Need to add Bylaws...

Our HOA is self managed and we are very small with only 42 homes.
The board has decided and members have voted on adding a few new bylaws to our docs. Do these have to be done through an attorney or is it something I can write up and have notarized?
We need to add a bylaw regarding penalty for late dues and a bylaw concerning home upkeep.
I have never done this before and would appreciate some help!

Thank you
Nkool, North Carolina

Nanci,

Any amendments must be written in the words exactly as they will be filed with the official documents in your County Clerks office. Therefore before it goes to a vote before the membership, it must be written in the legal language as it will appear in that document.

It does not have to be written by an attorney but it must be in a word form that will hold up in a court if ever it needs to be. It's not something that can be just put together like you would jot down a note.

If you can get it written and approved by the membership, call your Clerks office and ask if a simple notorization will be adequit for filing.

NanciK: Do your official documents also allow for the Board to create Rules & Regulations? If so, it may be that you can create rules/regs to "expand, clarify" those restrictions as stated in the CC&Rs.

Don't know exactly what wording you want to add; however, provided your docs allow rules/regs, the Board only needs to vote on it and communicate (suggest written) it to residents with an effective date, also cite the restriction in the docs you are 'expanding or clarifying'. Depending on what your docs state on "collecting dues/fines and maintaining property values", the new additions may fall under what's already there, but only as more specific clarification.

Not sure what you mean, we voted and now I have to add. I was just asking if I needed an attorney to draw up the bylaw or if I could do it on my own.

NanciK, anyone can type up the new By-laws with properly approved amendments added and have them signed by the Secretary and/or President. My question is: Are the additions of late charges and home maintenance valid items to add to the By-laws or should they be amendments to the CC&Rs or else the Rules and Regulations?

NanciK - You've yet to answer my question, not a problem, but let me first address that. Second, with a past attendance record of 6 out of 42 homes at the last meeting, amending the cc&r's won't be so easy. I believe that usually requires 2/3rds vote, or in your case 28 voting members. Amending anything is not, nor should be easy. : )

Nanci,
I give you so much credit for taking on a rather explicit task of taking on your CC&Rs. As I stated above, your wording in the amendments must be very explicit and make sure that it is worded fair and reasonable for your membership and will stand up in a court of law. That is why attorneys like to write these things but you can do it if you reference other covenants and bylaws.

This is what I question as it troubles me somewhat. You have 42 homes. It says a quorum is 1/10 of the votes of the members which comes out to 5 members or (4.2 people)

Then it says to amend Bylaws, it requires a majority of a quorum. As good as I am at figuring these things out, I came up with needing 3 members to pass any amendments? Minimun of 5 people X 50% equals 3 people. Can this possibly be right?

In reality and hopefully, you would always have much more than a minimum number of members for any voting but this is so minimally written as for requirements. I would never allow this to remain for your association. This allows for so few people to control what happens to your association. Scarey to me.

Nanci,
That's right--one step at a time. As long as you are wanting to rewrite the bylaws, you might consider changing the voting requirements. I would suggest going up to 30% requirement for a quorum and that would be 13 members by proxy or in person. And to pass anything by a vote, make it the majority of the entire membership, which would be 22 member votes.

The way it is written now, the majority of the membership has no say-so unless they are staying really involved. Staying involved ,that is a good thing but probably not a realistic thing. I have never seen any voting requirements that low. Gosh, someone with a personal agenda could control every aspect of your votes by having just a couple of proxy votes. This is not a good thing so it needs some tweeking.

And you agree about having a M.C not working for you? They do have a valuable place in our associations and sometimes to save a few dollars, we shoot ourselves in the foot. But you sound determined so give it the old collage try.

Dr. Gloria,
Interesting to me. What you are saying is that by the NCPCA, all HOAs are required to use the 2/3rds vote of their membership to amend the CC&Rs even if their governing Documents state another number? I hope that I have this straight. Thank You, Donna

I will add them to my CCR's (thanks to the ppl who helped me figure that out, see previous posts)

Our docs state nothing about a 2/3 vote in any manner.

Gerald,

I know you are trying to be helpful, but you are coming across very harsh. You are reading into everything that I write and it is distracting me from those whom understand my situation and are trying to help.

Thank you for your warnings and cautions, but I think I have heard all that I need to from you. I know I am "out of my league" and that is why I am here asking for help, asking if I should get an attorney. None the less, I thank you for pointing that out to me. It always brightens my day to be told that I am an idiot, especially by someone who is obviously so superior.

Sincerely

Nanci: I don't think Gerald was at all trying to imply what you think he was trying to imply.

I've been reading the posts and re-reading them, and I, too, am unclear as to what and how you will actually be doing.

We are (at least I am) confused by this line:

" The board has decided and members have voted on adding a few new bylaws to our docs."

Please help me understand, take me to square one here, because I feel like Gerald to an extent that if you are doing what I think you are doing, then it could run into problems for your HOA down the road.

1) You had a meeting where 6 homes out of 42 were represented.

These 6 members (including board members) decided that the bylaws needed amending.

At that meeting, did they vote on actual amendment content, or just vote in general to move forward to amend the bylaws?

2) If yes, then there was some language at the meeting that they voted on as to what they specifically wanted the amendments to be, right?

3) If no, then they just voted that, in general, you all needed to amend your bylaws to including something about penalties and upkeep of the homes, but that you are going to add SPECIFIC language about that sort of now, after the fact of the voting on the broader idea of penalties and upkeep? Is that correct?

Now, as you've already been advised by some other posters, it's more likely that you really need to add these items to your Deed Conditions, Covenants, and Restrictions (CC&Rs), since bylaws really mostly just contain details on how the board is elected and when meetings are to be called, etc, etc, and does not require as stringent a voting structure to amend as the CC&Rs do.

Let's assume that everyone's already figured out the quorum required to carry a CC&R amendment, and your initial meeting with the 6 members passed that test.

It appears to me, and I think this is what Gerald is trying to caution you about, that once you draft the final language, the "more specific" language, that you will then need to pull at least those 6 people back together and have them vote on the final, what is to become the "official," language of the new amendments.

IF that doesn't happen, a homeowner later on down the road who is not happy with the penalties or with the upkeep thing COULD challenge the legality of the amendments and, unless the SPECIFIC LANGUAGE received the proper quorum and vote, they could win.

I think that's all he was trying to say.

And if he wasn't, then this is what I'm trying to say, and I really really really hope you don't think I'm trying to call you an idiot or anything, I'm simply trying to make sure everyone is on the same page with what has already been voted on and, more particularly, what has NOT already been voted on but will end up being in the final official recorded document.