COLUMN: Lack of service irks owner

Q. We've been having some problems with our management company. Over the past four months, several homeowners have asked when our next association meeting will be held and the only answer from management is: "We don't know."

For months, in spite of telephone calls, faxes and letters, the association has not acted upon complaints and has not maintained the entry gates, streets or common areas. At what point can we stop paying association dues since they are taking our money but not providing the services?

A. State law requires that boards meet at least once every four months. If your association has not met during a four-month period, you should send a registered letter to the management company informing them that if a meeting date is not scheduled within 30 days that you will file a formal complaint against the association with the ombudsman's office at the Nevada Real Estate Division.

If the association is still under the declarant's (developer's) control, it is the management company's responsibility to provide proper advice to that developer and to force the issue, or else resign.

Management and boards are required to follow due process when taking action against violating residents, which means that it can take a long time to gain compliance. In your case, it is not clear whether the management and the board are enforcing or ignoring the regulations.

Regardless, you should not stop paying your assessments. Doing so would only hurt you. If you withhold payments, the association can place a lien on your home and begin foreclosure, which could result in damage to your credit as well as the loss of your home. In addition, if enough owners withheld dues, the association would not be able to pay for utilities such as power, and, if included in your dues, rubbish removal.

The proper action to take is twofold. You should write to your management company with your concerns of nonenforcement of the governing documents and lack of service. If they don't respond, include these problems in your formal complaint with the ombudsman's office.

If your board is composed of homeowners and not the developer's appointments, you could begin the process of removing the current members and electing new directors.

If the board is controlled by the developer, you still have a right to call for a special homeowners meeting. This process would entail you to have a petition, which clearly states the purpose for a homeowners meeting to be called by the association's president and/or secretary, and would require signatures from at least 10 percent of the owners, who should be in good standing. If the correct procedures are followed and the board fails to call for a meeting, this would violate NRS 116 and you should ask the ombudsman's office for assistance.

Q. Where should association records be stored, since our community does not have an office or clubhouse?

A. You may either store these records at the management company's office or lease rental space from a storage company, some of which specialize in the storage of paper documents. You should place the information in labeled boxes, and then number them for easy retrieval. Give a copy of this information to all directors and a master copy to the management company.

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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