I hope you are looking forward to 2008 as much as I am. One of my New Year's resolutions is to add more "tools" to the "tool kit" to make working in this industry of HOAs less painful, more enjoyable, and most of all, a breeze! Everyone should enjoy their work. It takes a good amount of your energy and it is important to have enough left over to live life the way you really want to - with gusto!

So what solutions might you find to the day-to-day challenges that arise? Considering checklists, policies, and rules is a good place to start, as good checklists, policies and rules will help all involved in any association. Where do you start?

First, you might outline all subjects that you think need attention. For example, my list of things to get together includes: book outlines, list of primers to write, items to put up on the website, list of classes to develop, list of trips coming up, and seminar outlines. Yours might include: way to eliminate time wasters (and checklist), making tasks easier such as enforcement of the documents (esp. in the areas of parking, pets, smoking, noise, nuisances, neighbor-to-neighbor disputes, meetings issues, board education), reporting to boards, creating important paper trails, ways of managing stress, and/or areas of help (such as a list of training classes to look for). This E-Newsletter and future editions to come will touch on all of these subjects. As for now, you need to know what tools are available.

KEEP AN ONGOING TO DO LIST: Think about it. How can you keep everything you need to do in your head? You need a TO DO list. Why? There are many reasons but one very important one is that it is a stress reliever. If you transfer thoughts in your head to a list, they sit somewhere else for the time being and your mind is not clogged or overtaxed with these things. Another very important reason (related to your mental health) is the feeling of accomplishment or achievement each day. It helps keep your spirits up. Many of us do not even realize how much we do each day, until we actually see it! Crossing tasks off the list does just that - it provides a good feeling, a relief, and a sense of achievement. It is one of my favorite tasks each day. I look forward to it. And I do not even have to mention how important it is to get things done on time in order to be successful in your work. The absolute worst attorneys, managers, professionals, and board members (or any leaders for that matter) are those who do not get things done on time. They complicate things for everyone else.

I keep on ongoing list on my computer and open up the file and add things every single time I think of something that needs to be done - yes, event the little things, like "remind _____ to ______." I used to keep handwritten notes and sticky notes but they just get lost. I keep one list that includes work projects and personal tasks that need to be done. I prioritize by putting pressing things at the top of the list, and things that can be timed or done later fall to the bottom. It's just a simple word document and I keep it in two locations, on the computer and a back up drive, and print it off every once in a while (such as before a weekend when I may not be at the computer). And each Friday afternoon that I am working, I start at the bottom, just to review anything that might have fallen through the cracks. These days with PDAs, gift calendars, computer calendar reminders and popups, there is no excuse to bumbling along, hoping you get everything done today that needs to be done. Find the easiest method available to create a TO DO list. You can list these items on a calendar or your PDA but if you calendar the date something is due, there is no time to do it before that day gets here. And if you calendar the start date and it passes you by, you do not have a constant reminder that work needs to be done on that project. And of course, you should not to rob yourself of the pleasure and satisfaction that can be achieved every day of scratching off or deleting those things that you have accomplished. I guarantee it will make you feel good to witness your accomplishments and see that TO DO list shrink.

CREATE POLICIES and/or CHECKLISTS: The # of laws relating to HOAs in California is staggering. Coordinating laws with the governing documents is a daunting task. You need something easier to work with. It's that simple! Remember: K.I.S.S. in 2008! I hate to be sexist, but here goes: women will understand this: it is much easier to navigate shopping with a shopping list, rather than taking the recipe to the local market to shop. One of the hardest things about taking the recipe is that you probably didn't give any thought to separating those things you do not need to buy, with those that you do, and the other is that you have no "scratch off" list. If you do that to the recipe, you will ruin it. If you have a list, you will know when you are done, and can avoid the impulse decisions and mistakes. For men, perhaps it is easier to envision the greater ease in having directions to a location before you leave home, down to the turns and mileage (gotta love that GPS system), rather than to have to navigate a complicated (or for those of us over 40 - impossible to read) road map, especially while driving. And who wants to stop and ask for directions anyway? A policy, rule, or checklist may be taking the easy way out, and why not? It will make you feel good to have something simple to rely on. The backup materials are always there if more detail or information is needed. Here are some examples you might consider.

Meetings/Agenda Policy: The California statutes have many requirements forequirements for meetings and the new agenda law that became effective January 1, 2008. To add insult to injury, one has to also compare the governing documents for the HOA to determine what requirements exist for meetings. Things that are important include notice timing and requirements, procedures during the meeting, when and how members can approach the board (the homeowner forum), what happens if anyone disrupts the meeting, who may attend, and what happens if an item is raised that is not on the agenda for the meeting. I could give you a 4-5 page recitation of the provisions on these subjects taken from the law and your governing documents. Or, I could provide you with a 1-2 page policy on the specific procedures paraphrased. This kind of thing benefits not only the Board and management, but also the members who attend and crave to understand the processes. And a policy that includes a procedure for handling disruptions can be given to a member to silence them. Believe it or not, it often works that way.

Enforcement Policy/Fines Policy: The laws on enforcement and getting compliance are also quite complicated. There are statutes on fines, disciplinary hearings, IDR (Internal Dispute Resolution), ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution), filing a lawsuit, suspension of membership rights, and there are limitations on various remedies. And, again, each HOA has governing documents that may add to or contradict the laws. It's not easy to sort this all out, particularly after a process has begun to address a violation. What is the first step? Ish.... who wants to pull out everything that must be considered (law books, governing documents, and correspondence or notes from past similar violations) when they are in a rush with 50 other things on the TO DO list, and try to figure out where the best place to start is? And who wants to reinvent this wheel in a week, two weeks, six months or a year later when another violation occurs? Think about how much easier it would be to have a policy with timelines and requirements for letters and notices, steps for addressing violations (maybe with distinctions between serious and less serious ones), a fines schedule (which is required by law if any HOA is going to fine any owner), and other remedies that may be considered. Again, 4-5 pages or more of quotations from the laws and the governing documents can be distilled down to a 1-2 page policy or checklist. You can believe me when I tell you that this will (1) simplify your life, (2) provide support for the HOA if a legal claim is filed, (3) help the Board and management save time, energy and frustration, AND (4) help the HOA members understand what is expected of them. Believe it or not, this will be a huge benefit to everyone involved.

Parking/Towing Policy/ and Contract: Last year, we were talking about a new law that made towing vehicles from CIDs seemingly more complicated. As it turned out, it was actually easier to cope with in some ways. The pre-tow notice requirements were, at least in my estimation, clarified and simplified. However, there were other things that indicated the need for a clear and understandable tow policy and a protective contract. The tow companies and drivers were burdened with many additional technical requirements by the new statutes - and it became apparent that the HOAs needed protection from the risk of assuming any liability from the tow driver's gaffs, or tow companies mistakes. The HOAs had to assign someone on site or to be on site to authorize a tow. And that person was responsible for determining when a tow was warranted and legal. It became obvious that the person given authority to ask for tows had to have a list of situations that was crystal clear. How does one get such a list? By pulling together the statutes on towing and the governing document provisions on towing. It's not necessarily easy to do, but once done, can digest the material from 4-5 pages down to 1 or 2. And, having specific rules prevents residents as well as the "hired guns" (tow company drivers) from claiming ignorance or confusion in a tow that is ultimately challenged. Coupling the policy with a good contract is essential, in order to get the clarity for all parties about obligations and liabilities down pat. (And yes, Boards and Managers, if HOAs do not have proper protection, they might be sued if a tow driver and owner get into an altercation over a vehicle and either party is hurt. The purpose of the addition of a good contract is that it includes proper indemnification protection for these kinds of situations. Such an incident happened in at least one HOA in 2007!)

There are many other subjects that might be worthy of a policy such as maintenance responsibilities, satellite dish placement and screening, architectural standards, reserves savings and investments; cross-protections from embezzlement and fidelity issues, check authorizing and signing limitations, processes to follow if Board Members get out of line (such as disclosing confidential information, missing meetings, or refusing to participate in meetings), and maybe a Code of Ethics for Board Members. I am sure you can think of some too.