HOA Meeting Accomodation for Owners in Foreign Countries?

Hi everyone!

I am new to this site. I am President and Treasurer of a very small 7 unit townhome addition HOA - each owner owns fee simple ownership of their townhome. These are not Condos. I am also an owner of one of the units.

But, I think my question is applicable for townhomes, houses, or Condo Associations.

The owners of one of the townhomes moved to Australia and rent out their unit.

They have started demanding access to all of our get togethers and meetings via facetime and are demanding we have them at a time that suits them. Keep in mind Australia's day is our night and vice versa. How accomodating must we be? They made the decision to move to Australia and keep this unit.

Here is an example: We are getting ready to vote on having the townhomes painted. We are planning a swatch party to look at colors. The onwer in Australia has demanded that we facetime him into the swatch party and have it at a time that suits him in Australia. Do we have to do that?

Toni

Toni

Welcome.

Your governing documents should spell out the extent of the accommodations which the Board may be required to implement to allow owner participation in meetings.

We manage condominium and HOA associations in the Dallas area. As examples of our condominium clients, one dates to 1981, a second to about 12 years ago, a third to three years ago. The 1981 documents say nothing regarding participation by telephone or video conferencing, the documents of the more recent two state members of the Board may participate by voice or video conference so long as every member of the Board can hear every other member of the Board at all times during the telephonic meeting.

None of the three associations have language in their documents regarding non-board member participation in meetings by voice or video teleconferencing. All three, and the Texas Property code, require meetings be open to members of the Association but say nothing further.

The simple answer to your question is probably No, you do not have to make accommodations such as you have described.

My recommendation is you seek to find common ground with this owner. Without checking, Australia is probably about 18 hours ahead of Texas, depending on where in Australia the person is located. It seems to me the 18 hour difference should give both parties a window during which a meeting can take place without one or the other being up at 2:30 AM.

As for the paint swatch meeting, could you record it for the absent owner and provide access to the video. Who will vote on the color to be used, the Board or the owners?

As others mentioned, what is required will be w/in your docs.

Regarding their "demands" . . . Are there previous issues with this neighbor that they've gone straight to making demands versus asking/requesting some sort of accommodation? I find their approach interesting since they are in no position to demand anything.

How you handle the situation will be based upon what sort of longer-term relationship the rest of the neighborhood wants with this owner.

That said, I suggest arranging a meeting that works for the majority of participants IAW your docs. Others who really want to participate will adjust their schedule, even if that means they have to be up at 2:00AM. It would be silly to expect 6 of the 7 owners to make ridiculous accommodation for 1 owner. It is more realistic for the 1 owner (who has made their own decision to move across the world) to adjust their schedule to the needs of the other 6.

Finally, if there is a way to accommodate the owner who lives in Australia by setting up facetime, then why not? It should be simple enough as long as both sides have a good wireless connection. If their participation serves only as a distraction or derails the intent of the meeting, then there will likely be a sudden loss of connection!

An

With only 7 owners, it seems you allow them to vote on most everything. If so, let them vote on meeting times. Also allow them to vote on color selection.

Do not cater to one owner.

Antoinette

I'm curious, does your association fall under Chapter 209 or Chapter 81 or Chapter 82 of the Texas Property Code?

My recommendation is you notice the Swatch Party as a formal meeting of the Association. My reasoning is it will be exceedingly difficult to discuss the various colors without tending to reach tacit agreement on the color(s) to be selected. You do not have to formally vote on the color(s) during the Swatch Party, you can follow your usual process. If you do not meet under the umbrella of a formal, noticed, meeting, the owner in Australia could theoretically object and put the other six of you and the Association through six kinds of "stuff" if he were so inclined.

As others have said, you do not have to give in to demands and, unless it is required in your documents, you do not have to provide telephonic or video access to absent owners. You may wish to, of course.

Going back to the Swatch Party, we had a similar situation involving a newly elected condominium board orientation to physical features of the property a couple of years ago. I told everyone before we began Association business could not be discussed as the meeting had not been noticed. The Board found it very difficult to not talk through an issue to resolution and agreement during the orientation; the other community manager and I had to constantly intercede to limit discussions to Q and A and information gathering.

From a timing standpoint, 4:00 in the afternoon in Texas is 7:00 am in most of Australia, so late afternoon and evening meetings should be reasonable times in Aus too.

Antoinette

It can be frustrating, our smaller condominium clients have the same challenges when meeting socially.

You can meet with your neighbors and friends, you can discuss your homes, even to the point of discussing alternative courses of action or hypotheticals.

For example: over a martini, the subject of replacing a sick tree comes up. "What should we do?" asks one present. "How do we find out what to do? asks another. A third says: "Let's call an arborist." You say "Good idea, we will put that on the agenda for the next meeting so everyone can hear, and perhaps offer alternatives, and vote on it."

And you do. But, you did not engage the arborist until after you had properly put it on an agenda, discussed and voted on it, in front of everyone including Mr. Australia if he chooses to dial in. Then, when the report of the arborist comes back, a course of action goes on the agenda and is voted upon.

What you should not do is reach decisions, such as replacing the tree, or select courses of action, especially if association funds are involved, outside a meeting. Emergencies and no alternatives exist situations excepted, of course. A no alternative situation might be, for example, a tree limb comes down and blocks a driveway. Someone drags it out of the way, you call the landscaping company and ask them to remove the limb at the next visit. In many cases the Association will receive a bill for doing so but, so what? The limb has to be removed, waiting to discuss it at a meeting is pointless, just do it and ratify the decision later.

However, in the United Federation (a Republic), and as per Captain Kirk (who outranks Spock) "the needs of the one outweighs the needs of the many".

The ISSUE is: What do the 'governing documents' state ?

I would not pander. Follow the process outlined in your governing documents.

However, take a few photos of the various colors and either send them to the non resident owners, or post them on your website, if you have one.

Ask them nicely to send you their choice of colors.