The Attorneys

1st, the HOA needs an attorney that specializes or has a lot of experience in HOA law practice. They should provide board training materials, newsletters ect and allow board members to call for simple questions and document interpretation. Once you are in that realm, you will get very good advice.

Pretty much agree with Dean. But not all HOAs need an HOA attorney on retainer. Our HOA is a very complicated mixed use assoc. in a state with a lot of HOA laws.So a retainer makes senior us. In exchange for an annual fee, the board receives assistance & advice at the Annual Meeting, free 15-minute phone calls about simple matters; attendance at an open or executive session meeting of the Board per year.

Unlike, Dean, Our contract permits only the president to be the liaison between the Board and the attorney. No directors may simply contact him on their own. The PM's on conference call with the prez and a director if the call's about a director's question or concern.

I'd hope that less complex HOAs hav a realize an competent HOA with whom they hav some sort of informal arrangement?

Also, there is no "informal" arrangement with an attorney. You're either a client or you're not.

You know those movies where somebody goes to a PI for help, and the PI says "pay me a dollar"? The dollar is a retainer that, among other things, guarantees that the communications between professional and client are privileged - the professional can't be forced to disclose what the client has told him unless the client has revealed that he intends to commit a crime. It's legal protection for both parties.

Hmmmm, Cathy. Now, I' like to hr how very small or uncomplicated handle this topic. HOA attorney on retainer? If not, what DOES your board do if you need legal advice about your HOA? Or even for things like "how" to interpret a certain CC&R?

Attorneys are a mixed bag - you're correct that some are better than others. However, you don't say why one was "moronic," the second not helpful, although he/she gave a quick insight and the third was great. Is that because the third told you what you wanted to hear? Could it be the first one wasn't helpful because whoever spoke to him (you?) didn't provide an overview of the situation that made sense? Did you check the credentials of any of these attorneys before talking to them? Attorneys don't know everything, and perhaps the second one would have been more effective if he/she had a little more time to review the situation and related documents.

I've found it's a good idea to ask others who they used, and how that went. It's not just about money - the first meeting will probably be an overview of what the attorney does, how long he/she's done it, what you can expect if hired, and the fee structure. Before the meeting, the attorney should also tell you what to bring to the meeting (you should review them before you show up so you know what's in them - saving time and money because these folks are paid by the hour). The more complicated the issue, the more important it becomes to do the research and if you've seen a law library, that's no small thing. Don't expect a response right off the bat.

Good attorneys can explain things in plain English and ask for details, what you've done up to the meeting to try and resolve the problem (sometimes people run to the attorney and haven't done a bloody thing because they're more interested in using a sledgehammer to squash a bug) and how I would like the problem resolved (some people don't think that all the way through either).

As far as HOA attorneys go, I prefer ones who educate as much as they litigate (preferably more). Our current attorney offers a certain number of hours as part of our letter of engegement where designated board members can ask questions. Our former attorney offered an annual seminar (with a steak dinner!) for clients every year, where the partners and associates discussed common issues, what might be coming up in the next state legislature session regarding HOA issues, etc. To save the association money on legal questions, the board usually approved contacting the attorney in advance during board meetings. When I was treasurer, I often contacted the attorney with questions about delinquent accounts and copy the board members on my emails to him and the response would go to everyone, so they knew what was going on. Some board members like to hoard the information, contact the attorney when it isn't necessary (because they don't read the documents) and then wonder why fees have increased.

Ultimately, the attorney gets paid no matter what, so you may as well know exactly what you're getting. And speaking of fees, the good ones give you a fee schedule so you'll have some idea how much it may cost to do a skip search, research thorny legal questions, send a nastygram (letter, that is), what it costs to respond to questions and the best way to pose them to save money (email may be faster than leaving a message). Even better if the attorney has a client portal where you can pull up your account and see in real time what's been happening with your case - if it's been a few weeks or months, the attorney should explain why.

So that's my two cents - hope it's useful.

PS. We've had 4 attorneys on our boards and none were of any use. You'da thunk that at least they'd be helpful with contracts.... The last, an appointee served amost two years and contributed zero to agenda or even motions. She ran for reelection, skipped Candidates Night, and lost.

With Shelia, I'm a huge fan of Candidates Night or a "Meet the Candidates Event."

Thanks all for the inputs.

I think the key is no matter what the profession or service it is getting a good support team around you is always important.

I learned some things and that is reacting to an "emergency" might not always lead to the best service. Establishing a relationship where they know the assn will give better results and of course them having condo expertise.

Tiny and small assn will be at a disadvantage since there is no money for attorney and even one on a retainer. But hey we can look into how much does a retainer cost for an attorney for minuscule condo.

Also I like to think we have different perspectives and we need to understand that when we read other responses that there might be strong opinions on the matter just due to differences in personal experiences. Thanks I will be able to gauge better on everyone's viewpoints in the future.

SO IN OTHER WORDS YOU GET NOTHING FOR $1000. ALL THAT STUFF IS ONLINE FOR FREE ALREADY.

hi Wendy that HOA book is it online or physical copy. Is it possible to pass a link or the title name. That looks really interesting!!!!

Dean, thanks for passing along the rate. In a small condo depending on what state, region and area of the country that could easily be about 10-15% of a small condo operating budget cost. Hence the reason why small condos are handcuffed. Once I got ticked off and actually found a service where they come on site take a look a the property read the docs before hand and actually do a onsite mediation on various condo topics to defuse situations and educate folks. Done by a non-lawyer. Close to hiring them to get the condo moving in the right direction and paying out of my own pocket. We are slowly getting there in our own way.

Another thing I noticed on this thread is the comfort level of legal matters varies amongst folks. Some of you I think you should go to law school since you are close to practicing it. Others like myself need some assistance and we muddle around and others this legal stuff is tough sledding. Everyone is different. I once was told if I wanted to get into law. I almost puked. I told the attorney the stuff makes me gag and I need to put heck a lot effort into it. It might look like competence but is a lot of efforting. He was remarking on my details of outlining the condo docs on a matter which he found my work to be accurate.

Again our experiences and comfort level will show up and we need to understand our differences.

Thanks again.