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Please join us for the 2011 Fall Semi-Annual Community Association Seminar on your choice of two dates – Saturday, November 12th or Saturday, November 19th – 9:00 am – 11:30 am. A continental breakfast will begin at 8:30 am. Topics for this seminar include new reserve requirements under MCIOA, leasing & FHA, and construction defects in community associations. See our Seminars & Events page for registration details.
MNcommunityassociation.com has been developed to answer questions, provide links to resources, and establish contact with experienced lawyers who can provide advice and service when needed.
Community associations exist for the development, sale and administration of real estate. While commercial community associations do exist, most community associations are residential. “Community associations” include condominium communities, townhome communities (sometimes called “planned communities”) and cooperatives.
First developed around the turn of the 20th century in an attempt to control the growth and use of real estate, these associations can enhance the enjoyment of home ownership. However, their role, and the laws that apply to them, are often misunderstood. Community associations exist to provide oversight of a community, provide services and ensure that the pleasant aesthetics in a community are properly maintained for all its members to enjoy.
A community association’s Board of Directors is responsible for carrying out the functions and responsibilities of a community association. Such functions and responsibilities include enforcement of rules and regulations and collection of assessments (“dues”), as well as hiring vendors to provide to the association such services as association management, lawn mowing, snow removal, roof maintenance and replacement, and general maintenance of the community and the homes within it. The volunteer, homeowner-elected Board of Directors acts in accordance with the provisions of applicable law and a community association’s governing documents—its Declaration of Covenants and its Bylaws.
Community association living at its best can provide homeowners with lower maintenance responsibilities, increased involvement in the community, and opportunities to make decisions vital to the vitality and beauty of their community.