Keeping Meeting Minutes at Condo or HOA Board Meetings

by GDI Insurance | Apartment or Condo Building, Business Insurance, Property Management

Keeping Meeting Minutes at Condo or HOA Board Meetings

Productive board meetings—where important homeowner matters are discussed and decisions are made—contribute to the success of a condo or homeowners association (HOA). Keeping records with meeting minutes at condo or HOA board meetings is an important step for your community.

Since HOA board meetings result in significant decisions that impact community members, it is necessary to record decisions in official board meeting minutes, which serve as both a historical record and provide pertinent information to the HOA community.

Investing the time to record accurate and detailed board meeting minutes can reduce potential litigation risks for HOA board members, as minutes could be used as evidence in the event of a legal claim.

What are Board Meeting Minutes?

Board meeting minutes are a written record of the official actions taken by the HOA directors and officers during scheduled meetings. The minutes document the topics discussed and record the decisions voted on during meetings. The minutes can also contribute to the efficiency of future board meetings by serving as a reminder of what was previously discussed to avoid rehashing old business.

There are two main purposes of board meeting minutes:

The minutes inform members of decisions made that impact their living community. All HOA members have the right to access non-confidential meeting minutes.
Meeting minutes could serve as evidence in the case of a lawsuit. In the event that someone, such as a member, sues the HOA, the minutes are proof of decisions that were made.

For officers and directors on the HOA board, meeting minutes are valuable evidence that the board made decisions in good faith and fulfilled its fiduciary duties to the association. On the other hand, the minutes can also serve as evidence that a director did not fulfill his or her fiduciary duties.

What Should the Board Meeting Minutes Include?

Board meeting minutes should be easy to read and include only essential information. Most importantly, members should be able to understand what board actions were taken and approved.

While board meeting minutes can be handwritten during the meeting, the final version should be transcribed into a typed format. At a minimum, the minutes should include the following:

Name of the HOA
Date, time and location of the meeting
Names of directors and officers present at the meeting, and the names of those not present
Names of guests in attendance, including those invited to speak at the meeting
Whether or not a quorum was present
All board actions
The signature of the board secretary or another official designated to sign HOA documents
Supporting documentation (attached to the minutes), as applicable

It is the board secretary’s responsibility to record and certify the minutes, unless another person is designated. Keep in mind that all of the board directors and officers may be held liable if the minutes are falsified or embellished.

After the meeting, the minutes should be made available to all HOA members. Some HOAs choose to mail or email the minutes to members after the meeting.

A printed copy of the meeting minutes should be kept in the HOA’s “board minutes book,” and an electronic copy should be also be stored.

What Should the Meeting Minutes NOT Include?

The minutes should include substantial details on the board’s actions; however, minutes with too much detail could be evidence for unwanted lawsuits, such as defamation claims. Minutes do not need to be a transcript of all interactions.

Avoid recording the following information:

Names of HOA members present at the meeting
All the conversations and discussions that took place during the meeting
Owner comments during the meeting
Confidential or sensitive information

HOA boards should discuss confidential or sensitive information in a separate meeting. Minutes that contain sensitive information should be kept in a different file from the regular meeting minutes book. Members should not be able to access confidential minutes.

General Recordkeeping Tips

Meeting minutes are a valuable communication tool and may be used as evidence during a lawsuit. Board meeting minutes—and all HOA communications—should meet the following requirements:

Typed
Neat and organized
Easy to read
Free of undefined acronyms and jargon
Free of spelling and grammatical errors

Contact GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. today for additional resources to manage and protect your HOA.

California’s Leader in Insurance and Risk Management

As one of the fastest growing agencies in California, GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. is able to provide its clients with the latest and greatest of what the insurance industry has to offer and much, much more.

We are headquartered in Turlock, CA, with locations across the heart of California’s Central Valley, Northern California and beyond to provide a local feel to the solutions and services we provide our clients. We pride ourselves on exceeding our client’s expectations in every interaction to make sure that our client’s know how much we value and appreciate their business. Contact us today 1-209-634-2929 for your comprehensive HOA or Condo Association insurance quote!

Conducting a Condo or HOA Site Inspection

by GDI Insurance | Apartment or Condo Building, Habitational Insurance, Risk Management

Conducting a Condo or HOA Site Inspection

Regular property inspections are an important part of managing condominium or homeowners association (HOA) risks. A thorough condo or HOA site inspection can increase the safety and well-being of homeowners, protect property values, and reduce the risk of costly repairs and lawsuits. Contact GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. today for information on how to protect your Condo or HOA Association 209-634-2929.

Why should Condo or HOA Site Inspections Happen Regularly?

Conducting a Condo or HOA Site inspection regularly keeps an HOA on top of security risks, as well as maintenance and building problems. A thorough inspection should do the following:

Increase the safety, health and welfare of all association members and guests: Regular inspections ensure your HOA community is a safe place to live. One significant area of liability for HOAs is slip-and-fall accidents, which indicate the need for frequent inspections of sidewalks, driveways, parking lots and roadways throughout the property. Surfaces should be inspected for uneven and free of snow and ice during cold weather.
Identify problem areas before they get worse: If deterioration of common amenities is detected early, it could save the HOA money if repairs are made before the damage becomes even more costly.

Different seasons bring different property risks. Season-specific Condo or HOA site inspections—such as checking chlorine levels in an outdoor pool during summer, leaf buildup in eaves and gutters in the fall and sidewalks for ice in winter—should be done along with regular inspections.

Inspections show an HOA’s insurance carrier that it is proactive in addressing exposures and reducing loss.

Can an HOA Inspect a Homeowner’s Unit?

Shared amenities—parking lots, pools and the clubhouse—are the usual places to inspect, but there may be instances where homeowners are violating rules on their individual properties. Sometimes the rule violation simply has to do with maintaining the aesthetics of the property as stated in the bylaws; but other violations pose serious health and wellness issues or other costly risks to the HOA. For example, if the condominium is a nonsmoking building and some residents choose to smoke in their units, they create a potential fire hazard for all homeowners.

The media has recently drawn increased attention to hoarding behaviors and the dangerous health and environmental problems hoarders can pose for themselves and those around them. This may also be an issue of concern for your HOA.

However, an HOA cannot enter a homeowner’s private unit to investigate potential violations or conduct inspections without his or her permission, unless due to an emergency. In some cases, the HOA may have to obtain a court order, which could be difficult, as the HOA must show probable cause as to why the residence must be entered.

What is the Property Manager’s Role in Inspections?

An HOA property manager is responsible for carrying out Condo or HOA site inspections according to a schedule determined by the bylaws or the HOA board. Not only do they conduct formal inspections, but they serve as the HOA’s eyes and ears, finding and correcting hazards, and ensuring members and their guests follow the rules for both individual properties and shared amenities.

If your HOA does not have a property manager, the board or another appointed person should conduct the inspections. Keep in mind that inspections should always be fair, especially when it comes to individual homeowners’ properties.

Six HOA Site Inspection Steps

Whether inspecting communal areas of the HOA or a homeowners’ properties, take a comprehensive approach to examine all areas of risk. This may take extra time and effort in the beginning, but will become easier and routine over time:

Check the HOA’s bylaws and state statues: The HOA’s bylaws may have inspection requirements, including the minimum for what should be inspected and how often. Also, look at state statutes regarding inspections; for example, HOAs should check local fire codes and conduct inspections of fire alarms and extinguishers a certain number of times per year, depending on the state. An HOA’s insurance company may also have recommendations for what to inspect and how often.
Document the inspection: Documenting the inspection results is critical, as it serves as a written record of problems, issues and violations. As with any HOA document, the inspection documentation should be clearly written and professional, as it may serve as evidence in case of a claim against the HOA.
Create an inspection checklist: List all areas and amenities of the association’s property and define the items to check in each area. It’s important to revise or add to the checklist as new issues emerge; but the same checklist should be used for every inspection.
Update the checklist with corrective measures: It’s important to identify problems, but it’s just as important to fix them—either on the spot or in a timely manner. Serious problems should be addressed immediately, but there should also be a timetable for correcting problems of other varying priority levels.
Present site inspection results to the board: Outcomes from site inspections should always be communicated to the board, as the results may require action from the HOA’s leadership and or affect the annual budget. For example, if the inspector notes that the pool is beginning to deteriorate and will need repair, the board should keep this in mind when they discuss the annual budget.
File the checklist with the HOA’s records: Inspection checklists should become a permanent record of the HOA. They serve as a record of maintenance, how problems were addressed and when, and may serve as evidence in a lawsuit.

Inspections are a major component of an HOA’s risk management plan. For more information on inspection basics and insurance for your HOA, contact GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. today 209-634-2929.

California’s Leader in Insurance and Risk Management

As one of the fastest growing agencies in California, GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. is able to provide its clients with the latest and greatest of what the insurance industry has to offer and much, much more.

Elemental and Weather Related Apartment and Condo Risks

by Grant Davis | Apartment or Condo Building, Business Insurance, GDI Insurance, Insurance, Risk Management, Safety Tips

Elemental and Weather Related Apartment and Condo Risks

Managing a property—whether it be a California apartment, condominium or similar dwelling—can be a challenge, particularly from a risk management standpoint. Even if a property manager only looks after a single space, they face innumerable exposures. These exposures that can come from a variety of sources and lead to thousands of dollars in damages and loss of income potential in an instant. Today we are going to look at elemental and weather related apartment and condo risks.

To assess their various weather related apartment and condo risks, property managers should implement a loss prevention program. Loss prevention programs are procedures, policies and other steps organizations can implement to reduce the likelihood of an insurance claim or costly incident. In the property management industry, loss prevention programs set the standard for how stakeholders maintain and improve the buildings and units they oversee.

Download our Loss Prevention Guide for Apartments and Condos

At GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. we want to make sure you are prepared for disasters with a loss prevention program for your apartment building or condo. This easy to use guide includes multiple Loss Control Checklists, to help reduce your buildings’ risks. Download it today, or give us a call to find out how we can help! 1-209-634-2929.

You can’t always predict when a major storm or disaster will arrive. However, with the right loss prevention program, you’ll be properly prepared and can reduce the impact of weather related apartment and condo risks.

How To Deal With Water At Your Apartment or Condo

Water is one of the most common causes of property damage. Water damage is not only expensive—it can also create potential health risks. What’s more, an incident in one unit can easily affect other areas of your building, including common areas and other residents’ apartments. Rain can cause weather related apartment and condo risks.

Water damage is particularly concerning, and its effects can linger long after the initial damage occurs in the form of stains and mold. While water damage is usually associated with flooding, the most common sources of water damage are often overlooked:

HVAC systems—Heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are necessary in maintaining a comfortable space. However, if these systems are not properly maintained, they can cause serious, costly water damage.
Water heaters—Water heaters hold and transfer water continuously. When these systems fail, they release water and can cause significant property damage. Over time, deposits accumulate at the bottom of the water heater tank and corrode the tank liner. Moving water can also cause substantial wear and tear on a water heater tank and its piping.
Damaged roofing systems—Your building’s roof is part of a complex system of coverings, flashing, metal work and sealants that work together to keep water out. Leaks in your roofing system can lead to rot and mold growth, even damaging surfaces inside the building. Furthermore, severe roof damage can allow water to pool in your building, causing major structural damage.
Faulty windows—Windows require routine maintenance to remain watertight. Windows that are improperly sealed can allow water to seep into your building. Keep in mind that a more complex window system may require additional attention to prevent damage.
Exterior walls—Exterior walls are designed to shed water; however, they are not built to hold back standing water. As water pushes against a building, it can deteriorate the protective layers, creating an entry point for water. The likelihood of water damage increases whenever landscaping or the grading of exterior soil allows water to drain toward or stand against walls.
Freeze-ups—During severe cold spells, sprinkler systems and water pipes can freeze, burst and cause devastating water damage. Equipment that contains or uses water, produces condensation or relies on pneumatic controls is also susceptible to freezing and water bursts.
Sewer backups—Sewer backups occur when sewer systems are over capacity or when a blockage is present. The excess water created from blockages can force sewage into buildings through floor drains, toilets and sinks.
Household appliances—Any appliance with pipes or other fixtures that feed into a water line has the potential to develop blockages or spring leaks, which can lead to serious flooding if left unchecked. Property managers need to be particularly cautious of refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines and water heaters, and make sure to install and maintain them properly.
Bathroom and kitchen fixtures—Of all the areas in your building, bathrooms and kitchens are the most prone to water incidents. To complicate matters, property managers aren’t always aware of plumbing issues that occur within individual units, making it all the more important to educate residents and perform regular maintenance.
Automatic sprinkler systems—Leaks in connection points and damaged sprinkler heads can cause not only property damage, but also damage to tenants’ personal property for which you could be held liable.

Fires in Apartments and Condos

Unlike with stand-alone homes, fires in apartments and condos can affect multiple residents at once—even displacing hundreds of individuals at a time. Property owners and managers must maintain safe conditions for occupants by accounting for a variety of potential fire hazards. Additionally, property managers need to be aware of any applicable fire codes, ensuring that their property is in compliance and safe for residents.

Earthquakes

Damage caused by earthquakes takes many forms and can be quite extensive. They can seriously damage buildings and the contents within, along with disrupting gas, electric and telephone services. What’s more, equipment, ceilings, partitions, windows and lighting fixtures often shake loose during a quake, creating dangerous conditions for building occupants. Even if your building is not located in a high-risk area, you should still consider the catastrophic possibilities of an earthquake and protect your property accordingly.

Air Quality

Of all the exposures property managers face, air quality is one of the apartment and condo risks that is often overlooked. As we learn more and more about the prolonged health effects of poor air quality, it’s critical for property managers to take a proactive role in managing sources of pollution. Poor air quality can contribute to minor discomfort or more serious concerns, like chronic illnesses.

However, managing this exposure isn’t so cut and dry, as poor air quality can stem from a variety of sources, including mechanical problems or bad ventilation. In addition, your building’s specific exposures will differ depending on the type of HVAC systems and equipment you utilize. To ensure that the air in your building does not endanger your residents’ health, indoor air quality management is crucial.

Lightning, Rainstorms, Hailstorms and Tornadoes

Lightning, rainstorms, hailstorms and tornadoes are common across the United States. Each one of these weather events creates their own unique exposures—exposures that property managers need to take into consideration:

Lightning—While a single lightning strike to a stand-alone home can be incredibly costly, it is even more devastating for apartments, condos and other multiunit structures as they often have more electrical wiring. Complicating the issue, lightning strikes can occur at random.
Rain and hail—Equally as damaging as lightning are rainstorms and hailstorms, which impact a number of U.S. regions throughout the year. For property managers, these storms are not only unpredictable, but costly as well. In fact, it doesn’t take much rain to cause property damage, and just 1 centimeter of water from flooding can lead to major losses. In fact, over a 10-year period, the average annual aggregate insured loss from hail was $134 million. For more information on the risks associated with water damage, click here.
Tornadoes—Tornadoes are one of nature’s most violent storms, causing fatalities and devastating a neighborhood in mere seconds. A tornado appears as a rotating, funnel-shaped cloud that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground with whirling winds that can reach 300 miles per hour. Damage paths can be in excess of 1 mile wide and 50 miles long.

Snow and Ice

During the winter season, walkways, stairs, driveways, interior roadways and parking lots become slip and trip hazards as snow falls and ice forms. This is not only a safety concern, but it can also be an expensive liability if an accident occurs.

California’s Leader in Insurance and Risk Management

We are headquartered in Turlock, CA, with locations across the heart of California’s Central Valley and beyond to provide a local feel to the solutions and services we provide our clients. We pride ourselves on exceeding our client’s expectations in every interaction to make sure that our client’s know how much we value and appreciate their business. Contact us today 1-209-634-2929 for your comprehensive habitational insurance quote!

Download our Loss Prevention Guide for Apartments and Condos

Managing Your Apartment and Condo Loss Prevention Program

by Grant Davis | Apartment or Condo Building, GDI Insurance, Habitational Insurance, Insurance, Risk Management

Managing Your Apartment and Condo Loss Prevention Program

Many outside factors can come between you and the safety of your property and residents. An effective apartment and condo loss prevention program can help you manage these factors. Which will save you both time and money. Strong loss prevention programs for residential properties generally contain three components:

A property management policy
Loss prevention checklists that address specific risks to your buildings
Methods for soliciting and responding to unsafe conditions and repairs

However, these programs are considerably less effective without buy-in from your entire business and residents. In fact, when management continuously demonstrates a genuine interest in safety, residents are more likely to follow suit.

Ongoing safety and maintenance initiatives can help keep your costs down and attract new residents. These initiatives must be engrained in your day-to-day operations and consist of more than just daily checks of your property. As such, clear communication of your firm’s policies and procedures are a must and should involve:

Input from everyone who helped develop your program
Feedback loops to determine the program’s effectiveness

The better you communicate your apartment and condo loss prevention program, the more likely your residents are to participate. To promote effective communication, ask yourself if you have:

Shared your safety goals with your residents and employees
Educated residents on safety best practices and how to report property concerns
Communicated specific hazards to employees and residents

Handling Repair and Maintenance Requests

When it comes to staying ahead of potential repair and maintenance concerns, your residents are an invaluable asset. While your team should perform regular inspections of your property, your residents can bring problem areas to your attention.

It is in your best interest to provide a formal process your residents can use to submit repair and maintenance requests. Not only does this improve your property management firm’s reputation, but it can also help you prevent major losses.

Submission processes can vary, but usually involve some sort of written or web-based request for the following information:

Resident’s name
Address
Unit number
Phone number
Date of complaint
Type of complaint
Description of complaint
Special requests

It’s also important to identify who will handle maintenance requests, both minor and severe. While you may be able to take care of simple issues on your own, you should keep a list of contact information for electricians, plumbers and contractors for more complex requests.

Any request you receive must be taken seriously and addressed in a timely fashion. Log all of these requests, documenting key findings and any repairs you make. In addition, having a system in place to prioritize your maintenance requests is critical. Some building concerns, like leaking water, can be more time sensitive than others.

While all requests should be addressed and evaluated on a case-by-case basis, there will be times when you must assess multiple requests at once. In these instances, responding to the most high-priority tasks first can help you limit potential damage to your property.

Incident Investigation

Even with a comprehensive Apartment and Condo Loss Prevention program, you could still experience accidents. Although you take every precaution necessary to ensure the safety of your residents and the general public, injuries and other accidents may still occur. In the event that an individual is involved in an accident on your property, you must gather key details. Thoroughly reporting and investigating accidents not only helps you address safety concerns as they arise, but also proves useful following a claim.

While the accident investigation process may differ from firm to firm, it’s critical that you:

Obtain information from the injured individual, including how and where the accident occurred.
Survey the conditions of the area at the time of the accident, taking photos if possible.
Determine what equipment, activities or property was involved, noting the condition of these items (preserve the condition of any equipment and property involved in an incident).
Obtain information from witnesses when available.
Analyze the information and determine root causes (e.g., worn carpet, faulty handrails or damaged surface in parking lot).
Implement corrective measures.

Throughout the investigation, clear communication between the accident victim and your property management firm is vital. You will also need to follow up on any and all incidents that occur on your premises and notify residents if safety procedures change.

Building and Safety Code Considerations

Compliance with local laws and nationally recognized consensus standards is one of the major challenges that comes with managing property. Depending on where your property is located, there may be a number of specific requirements you must meet when constructing, repairing or renovating areas of your building. Further complicating the issue, if you own an older property, there may be any number of issues you must address to bring your building up to code. The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) provides a variety of consensus standards, which are widely accepted across the United States, to assist in the design, construction and renovation process.

As a property manager, it’s your job to be aware of any relevant laws, particularly as it concerns the safety and well-being of your residents. To learn about any applicable building and safety codes, work with qualified, licensed contractors for all major repairs and renovations. In addition, consider contacting your local government for information regarding property management-related laws.

Collecting Certificates of Insurance

One tedious, yet critical, job of a property manager is ensuring that all vendors and contractors working on their building are equipped with the proper insurance coverage. Specifically, property managers must check that the policies of these individuals cover any relevant risks and include the appropriate limits.

The best way to confirm that the vendors you work with have adequate coverage is by collecting and maintaining certificates of insurance (COIs). A COI is a valuable—yet misunderstood—tool in the insurance industry. COIs are used across a variety of commercial business relationships and essentially serve as proof that a particular party has an insurance policy in effect. Often only a few pages long, COIs are summary documents that indicate the insured party, essential terms and conditions of the insurance policy, policy limits and the policy period.

Property managers must keep diligent records of COIs and request them on an annual basis or at the beginning of every job or contract. Whenever possible, it’s best to keep COIs in a single, digital location for easy tracking, making note of any expiration dates. COIs can easily be faked or altered, so it’s important to ask yourself the following questions when reviewing and managing COIs to avoid common issues:

Is the COI provided on a proper form?

Is the company named on the COI the same as the one named in the contract?

Is the policy issued by a reputable insurer? Is the COI signed by an insurance company or agency representative?

Are the types and limits of insurance listed on the form the same or greater than those required by you under the contract?

Are specific policy numbers listed on the COI?

Are the dates of coverage adequate for the specified work?

Does the COI indicate any special insurance requirements you have specified?

Has the provider made any unapproved modifications to the COI?

Do you require written contracts with every third party you work with, either by annual agreement for all work or by separate agreement for each project?

Do you have a system in place (e.g., a certificate management system) for tracking expiration dates?

Securing and managing COIs can be complicated, and it’s critical to enlist the help of an experienced insurance broker. Contact GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. today at 209-634-2929 to learn more about collecting and maintaining COIs.

Manage Your Risks With an Apartment and Condo Loss Prevention Program

Managing a property—whether it be an apartment, condominium or similar dwelling—can be a challenge, particularly from a risk management standpoint. Even if a property manager only looks after a single space, they face innumerable exposures—exposures that can come from a variety of sources and lead to thousands of dollars in damages and loss of income potential in an instant.

To assess their various risks, property managers should implement a loss prevention program. Loss prevention programs are procedures, policies and other steps organizations can implement to reduce the likelihood of an insurance claim or costly incident. In the property management industry, apartment and condo loss prevention programs set the standard for how stakeholders maintain and improve the buildings and units they oversee.

You can’t always predict when a major fire, disaster, accident or similar incident will occur. However, with the right loss prevention program, you’ll be properly prepared and can reduce the impact of an incident or even eliminate certain risks altogether.

California’s Leader in Insurance and Risk Management

We are headquartered in Turlock, CA, with locations across the heart of California’s Central Valley and beyond to provide a local feel to the solutions and services we provide our clients. We pride ourselves on exceeding our client’s expectations in every interaction to make sure that our client’s know how much we value and appreciate their business. Contact us today 1-209-634-2929 for your comprehensive habitational insurance quote!

Download our Free Apartment and Condo Loss Prevention Guide Today!