volunteer waiver forms

Hi all. We are a new inexperienced H.O.A. with twenty members and the membership has voted in favor of doing our own groundskeeping on a volunteer basis to save money. I was elected property manager and I'm one of five board members. President, vice-president, treasurer, secretary and property manager. Is it wise for me to just draw up some sort of waiver form for volunteers to sign so one of them or someone who depends on one of them doesn't sue whoever it is they can sue in the event of injury or worse? They will be using their own equipment and tools as well. Thanks.

This subject is too important to do an amateur DIY waiver and you should talking to your insurance agent and/or a lawyer.

Oh gosh.

You have an elected position called "property manager" that one of the unit owners fills? In other words, if the other owners don't like the volunteer work that the property manager is doing, they get to elect a different volunteer to do the job?

And your Board has decided all of the owners would like a part time job called landscaping so they can save themselves money?

Oh my.

What LetA and everyone said.

I suspect all of this is being looked at because people don't want to spend money, not realizing it can cost a helluva lot more down the road. Not to mention you have people who say they'll cut the grass or rake the leaves, but don't, or do a half-assed job of it and it has to be done over (and over and over again). If your insurance company balks at this (and I have a hunch they will), you'll just have to get some estimates and get a landscaping company to do the work.

You are homeowners and while you don't want to pay through the nose, it's not a good idea to do things on the cheap. If you're going to be a self-managed HOA, that's the first lesson you need to get in a hurry. You can get the work done and be prudent in controlling costs - it just requires more thought and a bit more work.

This is such an excellent point!!!!!

I am confused about the position "Property Manager". Is that really in your documents or is there confusion on the relationship of HOA and Property Manager? Normally a Property Manager is a paid company and/or person separate from HOA membership. They are a paid contractor to handle the daily business and items for the HOA. There is still the board and their Office positions of President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The Treasurer positions is often vetted out to an accounting firm in some HOA's instead of member.

Be careful as you may all be volunteers but doing certain jobs in the HOA one should not be a volunteer. You don't volunteer to do electrical work or plumbing. Usually not a problem to do like a "clean up" day amongst members. However, when it comes to a trade position always go with licensed and insured.

I think this suggestion is outstanding. Example:

March 21 Board Meeting, High Mountain HOA, open forum section:

Owner Ralph Uoweme: Can we please have someone monitor the pool for babies not in pool diapers?

HOA President Happy Harriet: Interesting idea! Would you please have a schedule of volunteers, to perform this monitoring, to the manager by Monday, 9 AM? Remember to put your name at the top as the "Volunteer Pool Monitor Coordinator."

Owner Ralph: No, I do not want to do any work.

HOA President Happy Harriet: I see. Think about this a few days, and if you change your mind, get back to us at the next meeting. Neighbor Golightly, I see you have something to say. Go ahead, ma'am.

No pay and nothing in the bylaws to include officer property manager position. The title of property manager was a random title for a fifth board member to tilt the scale in the event of an even vote on decisions made by the other four board members. Like a ninth supreme court justice. The property manager I defeated by one vote came up with the title, I believe.

On boards, every director gets one vote. 5 directors, 5 votes. So I don't grasp what "tilting the scale" means? Why would the other 4 directors have a vote, but not this person unless there's tie?

Normally directors who aren't officers are just that--directors. We've seen that some boards call that person or those directors, "directors at large." I don't know why .

There is an important distinction between directors and officers. Per your Bylaws, you'll see that Owners elect directors to serve on boards of directors. Directors are the ones who vote at board meetings. In your case, your bylaws say five directors, so five directors each have one vote at board meetings. Most bylaws call for an uneven number of directors to try to avoid tie votes.

Directors (s)elect the officers, usually at a meeting right after the annual meeting and election. The officers are named in your Bylaws. It looks like yours say Prez, VP Sec'y & treasurer. Usually they are directors, but not always. They do not vote unless they also ARE directors. So you have 4 officers and 1 director who is not an officer. You cannot make up a title for the person. Do r4ad your assn.'s Bylas which are required if your HOA is a corporation.

Maybe start a new thread about the division between the lakefront & non -lakefront Owners. Please read your covenants (CC&Rs; declaration; deed restrictions) and maybe also your Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws and even your Architectural guidelines if you have any, to see if one group must be treated differently than others. Perhaps a difference in dues? If so, make sure you include that info in your next post. Good luck.

Back to you Owners wanting to use "volunteers" for landscaping. Others have made strong points about why that is a bad plan. Most emphasized should be, imo, to talk with your insurance agent. Will insurance cover any injuries these volunteers suffer if on ladders? Messing with electricity or mechanical equipment? Using power tools? Do NOT, as JohnC insists even think about a DIY waiver.