Residential FAQ
These are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions we receive regarding residential properties. Please glance through them - it may save you time in getting answers to your question.
Why do I have to pay Association Fees?
What do the Association Fees cover?
How do I pay the Association Fees?
To whom do I make my check payable?
What is the managing agent's authority?
What are the Governing Documents?
Where can I get a copy of the Governing Documents?
Why do I need to comply with the deed restrictions?
Why do I have to get the Association's permission for home improvement?
What do the Association fees cover?
What does the Association's insurance cover?
What is the insurance deductible?
What does the Association Master Property Insurance Cover?
Are there any pet restrictions?
Why do I have to pay Association Fees?
All owners are required to pay Association Fees by the governing documents of their Association. The fees may be due annually or monthly. They fund the operation and maintenance of the common property and are used to provide services for the benefit of all owners.
What do the Association Fees cover?
Association Fees pay for common area landscape maintenance, repair and maintenance of pools, playgrounds and equipment, and they provide for improvements desired by the Association, and for services to the owners.
How do I pay the Association Fees?
Owners may elect to pay their Association Fees via check or have the amount withdrawn from their bank account. Checks must be accompanied by the "assessment coupon" and should be mailed directly to the bank shown on the coupon. (The bank cannot accept payments without the coupons.) Owners may also apply to have their payments withdrawn automatically from their bank accounts. This eliminates the inconvenience of checks, coupons or timeliness of payment. No credit cards are accepted.
To whom do I make my check payable?
Your check should be made payable to your Association (e.g.; "ABC Homeowners Association, Inc." or "XYZ Condominium Association, Inc.")
What does the Association do?
The Association is a nonprofit corporation managed by a Board of Directors elected by the owners. The Board is responsible for the management of the Association's funds, the enforcement of the deed restrictions, and the maintenance of common area property.
What is a "managing agent"?
The managing agent is a company that is engaged by the Board of Directors to provide guidance to the Board, and to implement the Board's decisions or instructions. AMI's sole business is serving Associations as Managing Agent.
What is the managing agent's authority?
A managing agent has no authority except as conferred by the Board of Directors. A managing agent does not make decisions; it implements the decisions of the Board.
What don't we do?
Here's what we DO do!We do not manage apartments.
We do not manage office, industrial or retail commercial buildings.
We do not manage individual rental units in a community.
We do not lease or sell property.
What are the Governing Documents?
The "Governing Documents" for your association are the Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (or Declaration of Condominium) plus any Rules and Regulations, Resolutions or guidelines that have been established by your association.
Where can I get a copy of the Governing Documents?
You received a full copy at, or prior to, closing on your home. If you need another set, it is available through your association and/or its managing agent. Your Governing Documents are recorded instruments so they are also available through the County in which your Association is located.
What is a deed restriction?
It is part of the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (or Declaration of Condominium) that you agreed to when you bought your home. Through this document, you agreed to certain standards of maintenance, upkeep and behavior in order to make the community as attractive as possible for yourself and your neighbors, and to maintain or enhance your property values.
Why do I need to comply with the deed restrictions?
When you purchase a home in a deed restricted community you automatically agree to comply with the restrictions then in place or that are properly established.
Why do I have to get the Association's permission for home improvement?
This better ensures that your intended improvement meets your community's standards as set forth in the Governing Documents and avoids the problems that arise from the construction of improvements and the use of colors or styles that conflict with others in your neighborhood.
What do the Association fees cover?
Your Association's fees or "assessments" pay for the maintenance, repair and administration of the common areas and facilities of the Association. These can include pools, tennis courts, recreational facilities, greenbelts and, in the case of condominium associations, the actual physical structure of the building or buildings.
What is the "common area"?
It is the land for the use and enjoyment of the members of the Association. This includes facilities like pools and playgrounds in single family communities and hallways, exercise facilities and building structures in condominium communities.
What is a resale certificate?
The resale certificate is a disclosure by the Association of the amount of the assessment and whether the Association may foreclose to collect the assessment. It further notifies the buyer whether the seller of the property has (or has not) paid all assessments that are due and whether there are any violations affecting the real property being sold.
What does the Association's insurance cover?
The Association's insurance includes property and casualty policies for all common area property and equipment. (In condominium associations this includes the entire structure of the building.) It also includes Liability and Directors & Officers policies that cover Directors, Committee Members and volunteers working on behalf of the Association.
What is the insurance deductible?
The Association's insurance policy has a $5000 deductible and a $25,000 deductible for windstorm, hurricane and hail. The Association generally pays the deductible unless the damage is caused by an owner or only affects an Owner's unit.
What does the Association Master Property Insurance Program cover?
The Master Property Insurance Program covers everything that is legally a part of the buildings.
This includes, but is not limited to, the exterior walls and roofs, as well as the interior walls, paint, wallpaper, cabinets, built in appliances, floor coverings, built in lighting, ceiling fans and window coverings.
The master Policy does not include your personal property. An easy way to remember this is, if you normally take it with you when you move, it is not covered under the Master Plan Insurance Property Policy. It is up you to insure that property.
Are there any pet restrictions?
Most condominium associations and many single family associations have pet restrictions. Because they can vary widely by community, please review the governing documents for the restrictions pertaining to your particular community. In addition to community restrictions, many counties (Harris County, in particular) have strongly enforced leash laws.
What is a "Master Association"?
"Master-planned communities" are often comprised of several distinct homeowners associations. In such cases the Master Association is the "umbrella" organization that provides services that are common to all of the individual Associations, such as contracts for community patrol, trash collection, common landscape maintenance, etc.
