Confused - Definitions

I'm obviously very confused, and I'd like to post it all under one subject, so there aren't any little threads hanging around.

Those of you who've answered my previous posts know a little about my situation. 19 unit "townhomes" (yes, there's that word! ). Squatters in one unit, water damage in another unit going through insurance adjusting right now, and few people interested. GIven the WONDERFULLY helpful responses, I'm hoping to clarify my confusion, and hopefully move onto the road to clarity.

I've read my By-Laws, Articles, and CC&Rs more times than I care to count. I'm pretty sure I have an understanding of the "documents".

Question for clarification #1 - Define Bylaws, Articles, and CC&Rs. These are what I refer to as "documents". What purpose does each document serve? Which should be as up-to-date as possible? Which can be more "historical?"

Question for clarification #2 - Amending? I think out documents need to be amended because we don't do what they say, and often times, we do the exact opposite of what they say. Our owners don't really care, and I'm only hoping for amending to keep everything neat and tidy. Does neat and tidy not matter? By not doing what the documents say the association is supposed to do, don't we open ourselves up to litigation? Maybe not now, but eventually?

Finally, I've seen posts by others who are like me...newbies with apathetic neighbors, who really are confused and reaching out for assistance. How should we prioritize our problems? (I don't know how to make that bold...).

Question #3 - How to prioritize fixing things? Documents, operating with three board members when our Articles specify we need need 4, dealing with deadbeat owners/members, reserve studies, financial audits, taxes, insurance... Most of us small association representatives will tell you all that we have NO MONEY for professional management companies, and usually very little money for education for Board or the on-site owner/manager. HOW DID YOU LEARN????? HOW CAN WE LEARN????

Thanks so much, and I hope to get back to starting at the beginning to try to gain some understanding.

Trace,

I'm game, I'll try my best to answer all your questions.

1) the bylaws, articles and CCRs are often referred to as the gov. docs. Generally speaking, following is a guide to what is contained in each; however, this is not etched in stone and some bylaws contain items that should be in the CCRs, etc., etc. BUt this should give you some idea of what the norm is.
(a) Bylaws: govern the internal mgmt of a org and generally cover the topics such as: how directors are elected; how meetings of directors and meetings of members are conducted; what officers the org will have and their duties; how elections shall be held. Bylaws are generally amended by the BOD but in some instances may require a vote of the membership. In most states an org does not exist until the bylaws have been adopted; however, they may not be required to be adopted b/4 incorporation.
(b) Articles of Inc: general provide info such as, the corp's name, name of the person organizing the corp; whether it's a stock corp or not and whether or not there will be members; the purpose of the corp; whether it's for profit or nonprofit; the number and names of the corp's initial BOD; the name of the registered agent and the official address of the corp. Articles of Inc will vary widely from one jurisdiction to another but generally do not go into great detail about the corp's operations -- this is usually spelled out in the bylaws.
(c) The CCRs (covenants, conditions and restrictions)are a recorded document which will outline how the HOA operates and what restrictions and rules, including the architectural guidelines, the owners and their guests must abide by. These restrictions are attached to the property's deed and run with the land, meaning they are passed on to succeeding owners of the property. The CCRs also contain info on the assessments and the automatic assessment lien; they are legally enforceable by the HOA.

2) Amending the CCRs is a novel way to take the BOD off the hook for not enforcing the restrictions. However if everyone is OK with not enforcing all the violations then amending the CCRs is perhaps the best way to go to prevent any future litigation. Many HOAs have been brought to court of not enforcing the docs. However, if the BOD does decide to amend I surely hope they are now going to understand that they must enforce the new restrictions. They cannot continue to not enforce then amend!

3) How to prioritize: write everything down that needs to be taken care of and determine what the most important issue is and go from there. Work on taking care of #1, then go to #2 and so on. If the board only has 3 members but the bylaws call for 4, perhaps the BOD has the power to appoint that 4th person. It should be stated in the bylaws. However, it should be noted that an uneven number of board members is much better than an even number that would allow for a tie vote on every issue being voted on. It may be best to just stick with 3 unless your bylaws would allow 5.

How can we learn? you ask. There's nothing like "on-the-job-training" and a willingness to do things the right way. Start by thoroughly reading your gov docs; make notes and get to know them backwards and forwards. Then go on to the State HOA laws (if any), and get to know them backwards and forwards. Become familiar with all the Fed laws that apply to HOAs. If there are any HOA educational seminars being held in your area plan to attend. Use the internet to find info. Sure there will be mistakes made, but if you're conscientious and dedicated to doing the best of your ability, everything will be just fine. It might take some time but, "Rome wasn't build in a day"!

Documents! I saw on another post about proxies, that someone posted their actual documents. How do I do this? I tried adding them to the bottom of this message, but I get an error message - Invalid file type or file exceeds max size(200kb).

I'd LOVE to post my documents... They're .pdfs, and they're the originals!

I've been all over Hindman Sanchez's website, and it's AWESOME for me, a Colorado person. I'm also all over the Community Associations Network. I'm trying like mad to learn more and be a better board member and better Property manager! I'm so glad I found this website. It's caused me to find more problems, but I'm learning so much! THANK YOU HOATALK!!!!!!!!!!!