COLUMN: Barbara Holland

Q. As a board member, I requested through our treasurer a copy of the check register of our association for a one-year period. I wanted to see where the money is going and use it for budget preparation.

Several days later, I received a letter from our paid bookkeeper, who also is a homeowner in our association, stating that we do not have written bookkeeping records in our association and that all of our accounting records are handled through a computer program. She also stated that she would assess me a $15 charge per hour for information research, outside copying charges, and a 25-cent charge per page for making copies.

As a board member, I need these records to do my job. Should there not be written records and should a board member be charged a cost to obtain these records?

A. State law requires boards to review current reconciliation of the operating and reserve accounts, the actual income and expenses compared to the budget, and the latest account statements prepared by financial institutions at least once every 90 days at its meetings, unless the declaration or bylaws impose more stringent standards.

If your association was complying with this section of the law, you would have obtained your information on a regular basis and would have had your information to work on your budget.

No, you should not have been charged for obtaining this information as part of your responsibility as a board member.

Q. I read with interest the creation of a new commission, effective Oct. 1, 2003, that will hear homeowner complaints regarding associations. I understand they will have some enforcement powers.

How does one go about requesting such a hearing from the commission?

A. A person must first show that they have written to the other party on at least two separate occasions by certified mail, return receipt requested, with notices of the alleged violation. If the situation has not been resolved through these letters then, and only then, a person would file an affidavit with the Real Estate Division.

The affidavit will then be given to the ombudsman's office and it will try to assist all the parties concerned in resolving the issue. If the ombudsman's office cannot resolve the issue, a report will be submitted to the Real Estate Division, which will investigate the matter and decide whether or not to hold a hearing.

If it does decide to hold a hearing, the administrator of the division will file a complaint with the commission and schedule a hearing with either the commission or a hearing panel.

The entire procedure is even more complex than it sounds. It is a subject that will be revisited often in the future.

Questions for Barbara Holland may be sent to Association Q. & A., P.O. Box 7440, Las Vegas, NV 89125. Her fax number is 385-3759.

Barbara Holland, Certified Property Manager, is president and co-owner of H&L Realty and Management Co. She is a member of the Institute of Real Estate Management and is the author of two books on the subject. Holland is a past president of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors.

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