Covenant
Enforcement : Where Do You Draw the Line
Covenant
enforcement is one of the most difficult aspects of running a community
association. As a board member or manager, you deal with both extremes:
the community leaders who don’t believe in leniency, and the
ones who think that even a friendly reminder encroaches on their freedom.
As this type of law is all that we do, we have seen it all, and we
know where and when you draw the line.
A
Difficult Balance
We know
that there are times when your duties as a board member are difficult
to carry out because you’re not just a representative of the
Association; rather, you are also a neighbor and friend to members
of your community. You have a duty to reasonably enforce the covenants
and its rules, and you don’t want to risk liability to the board,
committee members, or to the association. Yet, you don’t want
to make enemies either. It’s a difficult balance.
Taking
Preventative Measures
Our approach
begins with the idea that many legal disputes can be avoided all together.
If you are experiencing enforcement problems, we work with you to
explore the reasons and identify workable, practical, and lawful solutions.
We offer a number of services aimed at helping you prevent costly
legal disputes including:
- Reviewing your documents
to ensure that your covenants, rules, and architectural guidelines
and forms are clearly stated, legally enforceable, and consistent
with legal and practical standards.
- Helping you draft
architectural guidelines, procedures, and forms so that your association
has the documentation necessary to enforce the covenants and the
rules.
- Providing
you with practical and proven tools to encourage voluntary compliance
with your association’s documents and procedures.
Getting
Results
We assist
you with covenant and rule enforcement matters from start to finish.
- We will send a polite,
but firm, demand letter to the delinquent homeowners explaining
the violation as well as the steps necessary to correct the matter.
Often, this is all that is required to solve the problem.
- We are experienced
in mediation and other forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution
(ADR). These methods can be faster and less expensive than litigation.
- If a demand letter
or mediation doesn’t achieve compliance, we will advise
as to when it’s time to go to court as well as the best
strategy to employ.
- We offer
free workshops and seminars for board members to help you achieve
the difficult balance between too much and not enough enforcement.
Upon your request, we attend board meetings to advise you on methods
for handling challenging issues.
Making
It Affordable For You
If
the cost of legal services to obtain compliance was free, your decision
to use legal action would be fairly easy to make. However, a number
of associations are somewhat leery about using lawyers or court rooms
to accomplish deed restriction compliance because, even if they recoup
their legal costs in the long run, they have no way of determining
their initial out of pocket cost. The question becomes: “Is
it worth it to spend a lot in legal costs to obtain compliance in
a single matter?”
In
an attempt to address this concern, we offer a program for deed restriction
enforcement which minimizes your upfront out of pocket legal costs
to pursue deed restriction enforcement by postponing the payment of
a portion of the legal fees invoiced until money is received from
the homeowner who has failed to comply with the community’s
deed restrictions. This fee arrangement enables you to implement an
active, uniform enforcement program by minimizing your upfront cost
to pursue compliance.
Knowledge
of the upfront cost that you could pay to accomplish compliance allows
you to more accurately forecast your annual legal fee budget. In addition,
we have a greater incentive to obtain a quick and efficient resolution
of the matter.
Benefiting
From Our Knowledge
We know
the law and the most persuasive arguments to use in court. When you’re
faced with covenant or rule enforcement problems, call us, and we
can attend your board meeting and discuss your options.
Whether
you want to take the proper preventative measurements before enforcement
becomes a problem, or if your association is already experiencing
on-going problems with your covenants and rules, we have the know-how
to help.
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NORTH|Law