Pilot Property Management

Serving Coastal North San Diego County (Vista & San Marcos), too

Association Management: Administration

Why some associations have staggered terms for directors.

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Many associations elect all 3, 5 or 7 directors for one year terms. If a high percentage of directors in any one year are new, the incumbents start with a significant advantage when it comes to the association’s business and the way it is conducted. Phrases such as “that’s the way we have always done it” are bandied about and the incumbents continue to rule the roost. This uneven playing field may be an anathema to new members who may feel stifled by the incumbents. Having staggered terms allows for new members to work with existing members knowing that their two years term includes a period on getting the feet under the desk, before flexing muscles. Having two year terms allows members to gracefully get up to speed knowing that about half the board’s membership is familiar with the procedures and the issues facing the board. In their second year, they will be the teacher to the new crop of first timers. Of course some boards retain the same directors for several years with both members willing to serve and members willing to let them.

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Secret Elections: why do we have them?

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On July 1 2006 one of the principal changes to the Davis Stirling Act that was created 20 years before was enacted. It called for secret elections, whereby no-one was to know how a member of an association voted. To ensure northing nefarious happened, inspectors of election, 1 or 3, had to be appointed in advance and those selected had to have no relationship with the possible result. So Mary couldn’t be an inspector if George her husband, was running for office. The procedure was to use a two envelope system. The member cast their vote on the issue, be it next years directors, a special assessment, a revision to a major governing document etc. using this two envelope system. The outer envelope had to have the member’s name, which had to be handwritten by the member, their signature and information about their lot, be it lot number, address etc. so anyone could know that George and Mary had voted, but how they voted was to remain a secret from that moment on. The inner envelope had no markings on it. It contained the ballot which again had no distinguishing marks on it. That way whoever opened the inner envelopes could not for sure say how George and Mary voted unless they opened both envelopes at the same time. Hence the inspectors of election. The ballots are to be held by the inspector of election for 9 months to allow for a member audit and may be disposed of after 12 months. Presumably the management company gets to keep them for that special 3 months. This procedure of course changes the way directors are elected. Voting from the floor is almost useless and proxies are almost valueless also. Candidates making a rousing speech at the annual general meeting are past in fact the membership almost doesn’t need to actually meet anymore as no business is discussed or decided upon. Election results must be shared with members within 15 days.

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Expectation List

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One of the first items we discuss with our customers at that inaugural meeting is the expectation list. This is our name for their wish list, but we have two good reasons for using it. First it allows the team both of us to focus on what we have agreed to work on and secondly it allows for a review periodically to see where we have come from.

We ask the directors to list for us both, what they hope to achieve in the next 12 to 24 months. We are seeking just a list of items that they want to complete in that time frame, not details on how to get there.. When we have it, be it half a dozen items or 29 items we then ask them to do something a little harder as their homework. Put them in the order of importance, that is, which do they want to complete first. Maybe it’s inspecting the roofs if they haven’t been inspected in a while, maybe it to get bids to resurface the pool, or to rewrite a specific document like the election policy or the rules. We make certain everyone knows the list is not set in concrete, that it can be added to, and that items can change their order of importance but whatever the document is at the time that is what we as their managing agent are going to be working from. At the end of a few months we can both review our progress and examine the list for a re-edit.

Brush abatement techniques

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San Diego has experienced two major fire conflagrations in 2003 and 2007. As a result fire departments are even keener on removing combustible material from unoccupied land and even in some cases from occupied lots. Homeowner associations are susceptible to fire as much as anyone and it behooves associations to have a brush abatement plan in place. For many years some properties have been untended resulting in huge overgrown areas filled with highly combustible material that has accumulated over time. All dead plant material should be removed and combustible plant material should be thinned and shaped trimmed and cleared every year. After the first major clearing the annual trimming and clearing is much less expensive. The labor associated with brush removal can be exhaustively expensive as the plant material must either be dragged uphill for ultimate removal or downhill. Lack of access can increase the cost dramatically. Steep hillsides are very difficult to tame by hand. We recently employed a herd of goats and a few goat herders to clear an area that had not been tended for many a year. The initial feeding reduced the amount carried away enormously.

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