Somerville Condos

Hello,

I am a trustee (owner) of a condo in Somerville MA which has a total of 5 units. To make all the repairs we need a majority vote in the association of all trustees and administrators should be 5 to the total number of votes for a 3 to 2 vote.

In the fall of the association had some discussion about installing a new door on the left side of the building security (locking zone is rotten) and economic reasons (large gap in the door). We have no money in our fund of the association and the repair would be split 5.

My question is related to the voting rights of two people who attend meetings. An individual is living on property that his father had bought for him. He makes decisions as a trustee, but his father is listed as the owner of property and the mortgage deed. If his father did attend meetings and make decisions? On the other hand I know that the trustee is considered a holder of property on behalf of a beneficiary. Is this the case because his son that he is a trustee and his father a beneficiary? I think that in the case of joint ownership that the owner (his dad) should take steps to appoint a new trustee (his son), if it is not him.

The other is married to the person who has his name on the deed and mortgage. Both people want a say in the meetings, which they have been since the first day, and want to participate in activities of the association. They act as trustees, but are they legally take the right decisions. They can affect and influence the decisions of other people who represent the majority decision, so I just want to be sure.

Thank you for your reply.

You use the word "trust" a lot of ways that seem unusual and I do not understand. I do not know what you mean when you use this word. From my experience, most members of an HOA are called "members" or "owners".

In an HOA, each unit is usually a voice. This vote can not be expressed by the legal owner of the unit. The owner may give a proxy to someone else to vote for them, but it must be made in writing, and your CC & Rs may impose other restrictions as well.

In the case of a unit in which there are several owners, the owners must agree on how to vote single unit (each owner does not receive their own vote, there is always one unit). What happens if the owners do not agree depends on your CC & R. Those I have dealt with the past used to say that if the owners can not agree, the vote of this unit is not counted.

In the case of a person living on the property (whether a tenant or a relative of the owner), they have nothing to say. Only the owner may vote. However, the owner could not give them a proxy, as described above.

In the case of a married person to the legal owner, but not themselves legally registered as the owner, which is delicate and probably depend on the state, and whether or not it is a community property state, and when they married as opposed to when the product was purchased. You may need to consult a lawyer on that one if the two do not agree. If they agree with each other on how to vote, then no problem. The unit is still one voice, however.

I hope that answers your question.

What is your HOA docs and regulations say? Most require that board members were unit owners, but my mom whether or not they should be residents. In both cases, a non-member must have a proxy of the owner to vote.

realtor.sailor