Thursday, May 6, 2010
Reminder About Your Yard
Just a friendly reminder to all of our tenants and residents living in homeowner's associations. This is the time of year when folks are getting more yard violation notices. In order to avoid this, please make sure to keep your lawn neatly mowed and beds free from weeds. Thanks in advance for keeping your property beautiful!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Successful Board Training Seminar
BOARD TRAINING SEMINAR~“Delinquent Accounts, Collections and Foreclosures” Held on Tuesday, April 13, 2010. Due to the overwhelming interest and support from the last Board Training Seminar, Bell-Anderson hosted the first seminar of 2010. The topic of discussion was Delinquent Accounts, Collections and Foreclosures. Expert Attorney’s Dean Pody & Patrick McDonald of Sundberg & Pody Law Office, PLLC presented this informational seminar. Many great questions were presented and answered and the participates felt the information was extremely beneficial. Everyone (Bell-Anderson staff included) gained a bit more knowledge in this complex area. If you would like an emailed copy of the seminar outline that was handed out at the meeting, please contact your Property Manager. A big thank you to all who attended!
Janice McCurley
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Business Judgment Rule
From: Community Associations: A Guide to Successful Management
Authors: Stephen Barber, CPM® and Vickie L. Gaskill, MPM®, CPM®
Sometimes the Board of Directors is entrusted to make some very serious and controversial decisions for the association. If faced with the potential of a lawsuit over an unpopular decision they may be able to rely on “the business judgment rule”. Simply stated, when the Board of Directors has acted in good faith, exercised honest judgment and acted in the best interests of the association the courts will tend to treat the Board they same as they would any other corporate director making the business decision for the organization. The business judgment rule serves to protect the decisions of the board when those decisions are not arbitrary and illogical.
When making decisions for the association the Board of Directors want to:
• Stay informed. Oftentimes the Board does not have the background or training to completely understand the complexities of a matter. Relying on experts such as attorneys, professional property managers, and contractors will assist them in making informed decisions.
• Consider alternatives. The courts like to see that before the final decision was arrived at, the Board looked at all angles and came up with what they believed to be the best.
• Document everything. As the Board is making decisions they should write them down and provide the reasons for those decisions. Most of the time this is done through the meeting minutes, however, even when something may appear to be rather incidental a short written note can serve as a mind refresher in the future if necessary.
• Establish good hearing and due process procedures. Everyone deserves an opportunity to be heard. Even when the Board knows that the confrontation might be a difficult one they should have some sort of policy and procedure in place to hear all sides to the issue.
In 1997,the Washington Supreme Court summarized the law on the “Business Judgment Rule” in Riss v. Angel, 934 P.2d 669, 131 Wash. 2d 612,632 . To paraphrase the Court:
1. Directors will not be held liable for honest mistakes.
2. Condominium directors have a fiduciary duty to exercise ordinary care.
3. The decision of the homeowners associations must be reasonable.
4. The court will not substitute its judgment for that of corporate directors unless there is evidence of fraud, dishonesty, or incompetence.
5. A director must act with such care as a reasonable prudent person in a like position would.
Similar court decisions have been made in New York (Levandusky v. One Fifth Avenue Apartment Corp.), California (Lamden v. La Jolla Shores Condominium Association), and Colorado (Colorado Homes, Ltd, v. Loerch-Wilson)
Authors: Stephen Barber, CPM® and Vickie L. Gaskill, MPM®, CPM®
Sometimes the Board of Directors is entrusted to make some very serious and controversial decisions for the association. If faced with the potential of a lawsuit over an unpopular decision they may be able to rely on “the business judgment rule”. Simply stated, when the Board of Directors has acted in good faith, exercised honest judgment and acted in the best interests of the association the courts will tend to treat the Board they same as they would any other corporate director making the business decision for the organization. The business judgment rule serves to protect the decisions of the board when those decisions are not arbitrary and illogical.
When making decisions for the association the Board of Directors want to:
• Stay informed. Oftentimes the Board does not have the background or training to completely understand the complexities of a matter. Relying on experts such as attorneys, professional property managers, and contractors will assist them in making informed decisions.
• Consider alternatives. The courts like to see that before the final decision was arrived at, the Board looked at all angles and came up with what they believed to be the best.
• Document everything. As the Board is making decisions they should write them down and provide the reasons for those decisions. Most of the time this is done through the meeting minutes, however, even when something may appear to be rather incidental a short written note can serve as a mind refresher in the future if necessary.
• Establish good hearing and due process procedures. Everyone deserves an opportunity to be heard. Even when the Board knows that the confrontation might be a difficult one they should have some sort of policy and procedure in place to hear all sides to the issue.
In 1997,the Washington Supreme Court summarized the law on the “Business Judgment Rule” in Riss v. Angel, 934 P.2d 669, 131 Wash. 2d 612,632 . To paraphrase the Court:
1. Directors will not be held liable for honest mistakes.
2. Condominium directors have a fiduciary duty to exercise ordinary care.
3. The decision of the homeowners associations must be reasonable.
4. The court will not substitute its judgment for that of corporate directors unless there is evidence of fraud, dishonesty, or incompetence.
5. A director must act with such care as a reasonable prudent person in a like position would.
Similar court decisions have been made in New York (Levandusky v. One Fifth Avenue Apartment Corp.), California (Lamden v. La Jolla Shores Condominium Association), and Colorado (Colorado Homes, Ltd, v. Loerch-Wilson)
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Join NARPM for FREE
Are you a residential property manager who has considered joining the National Association of Property Managers? Now is the time to do so! Rentals.com has generously offered to pay the first year dues for any new member who is currently a property manager and works in an office that does not already have any NARPM members. This is a GREAT opportunity if you have been looking at the organization but are hesitant to do do. Visit http://www.narpm.org/ for more information.
Several members of our office are NARPM members who are actively working on designations to be able to better serve our clients, and our broker, Vickie Gaskill, is currently serving as the National President. If you have any questions or would like to visit our monthly luncheon, e-mail Kasey at kcnarpmhotline@gmail.com.
From NARPM's website:
The National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM®), founded in October 1988, provides a permanent trade organization for the residential property management industry. NARPM® continues to be the premier professional association of residential property managers, currently representing over 2,500 members comprised of real estate agents, brokers, managers and their employees.
Several members of our office are NARPM members who are actively working on designations to be able to better serve our clients, and our broker, Vickie Gaskill, is currently serving as the National President. If you have any questions or would like to visit our monthly luncheon, e-mail Kasey at kcnarpmhotline@gmail.com.
From NARPM's website:
The National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM®), founded in October 1988, provides a permanent trade organization for the residential property management industry. NARPM® continues to be the premier professional association of residential property managers, currently representing over 2,500 members comprised of real estate agents, brokers, managers and their employees.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Office & Home Electrical Safety
by Stefanie Octave
Whether at home or the office, you should always be watchful for electrical hazards. At the office, it is up to everyone to pay attention to electrical safety and avoid possible injury. Here is a list of some great electrical safety tips from workplace-safetytips.com that are sure to make your workplace safer.
Workplace Safety Electrical Tips
Find more electrical safety and other safety information from theWashington Department of Labor and Industries website: http://www.lni.wa.gov/safety/
Whether at home or the office, you should always be watchful for electrical hazards. At the office, it is up to everyone to pay attention to electrical safety and avoid possible injury. Here is a list of some great electrical safety tips from workplace-safetytips.com that are sure to make your workplace safer.
Workplace Safety Electrical Tips
- Never allow your employees to overload circuits. To many cords plugged into a sock it is a very easy way to start a fire.
- When buying electrical equipment for your company, make sure that they are approved by a company such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL).
- Make sure all electrical cords around the office are in good working condition. If you come across cords that are frayed or broken, make sure you have them replaced immediately.
- It is a good idea to have a weekly check of all electrical appliances around the company to make sure everything is in good working condition.
- Never keep electrical appliances around water. If a drink is spilled near a computer system, have it cleaned up immediately.
- Be careful when using electrical extension cords. It is very important not to have too many things plugged in to the same cord.
- Only have three prong plugs plugged into three prong sockets. 3 Prong plugs can only be safely plugged in to 3 pronged electrical outlets, or electrical sockets.
- Make sure your staff is always wearing the right protective gear when dealing with electrical systems.
- Always take the time to check to see if light switches and other such electrical systems are hot or overheating, if they are have them replaced right away.
- Flickering lights can be a good indication that there could be electrical problems. If this occurs make sure to have it check out as soon as possible.
- If electrical tools start to show wear and tear have them replaced.
Find more electrical safety and other safety information from theWashington Department of Labor and Industries website: http://www.lni.wa.gov/safety/
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Board Training Seminar
Bell Anderson and Associates will be hosting a board member training seminar covering the topic of Delinquencies, Collections, and Foreclosures. It is strongly encouraged for you to attend this FREE event.
The event will take place on Tuesday, April 13th at 6pm. The event will be located at the Kent Senior Center, 600 E Smith St, Kent, WA 98030. Our expect speaker will be from the Law Offices of Sundberg & Pody.
Our gracious sponsor, Pacheco Painting, will be providing snacks for the attendees.
Please RSVP to your property manager! We look forward to seeing you there!
The event will take place on Tuesday, April 13th at 6pm. The event will be located at the Kent Senior Center, 600 E Smith St, Kent, WA 98030. Our expect speaker will be from the Law Offices of Sundberg & Pody.
Our gracious sponsor, Pacheco Painting, will be providing snacks for the attendees.
Please RSVP to your property manager! We look forward to seeing you there!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Being Safe Online
by Vickie Gaskill, CPM®, MPM®
Most of us are spending a lot more time than we ever have “surfing the web”. What we think are perfectly innocent websites turn out to be bogus misleading deceptive web attractions. Now that we have Facebook, Twitter, and all sorts of social networking sites, it’s becoming harder and harder to protect a lot of our personal information and that of our children. I did a bit of research and thanks to the help of MSN found some good online safety tips.
Online Safety Tips:
1. Keep your personal information private including your name, phone number, additional passwords and social security or credit card numbers.
2. Turn off the computer if you feel uncomfortable with what you are seeing on the screen.
3. Never agree to let children meet someone in person who they have met online.
4. Don’t share photos of yourself with strangers.
5. Keep the computer your child uses in a central location
6. Join children as they surf the Internet.
7. Install anti-virus software on your computer.
8. Remember, not everyone on the Web is who they say they are.
Helpful sites on the Internet:
GetNetWise – Internet resources for online safety information
StaySafeOnline.Info – Secure your home or small business computers. This site also has an animated interactive safety quiz designed just for kids hosted by Shaquille O’Neal and Tara Lipinski
SafeKids – tips, advice and suggestions to make your family’s online experience fun and productive
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) – Learn about ways to prevent abduction and to report missing children
Have fun, be safe, and enjoy the surf!
Most of us are spending a lot more time than we ever have “surfing the web”. What we think are perfectly innocent websites turn out to be bogus misleading deceptive web attractions. Now that we have Facebook, Twitter, and all sorts of social networking sites, it’s becoming harder and harder to protect a lot of our personal information and that of our children. I did a bit of research and thanks to the help of MSN found some good online safety tips.
Online Safety Tips:
1. Keep your personal information private including your name, phone number, additional passwords and social security or credit card numbers.
2. Turn off the computer if you feel uncomfortable with what you are seeing on the screen.
3. Never agree to let children meet someone in person who they have met online.
4. Don’t share photos of yourself with strangers.
5. Keep the computer your child uses in a central location
6. Join children as they surf the Internet.
7. Install anti-virus software on your computer.
8. Remember, not everyone on the Web is who they say they are.
Helpful sites on the Internet:
GetNetWise – Internet resources for online safety information
StaySafeOnline.Info – Secure your home or small business computers. This site also has an animated interactive safety quiz designed just for kids hosted by Shaquille O’Neal and Tara Lipinski
SafeKids – tips, advice and suggestions to make your family’s online experience fun and productive
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) – Learn about ways to prevent abduction and to report missing children
Have fun, be safe, and enjoy the surf!
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