cc: or bcc:: HOA President / Dictator

I have been our HOA president for the last ten months. During our meetings, we talk over homeowner problems and agree that the MC is to send a letter to address it.

Several times, I have called the MC's secretary, weeks later, to ask if a letter was sent, and have recieved the response "oh yea" or "I think so".

I was wondering if it is unusual or overbearing to ask that a copy of each letter either be emailed or mailed to my home for my or the BOD's records sake?

Thanks
William

WilliamS1,

I’ll be interested in reading all of the responses you may get on this particular topic. Good question. I personally think so. I feel that your HOA is paying for their service they should be able to present the BOD with something.
Keep us all posted.
Chuck W

William:

They work for you right? By all means you should have it and demand it. If they refuse then they are not the right company for you.

All records of an incorporated HOA should be filed with the Registered Agent. If the HOA has a MC then the Management Agreement usually specifies that the Registered Agent is the Managing Agent. A Board policy to have the Managing Agent copy all email and mail correspondence regarding violations to a designated Board member (or members) should be included in the Management Agreement. I think it is important to keep the BOD updated which is much more important than maintaining BOD's unofficial records.

Bill, we keep the current year and previous year's hard copy records in file cabinets filed in folders by subject with each month on top of the previous month. Every March we transfer the two year old data to file boxes which are maintained in boxes in secure storage which is readily available. Digital data are backed up on the hard drive and periodically on CDs. The CDs are filed with the hard copies.

In this manner we can access all data at all times.

Let me just reiterate - your management company should be able to provide you digitalized versions of all documents. If they can't then they should be moving in that direction and you should prod them along a little. Second, you want to see where they physically store your records when they are moved from the management company's office. I've seen them stored in rental garages, in the MC's president's basement, and even once in a converted barn with no security, fire alarms, sprinklers or even protection from roof leaks.

As a recommendation, CD's should only be kept for 5 years before they are re-mastered on to a new CD or whatever the new format is at that time (CD's go bad). You should make copies of the CD's (or DVD's) so that they aren't all in one location. I would recommend that the Secretary have one set for reference and one be placed in a safety deposit box at the associations bank, or somewhere else, off-site, that is secure.

Joe