How do you change covenants

You restate them in language that the Board wants, you don't have to have an attorney do it but one should at least look them over. Then you explain to the homeowners what you are doing and why and hold a vote, hopefully enough will vote yes to allow the changes, the percentage of yes votes required should be in your CC&R's. Then if passed you take them and file them with the County Recorders office. You also need to solicit votes from all mortgage holders even though few if any will respond. Our CC&R's state that even if the mortgage holders do not agree with the changes, they are still valid among the homeowners.

Your CC&R's should have a section in them about how they may be amended. Typically it is by approval of some majority of the owners. You will need to read the document to find out how to amend it.

Daniel,

The best way I know of to amend your governing documents is to:

1) Form a committee of members to make the initial draft
This frees up the board to concentrate on other things.
This helps allow members to have a direct say in the changes and feel part of the process
The committee members should ensure the draft complies with existing applicable laws (HOA/COA and Corporate)
A good place to start is to review the governing documents of similar Associations around you.

2) Board reviews draft submitted by committee and ensures that their is no conflict between the draft documents, that they comply with applicable laws and make changes accordingly. Board also proposes changes that the Committee may not have thought about or where the Board disagrees with the committees recommendation.

3) Depending on the document, Board sends the revised draft to the association attorney for review and comment.

4) Board reviews attorney comments and makes changes based on those comments.

5) Board sends final draft to the membership for review, then holds a meeting for comments and questions.

6) Board considers comments by the membership and makes any changes based on those comments.

7) Board sends proposed amendments/rewrite of documents to the membership for a vote.

8) Board busts their behind in getting proxies (if allowed) so their are enough votes cast (hopefully approving the proposed change/s)

9) If adopted, board (perhaps through the attorney) files the adopted changes with the State or County as needed.

10) Board announces the results and publishes adopted documents.

This can be done a little at a time or all at once. We have changed are documents many times. The last time we did a full rewrite (restatement) was in 1993. Since then have made a few amendments to the bylaws but not the other documents.

Hope this helps,

Tim

I totally agree with Tim.
However, I'd like to add that you should resist the temptation to have an attorney totally restate your bylaws. There are some attorneys that will slip in language beneficial to attorneys rather than homeowners.
Jeanne

there is only 1 set of 'by-laws' ~ they ONLY deal with how the corporation operates

the HOA is incorporated to separate the owners from direct liability and resulting possible loss of their home(s) if on the losing side of a massive lawsuit

only the corporate assets (common elements can be lost)

The Covenants and Restrictions must be filed with or referenced by each homeowners deed ~ if they do have a section addressing amendments you will require the service of an attorney well versed in CONTRACT law

here is the hierarchy of your documents:

U S Constitution (which gives you the right to enter into a private contract in opposition to its enumerated rights, eg. Covenants and Restrictions)

Federal Law / Rules / Regulations

State Law / Rules / Regulations

Local Law / Rules / Regulations

Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions

Articles of Incorporation (filed w/ your Secretary of State)

By-Laws of the corporation

Corporate Rules and Regulations

sounds like your association really really needs legal counsel

make certain the attorney is well versed in contract and HOA law, NOT real estate law

Here in Alabama it isn't mandatory that anyone inform you that you are joining a HOA. It is viewed as the BUYER's responsibility to be informed. That means when you buy a HOA home or suspect it is, you have to go to the courthouse's record department to get a copy of your CC&R's. It isn't the Realtor, Mortgage company, Closing lawyer, or even the seller who needs to do this. That is because they are considered PUBLIC documents. Except for the By-laws which aren't required to be filed anywhere except with the HOA. Just so you can get a better understanding why many of your fellow HOA members may claim "ignorance" or don't know the rules.

Having said that there is hope...Just will require a lawyer to do it. So get your membership ready for a special assessment or ready up them dues a bit to pay for it. Cost us about 3K and almost 3 years to do it. Hire a lawyer familiar with contractual law and NOT a Real Estate attorney. HOA attorney's are specialist and will cost you more. So do some research into which attorney to hire to best fit your needs.

Not everything has to be done by a lawyer to help you all out. There is some little known documentation that exists at the big office stores like Staples/Office Max. They cost around $20 and come with a CD and paperwork. You can find it in the area of "Do it yourself Rental Agreements" etc... They may have or may need to order online Articles of Incorporation and other documents related to HOA's. Just need to shop a bit for it. It's basically in a big envelope with a CD/Documents. It's kind of a catch all for all states but the CD will help you out with that. This should help get you started if there is a need for a re write or just help assist with the existing paperwork.

I would form a committee to assist with this project before presenting it to the whole. Work out the kinks and limit contact with the lawyer for just one representative. Come here to ask for advice as many of us have experience doing this type of thing. Your not alone! It is a good thing to update and upgrade your documents for the future. I always recommend it every 5 to 10 years as technology and tastes changes...The HOA is ruled amongst it's people for it's people. The rules are just there to reflect what you and your neighbors agree to as standards...Good luck!!!