Natural Disasters And Fires: What The Board Needs To Keep In Mind

Because we live in Ohio, we often do not think we are prone to severe natural disasters. However, several associations we represent have recently experienced wind damage, flooding, or fires. It is important that the Board understand how to handle these situations properly. Even if you live in a homeowners association and do not have any buildings, it important to stay apprised of the situations to ensure the provisions of your governing documents are followed during the rebuilding or repair process. The following are a few tips for the Board to keep in mind after a natural disaster or fire occurs:

1) If utility lines have been damaged (gas, electricity or water), notify the utility companies immediately to make sure the line is turned off to prevent further damage.

2) Identify issues that must be addressed IMMEDIATELY. For example, after a minor fire that destroys part of a roof, your concern should be to have a contractor cover it up with tarps to prevent further water damage, not just get estimates for repair.

3) Exercise extreme caution and care before trying to enter any buildings that have been damaged, if you have to enter at all. Make sure the building is structurally sound before anyone enters to recover any personal belongings.

4) Try to take pictures of damaged areas before anything is demolished, repaired, or otherwise altered post-disaster.

5) If a building or area has been damaged, the area should probably be fenced off, boarded up and/or tarps placed to prevent looting and/or unwanted entry by patrons.

6) Notify the Association’s insurance company as soon as possible if there was damage to a common area. The agent may want to mitigate some of the potential damage immediately. Be sure to obtain a claim number and the information for the claims adjuster.

7) If residents are displaced, make sure to get each owner’s mailing address so that you can continue to properly bill for maintenance fees or pursue enforcement action against those who refuse to rebuild, repair, or whose repairs were not properly approved by the Association.

8) After the disaster strikes and any imminent danger has been eliminated, make a plan. If houses that were flooded, you will have to arrange to have each unit inspected and repaired as to common areas often times before the individual unit owner can complete any repairs.

9) If you decide that the Board needs to impose a special assessment to complete repairs, try to estimate it and give the owners some type of advanced warning. Many owners will be upset if they are displaced AND a special assessment is imposed on a property they can’t even live in.

10) If there are many repairs to be made, then you may have to look for a loan for the Association. Many banks will loan money to Associations for natural disasters, because often times, a reserve fund is not sufficient for repairs when an unexpected disaster occurs.

11) What if the structures are damaged beyond repair? It might sound far-fetched, but entire condo associations in Lake County were condemned due to major flooding and entire Associations razed. Condemnation would be put in place by the county or city.

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