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Recusals?

Started by TerriS6 • 21 replies • 171 views

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TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,279
Posted:
Scenario #1. HOA webmaster is an unpaid volunteer who gets reimbursed for web hosting fees. His wife is a director. When website issues are on the agenda, does she recuse herself?

Scenario #2. Association owns a road over which adjacent vineyard property has a deeded easement for vineyard maintenance. Vineyard property is for sale. Easement is appurtenant to vineyard property. Association director is a real estate agent. RE agent suggests association buy the vineyard property...says we can get it cheap because she already spoke with listing agent about price, on behalf of a client. When asked to recuse herself, she denied having a client and wrote she was asking casually for a friend, and refuses to recuse herself.

Comments on these scenarios please? Thank you.
SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,961
Posted:
1. Not necessarily. What goes into web hosting? I would think the man's responsible for ensuring the site is running properly, and it's updated as necessary. He's not making decisions on what goes on the website - that's the board's decision, although he's welcome to make suggestion. How much he's paid for this is also a board decision, so it would be appropriate for the wife to recuse herself from that discussion.

Of course, you could resolve this by paying the web hosting service provider directly - has that dawned on anyone?

2. Right now, this is a suggestion and a decision hasn't been made, so I don't think refusal is necessary at this time. If the board decides to explore this, let the director know the association will work with another agent to represent it. - if she's representing the seller, she'll have to recuse herself from any board discussion and vote on the matter.
If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius
ElleN (Idaho)
Posts: 1,289
Posted:
Scenario #1:
If reimbursement = expenses as shown on a proper receipt, then no, there is no conflict of interest requiring recusal.

Scenario #2:
The Board really needs hard proof that the agent is working with a client interested in the vineyard. The agent needs to demonstrate the client is no longer interested in buying the vineyard. The agent may be violating her profession's ethical rules by revealing negotiations between her client and the listing agent. But the latter is not the HOA's business. Have the agent explain herself in full. Then have a board majority decide whether the agent needs to leave the room during discussions of the vineyard purchase and whether her vote will count, if a vote is taken. This is not the agent's call. It is a board majority's call, as long as the board believes it is following California law on recusals. Reference: https://www.davis-stirling.com/HOME/D/Director-Ethics-Conflicts-of-Interest-Recusal

But hey now, does the HOA have the authority per its Declaration and bylaws to buy land? Does this require an owners' vote?
TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,279
Posted:
There is no written authority to buy land.
ElleN (Idaho)
Posts: 1,289
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By TerriS6 on 04/17/2026, 10:33 AM

There is no written authority to buy land.

One way or another, and for one thing, I expect the Declaration and/or Articles of Inc and/or Plats speak to land for which the HOA has a maintenance responsibility. For one thing, adding a maintenance responsibility (which costs money) would require an owners' vote to amend the Declaration, Plats and maybe more.

Before wasting anymore time on this proposed purchase, you might bring the above concerns to the board and suggest a consult with a HOA attorney. Maybe just mentioning this will shut down the discussion. Which may be a good thing.
MrTexaS1 (Texas)
Posts: 25
Posted:
scenario #1 - As an experienced tech worker, here is how much I would spend on hosting fees for a year for an HOA website:
$10-$20 for the domain name
$40-$60 for hosting fees.

I would install wordpress which is free, and takes about 10 minutes to install to a website for someone who knows what they are doing, then give logins to all the people who want to post blogs, announcements, help with colors etc.

After that I as webmaster could add any web plugins needed, and help a bit if they need interactive forms etc.

This would take me less than 30 minutes a month of volunteer time to maintain, and adding up the fees- $50-$80/ year for the association.

How much is your HOA spending on this website?
TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,279
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By MrTexaS1 on 04/17/2026, 10:54 AM

scenario #1 - As an experienced tech worker, here is how much I would spend on hosting fees for a year for an HOA website:
$10-$20 for the domain name
$40-$60 for hosting fees.

I would install wordpress which is free, and takes about 10 minutes to install to a website for someone who knows what they are doing, then give logins to all the people who want to post blogs, announcements, help with colors etc.

After that I as webmaster could add any web plugins needed, and help a bit if they need interactive forms etc.

This would take me less than 30 minutes a month of volunteer time to maintain, and adding up the fees- $50-$80/ year for the association.

How much is your HOA spending on this website?

Thank you. $500./yr. It's a terrible website. How much should we be paying for the option to pay assessments through the website?
TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,279
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By SheliaH on 04/17/2026, 8:51 AM

1. Not necessarily. What goes into web hosting? I would think the man's responsible for ensuring the site is running properly, and it's updated as necessary. He's not making decisions on what goes on the website - that's the board's decision, although he's welcome to make suggestion. How much he's paid for this is also a board decision, so it would be appropriate for the wife to recuse herself from that discussion.

Of course, you could resolve this by paying the web hosting service provider directly - has that dawned on anyone?

2. Right now, this is a suggestion and a decision hasn't been made, so I don't think refusal is necessary at this time. If the board decides to explore this, let the director know the association will work with another agent to represent it. - if she's representing the seller, she'll have to recuse herself from any board discussion and vote on the matter.

Thank you. I guess because of this issue, we have just switched to paying directly.
MrTexaS1 (Texas)
Posts: 25
Posted:
I want to clarify, what I described above is what it would take to create a simple website with a blog where board members or other volunteers can post announcements, articles and stuff. The association could use it to publish some basic stuff. Look up wordpress tutorials on youtube if you are interested in this. And focus on the free wordpress themes and plugins to keep the cost low. This is nice if you want your own domain name and have a's reliable volunteer to run it. Like I said it should cost about $100ish bucks a year for fees. And it will look nice on phones, tablets or laptops.

Creating a website for each member of the HOA to log in and see their accounts would be a lot more volunteer work, hours and hours of programming and maintenance- but websites like that are typically provided by HOA management companies and it's much smarter to get a management company that includes that in their offerings. A good HOA management company web portal should also have a blog where announcements and stuff can be posted.

Finally, a Facebook group is an example of a FREE solution for an HOA board to post announcements and stuff. With a little practice you can get your facebook group settings just the way you like them. The only downside to this is that its- Facebook!

In summary, I just don't see the point of an HOA spending $500 a year running their own website, or trying to build anything complicated. I was on a board where they wanted to spend $5000 on the website, totally nuts I withheld my approval.
TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,279
Posted:
Thank you.
BillD16 (Texas)
Posts: 940
Posted:
I generally agree with MrTexaS1: it costs peanuts to host a website these days[1]. There are a lot of inexpensive hosting services that have reasonably slick UIs so that building and maintaining a site doesn’t require a degree in Computer Science. Although it doesn’t hurt.

In my experience with websites (HOA and other) there is generally a lot of enthusiasm for *building* the site. But nobody ever has the time to update it. And it might be cheap and simple to run a website, it can still take up a lot of a person’s time.

Wordpress is not a bad way to go for a content mgmt system (aka CMS), and at least one hosting outfit pre-installs it for you[2]. WP allows for easy installion of various function modules. Some of these may cost money.

Setting up online payments is easier than it used to be, but will still require a lot of interaction between the Board, the bank, the PMC, and the web person.

Another (perhaps not so obvious) chore can be setting up the site for members-only access (since you’ll probably want to post stuff for the neighborhood but not for the general public). Using a shared password (ie ZIP code) is easy but not hugely secure. Setting up registration and a login database is theoretically more secure (and allows some interesting extra function) but it can take a lot of work to maintain it.

And - I’m sorry to say this - most people will never use the website beyond figuring out what email they can use to complain to the Board.

Honestly, if you have a PMC, you’re probably better off convincing them / paying them to host some kind of website for you.

Bill

[1] back in the 90s I had a small home biz building websites; hosting and domain names etc were considerably more expensive, and required some specialized knowledge.

[2] forum rules prohibit naming names, but think of P. D. Eastman.
HOA Board ex-President
Austin, Texas USA

“You can’t put too much water in a nuclear reactor”
TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,279
Posted:
Thank you.
KellyM3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 2,239
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By TerriS6 on 04/17/2026, 8:16 AM

Scenario #1. HOA webmaster is an unpaid volunteer who gets reimbursed for web hosting fees. His wife is a director. When website issues are on the agenda, does she recuse herself?

Scenario #2. Association owns a road over which adjacent vineyard property has a deeded easement for vineyard maintenance. Vineyard property is for sale. Easement is appurtenant to vineyard property. Association director is a real estate agent. RE agent suggests association buy the vineyard property...says we can get it cheap because she already spoke with listing agent about price, on behalf of a client. When asked to recuse herself, she denied having a client and wrote she was asking casually for a friend, and refuses to recuse herself.

Comments on these scenarios please? Thank you.

1. There's no conflict. But using "free" social media platforms for HOA communications opens you to trolling and unnecessary two-way engagements that are best discussed at meetings.

2. The HOA director/RE agent needs to decide if they wish to profit from giving the HOA the suggestion to buy the adjacent property while maintaining agency in the deal. It's improper for the agent to receive compensation AND vote on the purchase matter. A recusal makes it moot. That said, the HOA can greatly benefit from such a professional bringing the option as I can understand the logic of buying that land, if even for naturalization purposes, but that's a different matter.
TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,044
Posted:
Can the Association afford the property taxes that go with it? Just because an HOA purchases property does not make it common area. The Association would have to go through the zoning board to classify it as such. Does anyone know what that might cost?

Prior to any commitment or offer, you should discuss these things with a real estate attorney. By you, I mean not the real estate agent because they want a sale and may argue or spin the facts. The Association needs an unbiased opinion on the issue.
TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,279
Posted:
The association can't even afford to properly maintain its existing common areas. The director has a zeal for transactions.
KellyM3 (North Carolina)
Posts: 2,239
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By TerriS6 on 04/19/2026, 7:45 AM

The association can't even afford to properly maintain its existing common areas. The director has a zeal for transactions.

In this case, the matter is resolved.
TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,279
Posted:
As the real estate agent is actively trying to participate in the sale of the property to which an easement on our road is appurtenant (she has contacted the listing agent on behalf of a client regarding price), she must recuse herself form any board agenda item that includes the road or easement. Is the same conclusion from people whose professions are subject to ethics laws. She would be negotiating against the membership.
MinuteM1 (Florida)
Posts: 4
Posted:
Terri, your conclusion is correct—and California law backs it up.

**Scenario #2 requires mandatory recusal.** Under California's Davis-Stirling Act (Civil Code § 5235), directors must disclose conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from voting if a financial benefit could result. Here's why this agent MUST recuse:

1. **Direct Financial Conflict:** The agent receives compensation if the property deal closes. That's a direct economic interest. She cannot vote on something that benefits her financially, regardless of whether she frames it as "helping the association."

2. **Duty of Care Violation (§ 5235(a)):** Directors must act in good faith and in the best interests of the association—not themselves. An agent profiting from a transaction the board votes on destroys the integrity of that vote. If she claims she was "asking casually," that doesn't erase the fact that she has a client with skin in this deal.

3. **The "Serious Breach" Problem:** If the board votes to purchase the property with a conflicted director's vote, and later there's a dispute (owner lawsuit, agent misrepresentation, property defect), the association's best defense—that the board acted properly—is destroyed. A conflicted vote is a Trojan horse in litigation.

**The Remedy:** The board majority must make a formal determination that:
- A conflict exists
- The director must recuse herself from **all discussion and vote** on the road/easement/property matters
- This decision should be documented in the minutes

The director doesn't get to decide whether she has a conflict. **The board majority decides.** If she refuses to leave the room when the vote occurs, she's arguably violating her fiduciary duty (§ 5235(c)).

**Bottom Line:** Even if the vineyard purchase is genuinely good for the association, you cannot proceed with a director voting who has a financial interest in the outcome. It's procedurally and legally indefensible. The association's attorney (if you have one) should send her a written notice requiring recusal. Document this extensively—it protects the association later.

Your association doesn't have the authority to buy land without member approval anyway, so this may resolve itself, but the governance principle here is non-negotiable.
TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,279
Posted:
Thank you. Also troubling that the director changed her story after I asked for her recusal. The first story was that she contacted the listing agent on behalf of a client. Then it changed to a casual conversation with a friend who wondered what the price was.
ElleN (Idaho)
Posts: 1,289
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By MinuteM1 on 04/24/2026, 4:17 AM

Terri, your conclusion is correct—and California law backs it up.

**Scenario #2 requires mandatory recusal.** Under California's Davis-Stirling Act (Civil Code § 5235), directors must disclose conflicts of interest and recuse themselves

California Civil Code 5235 says nothing of the sort.

AI = garbage in, garbage out.
TerriS6 (California)
Posts: 3,279
Posted:
I think Civil Code 5350 was meant which also refers to Corporations Code 7233, 7234.

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