Online / Paperless Communications

In CA, certain materials must be sent to owners USPS, e.g., ballots. Owners have the right per statute to request that other items be sent to them USPS.

We are working with an attorney to add virtual meetings to our CCRs (as already supported by NC law). I'll ask about adopting an electronic-by-default position formally.

The point of the $3 is to establish a policy that we would apply consistently to everyone and not make the rest of the neighborhood pay for one person's choice. This individual comes from a family of Vocational Dissidents. They are capable of receiving email, but this person has decided they do not want to receive email from me personally. It's pointless, because I will be the person who sends the paper mailing too. Having forced the board to consider this question was probably the actual point - to inconvenience us.

As others noted, if you quote here the section of the bylaws that addresses how notices are to be sent out, you could save the HOA some money. I see what the state statute says, but what the bylaws say is relevant too.

There is a long history with this person. I'll call them B. A few months ago B got mad at the HOA (again) and declared that they wanted to receive no communication from the HOA. At that point I suspect B blocked the HOA address or put it on their junk/spam list. This week, after the monthly dues amounts changed, B texted another board member and said they "do not accept notifications from the hoa email" and wanted paper.

We do have a website, but it was set up by the former President, whom B also hates. B seemed unable to figure out the website, so a lack of technical skill may have made B feel uncomfortable. Plenty of offers were made to assist B in learning to navigate it; all were refused. The HOA President resigned in the spring, and no one has been willing to take the job.

B does pay their dues monthly via their bank, and B needed to know the new amount to send. Instead of simply asking me, the treasurer, B chose to contact another board member. It's like the trope in sitcoms when people stop talking to each other but still need to communicate, so they make someone else relay their messages. "Tell him that I said..." "Well you can tell her to..." etc. You get the picture.

Yep, this borders on petty - and I don't know why your Board colleagues haven't decided to squash this. Their apparent unwillingness to stand up and stand behind their decisions may be why the president quit. If that's the case, y'all need an executive session to hash out your relationships and grow up, so someone can be elected president and know he/she will have the backing of his/her colleagues.

Now that I think of it, I dont know if it was you or someone else, but there was another conversation on this website about a homeowner who also requested paper correspondence only (may have been Michael). I remember said the resident doesn't have to read the information if he/she doesn't want to, but is still required to comply with whatever it says, like due dates for assessments. Not sending an assessment because you didn't know the due date (because you refused to read the HOA correspondence) is an excuse, and not a good one. Sometimes you have to call people on their BS.

In the meantime, there could be an issue with the web design (some work better than others), but the lady also refused any help, so that's her problem. Ditto for paying through her bank - she knows they're due every month and what the amount it (she could get that information from any board member or even her neighbor if she doesn't like you), so it makes no sense to ask for a monthly bill. All you do is go online, put in the new amount and the bank does the rest. That's how my bank operates and I can even schedule payments for several months at a time.

I agree with John - stop letting this lady upset you. She doesn't have to use the website if she doesn't want to, but pertinent information can be posted on the main page so no one has to spend a lot of time if they don't want - here's the due date, here's where you send your assessment, click on this if you want to pay online, or go to your bank to set up automatic deductions or bill pay. And here's the date of the next board meeting - thank you for reading, and now you can go back to whatever website floats your boat.

In general, when you're dealing with a homeowner who is trying to create drama, the board's job is to remove the drama from their interactions. Over time, if the person isn't getting the emotional payoff of causing conflict, they'll start finding their entertainment elsewhere. But you have to be consistent - drop your guard and you'll be back to square one.

When I had to deal with our drama llamas, I kept my interactions with them brief, bland, and boring. Just the facts, ma'am, and no back and forth discussion:

"We are required by law to provide homeowners with this information. You can choose to ignore it, but you will still be responsible for knowing what has been communicated." End of discussion. I'm a big believer in the value of natural consequences in helping people to make smarter choices.

FWIW, this year we have started charging homeowners a $10 fee to cover printing and mailing costs if they wanted paper coupon books for paying their assessments. The encouragement to use electronic payment options was presented to the membership as reducing costs to keep assessments low - very few people would object to that.

Michael, would you please quote the statute section that says that NC nonprofits no longer have to send notices by U. S. mail? I do not see it at the sites you linked.

Michael, if a NC HOA member does not wish to receive notices electronically, the statute sections you cited indicate the HOA is stuck with sending out notice in another lawful way. See 55A-1-41 and 55A-1-70 at https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/pdf/bychapter/chapter_55a.pdf.

Sure. I used CCRs as a shorthand for all our governing documents. I'm working with our attorney to add language that makes it easier for us to conduct business electronically and virtually, at his suggestion.