Privacy Policy

Community Management Services (CMS) is committed to maintaining your confidence and trust, and accordingly maintains the following privacy policy to protect your personal information.

CMS’s Commitment to Security

CMS encrypts billing information wherever the CMS or its banking vendor, Smartstreet (www.smartstreet.com) , requests it online. Personal information is accessible only by staff designated to handle complaints or requests. All CMS agents and contractors with access to personal information are also bound to adhere to this policy as part of their contract with CMS.

Personal Information that CMS May Collect

CMS collects the following types of personal information: names, postal and e-mail addresses, phone and facsimile numbers, billing information, and complaint and inquiry information. CMS may also collect employment information and emergency contact information for use in the event of a natural disaster or other calamity which causes damage to real estate that CMS manages on behalf of the Association. CMS does not knowingly collect or maintain any personal information from children under the age of 13. In addition, no part of our site is designed with the purpose of attracting any person under age 13.

How CMS May Use Personal Information Collected

CMS will use your personal information for the purpose for which it was submitted such as to reply to inquiries, handle your complaints and process billing and service requests related to the management of the Association and other related activities. CMS uses the information collected primarily to notify you of meetings that you as a member of your Association are required to be notified of, or you may have an interest in. In addition,

How Your Information May Be Shared

In order to process our collection and sales transfer files and the work we have been retained by the Association to complete, we may share any information collected with attorneys, collection agencies, courts, realtors or title companies in order to facilitate such legal collection efforts. From our website or your Community website, you may be asked if you would like to receive discounted service offers from our vendor or service suppliers, if you do so, your name, address and contact information may be distributed in relationship to that offer. At any time you can add or remove your name from our mailing list for such items by contacting us at [email protected]. Homeowner or service provider inquiries may be forwarded by email, and Homeowners should recognize this method of transmission may not be secure. CMS may also share your personal information with the Community Association Institute or National or local Realtors Association to research industry marketplace practices. Just as in any research we may do, this research will not result in the reporting or publication of any personal information. CMS never sells or rents personal information.

We will also release personal information under the following circumstances:

Where release is required by law (for example, a subpoena) or regulation, or is requested by an agency for governmental investigative purposes or governmental proceedings;

Where our records indicate a homeowner may be engaged in illegal activity that a governmental agency should be made aware of;

To appropriate persons, where your communication suggests possible harm to others.

Help Us Keep Your Personal Information Accurate

If your personal information changes or you would like to review the personal information we may have on file, please email us with the new information or your review request at[email protected]. Let us also know the department or CMS program that led to your submission of personal information so we may efficiently locate your information.

Computer Tracking and Cookies

Our web site is not set up to track, collect or distribute personal information not entered by its visitors. Our site logs do generate certain kinds of non-identifying site usage data, such as the number of hits and visits to our site. This information is used for internal purposes by technical support staff to provide better services to the public and may also be provided to others, but again, the statistics contain no personal information and cannot be used to gather such information.

A “Cookie” is a small amount of data that is sent to your browser from a Web server and stored on your computer’s hard drive. CMS uses non-identifying “Cookies” to provide easier site navigation and access to forms. You can still use CMS site if your browser is set to reject cookies. Our “Cookies” do not generate personal data, do not read personal data from your machine and are never tied to anything that could be used to identify you.

Problems

If you have a complaint about CMS’s compliance with this privacy policy, you may contact us at [email protected]

Revised June 25, 2012

Community Goal Setting

Set your goals, make your plans, and live your dreams!

Community association board members are often faced with competing factions in the community who demand that the board fulfill their demands. Without a clear mission statement and goals, the board may have difficulty determining what course of action is best for the majority of members in the community. How do board members formulate goals to accomplish during their term of office?

The first step community association board members must consider in setting goals is determining the needs and concerns of their members. This information can be obtained through the use of a resident questionnaire or by holding town hall meetings where residents have an opportunity to express their concerns.

Goals that are supported by a majority of the community’s residents will attract more volunteers and are more likely to be achieved. Once needs and concerns are ascertained, goal setting becomes easy. Achieving them, on the other hand, may be another matter entirely.

Goal setting is part of the overall community planning process. Board members should consider various options for meeting the members’ needs and then establish priorities for achieving the goals. The board should then develop specific plans and programs from which to work.

New association board members often know what they would like to accomplish before their first day on the job. By defining these goals, the entire board can collaborate on filtering their goals to a reasonable number and then take the first big step toward fulfilling them. Here are a few suggestions to help boards get started:

• After identifying the association’s most urgent needs, make a list of five goals you would like to accomplish in the next six months. Only include realistic attainable goals. Seek out those that are achievable in the near term with results that are likely to be highly visible to the community. Examples of short term goals include: removing an abandoned vehicle, acquiring a stop sign, or clearing a vacant lot. Many associations view common area improvements as the most pressing community need. Boards who address these needs before they become larger issues are adopting a proactive management style that should be well received.

• Set realistic goals. Board members who set unattainable goals may frustrate other board members and create the perception of failure for all concerned.

• Establish a solid working relationship with management staff. The board president should start by setting a meeting with management and sharing the board’s ideas. Solicit advice from the manager. The success of many association programs depends on open communication and interaction with management.

• Plan improvements in stages. Even dedicated volunteers with unlimited resources need time to accomplish their goals. Don’t plan to achieve all of the association’s goals overnight. Continuity is better than drastic change – unless the association requires immediate change to continue or safeguard operations. Long-term goals are more time consuming and more difficult to accomplish. These goals require patience and hard work on the part of the membership. Long-term goals might include developing a park, amending legal documents, raising funds for a street lighting project, or installing window awnings.

• Clarify association goals with the manager. Managers often help the board utilize existing programs to achieve their goals. Though enthusiastic, new board members often want to make their mark on the community. However, they should never waste resources by ignoring existing programs or the expertise of previous volunteers or a management professional.

• Give appropriate credit to contributing members. Always thank members who help out. This helps to maintain volunteer interest and will draw new members into association activities.

• Work as a team. Board and committee members and management staff are all part of a team that runs the community. As team captain, the association president should not overlook the value of the other members’ contributions. Compliment members when they make valued suggestions and ask for advice when needed. By expressing confidence in volunteers, the president helps to build a strong team.

Remember, success is the art of trying to improve upon the very things you are currently doing. Achieving goals keeps the momentum of an association going. When board members can see the results of their efforts, they are more eager to get on with the next project and are more willing to tackle the toughest of assignments.

Publish Site: http://hoamanagement.com/blog/setting-goals

Claims for HOA’s Breach of Fiduciary Duty Are Insured

Pulliam v. Travelers Indemnity Company, No. 2012-211939 (S.C. Ct. App. May 8, 2013)

Risks and Liabilities: A South Carolina appeals court ruled that an association’s insurance policy did provide coverage for allegations against the association, including failing to establish a reserve fund and failing to warn owners of the potential conflict of interest in a developer-controlled board of directors.

M.U.I. Carolina Corporation, Regent Carolina Corporation and Regent Corporation (developers) completed construction of the Kensington Place Horizontal Property Regime between 1994 and 1995. The developers incorporated Kensington Place Property Owners Association (association) in 1996 to manage the condominium. The association’s board of directors initially comprised the developers’ employees or designees. Control of the board and the condominium common elements was transferred to the unit owners in April 2007.

In 2008, a group of unit owners sued the association, alleging breaches of fiduciary duty and negligence for failing to: (1) adequately inspect and maintain the common elements, (2) inform unit owners of the conflict of interest in a developer-controlled board and (3) establish a reserve fund to pay for repairs. The unit owners then filed an action against Travelers Indemnity Company, seeking a determination as to whether the association’s insurance covered the alleged claims in the underlying lawsuit.

Travelers argued that the unit owners’ claims were for “property damage” and punitive damages (damages awarded by a court against a defendant as a deterrent or punishment to redress an egregious wrong perpetrated by the defendant), both of which were excluded under the Directors and Officers Endorsement section of the association’s insurance policy (policy) issued by Travelers. The unit owners filed a motion for summary judgment (judgment without a trial), arguing that their claims were not excluded because they claimed economic loss based on breaches of duty and negligence, not “property damage.”

The trial court granted the unit owners’ motion, finding that the breach of fiduciary duty claims were related to damage from defective construction or design and were covered under the policy. The trial court reasoned that defective design or construction was not considered “property damage” under the standard established by Crossman Communities of N.C., Inc. v. Harleysville Mutual Insurance Co., 395 S.C. 40, 717 S.E.2d 589 (2011). The trial court concluded that damages to correct the initial defective construction are covered, but other property damage caused by the defective construction is not covered. Travelers appealed the judgment.

On appeal, Travelers argued that the trial court erred in relying on Crossman to determine what constituted “property damage” under the policy. The policy specifically provides that “property damage” is excluded from coverage and defines “property damage” as: (1) Physical injury to tangible property, including all resulting use of that property; (2) Loss of use of tangible property that is not physically injured; or (3) Diminution of property value.

The appeals court held that it was not improper for the trial court to look to Crossman for guidance since the policy at issue in Crossman also involved the same definition of “property damage.” Nevertheless, the appeals court concluded that the application of the principles set forth in Crossman did not correlate adequately to the facts and the policy in this case. Therefore the appeals court did not support the trial court’s conclusion in its entirety.

The appeals court noted that the unit owners did not argue that the association had completed construction or made repairs to Kensington Place before the association came into existence in 1996. Consequently, no reasonable interpretation of the allegations could support a finding that the association was being sued for any initial construction defects.

Additionally, any further deterioration of the faulty construction that arose from 1997 to 2006 and that could be attributed to the association’s inaction would at most constitute diminution of the unit owners’ property value, a harm specifically included in the policy’s definition of “property damage.” Thus, there was no coverage for any property damage claims.

However, the appeals court concluded that the association’s duty to establish a reserve fund, while related to property damage, did not result in physical damage to tangible property, but rather caused economic damage when the unit owners had to spend more money to make repairs. Likewise, allegations that the association breached its duty by failing to warn residents of the conflicts of interest in the developer-controlled association did not allege physical injury to tangible property. Therefore, neither breach of duty claim was excluded from coverage under the “property damage” exclusion.

Travelers argued that the unit owners’ claims were excluded from coverage under other policy provisions which were not ruled upon by the trial court. The association’s policy also excludes coverage for damages resulting from “[a]ny dishonest, fraudulent, criminal or malicious act, error or omission committed by or with the knowledge of any insured.” The appeals court determined that no dishonest, fraudulent, criminal or malicious action was alleged.

The policy excludes coverage for damages resulting from “[t]he failure of any insured to enforce the rights of the Named Insured against the builder, sponsor or developer of the property designated in the Declaration.” However, the appeals court determined that none of the allegations amounted to a claim that the association had failed to enforce any rights or compel the developer to perform a particular action.

The policy excludes coverage for damages resulting from “[a]ny claim or ‘suit’ made by any insured against another insured.” Travelers argued that this provision excludes coverage since seven of the unit owners had served on the board in the past. Under the policy, the term “insured” includes those who were directors when the “wrongful act” took place. However, all of the unit owners came onto the board after the time during which the wrongful acts were alleged to have occurred.

Therefore, the appeals court concluded that the policy provided coverage for the breach of fiduciary duty allegations because the association failed to establish a reserve fund and warn residents of potential conflicts in the developer-controlled association. The appeals court upheld the trial court’s determination that damage to other property flowing from defective design or construction were excluded as “property damage.” It also concluded the trial court erred in finding that the policy covered initial defective construction. Finally, the appeals court held that the policy did not cover claims for punitive damages, which were clearly excluded under the policy’s terms.

The appeals court affirmed part of and reversed part of the trial courts ruling.