these people may be useful in being a part of the transition committee. Then ask them if they can have atleast 2 - 3 more non-board members to join their group. The more the merrier as transition is a difficult and expensive prospect. I would have the committee formed atleast a year before the transition. That way each person can be assigned an area to concentrate on for the best research and information.

Once your transitioned, it will be up to you the homeowner's to run yourselves. That will be completely different from what your used to now. It's good to also be prepared for the otherside of the transition as well.

Former HOA President

BruceF1 (Connecticut)
Posts: 2,535

Posted:

Steve,

Most of the information you seek should be in your governing documents, or can be found in state law. I would suggest you look in your governing documents to see if there are sections that describe the procedures to be followed for transition. State laws may also have some provisions, although I couldn't find any.

You might also consult a competent HOA attorney. At transition, the homeowners should have their own attorney anyway, who is not the attorney used by the developer (declarant). If you're concerned about cost, a group of you could share the cost to pay for an initial consultation. Assuming there is even a fee, it should be small. You should review the documentation available to you and bring it with you for the attorney to review. There is nothing to prevent a few of you from getting together to discuss this and a few telephone calls would give you an idea of what the costs, if any, of an initial consultation might be.

I am attaching a document that our HOA attorney provided for us to help us through transition. Realize, though, that this document applies to Connecticut and not to New York. But, it may give you some idea of what is involved.

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📄172239465671.pdf(52 KB)

DavidW5 (North Carolina)
Posts: 565

Posted:

We were in much the same situation as you described about 5 years ago. The Board consisted on 5 employees of the developer and two homeowners appointed by the developer. We asked repeatedly to have a transition committee appointed but the board refused. So we organized what we call the Homeowners Transition Working Group (HOTWG). We met regularly and invited everyone in the community to attend our meetings. In addition to beginning the process of identifying transition issues and the steps that needed to be taken, we began to distribute monthly "Dear Neighbor" emails to the entire community highlighting a single issue or concern not being addressed by the developer and/or the board.

Eventually the developer decided they could deal more easily with a Transition committee that they would appoint from among the homeowners. The HOTWG members attended every meeting of that Transition committee once it was created and urged the members of that committee to be aggressive in documenting all transition issues. We also pushed them to contact the county building officials and insist on being included on the walk-throughs that took place leading up to bond releases on the various phases of the development.

All this is to say that sometimes you have to make yourself a big pain in the ass for the developer and the board to get what you want. It's a lot of work. We came in for a lot of criticism from some members of the community who were taken in by the developer's efforts to paint us as trouble makers.

In the long run we were successful. Our first elected board contains 5 individuals who were active in HOTWG and they have aggressively negotiated a settlement of all outstanding transition issues with the developer.

SteveS8 (New York)
Posts: 128

Posted:

Two questions come to mind after reading the excellent responses above:
1) There seems to be some suggestion that the developer will (or has the right to) select a transition committee, and I see that as being a conflict of interest since a committee that would be favorable to the developer might overlook certain important issues.

2) I have seen nothing in our 488 page Offering Plan about transition, and I have had no luck in finding anything in New York State Law that spells out the process required. Any help in finding that would be appreciated.

Thanks again,
Steve

DavidW5 (North Carolina)
Posts: 565

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By SteveS8 on 07/22/2011 3:48 PM
Two questions come to mind after reading the excellent responses above:
1) There seems to be some suggestion that the developer will (or has the right to) select a transition committee, and I see that as being a conflict of interest since a committee that would be favorable to the developer might overlook certain important issues.

2) I have seen nothing in our 488 page Offering Plan about transition, and I have had no luck in finding anything in New York State Law that spells out the process required. Any help in finding that would be appreciated.

Thanks again,
Steve

Steve,

That is why you need to attend the meetings of any transition committee, especially if that committee is appointed by the developer. Committee meetings in our state are open to the members (by law) and probably are where you live, as well. If the committee appears to in any way exhibit a bias toward the developer, let the members of your community know about it. Developers do not want bad PR. If you are not getting fair treatment, contact the local government reps and the local press.

Some developers will do only what is in their own interests unless you force them to respect the rights of the members of the association.

GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491

Posted:

Well I was going to suggest you visit Community Associations Network (link in yellow at the left) as they used to have some great articles and checklists about transition. Whether they are still there is anyone's guess, their redesigned website is about as user friendly as Windows Vista.

Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions

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