New Legislative Requirements for HOA Boards– “FinCEN”
Beginning January 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury will begin enforcing the provisions of the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”). The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) clarified that Community Associations ARE required to file Beneficial Ownership Interest (BOI) reports under the CTA. HOA’s have until January 1, 2025 to complete the requirement. What does it mean to you/the association? Paperwork to be filed with the government. To learn more about this new law, click or type the following link to a PDF, published by the Federal Government. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-ENd7EL0YT80r9rU9wPJ9AY9wKEHKPPM/view?usp=sharing Sharper is taking this requirement seriously and has taken proactive steps to ensure that your association is in compliance. Note: there is a fine of $500 per day for non-compliance, up to two years of imprisonment, and an additional $10,000 fine. As your managing agent, Sharper can file on your behalf. We have the information necessary to file, including but not limited to: Agency, EIN, Governing Documents, Contact Information, Registered Address, and Compliance Tracking. What Sharper Will Do: What Each Board Member Board Needs To Do: The fee charged to the association for this service is $250. Sharper will also charge an annual maintenance fee of $200 for all updates to remain in compliance each year. This includes monitoring expired Identification Cards and accounting for all Board member changes. Please work with your manager or a member of our staff to ensure you, and the rest of your Board, are coming into compliance with this new law.
Press Release: Sharper Management to Open Office in East Metro
Eden Prairie, Minn – (September 25, 2024) – Sharper Management, LLC is excited to announce the opening of an additional office in Woodbury. The satellite office is expected to open towards the end of 2024. “We are proud to be a Minnesota company, rooted in our local communities and neighborhoods,” said Dan Cunningham, Owner of Sharper Management. “We are equally proud of our continued growth throughout the metro area. Having our headquarters in Eden Prairie, a satellite office in Maple Grove, and now an additional space in Woodbury will allow us to enhance our service to existing clients and position us for further growth. We are excited” Founded in 2010, Sharper Management is a locally-owned, mid-sized property management company offering a full suite of premiere services to homeowner associations of all types, sizes and scopes. Sharper Management currently provides services to the Minneapolis-St. Paul seven-county area.
Board Training Opportunity – October 23rd
The last of the 2024 quarterly Board Training sessions will be held on Wednesday, October 23rd, 6 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Plaza, 2nd Floor Training Room at 7900 Xerces Avenue in Bloomington, MN 55431. This free 90-minute session will focus on financials and insurance. Led by Sharper’s director of business development and education, Josh Reams, and Insurance Warehouse principal Eric Skarnes, topics will include: Insurance Basics: Financial Fundamentals: If you are interested in reserve your spot for this free training opportunity, email clientcare@sharpermanagement.com
Another Successful Sharper Scramble
Another successful golf tourney in the books! On Friday, July 26th Sharper hosted nearly 200 people for our 8th annual Sharper Scramble Golf Tournament at Boulder Pointe Golf Club. A day designed to celebrate Sharper Management, we brought together the trifecta of stakeholders – our trusted business partners, Sharper staff and valued Board members – for a day of fun, food, fellowship and golf. Thanks to our generous sponsors and people who donated throughout the day, we were also able to generate nearly $10,000 to go towards this year’s benefit – the ALS Foundation. We hope you can join us next year for this annual event. It is free to you as a Board member. Watch for a date to be announced in the winter newsletter and make sure to secure your spot early. It fills fast! To those that attended this year, thank you for joining us and hope to see you next year!
Board Training Opportunity – July 24th
The next session in the quarterly series of Board Training opportunities will be held on Wednesday, July 24th, 6 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Plaza, 2nd Floor Training Room at 7900 Xerces Avenue in Bloomington, MN 55431. The 90-minute session will be led by director of business development and education, Josh Reams, CMCA, AMS, PCAM – and will focus on Governing Documents If you are interested in reserving your spot, please email: clientcare@sharpermanagement.com
Sharper Scramble Golf Tournament – July 26th
Mark your calendar for the 8th Annual Sharper Scramble Golf Tournament, to be held Friday, July 26th at Boulder Pointe Golf Club in Elko. This FREE day of food, fun, fellowship and golf is Sharper’s way of showing our appreciation to you – our valued client – to our Sharper staff and to our trusted vendors. Registration begins at 10 a.m. Shotgun start to the scramble/best-ball format starts at 11a.m. Dinner and an awards banquette to follow the round. If you are interested in securing your spot for the Sharper Scramble, we recommend youdo so soon. Space is limited and tends to fill up fast! To register, email:clientcare@sharpermanagement.com
Board Training Opportunity – April 24th
The second in the quarterly series of Board Training opportunities will be held on Wednesday, April 24th, 6 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Plaza, 2nd Floor Training Room at 7900 Xerces Avenue in Bloomington, MN 55431. The 90-minute session will be led by director of business development and education, Josh Reams, CMCA, AMS, PCAM. This session will focus on defining the roles and responsibilities of the Board, and property management practices. Topics include: · Roles & Responsibilities of the Board· Officer Positions & Duties· Legal Obligations & Protections· Committees· Property Management Practices· Organizational Tools & Tips If you are interested in reserving your spot, please email:clientcare@sharpermanagement.com
Sharper Gives Back
Each year Sharper chooses a cause or organization that will be the benefactor of this annual event. MMRF is a wonderful organization that is “commitment to advancing health equity so that all myeloma patients can benefit from the scientific and clinical advances we pursue. Since our inception, the MMRF has committed over $500 million for research, opened nearly 100 clinical trials, and helped bring 15+ FDA-approved therapies to market, which have tripled the life expectancy of myeloma patients.” Check them out at https://themmrf.org/ “Giving back to our community is one of our core values at Sharper Management,” said Dan Cunningham, owner and CEO. “As with any cancer type, Multiple Myeloma is a devastating condition. Unfortunately, it has affected the family of one of our staff in a significant way. They have found a great resource in the MMRF, though. It means a great deal to us to be able to support them and all of the families affected by Multiple Myeloma.”
A Look Ahead to 2024 & Back at 2023
2023 has been another great year for Sharper Management! To name just a few successes— Continued growth in welcoming 31-new clients. In doing so, we passed a milestone of 200 associations managed. We also continue a strong retention rate of existing clients. We opened a satellite office in Maple Grove. This summer we rolled out significant upgrades to our software platform and web portal offering – perhaps most notably, a wonderful architectural request tracking and approving feature. This winter we will be integrating new software to help streamline the scheduling and management of our maintenance team. We continue our passion for training. We offered four sessions attended by nearly 200 Board members, representing over 60 different associations This spring we also rolled out our Educational Video Library, featuring 90 videos on dozens of different topics. We had another successful Sharper Scramble Golf Tournament and for the first time ever we topped $10,000 in proceeds, which were donated to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. Sharper was also a feature of our industry’s trade organization (Community Association Institute) annual Vision Awards – receiving nine nominations. See Vision Awards article for details. The achievements of 2023 are many. What we continue to be most proud of, however, is the cohesion and growth of our talented team. We welcomed five new managers this year, each of them a seasoned veteran, uniquely talented, with years of industry experience. We also added positions in our Accounting, Maintenance and Client Care departments. And in an industry plagued by retention issues, we continue to excel in our staff retention. As we look to 2024, we have lots of exciting things on the horizon. See the 2024 Event Calendar article below. We look forward to sharing updates with you through these quarterly newsletters. All of us at Sharper would like to thank you for being a valued client. We thank you for being a part of a great 2023 and look forward to an exciting 2024. And, finally, we wish you and your family a safe, healthy and happy Holiday Season! Legislative Changes Effecting HOAs The 2023 legislative session in Minnesota was an active one. There were a number of significant bills that will, and have, impacted community associations in the state. Some legislative items went into effect this year. See our July newsletter for a detailed listing. As we approach 2024, there is one significant bill that effects some standard day-to-day operations and governance of your association. Violations & Rule Enforcement – in effort to create more uniformity in how rule violations are notified, fines assessed and appeals processed, the Minnesota Common Interest Ownership Act (MCIOA) was amended to create further standards. What it Says – any fine associated with a rule violation has to meet seven specific criteria or it could be challenged in a court. Homeowners are also entitled to a more consistent processes for an appeal and hearing of said fine. Who it Affects – all associations that are currently under MCIOA, which is any association built after June 1, 1994 – and any condominium association regardless of when it was established. What it Means – Any fine and certain assessments must be accompanied by a dated, written notice to the Owner that includes seven specific pieces of information. (1) states the amount and reason for the fine or assessment (2) for fines levied under section 515B.3-102(a)(11) [VIOLATION OF GOVERNING DOCUMENTS], specifies: (i) the violation for which a fine is being levied and the date of the levy; and (ii) the specific section of the declaration, bylaws, rules, or regulations allegedly violated; (3) for assessments levied under section 515B.3-115(g) or 515B.3-1151(g) [DAMAGE TO COMMON ELEMENTS OR A UNIT], identifies: (i) the damage caused; and (ii) the act or omission alleged to have caused the damage; (4) states that all unpaid fines and assessments are liens which, if not satisfied, could lead to foreclosure of the lien against the owner’s unit; (5) describes the unit owner’s right to be heard by the board or a committee appointed by the board; (6) states that if the assessment, fine, late fees, and other allowable charges are not paid, the amount may increase as a result of the imposition of attorney fees and other collection costs; and (7) informs the unit owner that homeownership assistance is available from the Minnesota Homeownership Center When it Goes into Effect – January 1, 2024
2024 Sharper Event Calendar
Mark your calendars for the following Sharper events, which are all free to you as a valued client and Board member. Board Training Opportunity – January 24 The first in our quarterly Board Training sessions will be Wednesday, January 24, 2024, 6 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Plaza, 2nd Floor Training Room at 7900 Xerces Avenue in Bloomington, MN 55431. The 90-minute session will be led by director of business development and education, Josh Reams, CMCA, AMS, PCAM. This session will focus on defining associations and association meetings. Topics include: If you are interested in reserving your spot, please email clientcare@sharpermanagement.com 2024 Save-the-Dates Board Training Schedule: January 24 – Board Training: Associations Defined & Association Meetings February 21 – New Client Orientation April 24 – Board Training: Roles & Responsibilities of the Board & Property Management Practices July 24 – Board Training: Associations Defined & Governing Documents July 26 – July Sharper Scramble Golf Tournament August 22 – New Client Orientation & Board Member Appreciation BBQ October 23 – Board Training: Insurance & Financials