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Intentional Home Owner Association Integrity:Buyers and Owners Be Aware!
"Proven Investigative Processes For Identifying and Maintaining A Good-Functioning Homeowner Association" A "hands-on", step-by-step do-it-yourself investigative handbook outlining Dr. Mac's proven "Walk Around & Talk Around" strategy. His specific tactics and key questions will help you get the answers you need! Scroll down or click on a topic... Author's
Message
Author's Message My goal is to share investigative strategies and tactics I've learned through the trials of making a wrong buying decision within a homeowner association. This valuable handbook is full of strategies, tactics and questions that will help you investigate thoroughly the operations and culture of any HOA. It will help you as a buyer get the information you need to make an intelligent "buy" or "no buy" decision... before you move into any given HOA. It will help you avoid making the emotionally and economically costly mistakes that have drained myself and multitudes of others when buying a home under the governance of a HOA. It will help you as a homeowner If you are already under the governance of a HOA. The strategies, tactics, tools and questions in this handbook will help you investigate and determine the things you can do to protect your investment from going bad, emotionally and financially. It will help you as a Board member of a HOA to strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of all operational areas within your association as well as promote civility and collaboration among board members and homeowners. You will see when reading our story that my wife and I learned the hard way. We bought before we looked hard at the cultural climate and operations of the HOA community that was to govern our home. That's why I invested time in writing this book, to help you and others avoid the pitfalls we've encountered. I also want to help you understand what you can do if you are already governed by a HOA or are serving as a board member in your HOA. For buyers, this handbook will guide you through investigating and uncovering whether or not when you move into a given HOA you will be surrounded by raving and rancorous board members and homeowners or a harmonious community. It will also help you investigate and surface the facts about any given HOA's critical reserve accounts. You don't want to end up with a big assessment you can't afford to pay because replacing things like roofs, plumbing or streets has not been properly planned for. The handbook will also guide you in diligently investigating the effectiveness of the board, management and operations of any given HOA. You'll be able to determine if homeowner money is being wasted because of poor board and managerial decisions, oversight and follow through. Millard MacAdam
Some
Praises From Readers Jim de Boom – Jim heads up his own event planning company and lives within an HOA in which he serves as a Director. “I find the handbook, Intentional Homeowner Association Integrity: Buyers and Owners Be Aware, full of helpful information to the prospective buyer. The book raises issues that a realtor, when you are looking at a property in a HOA community, probably isn't knowledgeable about. My own experience living in a gated HOA community for the past nine years has been quite positive, in part because I have been serving on the HOA board for the past three years so I get to see first hand how this HOA works. The handbook is a good reminder to HOA Board members about our responsibilities to the homeowners.” Darlene Lewis – Darlene is a Court Reporter and owns a home within a homeowner association. – “There is no longer any excuse for corruption in any HOA. Dr. Mac’s “walk and talk” tactic is a way to prevent being blind-sided by HOA corruption and his easy-to-use handbook encourages us as individuals and as communities to work together in the best interests of all homeowners.” Ted Loveder, CMCA AMS – Ted is a professional Community Manager and owns a management company specializing in HOA management. Ted was recently named manager of the year, and awarded the John C. Kubas Manager Award for 2007 by the Community Associations Institute (CAI). The award is presented to a manager who has exhibited and supported the value of education and ethics in the industry and has shown dedication to the industry, their company, clients and Community Associations Institute. “As
a professional Manager of community associations, I find Dr.
MacAdam’s book Intentional Home Owner Association Integrity
to be a great tool for any potential homeowner considering the
purchase of a home within a community development. Following the
simple advice offered allows a person to make an informed decision on
the current status of a homeowners association before purchasing a
home within an association. I urge all potential homeowners to become
educated in the laws affecting their association and the operations of
their association.” Ed
and Mary Romeo
–
Ed
is past president of Friends of OASIS support group for the City of
Newport Beach OASIS Senior
Center. Ed is a retired California Teacher Association staff member
and lives in a homeowner association in which he has served as a
Director. Mary is an active volunteer
at the OASIS Center. Dr. Mac provides useful, pertinent and important information, at several levels,
about the benefits and the pitfalls of community homeowners’
associations. Whether the reader is a first-time home-buyer or a
long-term resident and member of a homeowners’ association, his
handbook offers some very practical, simple steps one should take to
understand the obligations, rights and, most important, the
inner workings, direction and management of a homeowners’
association. We were amazed and chagrined to realize that our own homeowners’ association is going through some of the very problems that Dr. Mac describes. The whole scene is disconcerting and demoralizing. This handbook is a must-read, must-study tool for all prospective and/or current homeowners, and especially for association board members. It is a reference book that one can turn to, over and over again.”
The MacAdam's Story - Direct from the Handbook “What
We Saw Was Not What We Got!”
After 14 years the cons began to
surface as major
cracks appeared in the bottom part of our HOA “iceberg”. The
surface-level tranquility we had experienced began falling apart like
the flaking of an iceberg. We began suffering unexpected, jolting,
emotionally stressful and financially worrisome issues. New board
members had uncovered some dishonest activities that had a negative
financial impact on all homeowners as well as litigation risks. For many
years, we had suffered the effects of a colluding manager and board
members who deceitfully plotted to do illegal and unethical things.
This discovery led to hiring a high integrity manager. Also, to an
expensive, but failed, recall election of the new board members who
uncovered the corruption. Also, to high legal costs to our HOA to
defend the new board members and recall failure in court. I supported the “turn around”
board members in
continuing to make high integrity decisions based on proven principles
instead of politics and personal preferences. I was later recruited to
run for the board and won. During my time on the board, I came face to
face with some of the most rancorous and deceitful homeowners who
flagrantly broke the association’s rules and landscape and
architectural guidelines. During my first months on the board, I
initiated a Walk About & Talk About strategy that gave me
valuable insights into homeowner complaints, needs and desires. Also
into the relative effectiveness of different aspects of our
operations. Lack of proper operational oversight in several areas
surfaced quickly as well as a lack of
timely follow through and proper tracking of legitimate
homeowner requests. With my eyes focused on HOA business
practices, I
observed illegal and unsafe stairs on common areas that created
serious risks and liabilities. It took a year to begin resolving these
high risk issues. This was due to resistance from a few homeowners and
board members thwarting us from doing what was right according to our
own legal counsel. In hind sight,
I realize that my
wife and I had unknowingly failed to investigate the integrity of the
HOA’s culture, board, manager and operations before we bought.
What we saw was not what we got!
 Return
to Intentional HOA Integrity Menu
Handbook Summary and Contents The book, Intentional HOA Integrity: Buyers and Owners Be Aware, will help you and your family more effectively and efficiently determine what's happening below the "tip of the iceberg" in any given HOA. If you are a buyer, you'll learn if a given HOA is the right place to make your home. If you are an owner and already governed by a HOA, you will learn what you can do to protect your investment. The "how to" tips and key questions you'll find accompanying each investigative section of the workbook will help you do it! Workbook Contents
Overview of the 10 Investigative Areas 1st
Investigation: Checking The Pros And Cons Of HOA Living
- This
section helps you to begin discerning some of the possible pros and
cons of living within an HOA.
2nd
Investigation: Surfacing A Community’s Relationship Dynamics – This
section
helps you examine the relationships between the people living within
an HOA… neighbors and board members. It helps you examine the
HOA’s cultural operating norms so you can determine if they
fit the needs of you and your family.
3rd
Investigation: Knowing HOA Laws And Governing Documents – This
section lays out examples of the different laws governing the
operations of an HOA. California
is used as an example.
4th
Investigation: Checking For Sufficient Reserve Funds - This
section highlights the critical importance of HOAs having sufficient
reserve funds. It provides you with the information you need to
prepare yourself to not be fooled.
5th
Investigation: Assessing The Integrity Of Financial Procedures - This
section reviews critical financial information unknown to most
buyers and owners. Also
how to investigate the HOA budget and the integrity and effectiveness
of financial practices.
6th
Investigation: Observing For Operational Integrity - This section reviews the critical importance of checking out the
degree to which all aspects of the HOA’s business operations are
being carried out effectively and efficiently. It will help you
determine if the homeowner’s
hard earned fee money is going down the HOA drain.
7th Investigation: Assessing Managerial Integrity And Competence - This section reviews the critical importance of checking out the integrity of the HOA management services and what you can expect to be receiving in terms of specific managerial functions.
8th
Investigation: Assessing Board Integrity And Competence - This
section reviews the “how to” for assessing the integrity
and competence of each board member and the board as a working whole.
9th Investigation: Checking Community Communication Integrity - This section provides you with insights into understanding what is happening unconsciously when interpersonal communications take place. It outlines ways to determine the degree to which people within the HOA community are promoting understanding, rapport and trust between one another when they communicate.
10th
Investigation: Protecting Your Investment As An Owner -
This
section provides nine tips and some “how to” strategies for
protecting the investment in your home by actively enhancing several
aspects of your association. Also, to enhance civility and reduce
rancor and emotional stress.
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