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Sharper Management

After joining a CIC, or Common Interest Community, each member receives governing documents they must follow in respect to how the community and individual units are operated and used. In most cases, governing documents include a declaration, bylaws, articles of incorporation, and rules and regulations. Those documents will describe important administration or financial info like the association’s rights and responsibilities, the homeowner’s rights and responsibilities, how the annual budget is created, and the procedure to follow when electing a board.
Most importantly, the governing documents will also outline the powers granted to that elected board, which exists to help operate and preserve the association. The board will typically have the power to create or amend rules and regulations in the CIC, create procedures and parameters for fining when owners are not compliant, adopt an operating budget (which sets “dues”), hire vendors to provide services to the association, etc.
Additionally, if damages or other issues occur on association property, the governing documents disclose the insurance coverage of the CIC and how the responsibility between the association and unit owner differ. In many cases, documents may define that anything outside an individual unit becomes a responsibility of the association, while maintaining and repairing damage inside the unit boundaries becomes a responsibility of the unit owner. It’s important to understand that distinction while owning the unit, which the governing documents and board will uphold.
When a homeowner decides to sell their unit, the governing documents will most likely include regulations to follow during that process. In Minnesota, under the Minnesota Common Interest Ownership Act, the seller of a unit must provide the governing documents to a prospective buyer to view before purchasing.
In every step of the association member’s ownership, the governing documents are necessary to read and learn in order to understand the operation of their Common Interest Community.