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Posts by category
- Category: About AMS
- AMS to Manage Reed’s Crossing Homeowner Association
- New Video! AMS | Association Management Services NW – Overview of Our Services
- AMS | Association Management Services Earns AAMC Accreditation
- Congratulations, Michelle Underwood!
- Category: Accreditation
- Category: AMS Staff
- Category: Communities We Manage
- Category: CAI Publications
- Category: Fair Housing
- Category: Home Maintenance
- HOA Living: 6 Tips for New Homeowners
- 5 Things Every Homeowner Should Know How To Do
- Fall Home Maintenance Tips
- How to Improve Your Home’s Indoor Air Quality
- Summer Home Maintenance To-Do List
- How to Save Money on Your Electricity Bill
- 7 Things You May Not Know About Water Heaters
- Smoke Detector Chirping?
- Is Your Association Ready for Winter?
- Category: Homeowner Associations (HOAs)
- Homeowners Association (HOA): Right to Hearings
- What Are HOAs and How Do They Benefit Your Community?
- Arizona HOA Managers Accused of Embezzling Millions from Associations
- Homeowner Association Committees
- AMS Welcomes Lakeridge North Association
- A New Look for Our Neighborhood Enhancement Program Compliance Vehicle!
- Essential HOA Board Meeting Tips
- What is an HOA?
- Category: Assessments
- Category: Board of Directors
- Association Management Services NW (AMS) Tops List of Largest Residential Property Management Firms
- TMG Property Management Services NW, sister company of AMS NW, Ranked a Top Women-Owned Business in Oregon & SW Washington
- Do you have to join an HOA?
- Construction Defects: What They Are, How to Avoid Them, and What to Do When They Occur
- Tips for Opening Community Pools During the Pandemic
- Community Associations and COVID-19 | CAI’s Impact Survey Results
- Covid-19 Resources for Your Community
- Coronavirus & Your HOA: 5 Things Your Board Can Do
- How to Win a Fight With Your HOA (Without Going Broke)
- 5 Tips for Keeping Board Meetings Condensed, Clear, and Concise
- 4 Key Responsibilities of a Board Secretary
- When is Mediation Appropriate?
- Category: Board Education
- Category: Developers
- Category: Finances
- HOA Basics: Reserve Study
- Category: Reserve Study
- Category: Governing Documents
- Category: HOA Laws
- Category: Non-Owner Access
- Category: Ownership and Possession
- Category: Partition and Combination
- Category: Rental Restrictions
- Category: Use of Common Area
- Category: Vendors
- Category: Neighborhood Enhancement Program
- Category: News
- Category: Uncategorized
Popups
FAQs
- Can you provide examples of your experience with large capital projects, master loans, and serial monthly special assessments, including prepayments of serial monthly assessment?
- How will you handle the management transition and transfer of records if we decide to use your services? How will we access historical records?
- Resale certificates come with different prices. What will your fee be?
- Do you have a CPA on staff?
- When can the association expect to receive financial statements?
- Can we continue to use our current vendors?
- What software system do you use for property management?
- What are the provisions of your bonding against fraud?
- Can Board members be listed on bank signature cards?
- Can we retain our banking relationship with Columbia Bank, Pacific Continental and US Bank, etc.?
- What are the assessment payment options for Owners?
- How many hours of phone calls/emails per month are we allowed before extra work charges apply?
- Is there an extra fee for site visits during the week?
- If we wanted the property manager to have some regular, onsite office hours, what extra charges, if any, would apply?
- How do you help us maintain/decrease costs?
- Have you raised fees for your managed properties without prior notice?
- What is the property manager’s involvement with the Association’s Reserve Study?
- How do you assign a manager to our account? If our assigned manager is out of the office, will we receive the same level of service until his or her return?
- What is the turnover for property managers?
- How long have your team members managed community associations?
- What is your manager to property ratio?
- What are your communication options for Owners?
- What are TMG’s credentials?
- How long have you managed community associations?
- How should the board proceed if it learns of a violation of the governing documents?
- What are mediation and arbitration, and when are they required?
- Who pays the attorney's fees in a dispute between an owner and the HOA?
- Is the HOA legally required to enforce the documents?
- How can an owner act independently to enforce the documents against another owner?
- Are there alternative dispute resolution requirements applicable to owner disputes?
- What happens to the HOA and the other owners if an owner defaults on his/her mortgage?
- What is the purpose of the mortgage protection?
- What is a mechanic's lien, and what happens if one is placed against a unit or lot?
- Can the HOA limit the type or number of people who can live in a home?
- Can an owner be forced to give up his/her pet?
- Who is responsible for a tenant's compliance with the governing documents?
- Who is responsible for insuring the homes and the common areas for property damage?
- Are there minimum requirements for the amount of property insurance that must be carried?
- Is earthquake insurance required?
- How can an owner find out what insurance the HOA is carrying?
- What happens if there is not enough property insurance to cover repair costs?
- What are managing agent bonds and fidelity bonds, and when are they required?
- Under what circumstances can HOA directors and officers be held liable for damages resulting from their service?
- Under what circumstances can an owner be held liable for personal injuries that occur in another home or in the common area?
- Who is responsible for insuring the HOA, the owners, the directors and the officers, for liability?
- Are there minimum requirements for HOA liability insurance?
- What can an individual owner do about construction defects?
- What should the HOA do if there are construction defects in the project?
- What disclosures must be made to a prospective purchaser when there are construction defects in the project?
- Under what circumstances does an owner need HOA approval for an improvement or alteration?
- Can the HOA legally restrict the display of a sign by an owner?
- What is the procedure for obtaining HOA approval for an improvement or alteration?
- What portions of the property are individual owners obligated to maintain?
- What standards apply to owner maintenance and what happens if an owner fails to meet them?
- Who maintains things that are on the border of two or more lots?
- What portions of the property is the HOA obligated to maintain?
- Is the HOA required to perform regular inspections of the portions of the property it maintains?
- Who is responsible for damage caused by a negligent or intentional action or inaction?
- What is the point of origin, and how does it affect maintenance responsibilities?
- What accounting procedures are required for HOAs?
- Does an HOA need to pay income tax?
- What can an owner do if he/she disagrees with the amount of an assessment?
- Can an owner reduce his/her assessment by offsetting money the HOA owes him/her?
- What happens if an owner doesn't pay an assessment?
- Who determines each owner's share of assessments?
- What is a special assessment and how is the amount and payment schedule established?
- Can the HOA charge for parking, use of recreational facilities, and other services, and is there an upper limit on these charges?
- Must an HOA have a professional manager?
- What services do professional managers typically provide?
- How is a professional manager selected?
- What restrictions apply to a manager's handling of HOA funds?
- What is an HOA operating budget?
- What are regular assessments and how do they relate to the HOA operating budget?
- What is a reserve study and a reserve funding plan?
- Must the HOA hire an expert to perform its reserve study?
- What information and reports must the HOA provide to the owners?
- What documents and information must the HOA provide to prospective purchasers?
- Must the HOA have officers?
- How are the officers elected and removed?
- What types of decisions can an officer make?
- How do committees fit into the HOA organization?
- Who can call a board meeting?
- What type of notice of board meetings must be given to owners?
- How many directors must be present for a quorum?
- Are owners entitled to attend board meetings?
- Must owners be permitted to speak at board meetings? Can their speaking time be limited?
- Can directors discuss and act upon matters not described on the agenda that is part of the meeting notice given to the owners in advance?
- Are there procedural rules for conducting a board meeting?
- What rules apply to board meeting minutes?
- Must the HOA have directors?
- Can the governing documents require directors to meet specific qualifications?
- How are directors nominated and elected?
- How long do directors serve?
- How can a director be removed from the board before the end of his/her term?
- If a director resigns or is removed, how is the vacancy filled?
- What is the difference between a regular owner meeting and a special owner meeting?
- Who can convene a special owner meeting?
- What kind of notice is required for an owner meeting?
- What happens if an owner meeting is held without proper notice?
- Can the owners vote on matters not mentioned in the meeting notice?
- How many owners must be present for a quorum?
- When is secret ballot voting required and how does it work?
- What should an owner do if he/she cannot attend an owner meeting?
- Under what circumstances can an owner decision be made without a meeting?
- How much voting power does each owner have?
- Are all owner decisions made by a majority vote?
- What rules apply to owner meeting minutes?
- Can directors and/or officers be paid for their service?
- Who can write checks and sign contracts for the association?
- How should HOA decisions be made?
- Can the owners override a decision by the board, a committee, an officer or the manager?
- How are HOA powers distributed between the owners, the board of directors, the committees, the officers, and the manager?
- When the HOA needs to get legal advice in order to respond to an owner, can it charge the owner for attorney's fees?
- How can an owner change or challenge an HOA decision?
- Is there a government agency with authority over HOA activities?
- Do HOA decisions need to adhere to any standards?
- Can there be any restrictions on an owner's right to rent his/her home?
- Under what circumstances can the HOA refuse to allow an owner access to recreational facilities?
- Are an owner's guests and tenants allowed to use common area recreational facilities?
- Is each owner entitled to use the common area, regardless of his/her ownership and assessment percentage?
- Must an owner provide the HOA with access to his/her home?
- Can Limited Common Elements (LCEs), such as parking spaces or storage spaces, be sold to or exchanged with another owner?
- What is a party wall?
- What do the terms percentage interest and common interest mean?
- What are Limited Common Elements?
- Who owns the common area?
- What portions of a planned unit development are individually owned?
- What portions of a condominium project are individually owned?
- Who is the Declarant referred to in the governing documents, and why does the Declarant seem to have special privileges?
- How can the Bylaws and Articles be changed or amended?
- How can the CC&Rs be changed or amended?
- Why are the governing documents binding?
- How do the HOA Rules relate to the other governing documents?
- What is in the Articles of Incorporation and the Bylaws?
- What is in the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (sometimes called the Declaration or the CC&Rs)?
- What are the governing documents?
- What is the difference between a condominium project and a planned unit development?
- What is a Common Interest Development (CID)?