Proof of ownership for HOA board member in CA

Hi all!

We have a ownership requirement for our board in California. And we have a board member who is part of a general partnership that owns a unit. We have asked him for proof of ownership and he sent the deed to to the unit which lists the general partnershp and we said we need proof of ownership of the general partnership. He will mot provide that, but he sent his tax returns and showed the profit and loss. That does not seem like proof of ownership to me.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this. We are small HOA and would like to avoid hiring a lawyer over this.

thanks

Can't you look up the deed documents on a county website, and then the corporate documents on the state website for corporations to see the officers/directors.

Thanks all. While an LLC and a Corporation needs to register with the State, a general partnership does not need to be registered with the State. This partnership wont give us any info. Not even the people coming in and out of our building.

It's pretty messy.

My HOA's covenants are similar. Like John suggests, the OP should check the HOA's governing documents for language on this.

I also agree the tax returns are way insufficient. The recalcitrance of this person to cough up legal authority makes me suspicious that he has not in fact received authority from his general partnership to represent it as a member and director. As needed the HOA should consult its attorney. Meanwhile, until this guy produces legal proof that the general partnership has designated him as their representative (or power of attorney), I would give him nothing. I would triple check any legal proof the guy does produce at this point. Until further notice, I would assume he's up to no good. Lastly, I think letting this guy represent the general partnership without sufficient documentation does hold the HOA out to liability.

As Beth has made clear, the property is owned by a partnership, not a corporation or LLC. A partnership does not have to be registered with the state, although if they use a fictitious name, that should be registered. In CA, partnerships can optionally register so they might be on the state list, but they might not. A partnership is created by a contract (partnership agreement) between the parties. The proof of ownership that Beth seeks would be that agreement.

Similar to a schedule C corporation, the income/loss/taxes for the partnership are included on the individual returns of the owners, so an individual tax form showing profit/loss for the corporation would probably be a reliable indicator of ownership.

Personally, since the partnership is not a natural person, I would go with what John said upthread and treat this similar to a corporation. The partnership should designate one person to represent them in the HOA, and that person would have the right to cast membership votes and be on the board.