What is a declarant? and more

Started by RicH1 • 4 replies • 16980 views

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RicH1 (Georgia)
Posts: 23

Posted:

What is a declarant as it relate to by-laws? What does it mean and what is the difference between board member and officer, because for me the bylaws can get confusing? How do you ammend the CC and R's? is that possible?

EllenS1 (Florida)
Posts: 1,148

Posted:

Rich,

Not laying blame but it is obvious you have not read all of your docs. They should state that a board member is just that and officers (pres, sec or treasurer) are appointed by the entire board. As far as amending the covenants it should be spelled out in your association's Declaration in detail. I would hesitate to attempt amendments until you have a complete understanding of your existing docs. Your declaration is specific to your association and state and any advice you get here should just be general.
do some homework.

BrianB (California)
Posts: 2,820

Posted:

a declarant is usually the developer/builder: the first owner of the entire HOA/subdivision/Property, who then divides it up and sells it in pieces. eventually, the declarant gives control of the HOA over to the property owners.

typically, the owners elect a board, comprised of board members. then, the board elects, within themselves, various officer positions (president, treasurer, VP, secretary, sgt at arms, comptroller, morale officer, etc... whatever your docs say or your board believes they need). an officer is (almost always) a board member (hate to make absolute statements).

think of it like your Congress: you elect a Senator or two, and then all the senators elect the Senate President, Majority Leader, Minority leader, etc..

MaryA1 (Arizona)
Posts: 7,043

Posted:

Rich,

The declarant is the person who is building the s/d. He may also be the developer who is building all the homes, or he may have agreements with other developers to build all or some of the homes. The declarant is the person who sets up the HOA and appoints board members -- he most likely will be the Pres. This board will remain in effect until the declarant turns control of the assn over to the members -- this is called transition. The declarant is the person who has had the articles of incl, bylaws and CCRs drafted and put into effect. He is the person who has inc. the HOA (usually a nonprofit corp).

The board of directors is comprised of a number of directors, anywhere from 3 to 7 or sometimes even more. In most instances the officers of the corp. are actually the directors. After transition, the members of the assn elect a board of directors. The directors, in turn, elect who among them will be the officers. If there are more directors than officers, the remaining directors are oftentimes referred to as directors-at-large. All board members are directors, but not all directors are officers. There are some exceptions, but this is the norm for, I believe, the majority of assns.

All the gov. docs can be amended. The articles of inc. are usually amended by the members; the bylaws may be amended by the BOD or the members and the CCRs can only be amended by the members. When the members are required to amend a gov docs the % of votes to amend is usually very high; anywhere from 2/3 on up to even 100%. But I think the norm is around 75%. Each gov. doc should have an amendment article which will explain the procedure which must be followed for that particular gov. doc.

DarleneL1 (Florida)
Posts: 97

Posted:

In Florida, the Declarant must turnover the authorization to the BOD properly, according to the Florida Statutes, in order for the BOD to have the authority to control the HOA.

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