Community Associations

General Counsel

It can be intimidating to serve as a director or officer of a community association, especially when you agreed to step forward knowing that you would be volunteering your time and stepping into a new experience involving unique legal concepts and special obligations. If you feel like you’re dealing with a lot of “legalese” in your community association’s governing documents, we can help you decipher it in easy-to-understand terms and concepts. We also appreciate how unique a community association is because of the interaction of general corporate law, nonprofit corporate law, real estate law, “neighborliness”, covenants that run with the land, and quasi-government functions served by community associations that, when taken in combination, make such associations much different from other forms of organizations. We’ve counseled associations on many different issues, both simple and complex. We can:

	Help your association handle day-to-day issues and questions
	Interpret your documents (like a Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions and By-Laws) and render opinion letters on matters such as the interpretation of any document provisions, such as whether your association or the individual owners are responsible for certain maintenance, repair and replacement items
	Review and revise or draft contracts for the maintenance, repair and operation of the community to protect the interests of your association
	Generally advise on your fiduciary duties as officers and directors of a community association
	Update your Board on new developments in the law that affect your association
	Assist in the transition from developer control of an association to homeowner control
	Assist in preparing annual and special meeting packets to be given to owners to comply with the association’s legal documents and applicable laws
	Attend annual and special meetings of the community association’s members (owners), as well as daytime or evening meetings of Directors
	Assist in obtaining large bank loans for capital repair and replacement projects and review of bank loan documentation
	Review the association’s insurance policies to insure compliance with the legal obligations set forth in its governing documents

Covenants Enforcement

All homeowners associations, condominiums, and all other kinds of community associations have restrictive (or, as we prefer to call them, protective) covenants. These covenants dictate what the owners can and cannot do with any common areas or their property. The number and scope of such covenants can vary greatly from one community to another. Federal and state laws also directly impact the interpretation and applicability of covenants. We can:

	Interpret covenants in the light of statutory and case law to determine if an owner is violating the community’s covenants
	Advise Board members and property managers on how they should address covenant violations
	Advise on responding to an owner who claims, “I never received any covenants when I bought my home so I’m not bound by them”
	Advise the Board of Directors on the Association’s enforcement alternatives
	Send covenant violation letters
	Litigate against covenant violators to seek injunctions and other remedies

Collecting Delinquent Assessments

We know that assessments, or dues, payable by your owners are your sole source of income. If you don’t collect, you can’t pay your association’s bills and services may need to be cut back. We can:

	Help your association adopt collection policies and procedures
	Advise on your association’s available remedies to collect from delinquent owners after your efforts have failed
	Recommend and implement specific courses of action to collect, ranging from demand letters, filing suit in Small Claims Court, filing liens with the county recorder, and others.
	Advise and assist when an owner files Bankruptcy
	Explain the differences between Chapter 7 and 13 Bankruptcies
	Advise on what to do when you get notice that a mortgage company is foreclosing on an owner within your community

Legal Document Amendments

When the owners assume control of their community association after developer turnover, many of the provisions in the original governing documents cease to be in effect but are still included. Also, we find that many original documents have conflicting or confusing provisions. Many Boards of Directors want to delete or change certain provisions. Others want to “start from scratch” and prepare new governing documents. With our extensive legal as well as practical experience, we can:

	Advise you “where you are at” in terms of your current covenants, by-laws, plats and other governing documents, both in terms of legalities but also how you compare with other community associations
	Point out provisions in your documents that conflict with current laws and offer alternative provisions; Eliminate obsolete provisions; Recommend new or revised provisions to make the association operate more efficiently
	Determine the exact procedures that must be followed to make your amendments effective
	Advise and assist in amendments to covenants, by-laws, Articles of Incorporation, rules and regulations and other legal documents
	If desired, prepare amended and restated versions of your Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, Declaration of Condominium or Horizontal Property Ownership (for condos), By-Laws, Articles of Incorporation and rules and regulations that will supersede and replace the prior documents
	Assist in preparing all of the documents necessary for amendments, including cover letters to the owners, notices of meetings, proxies, and ballots
	Attend Board of Directors and owners’ meetings to explain proposed amendments, answer questions, and to generally oversee the amendment process
	Finalize and record the amendments with the County Recorder, the Indiana Secretary of State, and/or other government offices as required by law

Corporate Matters

Most community associations are established as Indiana not-for-profit corporations and governed by the Indiana Nonprofit Corporations Act. We’ll help you understand some of the important intricacies and implications of being not only an association of owners, but also a corporate business entity. We can:

	Advise the steps to take if the Indiana Secretary of State has administratively dissolved the community as a nonprofit corporation
	Address requests or demands by some owners that one or more directors be removed and that a new Board of Directors be elected
	Educate board members and property managers on the importance of proper minutes and following other corporate formalities
	Explain the importance of filing of the Indiana Business Entity Report with the Indiana Secretary of State
	Confirm the Board’s limitations on spending authority