Requirements for running for the board

Live in Florida and we have 600 homes. Several ho's are running for the board who have lived in the community for 18 days, one has an EMPTY lot, one said that she wants to meet new people, one said that he will be gone 5 to 6 months. None have attended any board meetings.

Do any HOA's have requirements for running for the board. Like---Served one year or more on a committee, attended 5 or more board meetings, lived in the community for two or more years, etc?

Charles - this is what the state of Fl requires in statute 720.306 (9) (a) and (b)
(9) ELECTIONS AND BOARD VACANCIES.—
(a) Elections of directors must be conducted in accordance with the procedures set forth in the governing documents of the association. All members of the association are eligible to serve on the board of directors, and a member may nominate himself or herself as a candidate for the board at a meeting where the election is to be held; provided, however, that if the election process allows candidates to be nominated in advance of the meeting, the association is not required to allow nominations at the meeting. An election is not required unless more candidates are nominated than vacancies exist. Except as otherwise provided in the governing documents, boards of directors must be elected by a plurality of the votes cast by eligible voters. Any challenge to the election process must be commenced within 60 days after the election results are announced.
(b) A person who is delinquent in the payment of any fee, fine, or other monetary obligation to the association for more than 90 days is not eligible for board membership. A person who has been convicted of any felony in this state or in a United States District or Territorial Court, or has been convicted of any offense in another jurisdiction which would be considered a felony if committed in this state, is not eligible for board membership unless such felon’s civil rights have been restored for at least 5 years as of the date on which such person seeks election to the board. The validity of any action by the board is not affected if it is later determined that a member of the board is ineligible for board membership.

So, CarolF & Ann HOAs may not add any qualifications to the state's? Would most likely mean owners voting to amend one or more governing documents, but couldn't an HOA do that?

"Elections of directors must be conducted in accordance with the procedures set forth in the governing documents of the association" implies that the association may adopt whatever procedures it wishes.

The following clause, however, indicates that association cannot limit who may seek a seat on the board, "All members of the association are eligible to serve on the board of directors." I see no authorization to adopt some other rule, except for the limitation in the following paragraph regarding delinquent members.

Therefore, I think the answer is, "No, the association cannot amend its governing documents to prevent some owners from serving on the board."

Keep in mind that members must elect them to the board and if there is something in their backgrounds that makes them unacceptable they are not likely to win the votes they need.

Qualifications: You are a Homeowner in the HOA and breath. Some HOA's require one to be in "good standing". However, any member is able to run for a board position. It is the fact that who is going to elect them if they don't feel that person is qualified? Are you going to cast your vote for a board member with a history of non-payment to the HOA and protesting? No.

It's NOT the qualification of the candidate, it is the importance of YOUR VOTE and who you are contributing it to. That's what matters here. You either run for a position or vote for the candidate that you feel brings the best to the table. Qualifications get weened out by votes of confidence..

Larry is correct.

We just went through this exact thing. Last year several members (owners) were upset to find out that a new owner was running for the Board of Directors because: The new owner did not move in, nor did he ever plan on living here. He knew nothing about the Association and had never attended any meetings. His "Letter of Intent" went on and on about how wonderful he was; how he was going to shake things up; wasn't going to go after rule violators; etc. NO WHERE in his letter did he say that he DIDN'T live here and most of the people thought it was his son (who DID live in his condo) who was running for the Board.

At our annual meeting some members proposed changing our documents, by-laws or whatever needed to be done to make it a requirement that owners running for the Board must live on-site for a minimum of six months and one day.

So this year our Board of Directors researched this and ultimately presented the question of the legality to our association attorney. Our attorney cited two Florida court cases that ruled that it is not legal to put stipulations such as this into our Board Member requirements and the Associations lost the court cases. We could have "tried" it---but if a non-resident owner challanged us we could have ended up in court.

As Larry quoted the Florida State Statutes: The following clause, however, indicates that association cannot limit who may seek a seat on the board, "All members of the association are eligible to serve on the board of directors."

Of course we have to follow the other Statutes regarding convicted felons; delinquent owners; etc.

The topic was dropped and closed.
Hope this helps.

Isn't this the way we elect Representatives to Congress, Senators, the President or even the local school board ;)

You vote on a person you want in office. Do not blame others for voting for their choice. It is majority rules. The last I checked that sme vote for office is the same power of vote to remove from office.

Please stop thinking there are some professional HOA people who just happens to move into HOA's because they do this for a living. Seriously someone can be a soccer coach for their kid's team just because they volunteered to do it.Same with HOA's. You volunteer and hope people vote for you. That is your qualification besides homeowner...

Our election is this coming Monday. The developers have stated in the past that they will use their votes to keep me off of the board. I pushed the idea of allowing candidates to make an election statement and have it posted on our neighborhood web site. Here is mine cleaned up from all references of the development name, city, persons' names etc. I have no doubt I will not be elected, but if I do the others who are all "friendly" with the current powers will soon enough vote me off. My intent is to continue forcing change by making it more painful for board members to not listen to their neighbors.

Here is my statement, while not perfect at least shows the courage to be willing to take specific actions to make our community actually a community and not just some place to eat and sleep....

My wife and I purchased a lot in 2001 and finished building our home and moved in during the summer of 2002. We thoroughly enjoy living in the country and think our development is beautiful! We hope and intend to enjoy many more years here and will continue to assist our community and neighbors to the best of our ability.

Serving on an HOA Board to me means administering the business that the membership has agreed to. The direction for the community should come from the members, not the Board in my opinion.

If allowed to serve on our Board I will attempt to abide by three principles.
1)The Board can best serve the community when it is not dominated by group think;
2) A total commitment to full transparency of all business transactions and relationships is a must. This includes regular communications to the community; and
3) Consistency in how rules are applied to the membership and how the members are treated is essential for Board members to live by.

As a Board member I recognize I will need to listen more than talk. This can be accomplished by surveying the members on important issues. While we may not always agree, the community can be assured that I will only vote in a way that serves the best interests of the entire community.

While some of you may know that I can be vocal about certain issues, All residents should find comfort that my focus is on the future, not the past. I hope you will recognize that the concerns I have raised have helped our community move in a better direction and occasionally saved all of us money. I have never failed to put my words into action with many hours of personal time dedicated to serving on multiple committees. In addition, mowing, spraying chemicals, chain sawing fallen trees off trails, planting trees/shrubs, mulching etc. One should only criticize if they are willing to also be part of the solution in my opinion.

At times I have also been accused of being brash. Guilty as charged, unfortunately! We are from a big eastern city and though the Good Lord has not blest me with the polish and people skills my wife possesses, I believe my integrity and commitment to fairness will more than offset these areas of opportunity. While I am a passionate individual who will not avoid disagreeing if I believe it is warranted, I will continue to work on my approach. The other Board members can help with this, and I will encourage them to do so.

I ask that you provide me with the opportunity to serve the community now as a member of the Board. I ask for your vote this November 25th. If you do not plan on attending the meeting, please consider filling out your proxy voting for me.

I thank you for your consideration, and if elected look forward to serving on the Board and will expect to hear from you!

Melissa,

I agree with everything you have stated. And I think you understand that I realize what you say is accurate. Running annually is part of my strategy of peaceful resistance to bullies who thought they could run our HOA for their personal benefit, IMO of course-as well as probably the majority here.

A small group of us have documented everything. We have challenged them and frustrated most of their efforts to control the HOA. We have involved lawyers and legal authority when needed. They will most likely keep me off of the Board as it is about the only power they have left. And yes, they read this stuff as I have directed them to this site.

I only shared this as some of the discussions on this site leave me befuddled. To those Board members who want to be little dictators, get a life. Those of us who still abide by the principles our FFs laid out will fight you every step of the way. And, we members are not always lazy or just complainers. There are a lot of us who will gladly offer our assistance to pull as a team, not as servants for others who have an agenda though.

And to all of you board members and other volunteers who do an outstanding and selfless job, which is the vast majority of you no doubt, we thank you for your dedication!

I will let you know how badly I was embarrassed, I am sure some of you will enjoy that.

I agree with what Mel said. One area of preparation might be has the builder/developer put up a performance bond and how do they get it back. Keep an eye on this.

What size and type association are you talking about? Units, budget, etc. Also when must the developer turn the association over to owner control? In what time frame do you expect that the builder voting as a block will not be the controlling factor?

A lot of questions but just trying to get my arms around the situation.

Thanks

So you are saying that if someone who can't pay their bills (and FYI, this person has made a conscientious choice to not hold any regular employment and yes, this person is also known to NOT pay their assessments on time) they are fit to serve and you are A-Okay with giving that same person control over your OWN financial interests? Do you invest your money with someone who loses their own money? Because when you put such a person in charge of an HOA, they are dealing with YOUR investment.

Some people are swindled by Madoff but then there are people WHO ARE LIKE MADOFF. Don't know about you, but I wouldn't look at Madoff and say "hey, let's give this dude a chance even though he already has a bad track record, heck, he's just a nice guy underneath it all. Take my investment please". I won't assume that you would or wouldn't but I sure as heck wouldn't.

Anyone who serves on a Board is working, whether they realize it or not. It is an unpaid job. Yes, I do have expectations and standards of and for those "volunteers". I am dismayed that some people take the Board position so lightly (and it probably explains why so many Board run amuk).