Mortgagee information obtainable, one way or another
Q. The amendment provisions of the declaration for our association require the board to give notice of the amendment to mortgage holders against the individual units. How do we go about obtaining that mortgagee information?
A. There are essentially three ways to get unit mortgagee information.
• Ask owners for their unit mortgagee name/contact information, on a form prepared by the association to be completed and returned by a specific date. Some owners balk at this, thinking they are providing private information. They are not, as this information is public record, available for anyone to obtain. If your association is a condominium, the owners can be reminded that they have a duty under the Condominium Property Act to provide this info to the board, and that the board can charge back fees and costs incurred to obtain this info, if an owner does not provide it.
• Ask the association’s insurance agent: The agent should have, or be able to obtain, this information, since the insurance carrier issues certificates of insurance to unit mortgage holders.
• Obtain mortgagee information from a title company. The expense of this can be charged back to an owner of a condominium who has not complied with a request to supply the information.
Q. The board of directors of our association meets once a month. Homeowners are allotted time to speak at every other board meeting. At the other six meetings owners are encouraged to attend, but not to speak. At a recent board meeting where homeowners were permitted to speak, the board closed the meeting after just one homeowner spoke. What is the board’s obligation to allow owners to speak at a board meeting?
A. The answer depends on the type of association you live in. In a condominium or master association, owners have a right to attend the open part of a board meeting. However, owners do not have a right to speak at the board meeting Further, the board of a condominium or master association is not required to allocate any part of the board meeting as an “owner forum” where owners can address the board.
In a common interest community association, owners also have a right to attend the open part of a board meeting. Owners do not have a right to speak at the meeting However, the board of a common interest community association must reserve a portion of the board meeting for comments by members (“owner forum”). That said, the duration and when during the meeting that this member comment period takes place is within the sole discretion of the board.
Q. The president of our association has been dogmatic about several things. At the first board meeting after last year’s annual meeting, the president stated that he was keeping the officers of the board the same. There was no discussion or vote for the secretary, treasurer or president. Can the president do this?
A. It is not within the authority of the president alone to appoint the officers of the board. The officers of the board are elected from among the board by the board members. The other board members need to step up and require that a proper election of the officers takes place at a board meeting.
Q. It is very difficult for our association to attract candidates to run for the board. We were only able to fill all open seats last year by “promising” the new board members that the other board members would do the “heavy lifting.” As a result, we can’t fill all the officer positions. Can one board member of an association serve as both the secretary and treasurer?
A. Neither the Illinois Condominium Property Act nor the Illinois Common Interest Community Association Act speak to this issue. However, Section 108.50 of the Illinois General Not for Profit Corporation Act states that “if the bylaws so provide, any two or more offices may be held by the same person.” Therefore, the bylaws of your association need to be reviewed to see if they specifically authorize one board member two serve in multiple officer positions. If the bylaws do not provide for this, the association should consider an amendment to allow this.
• David M. Bendoff is an attorney with Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit in the Chicago suburbs. Send questions for the column to him at CondoTalk@ksnlaw.com. The firm provides legal service to condominium, townhouse, homeowner associations and housing cooperatives. This column is not a substitute for consultation with legal counsel.