Letter from the Guest Editor

The job of a community manager is difficult and requires being skilled and knowledgeable in multiple areas. Law Journal articles are centered on mastering the foundational areas of expertise applicable to community managers found in the Business and Professions Code §11502 and are the subjects that a certified common interest development manager must complete at least 30 hours of coursework in as part of the certification process.

A day for a community manager may involve planning a seasonal party at the clubhouse and figuring out if a liquor license is needed, responding to reports of mail thefts or vandalism, getting a lifted sidewalk repaired, receiving a recall petition, educating the lone homeowner director on a developer-controlled board about what an HOA is, and ending that day with a contentious and unproductive meeting that lasts three hours.

There are countless other highly complex and legally significant issues you will face on the same day, and you are expected to know how to do all of them. This issue will cover these topics in a way that equips managers to handle and resolve them more effectively. There is always more to learn and ways we can sharpen one another.

John D. Hansen, Esq., is a partner at Baydaline & Jacobsen LLP in Sacramento, which serves as general counsel to community associations. He has 14 years of experience advising boards of common interest developments on HOA law.