Fostering Great Western North Carolina Communities
At Coward Hicks & Siler, our attorneys work with Western North Carolina homeowners associations and condominium associations, their governing boards and managers, to help new developments and well-known neighborhoods, alike, become truly great communities that people desire to live in. Our lawyers help HOAs and COAs create happy homeowners through efficient management and good practices.
A homeowners’ or condominium owners’ association is comprised of home/condo owner members of a mandatory membership organization. The organization is created, generally, to manage common areas of the development, to plan for improvements, and to create regulations which apply to both public and private areas of the community. Typically, HOA Boards are tasked with the responsibility of managing community and association finances, enforcing guidelines, collecting fees and assessments and handling disputes with outside entities retained to implement community maintenance and improvements.
In North Carolina, homeowner and condominium associations are governed by declarations and bylaws, which are rules and guidelines that define elements of how the association will be managed. These include duties of the offices of the board of directors, their terms of service and voting rights. Bylaws outline required meetings and how notice is provided to the association’s members and other matters necessary to establish the association’s ability to operate in a business-like fashion in North Carolina.
Legal counsel is important to effective administration of homeowners’ associations. Lawyers help save HOA directors time, complication and exasperation when dealing with upholding rules of the association and meeting the needs of the homeowners they serve. A board lawyer can save money and hassle (both community and personal) by helping you efficiently address minor issues before they become major, financially and emotionally consumptive situations.
An experienced HOA/COA attorney can help your association develop and enforce your declarations, bylaws and governing documents, provide concise legal interpretation and guidance in the event of conflict or breach, notify homeowner members of violations of regulations, and collect delinquent assessments.
Our real estate and property owner association attorneys can assist in the successful management of your community by ensuring everyone operates in accordance with the guidelines governing your homeowner association. For new communities and developments, we work with HOA’s and COA’s from the start by drafting and planning the guidelines and other filings necessary to create a legal entity. Call the attorneys at Coward, Hicks for a consultation regarding your homeowner association needs.