New HOA Laws

[Bevostein]

Originally Posted by Singapore Sling

Yes...it is the same one.

So which one is it?

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by rbrodner

That's the evolution of an HOA. The first year or 2 after the developer turns things over to the homeowners, everyone is gung-ho and involved, meetings of the members have 50% of the owners in attendance in-person and 5 people run for every Board seat. A couple years later you can barely meet 25% quorum at a meeting even with most of that attending via proxy and you end up with duds on the Board because they were the only ones to show up and run. A couple years later it takes 3 or 4 tries to reach quorum for an annual meeting (with the quorum requirements being cut in half for each subsequent meeting attempt), you cannot fill all the Board seats and the couple that are on the Board hand total control over to the management company.

All because everyone was generally content and just assumed that "somebody else" is taking care of everything.

YES, THIS!! I have been on the Board of my HOA for 10+ years. I have done my service and would willingly turn it over to someone with more passion and energy than I have for it now. BUT, no volunteers. So when someone complains....I had them a volunteer form, tell them that they have a great idea and would be more than willing to give them a budget to come up with a plan and correction. Guess what, people are more interested in complaining than helping....not one single person has taken me up on the offer. And yes we hold the Mgt Company accountable for their responsibilities too.

Kinda like the YaaHoos who spend hours in the Politics Forum complaining, yet never actually participate in city government or volunteer for the various citizen committees. People are a mess! Rant off.....

[rbrodner]

Originally Posted by SuperSnoop

Otherwise, any random person could request a list of household members and see who was behind on their dues.

No one outside the Board and their agent (management company) should have access to that info. It would be a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

[SuperSnoop]

Originally Posted by rbrodner

No one outside the Board and their agent (management company) should have access to that info. It would be a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

At the time I served, there was debate whether HOA fees were "debts" under FDCPA. I'm not sure if the courts have sorted that out yet.

Depending on the structure and activities of the HOA, the following may apply. It has also changed since my tenure.

Texas Business Organization Code 22.352. FINANCIAL RECORDS AND ANNUAL REPORTS. (a) A corporation shall maintain current and accurate financial records with complete entries as to each financial transaction of the corporation, including income and expenditures, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
and
22.353 (b) The corporation shall make the records, books, and reports available to the public for inspection and copying at the corporation's registered or principal office during regular business hours.

[MusicalMinds]

Property Management Company NOW is 4Sight - www.4sightnm.com. They also happen to be our pool service company and our landscaping company. Our former management company was Lonestar who annoyed me because they were so proactive but at least they didn't allow 7 huge fire ant hills around one green space, or weeds in the beds with dead flowers, spider mites in the trees, duck pool in the pool and then try to say they dare me to contact the health department, etc...And, in addition to responding to emails, they listed their all of their contact information.

Last time I checked city website the former president was listed, and she didn't know the contact information for the new president. I have an email address of one of the board members, and requested email addresses of all board members, but I was told to submit a meeting request to the property management company then show up at the meeting in order to talk to the board (I get it, to a degree...)

[TeamNorthwest]

HB 2761 - Meetings, Elections and Records of Property Owners Associations
I. General Overview

The stated purpose of this bill is to ensure that governance of associations is open to owners since many associations operate like small governments. More specifically, there are new laws that address owner access to records of the association, open board meetings, notice of elections or votes, recounts of votes, ballots, rights to vote, board membership, voting/quorum, election of board members and mandatory election procedures if an annual meeting is not held.

II. Applicability

Condominiums are not covered.
The new laws implemented by this bill do not apply to condominium associations.

Certain associations in Harris County and its surrounding counties are not covered.
They also do not apply to associations that are subject to Chapter 552 of the Government Code, which contains provisions regarding open government requirements. Although Chapter 552 generally applies to the government, Section 552.0036 of that statute provides that certain property owners associations are subject to it. Trying to determine which associations are subject to Chapter 552 leads to an interesting aside about how legislation is drafted. Chapter 552 as originally written applies to an association that is in a county with a population of 2.8 million or more or an adjacent county if the association has the power to make mandatory assessments based on appraised tax values. It is necessary to review population data from the Census to start figuring out where such associations might be located. It turns out that the population specified is in Harris County. So, Chapter 552 applies to that county and its adjacent counties. Why don't lawmakers just say that then? The answer is that the Texas Constitution imposes much higher standards on laws that are, on their face, applicable to a specific geographic area. To avoid those hurdles, lawmakers use a process called "bracketing" which describes a geographic area by population and geographic features surrounding the target area. For example, in the last legislature, a lawmaker from Angleton, Texas wanted to pass a law that applied only to that town. Instead of naming Angleton in the law, the law refers to "a municipality that is located within 25 miles of an international port and does not contain a highway that is part of the national system of interstate and defense highways and is adjacent to a county with a population greater than 3.3 million."

The Las Colinas Association is not subject to certain parts of the new laws.
The provisions dealing with records inspection, notice of elections or association votes, recounts of votes, ballots and voting/quorum do not apply to the Las Colinas Association.

III. Effective Date

The new laws are effective on January 1, 2012, except the provisions that govern board qualifications, ballots and voting procedures and rights are effective on September 1, 2011, due to an earlier effective date contained in Senate Bill 472. Because House Bill 2761 and Senate Bill 472 contain identical provisions but different effective dates, the earlier effective date controls.

IV. Association records.

A. Requests for association records.

1. An owner's records request.

An owner's request to inspect records must be sent via certified mail to the association's address, or the address contained in the most recently filed management certificate for the association, and contain sufficient detail as to the books and records requested. The request must also specify whether the owner would like to inspect the records before obtaining copies, or have the association forward copies.

Owner no longer required to state a proper purpose?
Importantly, the new statute does not require an owner to state a "proper purpose" before being entitled to inspect association records. However, that requirement does live on in Section 22.351 of the Business Organizations Code. So, does that requirement apply to records requests under this new law? Although the new statute does not specifically state that it supercedes Section 22.351, the new law does provide that it "controls over other law not specifically applicable to a property owners' association." Section 22.351 applies to all non-profit corporations in Texas, not just property owners' associations. Owners may argue that they no longer must state a proper purpose in a request to inspect records. More will certainly follow as we all deal with this issue.

2. The association's response to a records request.

If the owner requests an inspection, the association must, within 10 days of receipt of the request, send written notice of dates during normal business hours that the owner may perform the inspection.

If the owner requests copies, the association must either (i) produce the records requested within ten (10) business days from the date of receipt of the request; or (ii) if the association cannot produce records within 10 business days, inform the owner of that fact within the 10 business day window and then produce the requested records within fifteen (15) days of giving that notice. In other words, if an association is unable to produce records within 10 business days, it must produce records within 25 business days of receipt of the initial document request.

Exemptions for certain owner and employee information.
An association has a right not to produce records regarding the violation history for an owner, an owner's account with the association, and an owner's contact information (other than the owner's address). An association also does not have to produce records regarding employees of the association. However, the association must produce the category of records identified in this paragraph if (1) the express written approval of the owner whose records are the subject of the request for inspection is provided to the association; or (2) a court orders the release of such records.

Exemption for an attorney's file.
The new statute does continue to contain the exemption for an attorney's file related to an association (with the exception of attorney's fees invoices). Such records are not considered "records of an association." However, the statute does provide a narrow circumstance in which an owner may obtain a document from an attorney's file. If the association does not have a copy of an association record that an owner is entitled to see and a copy of the document is in the attorney's file, the owner is entitled to have that document produced.

We recommend that you carefully calendar all deadlines for responding to records requests. If there are any concerns with the production of protected owner or association information, confer with legal counsel before making such documents available to a requesting party.

B. Owners can designate others to inspect records for them and are entitled to copies of association records.

Under the new law, an owner can designate an agent, attorney or certified public accountant to examine records on behalf of the owner. Subject to the exemptions stated above, owners are absolutely entitled to obtain copies of information in association records.

C. Associations must adopt and record a records production and copying policy.

Associations must adopt and record a records production and copying policy that prescribes the costs for compilation, production and copying of association records in response to a records request. If an association does not have a recorded policy, it cannot charge for such costs. An association may charge for all reasonable costs of compiling, producing and copying records, including for materials, labor and overhead. However, the cost may not exceed costs that would be applicable for an item under 1 T.A.C. Section 70.3, which controls charges the Texas government can make to produce public records.

An association may require advance payment of the recoverable costs. If an association wants advance payment, it must estimate the cost of production by using the amounts set forth in its recorded policy. After the requested information is produced, the association must send a final invoice to the owner within 30 business days after the information was delivered. If the estimated costs end up being more than the actual costs, the association must issue a refund to the owner within 30 business days after sending the invoice. If the estimated costs end up being less than the actual costs, the owner must pay the additional amount within 30 business days after the invoice was sent. If the owner does not timely pay the additional amount owed, the association may add the amount to the owner's account as an assessment. However, an association cannot foreclose a lien on an owner's account that consists solely of amounts owed under this provision.

Associations must record the policy. Otherwise, your association will not be able to charge for its costs to accommodate document inspection requests.

D. Owners may challenge a denial of access to association records in court.

If an owner is denied access to records, the owner may file a petition in a justice court, seeking an order requiring release of the records, a judgment for court costs and attorney's fees, or a judgment allowing the owner to deduct the amount of court costs and attorney's fees from future assessments. An award of these items is in the court's discretion. If the association prevails, it is entitled to a judgment for court costs and attorney's fees. An owner must give written notice of his or her intent to file suit at least 10 business days before filing suit.

If there is any question about whether access to records should be provided, contact legal counsel to get advice about that decision since an improper denial of access could lead to the association paying the requestor's attorney's fees and court costs.

E. Associations must adopt a record maintenance policy.

Associations of more than 14 lots must adopt a document retention policy. That is a policy that many for-profit corporations adopt that generally specifies how long an entity will keep certain types of records. Companies adopt such policies for numerous reasons, including to help them manage the expense of storing and managing the large volume of paper records that are generated by a business. The policy must, at a minimum, include the following retention periods for the specified documents:

a.governing documents - retained permanently;
b.financial records - seven years;
c.current owners account records - five years;
d.contracts with a term of one year or more - four years after the expiration of the contract terms;
e.minutes of meetings of the owners and the board - seven years; and
f.tax returns and audit records - seven years.
The statute does not define what records fall within each of these categories. For example, the statute does not define what records are "account records" of an owner.

V. Meetings of members and boards.

A. Board meetings must be open to owners.

Board meetings must be open to owners, subject to the right of the board to adjourn a board meeting and reconvene in closed executive session. A board meeting is defined as a deliberation between a quorum of the voting board, or between a quorum of the voting board and another person, during which association business is considered and the board takes formal action.

Executive session is appropriate to consider actions involving personnel, pending or threatened litigation, contract negotiations, enforcement actions, confidential communications with the association's attorney, matters involving the invasion of privacy of individual owners or matters that are to remain confidential by request of the affected parties and the agreement of the board. Following an executive session, any decision made and expenditure approved must be summarized orally and placed in the minutes, in general terms so that confidential or private information is not revealed.

The board is required to keep written minutes of board meetings and must make those records available for inspection.

An in-person board meeting must be held in a county in which all or part of the community is located or in an adjacent county. The exception to this rule is if the meeting is held by electronic or telephonic means, which will be discussed below.

B. Owners must be given notice of board meetings.

Boards must give notice of board meetings to the owners, which must include a general description of any matter for executive session. There are two options for Boards to provide notice of meetings:

1.via mail at least 10 days before the meeting but not more than 60 days before the meeting; or
2.by posting, at least 72 hours before the start of the meeting, (a) a notice in a conspicuous manner in the community; or (b) posting the notice on a website maintained by the association and sending the notice by e-mail to each owner who has registered an e-mail address with the association (it is an owner's duty to keep an updated e-mail address registered with the association).
If a board meeting is recessed with business to be continued the following day, the board is not required to post notice of the continued meeting. If the meeting is not finished on the following day, the board must give notice as described above within two hours after adjourning the continued meeting.

C. Notice to members is generally not required for board meetings to consider:

1.Routine and administrative matters; or
2.Reasonably unforeseen emergency or urgent matter that requires immediate board action.
Section 209.0051(h) states: "A board may meet by any method of communication, including electronic and telephonic, without prior notice to owners under subsection (e), if each director may hear and be heard by every other director, or the board may take action by unanimous written consent to consider routine and administrative matters or a reasonably unforeseen emergency or urgent necessity that requires immediate board action."

Section 209.0051(h) is inartfully drafted. It may be read to mean that boards do not have to give notice of board meetings to owners if they meet by telephone or electronic means. We think that interpretation is too broad, risky and inconsistent with the legislative intent. We think the least risky interpretation is that a board may meet by any method of communication, including electronic and telephonic, without prior notice to owners, if each director may hear and be heard by every other director, to consider routine and administrative matters or a reasonably unforeseen emergency or urgent necessity that requires immediate board action. The board may also use written consent to decide routine and administrative matters as well as matters that qualify as an emergency. Any action taken without notice to owners must be summarized orally, including an explanation of any known actual or estimated expenditures approved at the meeting, and documented in the minutes of the next regular or special board meeting.

Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph, there are certain topics a board cannot consider or vote on without giving advance notice to all members, as follows:

1.Fines;
2.Damage assessments;
3.Initiation of foreclosure actions;
4.Initiation of enforcement actions, excluding temporary restraining orders or violations involving a threat to health or safety;
5.Increases in assessments;
6.Levying of special assessments;
7.Appeals from a denial of architectural control approval; or
8.A suspension of a right of a particular owner.

D. Notice must be given to members for elections and votes where members are entitled to vote.

Not later than the 10th day or earlier than the 60th day before the date of an election or vote, an association shall given written notice of the election or vote to: (1) each owner of property in the association, for purposes of an association-wide election or vote; or (2) each owner of property in the association who is entitled under the dedicatory instruments to vote in a particular representative election, for purposes of a vote that involves election of representatives of the association who are vested under the dedicatory instruments of the association with the authority to elect or appoint board members of the association. This section supersedes any contrary requirement in a dedicatory instrument.

E. Application During Development Period [Section 209.0051(b)(2) and (i)]

The requirements in this bill related to open board meetings apply to a meeting of the board during the development period only if the meeting is conducted for the purpose of: (i) adopting or amending the governing documents, (ii) increasing the amount of regular assessments or adopting/increasing a special assessment, (iii) electing non-developer directors or establishing a process to elect such non-developer directors, or (iv) changing the voting rights of members.

VI. Voting and Elections

A. Owners are entitled to request a recount of an election vote.

Section 209.0057 of the Property Code is added. Not later than fifteen (15) days after the date of a meeting at which an election was held, an owner may demand a recount of the vote. The demand must be submitted in writing.

The recount is initially at the expense of the requesting member and the association is entitled to payment up-front. The association shall hire the services of a person qualified to tabulate votes. The association shall enter into a contract for the services of a person who (1) is not a member of the association or related to a member of the association board within the third degree by consanguinity or affinity, as determined under Chapter 573 of the Government Code (generally parent, child, brother, sister, grandparent, grandchild, great grandparents and great grandchildren, aunts, uncles); and (2) is a current or former county judge, county elections administrator, justice of the peace, county voter registrar, or a person agreed on by the association and the person requesting the recount.

Any recount must be performed on or before the 30th day after the date of receipt of a request and payment by the requesting member. If the recount changes the results of the election, the association shall reimburse the requesting owner for the cost of the recount. The association shall provide the results of the recount to each owner who requested the recount. The statute does not specify whether the association must provide the results in writing. Best practice is to provide the results in writing. Any action taken by the board in the period between the initial election vote tally and the completion of the recount is not affected by any recount.

B. Member votes must be in writing.

Section 209.0058 of the Property Code is added. Any vote cast in an election or by a member in another type of vote of an association must be in writing and signed by the member. Electronic votes cast under Section 209.00592 (discussed below) constitute written and signed ballots. In an association-wide election, written and signed ballots are not required for uncontested races. Senate Bill 472 makes this piece of legislation effective on September 1, 2011.

C. A provision in a dedicatory instrument that disqualifies an owner from voting in a board election or on a matter that affects the owners' rights and responsibilities is void.

Senate Bill 472 makes this provision effective on September 1, 2011. Section 209.0059 of the Property Code is added. A provision in a dedicatory instrument that would disqualify a property owner from voting in an election of board members or on any matter concerning the rights or responsibilities of the owner is void.

D. A provision in a dedicatory instrument that restricts an owner's right to run for the board is void.

Pursuant to Senate Bill 472, this law is effective on September 1, 2011. Section 209.00591 of the Property Code is added. A provision in a dedicatory instrument that restricts an owner's right to run for a position on the board of the association is void and unenforceable.

However, if a board is presented with written, documented evidence from a database or other record maintained by a governmental law enforcement authority that a board member has been convicted of a felony or crime involving moral turpitude, the board member is immediately ineligible to serve on the board, automatically considered removed from the board and prohibited from future service on the board.

Additionally, a declaration may provide that during the period of declarant control the declarant may appoint and remove board members, other than board members elected by members of the association. In addition, Section 209.00591.c. provides that regardless of the period of declarant control, on or before the 120th day after the date that 75% of the lots are conveyed to owners other than declarant, at least 1/3 of the board must be elected by owners other than declarant. If the declaration does not include the number of lots that may be created and made subject to the declaration, at least 1/3 of the board members must be elected by owners other than declarant not later than the 10th anniversary of the date the declaration was recorded.

This is a significant change to community association law because even an owner who is not in good standing with the community is now entitled to run for the board. Although not required by this law, associations should now run criminal background checks on candidates for the board of directors.

E. New requirements for ballots: what am I voting on?, when can a ballot be counted for quorum?, when can a ballot be electronic?, when are absentee ballots proper?

Section 209.00592 of the Property Code is added. Under Senate Bill 472, this law is effective September 1, 2011. The voting rights of an owner may be cast or given (1) in person or by proxy at a meeting of the association; (2) by absentee ballot; (3) by electronic ballot; or (4) by any method of representative or delegated voting provided by a dedicatory instrument.

An absentee or electronic ballot: (1) may be counted for the purpose of quorum only for items appearing on the ballot; (2) may not be counted if the owner attends any meeting to vote in person (any vote cast at a meeting by a property owner supersedes any vote submitted by absentee or electronic ballot previously submitted for that proposal); and (3) may not be counted on the final vote of a proposal if the motion was amended at the meeting to be different from the exact language on the absentee or electronic ballot.

A solicitation for votes by absentee ballot must include (1) an absentee ballot that contains each proposed action and provides an opportunity to vote for or against each proposed action; (2) instructions for delivery of the completed absentee ballot, including the delivery location; and (3) the following language:


By casting your vote via absentee ballot you will forgo the opportunity to consider and vote on any action from the floor on these proposals, if a meeting is held. This means that if there are amendments to these proposals your votes will not be counted on the final vote on these measures. If you desire to retain this ability, please attend any meeting in person. You may submit an absentee ballot and later choose to attend any meeting in person, in which case any in-person vote will prevail.

To satisfy the requirements of this section, an electronic ballot means a ballot (1) given by email, facsimile or posting on an internet website; (2) for which the identity of the owner submitting the ballot can be confirmed; and (3) for which the owner may receive a receipt of the electronic transmission and receipt of the owner's ballot. If an electronic ballot is posted on an internet website, a notice of the posting shall be sent to each owner that contains instruction on obtaining access to the posting on the website. The statute does not state any specific manner of how a notice of posting must be sent.

This section supersedes any contrary provision in a dedicatory instrument.

F. A director whose term has expired must stand for re-election to remain on the board.

Section 209.00593 of the Property Code is added. Notwithstanding any provision in a dedicatory instrument, any board member whose term has expired must be elected by owners who are members of the association. A board member may be appointed by the board only to fill a vacancy caused by a resignation, death or disability and then only for the unexpired term of the predecessor board member. The appointment of a board member in violation of this Section is void. What happens if a director's term expires but there is not a quorum at the meeting to hold a re-election vote?

The board of an association may amend the bylaws of the association to provide for elections to be held as required by this new law.

This Section does not apply to the appointment of a board member during the development period. For the purposes of this subsection, "development period" means a period stated in a declaration during which a declarant reserves (1) a right to facilitate the development, construction and marketing of the subdivision; and (2) a right to direct the size, shape and composition of the subdivision. This Section also does not apply to a representative board whose members or delegates are elected or appointed by representatives of an association who are elected by owner members of an association.

VII. Owners can force a mandatory election if directors do not hold an annual meeting.

Section 209.014 of the Property Code is added. Notwithstanding any provision in a dedicatory instrument, a board shall call an annual meeting of the members of the association. If a board does not call an annual meeting, an owner may demand that a meeting of the members be called not later than the 30th day after the date of the owner's demand. The owner's demand must be made in writing. A copy of the notice must be sent to each owner who is a member of the association.

If the board does not call a meeting of the members on or before the 30th day after the date of the demand, three or more owners may form an election committee. The committee shall file written notice of the committee's formation with the county clerk of each county in which the subdivision is located. A notice filed by an election committee must contain (1) a statement that an election committee has been formed to call a meeting of owners who are members of the association for the sole purpose of electing board members; (2) the name and residential address of each committee member; and (3) the name of the subdivision over which the association has jurisdiction under a dedicatory instrument. Each committee member must sign and acknowledge the notice before a notary or other official authorized to take acknowledgments. The county clerk shall enter on the notice the date the notice is filed and record the notice in the county's real property records.

The committee may call meetings of the owners who are members for the sole purpose of electing board members. Notice, quorum and voting provisions contained in the bylaws of the association apply to any meeting called by the election committee.

Only one committee in a subdivision may operate under this section at one time. If more than one committee files a notice, the first committee to file, after having complied with all other requirements of this section, is the committee with the power to act under this section. A committee that does not hold or conduct a successful election within four months after the date the notice is filed with the county clerk is dissolved by operation of law. An election held or conducted by a dissolved committee is ineffective under this section.

[TeamNorthwest]

Is it against the law for a corporation to hold interest in other companies? How long has this company been managing your association? I wonder if the rain and other factors this year are causing more ants to populate the park? How do you keep ducks out of a pool? I know in my own association, this has been a constant battle this year. Even with weekly treatment, the rain seems to bring more ants to the surface.

Have you verified the age of the companies employees? You stated they are all High School kids. How did you verify this information? Is the Board or Management company not responding to your request? Have they offered some reason? Do you own the property in your neighborhood? Have you provided proof of such?

The law is complicated in Texas and as stated by someone else, volunteer Boards are generally over loaded with a lot on their plates. What approach have you taken to assist with a resolution of the problem you are having? Have you offered any recommendations? Maybe this could help? I wonder if there are other things happening within the association that members are not aware of? It is understandable that things appear as though they are not getting done. I know in my association, where I served as past Board President that it was often difficult to share all the details of things that were happening. It always helps if a member who is genuinely interested in helping out offers recommendations rather than complaining.

From the link to 4Sight it looks like this company does a lot and offers more to associations. Have you called them? Maybe they can offer some assistance for you. My philosophy is that you get more bees with honey than you do with vinegar.

Hope you find what you are looking for.

[rbrodner]

Originally Posted by SuperSnoop

At the time I served, there was debate whether HOA fees were "debts" under FDCPA. I'm not sure if the courts have sorted that out yet.

Don't know if this has been officially sorted out, but any HOA attorney will tell you to treat them this way. An I know collection efforts also have to follow certain rules spelled out under FDCPA.

Originally Posted by SuperSnoop

Depending on the structure and activities of the HOA, the following may apply. It has also changed since my tenure.

Texas Business Organization Code 22.352. FINANCIAL RECORDS AND ANNUAL REPORTS. (a) A corporation shall maintain current and accurate financial records with complete entries as to each financial transaction of the corporation, including income and expenditures, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
and
22.353 (b) The corporation shall make the records, books, and reports available to the public for inspection and copying at the corporation's registered or principal office during regular business hours.

This still holds, but any financials shown to general members of the HOA will have the names and addresses of all the members scrubed from the file. It will just show an account number. At least that's the way it's supposed to work. Anyone not doing it this way is opening themselves up to lawsuits.

Sorry, but as much as we sometimes want to, you cannot shame your neighbors into paying up by publishing their names in this country.

[Singapore Sling]

Originally Posted by TeamNorthwest

Is it against the law for a corporation to hold interest in other companies? How long has this company been managing your association? I wonder if the rain and other factors this year are causing more ants to populate the park? How do you keep ducks out of a pool? I know in my own association, this has been a constant battle this year. Even with weekly treatment, the rain seems to bring more ants to the surface.

Have you verified the age of the companies employees? You stated they are all High School kids. How did you verify this information? Is the Board or Management company not responding to your request? Have they offered some reason? Do you own the property in your neighborhood? Have you provided proof of such?

The law is complicated in Texas and as stated by someone else, volunteer Boards are generally over loaded with a lot on their plates. What approach have you taken to assist with a resolution of the problem you are having? Have you offered any recommendations? Maybe this could help? I wonder if there are other things happening within the association that members are not aware of? It is understandable that things appear as though they are not getting done. I know in my association, where I served as past Board President that it was often difficult to share all the details of things that were happening. It always helps if a member who is genuinely interested in helping out offers recommendations rather than complaining.

From the link to 4Sight it looks like this company does a lot and offers more to associations. Have you called them? Maybe they can offer some assistance for you. My philosophy is that you get more bees with honey than you do with vinegar.

Hope you find what you are looking for.

This is kind of odd...why are you working so hard to defend Todd Gschwend & 4Sight Management?

[Vati]

To answer someone’s thread as if you are a 3rd party, when you are indeed the individual being referenced is quite unethical and cowardly.