Power of Attorney at HOA Meetings

Remember the BOD are volunteers and not paid "professionals". The word "professionals" being the key word. They make mistakes on a regular basis.

That is good advice. HOA people are volunteers and NOT professionals. They may have "Professional" jobs lawyer, doctor, or Real Estate agent but they are in no means "HOA experts". I like to advise people to ask their question back to themselves. What do you think if you were an owner and the owner of records fiancé comes to the meeting with POA? That recourse or reaction is exactly what you should expect. What result would you want to see if that was the situation? There then is your answer.

Are you saying that you are not allowed to attend any HOA meeting or Board Meeting? What do your governing documents state? Our's clearly state that the deeded owner is the only one allowed to vote. They also state that a board member does not have to be an owner.

It's very possible that they are just protecting themselves from any liability.

Hi Tim,

Thanks for your comments. I'm not trying to serve on any committees. I'm simply trying to attend meetings (HOA) and be an informed resident along with my fiance, he doesn't want to attend the meetings. There are a few people who are questioning my ability to be there... I'm not the only non-deeded attendee but they have made me an example becuase I have become involved, actively, in some of the HOA activities, i.e. Turnover Election. I supported a few of the candidates and spoke up on issues that were items of concern. It just completely shocks me that grown adults act like this, I can totally understand if I was downgrading or making a mokery of things.. but I'm not. I want to know where my money is being spent and who is managing and make sure they are following the laws (Sunshine State and FL Statue 720) so that my home is protected and served by the BOD as it should be.

Also, at the election they allowed for Proxies to be used and there were MANY, so if a proxy is valid at an election... shouldn't a POA suffice for attending an HOA meeting?

The advice came from the management company, who communicated with the HOA attorney.

I was just hoping that maybe I would make a connection with another person who had possibly gone through the same thing as me.

Hi Steve,

Yes, unfortunately it seems we are dealing with more power hungry people and less reasonableness... the focus should be on the community and keeping it nice and moving forward instead they are doing things that could cost us a lot of money and make an example out of me for wanting to be informed.. I guess I can now see why so many HOAs have so little participation, usually a small group of bullies that does what they want... in this case they are being questioned, by me and some others, and thus need to find the needle in the haystack to take the attention off the real issues.. their lack of knowledge and/or lack of wanting to learn and follow the necessary rules... Time will bring out all the truths

Read this:

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-09-20/classified/os-community-associations-use-of-a-power-of-attorney-20130920_1_power-person-principal

I managed my late mother's affairs for many years under a power-of-attorney. I had a few instances where people I needed to deal with refused to accept my POA. My attorney told me that a power-of-attorney does not have the status of a court order and others are within their rights to refuse to accept it. I am not familiar with the Florida statutes but from the article quoted above an association may be required to accept a POA under some circumstances.

What is going on in these board meetings that they feel it is necessary to keep them so sooper seekrit? My board is elated to get five owners out of 1600 to show up for a board meeting. I cannot imagine why there is any reason to deny admittance to someone who wishes to attend.

Ownership of real property is a complicated legal matter. The fact that a party is not named on a deed is not proof that they have no ownership interest. A board that decides to take action based solely on a deed is skating on thin ice as it has no lawful authority to render a judgment as to who may be an owner. The remedy is to seek a declaratory judgment through the courts and either party may initiate that action.

You know something Jill, I am a current Board member and I have been accused of jsut what you are accusing your board of, being power hungry people, bullies, show favoritism etc...These are the names we are called when someone doesn't "get" their way. Those people know absolutely NOTHING about me personally...they couldn't tell you if am I married, have children do whether or not I live with 60 cats, let alone what it is I do for a living.

BUT they seem to know enough to call me a power hungry person, and call the board a group of bullies who do what they want. And it's those exact accusations that are thrown about when someone doesn't get their way. You wonder why they question every single thing that is presented to them? Because they will be held liable for when someone like you decides to take them and the HOA to court.

Power hungry? the reality is that everyone gets on the board to "do their part" and then they learn that it is the most THANKLESS job in history. Why? because when the homeowner doesn't get their way, they are called names and assumptions are made and they go around to try to find other homeowners that they can suck into their vortex of hate for anything or anyone who says no to them. But instead of calling it quits and resigning, they took their position seriously and won't quit when they are called names by homeowners who don't even own the home they are living in.

Accusing them of lacking knowledge etc is also another ridiculous statement, if they didn't know the doucment's they would of never questioned your being at a homeowners meeting. Surely if you were at a meeting making helpful suggestions instead of accusations, they wouldn't of cared. At my second meeting as a Board member, a woman who moved in with her boyfriend, having never been to an HOA meeting before came in and started making statements and accusations as if she had been living in our neighborhood for as long as the rest of us. I will be honest that I wouldn't give her the time of day because she didn't know anything about our documents, our neighborhood or anyone serving on the board.

Just remember that when you point your finger at the board, there are four pointing back at you. What have you done to or what have you said that makes the board so careful? Are you trying to be helpful or hurtful? It's not what you say or what you ask, but how you say it and how you ask. If your being so accusatory to call them bullies and power hungry, I wouldn't want you at the meetings either!

It's people like you that make our job so hard and why it's called thankless. I sure didn't get on the Board to cause a divide, I got on to do my part for our neighborhood...but hey, thanks so much for reminding me that it's not always the BOD that is the problem, it's the few people who like to stir up trouble when they don't get their way.

As someone suggested, why don't you just do the hard work necessary to get on the deed and then your problems will be solved, and the board can get on with it's business, instead of wasting time fighting someone who doesn't have any authority. Hmmmm...it feels like you are seeking some power yourself.

A current Board President

Oh, one way I used when approaching issues in the Military was starting my question with:

"I know that I don't have access to all the particulars of this issue like you do, but as I see it, I understand xyz and suggest abc"

This tended to minimize any defensiveness because I provided them an out (I didn't know what they knew) and they were more willing to listen. If I was incorrect in my understanding, they usually took the additional time needed to explain the issue to me.

Jill,

Glad this worked out for you. Remember what Tim said about it taking him 3 years to start showing/making a difference. I will also attest to the fact that you have chosen a long, and no doubt what will be at the most difficult periods, a lonely road. Prayers have been sent! Best wishes.

Hi Frank! Thanks! I'm excited to be able to particiapte and start moving forward with my neighbors and BOD and work together to make our community a 'well oiled machine'...it will take some time but I believe that with respect (as Tim pointed out) and time and persistence and truth (research backed facts) that everything will work out ok... like you and Tim said.. just going to take time... but I'm ok with that as long as we move forward and not back

Hi CarolF,

Yes, correct it's not the sunshine state Law
but rather the Florida statue 720. It provides
Reference that the BOD must conduct all
Association business in the 'sunshine' with the only exceptions being legal matters discussed w an attorney and personnel issues.

Our Board must be an exception. We each have a copy of the State Law and are encouraged to read them. Actually when I first became a Board member someone on this site gave me the link to our state laws and I emailed them to other Board Members. Of course we are volunteers and make mistakes, but even professionals make mistakes. But if and when an honest mistake (not someone's idea of what should be) comes to our attention we do try to correct it.
Previously some Board members didn't even read our documents. When I was a new Board Member I encouraged budget discussions which the Vice President kept saying we don't have time for.
Our current President has an extremely high level of intelligence.

That would likely depend on how the Power of Attorney was written and how the Board interprets it.

You will likely need to ask an actual attorney for the answer.

Just saw that this thread was getting some activity again... update on our situation... we solved it once and for all... QuitClaim Deed. Now there is no worries on what the POA does..

But I did ask an HOA attorney and was told that they POA allows me the rights of a Homeowner would have at any meeting. But, since my finance isn't interesting in the HOA the 'either or both' doesn't apply. I would have always respected his interest, if he wanted to, to be active in the HOA.

a 'property POA' should have been recorded with the 'register of deeds' since it would have permitted you to actually sell the property

? did you and your fiancé not know this ?

I know this thread is old, but still active, so I wanted to add some observations.

In almost every instance I am familiar with a homeowner may grant a general proxy to allow not only a spouse to attend meetings and vote, but it would allow a renter to do so as well. You seem so gung ho about how the board does it's business, why are you not a member of the board? When I questioned the by-law in our documents that states that members of the board do not have to even be residents of the community our lawyer put it this way: If you drag a homeless guy into your annual meeting and he receives enough votes (and is willing), he is on the board... plain and simple. So why are you not on the board?

We had a few residents who used to show up at meetings, questioning every action we took that she had researched. It is irritating trying to get the business of a board done without being second guessed at every turn. Now, whenever someone causes a commotion we simply ask them what position they are volunteering for, and ask that they run for a position on the board at the next annual meeting. Remember my first paragraph. Often this shames the irritant into either actively participating or they realize their mistake. It is really easy to sit outside of a process and criticize it, but quite another thing to get involved and actually be part of the solution.

I also wonder at some of the responses. Our by-laws are not some secret document. When you buy a house in our community our by-laws and state law indicates that you receive a copy of the current governing documents, including the Articles of Incorporation, By-laws and Resolutions. Based on some of the responses, is this not the case everywhere? It is important to note that at any time, any qualified resident may ask for and receive copies of these documents as well as financial documents. There is a fee involved, but it is not exorbitant.

Jill,

I'm not sure Shawn read the whole thread, as you had stated many of those things in the thread previously.

I'm glad the issue has been resolved and I applaud you for being involved within your Association.

Tim

Hi Jill,

You seem so concerned and interested in everything the board does. Why don't you just join the BOD? Wouldn't that be easier?

Hi Jill, I am trying to accomplish the same thing. Thanks for your info. Too bad the thread turned out to be such a shooting gallery.

Did you have POA state anything specific in reference to attending meetings or was it implied?

thanks

2 year old thread, reactivated twice