In our work processing sale documentation for clients, Haus Financial Services is finding that buyers and lenders are scrutinizing information more and more. This includes your meeting minutes. Recording meeting minutes is essential for ensuring transparency and providing a clear record but to avoid misunderstandings, minutes should focus on decisions, not discussions. Here’s why and how to implement this approach:

Why Focus on Decisions?

1. Clarity for Buyers: Buyers reviewing minutes might misinterpret unresolved discussions as finalized decisions.
2. Prevent Misinterpretation: Discussions often include preliminary ideas that don’t reflect final outcomes.
3. Streamlined Recordkeeping: Decision-focused minutes are concise and professional.

What to Include

1. Meeting Details: Date, time, location, attendees, and quorum confirmation.
2. Approval of Prior Minutes: Note approval or amendments.
3. Decisions Made: Record motions, who made and seconded them, and the outcome (e.g., “Motion to approve $10,000 for lobby renovations passed unanimously.”).
4. Action Items: Document tasks, responsible parties, and deadlines.
5. Adjournment: Note the meeting’s end time.

What to Exclude

1. Detailed Discussions: Summarize outcomes instead of recording every opinion, or omit discussion altogether if no decision has been made.
2. Speculative Comments: Avoid “what-if” scenarios or preliminary suggestions.
3. Confidential Information: Keep sensitive topics, like owner delinquencies, out of general minutes.

By focusing on decisions rather than discussions, boards can maintain professional records, avoid confusion, and build trust while ensuring compliance with legal requirements.

It's hard to believe another another holiday season has passed! If you've finally taken down your holiday decorations and aren't sure what to do with all those non-working lights, we have an environmentally-friendly solution for you.

Reduce Waste Chicago is collecting strings of non-working holiday lights through January 31st at various locations in the city. Make a New Year's resolution to keep lights out of the garbage and find a recycling location near you instead! For more information and locations, click here.

The 2025 Shared Cost Sidewalk Program will open to new applicants on Monday, January 13 from 6 am to 10 pm. This is a popular voluntary program in which property owners share the cost of sidewalk repair with the city. Costs are well below what a private contractor would charge.

Applications will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis based on availability of funds. Find out more about the program here.

As we reflect on the past year and our experiences working with small associations throughout Chicagoland, we’d like to suggest a few New Year’s Resolutions that will help your association to function more effectively in 2025.

Read and follow your governing documents
Your Declaration and Bylaws describe your association’s physical structure, define responsibility for each portion, dictate expected behavior and specify how the management and administration of the property is to be handled. Always turn to the governing documents for answers first when there is a conflict or question about how your association operates.

Make financial decisions based on data
Your association cannot thrive without adequate financial review and planning. Know where every penny is coming from and where it is going and use current and historical financial activity to make responsible, informed decisions about the property. Financial data allows you to create a realistic budget, make decisions about spending on planned and unplanned expenses, avoid emergencies and plan for the long-term physical health of your association.

Do not ignore delinquencies
The longer a delinquency is left unaddressed, the greater the danger that it will not be fully recovered. It is much easier for an owner to get caught up on a small delinquency than a large one. Communicate with delinquent owners as soon as they fall behind, attempt to work out a plan to get caught up, and call in collection help from an attorney if the problem persists.

Get involved
A community association’s operation depends entirely on its members to function. If you value your investment and want your voice to be heard, volunteer to serve on your board. If you are not willing to step up and donate your time to maintain your association, respect and support those who do – they are volunteering their own time for your benefit. Attend board meetings, communicate appropriately through the proper channels and respect the board’s personal time.

Happy New Year from Haus Financial Services and the Chicago Condo Resource! We wish you much success in 2025!

It's on, it's off, it's on, it's off again! The latest in the Corporate Transparency Act saga has the deadline suspended again pending continued legal action.

The US Department of the Treasury's FinCEN division released a statement stating that the filings are currently voluntary.

Haus Financial Services LLC continues to file reports on behalf of our clients and believes this is still the best course of action to avoid potentially heavy fines. We encourage community associations to remain vigilant regarding updates on the requirement if you have not yet filed your report or do not plan to do so until there is a final determination on the matter.