what correspondence should be kept

Hi Dean:

When I was managing a portfolio of HOA's, I kept every email I received (if multiple back & forth replies, kept the last one sent and threw out the others), and those times when the HOA hired another management company, we gave an electronic archive of the emails to the next company (and I just got a look at some at a deposition regarding a construction defect case at one of the HOA's I used to manage, compliments of the builder's lawyer).

That said, what would be important to keep would be anything that relates to any of the following:
1) the builder (including any warranty requests)
2) any subcontractor in the construction process
3) any vendors
4) complaints that resulted in violation letters, etc. being sent
5) violation letters, fine letters, hearing notices, etc.
6) any collection letters sent
7) a file of welcome letters sent (especially if you provide a copy of your legal documents
8) demand letters on sales closing
9) ARC applications with approval/denial
10) records on any repairs, including any insurance claims

This may not be an exhaustive list.

Another thing that should be saved:
phone logs reagrding HOA business

If your board members did save emails, they could be moved to a separate file folder in the email program and "archived" from there, then the archive folder could be saved to another medium (perhaps two CD's to be stored in different places for safety of backup).

Then again, you could just save everything, if that's not everything already. Anybody else know of something not on the list that should be saved?

J. Patrick Moore, CMCA

You have been given great advice from the above posters. . I just wanted to add that you may need to keep in consideration WHERE this information is kept on HOW to keep it.
Believe it or not, our documents were kept in regular "Folder boxes" inside the clubhouse closet!!! It had previously sat in the house of the former bookkeeper. The ordiness of the documents were a mess! I had to look through ALL of them to settle a dispute between the lawncare contractor I fired and the new one we hired. (Former president started the original contract a month earlier than current contract). It was NOT easy to sort but it was beneficial going over the history.
I would suggest if your on good terms with your MC, that you ask to see if they have a place to store them at their office. They should most likely have your records anyway since they are the "records keepers". If you don't trust your MC or feel the board should ONLY have access, then the board should agree to a "safe" area to keep the records in. That may be whichever officer is willing to agree to put such records in their control/home. I would recommend possibly a safe deposit box if the association can afford it for some of the most important originals.
This brings me to another issue. I've heard of some HOA's going to the expense of putting their documents on micro-film or scanning them into a computer and keeping them on disk. The scanning is most likely the "cheaper" option and can be done from home. It is just extremely time consuming. However, keeping ALL the paperwork is too much for larger HOA's. Keep in mind that paper does degrade over time, so getting the older documents scanned first would be the best.
We often forget the actual record keeping has issues. Storage, content, location, and condition should be observed if possible. Records are allowed to be viewed by the members upon their request. Wherever the records end up, you may want to keep a "viewer" log to verify who looked at what and when. That way you can verify they were given access and if anything is missing where it may be.