This week's tip comes from a new article on how to avoid

creating trouble for yourself with your HOA meeting minutes.

"Minutes are a wonderful place to get into a lot of trouble in

your corporate operations," says Robert L. Tankel, the principal

at Robert L. Tankel P.A. in Dunedin, Fla.

We also spoke to David C. Swedelson, principal at Swedelson &

Gottlieb, a law firm that represents associations in the Los

Angeles area.

"It can come back to haunt the association if somebody mentions

something dealing with maintenance or repairs," David told us.

"In California, we have to allow homeowners an opportunity to

address the board at every meeting. That often gets reflected in

the minutes, but comments from homeowners shouldn't be included

in the minutes. Inevitably, some homeowner sues claiming the

association didn't maintain something, and the association

claims it wasn't aware of the problem. But then there's a record

in the minutes that Joe mentioned the problem.

"Minutes should be a record of decisions made by the board, not

everything that was discussed at a meeting."

To read more tips about getting your HOA meeting minutes right, read our

complete article. (Go to article now »)

Best regards,

Matt Humphrey

President