Does HOA have one or two law firms?

One year ago this month, on May 7, 2024, the Board of Directors voted 7-0 to "hire Turner Padget firm [sic] as our new attorney." The Motion should have been to "retain" the law firm, not "hire".

I was at that meeting. As I recall, the Board did not know how much the services of Turner Padget would cost. Law firms typically spell out costs, in general, by the professional level of the staff (partner, associate attorney, paralegal, legal assistant, secretary, general office employee).

One of the Directors said something like, "They have lawyers who do everything." Of course, they do. But at what hourly fee?

Padget Turner would have presented an Engagement Letter to the HOA, requiring the signatures of the President and the Secretary, to complete the engagement (hiring) process.

At no subsequent meeting of the Board were those details every discussed. And there never was a Resolution to authorize the President and the Secretary to execute the Engagement Letter. 

This step is one that CAMS should have known about and informed the Directors. A lawyer from Turner Padget should have made sure that step was followed.

Did the HOA severe its long-time relationship McCabe, Trotter & Beverly, P.C.? That firm had been handling collections of past-due debts. Those debts (Accounts Receivable) now total $529,994 (as of 2/28/2025). 

That's down from $761,033 (as of 2/28/2024), but the Board quietly wrote off $118,917.82 in April 2024 without discussion or a vote. Was that write-off decided at a private, closed, pre-board meeting?

Has all the bad-debt collection been transferred to Turner Padget? Was there a cost to the HOA to stop doing business with McCabe, Trotter? How much?

Why doesn't the Treasurer report to the Board (and the Members) just how bad the bad-debt problem of the HOA really is? How many homes are in collection? How many dead-beat Members are there?

As of 2/28/2025 Accounts Receivable (Line 1200) totals $529,994.

The CAMS Manager Notes with the Financial Overview Report for February 2025 read, in part, "Collection activity is currently being conducted in accordance with Association policy."

With Accounts Receivable at $529,994, is there something wrong with Collection Activity or with the Association Policy? Or both?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

June 3rd BOD Meeting now Closed to Members

The HOA office sent out an email at 3:29PM that read, in part, Due to Brookland Baptist Church being unavailable to accommodate the scheduled Board of Directors meeting on June 3rd, the meeting will now be held at the Summit Association office. Please note that space is limited at this location; therefore, only Voting Members and Committee Chairs will be invited to attend in person. One would think they would splash a message on the homepage of the HOA's website and change the location in the Calendar on the website; but No to both.  This last-minute change is highly adverse to the interests of the Members of the Association. The HOA must have some deal with Brookland Baptist Church Northeast for the rental of the meeting room. The dates must be arranged for the year. The HOA makes a "donation" to the Church for the use of the room. It's actually not a "donation", because the HOA receives something of value in exchange; i.e., the use of the meeting room.  Wh...
Read more

What? No trampolines?

OK, you trampoline fans. Are your rights and privileges being tramped on by your Board of Directors? The office sent out an email just before 2:00PM threatening you with a dreaded violation notice and the possibility of fines, if you dare to put a trampoline in your yard.  This is what the email from the office said,  " Please be advised that, pursuant to Section 13, Page 22, Article XII of the covenants, no structure of a temporary nature shall be placed upon any unit or any part of the properties. This includes, but is not limited to, tents, temporary gazebos, shacks, trailers, and any other structure of a temporary nature.  "Kindly note that trampolines are classified as temporary play equipment and, as such, are not permitted within the community. We ask that you ensure there is no trampoline present on your property to avoid receiving a violation notice and subsequent fines." What do the Covenants say? "Section 13. Tents. Trailers and Temporary Structures. Exce...
Read more

What Story Do the Financials Tell?

At the May 6, 2025 Board of Directors meeting, the March Financial Operating Results were available. Did you pick up a copy? Was there any discussion of them? Usually there is not. Do board members examine them before the meeting? Does anyone on the Board really understand them?  Look at the page for the Operating Expenses - Variances. Twelve Line Items are shown. No totals are shown. Big mistake. But are the totals intentionally omitted? For these 12 Items the total of "YTD Variances" is $61,784.93. As of the end of March, the HOA has over-spent the 2025 Budget by $61,784.93. Look at the reason given for the over-spending in Line Item GL-5111 Irrigation Contract. "This is over budget and will remain over budget due to the 2025 budget is $75,000 and the monthly contracted cost is $10,140." Is this worded to intentionally confuse any reader by stating the annual amount in the budget, but the monthly amount for the contracted cost? If the yearly contract for Irrigat...
Read more