EdL5 (Florida)
Posts: 5
Posts: 5
Posted:
I am the new president of our homeowners association. I can not find the by laws anywhere to state how many board members we can have. What should I do?
Ed
Ed
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MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836
Posts: 13,836
Posted:
Where are your Convenants and Restrictions or Articles of Incorporation. Those 2 documents should help guide you to your answer. By laws are more "internal" documents and fill in the gaps of lack of definition of the CC&R's. It is the actual CC&R's that are held to the HOA. They are on file at your local courthouse in the records department if you don't have a copy. Articles of Incorporation are filed with the state. They may have your structure your looking for. Bylaws may or may not be on file with your CC&R's. They typically are not required to be filed anywhere officially like the other documents.
Former HOA President
EdL5 (Florida)
Posts: 5
Posts: 5
Posted:
The problem is the only Articles of Incorporation are the ones filed by the developer. They state 3 officers, I am not sure if we have any others that state more board members. Our docs do not state how many board members we should have. I do remember the first meeting 11 years ago there were 11 board members.
MatthewW4 (Arizona)
Posts: 500
Posts: 500
Posted:
Count your blessings. Since the bylaws cannot be located you can start over from scratch.
I do not care how big your association may be but no association needs 11 board members.
My own association initially required 3-5 board members. When the owners took over, the first five directors could not figure out what they were supposed to. Since none of them would admit to their lack of competence, they increased the size of the board to 7-9 members which allowed them to bring 4 more equally unqualified owners to the board. (By contrast, the entire county is managed by just 3 supervisors.) In a typical board meeting, just three or four members have anything to contribute and the rest just sit there.
I do not care how big your association may be but no association needs 11 board members.
My own association initially required 3-5 board members. When the owners took over, the first five directors could not figure out what they were supposed to. Since none of them would admit to their lack of competence, they increased the size of the board to 7-9 members which allowed them to bring 4 more equally unqualified owners to the board. (By contrast, the entire county is managed by just 3 supervisors.) In a typical board meeting, just three or four members have anything to contribute and the rest just sit there.
RichardP13 (California)
Posts: 1,767
Posts: 1,767
Posted:
Bylaws will tell you how many Board members are required, roles of the officers, how the annual meetings are conducted, how much is quorum, powers of the association, so and so forth. Generally, these are not a recorded document.
CCR's, on the other hand, outline the dos and don't of members and the association, who has maintenance responsibility for specific items, how much and what types of insurance is required, how assessments are collected, what happens if not paid on time, what the late fees are and when payments are due, what financial reporting may need to be done, use restrictions and enforcement duties and authority of the association. This document will always be recorded.
CCR's, on the other hand, outline the dos and don't of members and the association, who has maintenance responsibility for specific items, how much and what types of insurance is required, how assessments are collected, what happens if not paid on time, what the late fees are and when payments are due, what financial reporting may need to be done, use restrictions and enforcement duties and authority of the association. This document will always be recorded.
JennyO (West Virginia)
Posts: 13
Posts: 13
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By RichardP13 on 04/19/2013 7:13 PM
Bylaws will tell you how many Board members are required, roles of the officers, how the annual meetings are conducted, how much is quorum, powers of the association, so and so forth. Generally, these are not a recorded document.
Bylaws will tell you how many Board members are required, roles of the officers, how the annual meetings are conducted, how much is quorum, powers of the association, so and so forth. Generally, these are not a recorded document.
If the By Laws are not a recorded document, then where should a home owner get a copy of them from?
We recently had this issue with our community. I had asked the previous President for the By Laws, he had a copy, but told me to get them from the County Courthouse. When I went there, there was no record of them. Now that you say they are generally not a recorded document, that makes sense.
In the end, after much pestering, I was able to get a copy of them. It turned out that he was the only one with a copy, as I had asked just about everyone else in the community, and none had a copy! Never mind that they had never asked!
But if they are not recorded at the County, then where should a property owner get one from?
TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,062
Posts: 21,062
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By JennyO on 05/15/2013 12:40 PM
But if they are not recorded at the County, then where should a property owner get one from?
But if they are not recorded at the County, then where should a property owner get one from?
They would get them from the Association.
Some States, I don't know if WV is one of them, requires sellers to provide a copy of all the governing documents to the buyer.
CarolR11 (Colorado)
Posts: 2,563
Posts: 2,563
Posted:
In CA there's no requirement to record bylaws either. Our Property Mgr. gives copies of them to owners and they also are on our website in a protected area. For HOAs without PMs, I imagine that a board officer would be responsible for giving them to owners.
TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,062
Posts: 21,062
Posted:
Ed,
If you have no Bylaws you should check your applicable corporate laws. If I recall correctly, all FL associations are to be incorporated. Corporate laws typically address administration and organization issues.
If you have no Bylaws you should check your applicable corporate laws. If I recall correctly, all FL associations are to be incorporated. Corporate laws typically address administration and organization issues.
JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265
Posts: 14,265
Posted:
Our Bylaws plus Rules and Regulations are supplements to the Covenants thus they are all recorded with the deed. This does not have to be done in SC. I asked the Declarant why he did this. He said it keeps everything out in the open for all to see thus no one can accuse one of hiding stuff.
Pain in the neck to make changes, but an interesting approach.
Pain in the neck to make changes, but an interesting approach.
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