Blog - Educational Community for Homeowners (ECHO)

Condominium Conversions: Owner Equity at Risk?

Educational Topics

Published in the ECHO Journal, September 2011 The Incentive to Create Condominiums from Old Apartment Houses Condominium conversions, a really bad idea, are here again. You don’t need statistics to […]

Disaster! No Reserves. No Insurance.

Educational Topics

What’s Left if a Natural Disaster Destroys a Community Association? We have seen horrific earthquake disasters in New Zealand and Japan. There have been devastating floods along the Mississippi River […]

Transparency in Towing

Educational Topics

Vehicle Owners Rights and Responsibilities AB 519, Solorio: “Towing Fees and Access Notice” New law signed by Governor Schwarzenegger September 30, 2010 to go into effect January 1, 2011. An […]

Borrowing From Reserves: How Healthy Is It?

Educational Topics

The Truth Behind Borrowing from Reserves Complaints are all too common in California about boards that borrow from or use reserve funds for expenditures other than repair or maintenance of […]

Construction Costs Versus Market Value

Educational Topics

Published in the ECHO Journal, November 2011 Reconstruction Costs for Condominium Associations Edge Higher, But Our Homes Are Worth Less In the present economy, condominium associations’ boards of directors are […]

HOAs and Medical Marijuana

Educational Topics

How should HOA boards deal with the use of Medical Marijuana? Community associations increasingly face issues with medical marijuana. It is a confusing area because federal and state laws conflict […]

From a President’s Perspective

Educational Topics

Published in the ECHO Journal, November 2011 An association president often has a unique view of the property he or she manages, the many challenges of finance and construction issues […]

Rude and Unruly Board Members?

Educational Topics

Published in the ECHO Journal, December 2011 Robert’s Rules of Order to the Rescue! Do you have a few board members, maybe even a board chair, who are sometimes a […]

Delegating HOA Board Authority

Educational Topics

The Open Meeting Act changed the way HOA board of directors conduct business, and the best way to deal with the added responsibility is to delegate responsibility to committees, managers, […]

Notice Requirements for HOA Meetings

Educational Topics

Homeowner associations in California must comply with numerous statutes concerning meeting notice requirements. Whether it’s an event that occurs regularly, such as a board or members’ meeting, or an unusual […]

Look Closer – Or Else!

Educational Topics

Published in the ECHO Journal, December 2011 Older Community Associations Need Better Inspections to Avoid Financial Failure Community Associations are not financially prepared for potentially ruinous renovations. Period. Newer communities […]

Social Media – Make It Work for You

Educational Topics

Published in the ECHO Journal, December 2011 Are you ready for “social media” or do you still hope it will fade away? If it’s the latter, you are definitely out […]