We are the advocates on whom home owners associations (HOAs) and real estate owners rely when they have legal concerns. We are Bender Anderson and Barba, P.C.
By: Barbara Hager, Esq. and Ronald J. Barba, Esq. Every so often we receive calls from Board members or property managers exasperated by the actions of a meddling, “helping” or interfering unit owner who has taken it upon themselves to instruct Association vendors on...
By: Barbara Hager, Esq. and Amy Spears, Paralegal Many times, our clients will rely on the foreclosure process when unit owners are not paying their common charges. On occasion the unit owners will have a mortgage on their unit. When this is the case, the...
By: Kristie Leff One of the most important functions of boards and property managers is to make sure common fees are collected and accounted for every month. This stream of income is vital to the successful operation of the association. When accounts become...
By: Barbara G. Hager In your life as a Board member you have probably heard something like this from an unhappy unit owner: “You work for me! You owe me a duty to do what is best for me!” Well, no. None of that is true and here’s why. As a Board member, your first...
By: Kristie Leff Pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes Section 47-255, associations are obligated to maintain the following insurance coverage: Property insurance on the common elements, and on the units in the case of buildings with units having horizontal...
By: Barbara G. Hager Many older associations are finding they need to borrow money for major upgrade or replacement projects, such as for roofs, windows, and paving. The Board of Directors will usually start this by speaking with a banker, which is the logical first...
By: Andrea Dunn Pete Problem lives next door to Suzie Sensitive in the Life is Beautiful Condominium community. Pete and Suzie do not get along and each sends emails to the property manager daily with complaints about the other. Some concern rule violations such as...
By: Ronald J. Barba Personal liability for board members is always a concern. The CIOA requires associations to purchase property insurance, flood insurance (when applicable), commercial general liability insurance and fidelity insurance, but it is silent on the...
By: Barbara G. Hager At Unit Owners meetings, it sometimes happens that there is either not a quorum, or, even if a quorum is present, not enough votes to vote on a particular matter. Some matters require a certain percentage of all unit owners (for example,...
By: Kristie Leff With the growing popularity of emotional support animals, condominium associations are increasing forced to confront the issue of whether or not to permit emotional support animals to reside in units at associations that do not allow pets. Emotional...