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M A R C H , 2 0 1 8
R
elying on experts is sometimes a challenge for boards
and managers since everyone brings some experience
to the table. However, few of us in community leader-
ship roles are experts in the more technical or legal aspects of
maintaining a community. Those who are elected to unpaid
voluntary board positions should acquire a certain amount of
training as legislated by the state in New Jersey school law
at N.J.S.A. 18A:12-1 et seq. However, there is currently no
such statutory training requirement for residential community
association board members or managers.
However, when faced with a massive project or an
uncomfortable legal matter, it is not uncommon to forego
the utilization of an engineer or an attorney due to the cost.
Only when something goes horrifically wrong do we think
“if only.” Equally common is to consult an expert, such as
an engineer, and then have a board member, or manager,
whose brother-in-law works for a company who “knows”
RELYING ON THE...
Experts
By Vanessa J. Davenport,
Board President, Regency at Quail Ridge HOA
and Kari Valentine, CMCA, AMS,
Community Director, Associa Mid-Atlantic
© iStockphoto.com
CONT I NU E S ON PAGE 24
more than the expert consult on the project instead. If you
have hired an expert to do something and have appropri-
ately vetted them, then
you should trust their
expert’s knowledge.
Trust is often a consid-
erable stumbling block
for both boards and
managers. Sometimes
there are a couple sus-
picious board members
who always feel as
though the manager is
out to get whatever they can from the association. Or,
similarly, that if the manager is recommending a particular
vendor, then they suspect that vendor is giving the manager
something in return. To the contrary, the manager is usually
"...few of us in community
leadership roles are
experts in the more
technical or legal
aspects of maintaining a
community."