Get 6 months of free community web site hosting from Community123.com!
Monday, May 21, 2012
HOA Websites by Community123.com (National Community Website Provider)
We built HOATalk and we'll build your community website for free!  Click here for information on a free trial website.
Community Associations Network (National HOA Reference Library)
News, articles and blogs about condos/HOA's
Only members have access to all features.
Click here to join HOATalk for Free! Members click here to login and access all features.
Subject: HOA website contents
Prev Next
You are not authorized to post a reply.
Author Messages
RW1


Posts:0


01/06/2008 5:12 AM  
Our current HOA website has all posted information accessable to anyone on the www. Not just common forms but meet. minutes & budget info. too!

What is the "Industry Accepted Practice" as far as making this (private) information available without registration or member login?

I have visited other HOA websites, randomly, on the www and have always found a "members only" or similar section where I ASSUME the private material is available.

Our meetings are not public so why should our private documents be?

Current "webmaster" says: "I really don't see where anything posted thus far would constitute any type of breach in confidentiality or security."

http://www.fostersmill.org


I say he is wrong, naieve (and foolish).

Any comments on what should be posted (freely accessed) and,

what shouldn't be (freely) posted.
hoatalk


Posts:538


01/06/2008 5:46 AM  
As you may have seen, HOATalk is run by Community123.com, who offers secure HOA websites. Our customers may choose which info. is public or private, but here's a guideline:

One of our sponsors, HindmanSanchez is a large law firm that has handled over 1,800 associations. All they do is association law. They publish a newsletter and here's a quote on what should not be made public on web sites: "... financial records, names, addresses and phone numbers of residents, and probably even the minutes of board meetings should be restricted to residents only."
See: HindmanSanchez Newsletter Article

Now, I'll give my non-legal, non-attorney opinion on this: The Board's fiduciary duty is to serve only the members (e.g. owners). If you post financials or Board meeting minutes on the public website and it has a negative impact on the community or an individual member, then it seems the Board is responsible for the damage.

The HOA is a private corporation serving only its members. Of course, the owners should follow all disclosure laws when they sell a property, but it's not the Board's place to provide internal corporate/HOA documents to the public. That said, providing 'public' HOA documents on the public website can be a good idea (e.g. CCRS, Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, Rules).

HOATalk.com, A free service of Community123.com
Provider of Upscale Community Websites
CLICK HERE to get a FREE trial community website
*See legal notice below (end of page) or go to www.hoatalk.com/legal
hoatalk


Posts:538


01/06/2008 5:53 AM  
PS - Have a look at one of our customer's websites for a great example of what to make public vs. private. Look under documents to see the public documents. Of course you can't see the private pages, but at least the public area will show you what they consider OK to publish to the world.

http://www.cypressgreenshoa.com/

If your community would like a secure website, Community123.com will build you one for free, transfer all your old website's contents to the new one and give you 2 months to try the new site all for free.

HOATalk.com, A free service of Community123.com
Provider of Upscale Community Websites
CLICK HERE to get a FREE trial community website
*See legal notice below (end of page) or go to www.hoatalk.com/legal
DeborahW1
(Michigan)

Posts:10


01/06/2008 9:26 AM  

You say your meetings are not public. Why aren’t they? Sorry, I’ve just never heard of that. The occasional sub-committee meeting might not be public, but board meetings generally all, aren't they?

Our meetings are open to anyone, resident, renter, whoever wants to stop by.

We post our minutes on our website, as well as article of incorporation, bylaws, handbook, master deed, etc. All of which are part of a public record so I don’t see a problem with it. We also post a print-out of meeting minutes in a display case at out cabana for anyone to read.

I've seen sites have this info open to everone and some that do not. I don't think there is a standard per se as to what info is available. It seems to be a group/association's decision to do so.

I think your site looks very nice. It has easy navigation, and good info for anyone interested in living there. Only thing I noticed was a layout issue with the page counter covering some text.



hoatalk


Posts:538


01/06/2008 10:46 AM  
I took a look at the documents posted on your website. Keep in mind that Google and others index your pages and the contents of all documents on the public part of your site.

So someone searching for your property manager's name in Google may find this in your JAN 2007 minutes:

"A motion was made to terminate the services of (name removed) Community
Management for cause within a 30 day period from the time our attorney reviews
xxx contract and deems it appropriate. Motion made by (name removed), Secretary
and 2nd by (name removed), Treasurer."

I took out the people and company names, but you can see that your MC may have a problem with his company's name coming up in a Google search with your termination 'for cause' minutes listed there. In other words a prospect of his searches for his company's name in Google and your document appears. The prospect decides not to hire him. Maybe this is no problem unless you have some sort of non-disclosure in your MC contract, but why create the conflict by showing this to the world?

I also noted that individual homeowner names are listed in the minutes too. If these ever tie to a violation I can see some conflict there too. People may not like their names posted on a public site like this and even though you may not be violating any privacy laws, why have the conflict?

In general, it's best to err on the side of privacy when placing documents on the internet. Once a document is indexed by Google, MSN, Yahoo etc. then it's nearly impossible to get it removed from the Internet. Even if you delete it from your site it still lives on as a cached document in the search engines and they will not remove it just because you ask.


HOATalk.com, A free service of Community123.com
Provider of Upscale Community Websites
CLICK HERE to get a FREE trial community website
*See legal notice below (end of page) or go to www.hoatalk.com/legal
RW1


Posts:0


01/06/2008 5:06 PM  
Thank You,

As far as our meetings not being public... I was referring to non-members.

RW1
You are not authorized to post a reply.
Forums > Homeowner Association > HOA Discussions > HOA website contents



General Legal Notice:  The content of forum messages are from the posting member and have not been reviewed nor endorsed by HOATalk.com.  Messages posted by HOATalk or other members are for informational purposes only, are not legal or professional advice and do not constitute an attorney-client relationship.  Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.  HOATalk is not a licensed attorney, CPA, tax advisor, financial advisor or any other licensed professional.  HOATalk accepts ads from sponsors but does not verify sponsor qualifications nor endorse/guarantee any sponsor's product or service.
HindmanSanchez Legal Notice:  (For messages posted by HindmanSanchez) This message has been prepared by HindmanSanchez for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute an attorney-client relationship. Members of HOATalk.com should not act on this information without seeking professional counsel. Please do not send us confidential information unless you speak with one of our attorneys and get authorization to send that information to us. If you wish to initiate possible representation, please contact an attorney in our firm. Our attorneys are licensed to practice law in the state of Colorado only.

Legal Notice For Messages Posted by Sponsoring Attorneys: This message has been prepared by the sponsoring attorney for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. This information is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute an attorney-client relationship. Readers of HOATalk.com should not act on this information without seeking professional counsel. Please do not send any sponsoring attorney confidential information unless you speak with the sponsoring attorney or an attorney from the sponsoring attorney’s firm and get authorization to send that information to them. If you wish to initiate possible representation, please contact an attorney in the firm of the sponsoring attorney. Sponsoring attorneys that post messages here are licensed to practice law in a specific state or states as indicated in their message signature or sponsor’s profile page. (NOTE: A ‘sponsoring attorney’ is an attorney that is a HOATalk.com official sponsor and is identified as such in the posted message or on our sponsor page.)

Only members have access to all features.
Click here to join HOATalk for Free! Members click here to login and access all features.
Copyright HOA Talk.com, A Service of Community123 LLC ( Homeowners Association Discussions )   Terms Of Use  Privacy Statement