Governing Documents and Amendments
Ownership of a home is the single largest lifetime investment for most individuals. Protecting and fostering the growth of this investment should be every homeowner’s primary goal. A homeowners association is quite possibly an owner’s staunchest ally in accomplishing this important task.
There are several important benefits to living in a development governed by a strong and committed homeowners association. The most significant is the proven track record homeowners associations have in maintaining (and often enhancing) property values. Developments with homeowners associations better protect property values because the associations provide some critical benefits to residents that they normally would not be able to obtain on their own. First, the association provides greater certainty that the community will remain physically attractive over time by imposing, and privately enforcing through fines and assessments, rules on architecture, landscaping, accessory buildings, fences, signs, and related matters. Second, associations often provide recreational amenities for residents that many residents and potential purchasers may not be able to afford on their own. Third, the association provides a variety of services to residents, including maintaining common areas and managing the development’s recreational facilities. The benefits provided by your association hinge on the strength of its governing documents.
The benefits provided by your association hinge on the strength of its governing documents.
As part of our Community Association Law practice, we provide legal opinions, interpretation and analysis of the community’s governing documents (e.g., Declaration of Condominium, Declaration of Covenants, Bylaws, etc.) in relation to applicable Georgia and federal law, including the Georgia Condominium Act, the Georgia Property Owners’ Association Act, and the Georgia Nonprofit Corporations Code. As disputes arise and as the laws change, our firm hones, sharpens, and fine-tunes our governing documents to ensure that they are the strongest in the industry.
We attend board meetings and membership meetings. We prepare amendments to the community’s governing documents. In many instances, small amendments are needed from time to time; while in other instances, a complete rewrite of the entire governing documents may be warranted. We also work with voluntary associations that are seeking to implement covenants and create mandatory membership associations.
