Developer Transition in a Community Association By Barry A. Ross
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6. Designate a Suitable Location for Association Records and Association Business.
   The Board should promptly designate a location for association records and association business.   The location should be a place where the association records can be maintained with both security and access.   The records should not be kept in a place where they will be misplaced or stolen.   At the same time, At the same time, the records should be reasonably available to members of the association who wish to examine the records.   The meeting place for Board meetings should be easily accessible and have enough room for members to attend. 
7. Retain a Professional Team Early.
   The professional team should include at least the property manager and the attorney.   Each person should be retained early in the developer transition process. 
   
   As to the selection of the property manager, the issues to be determined include whether the Board wants an in-house property manager such as a permanent employee or an outside property manager such as a company that represents other community associations.   Sometimes, for economic reasons, a Board chooses to select one of its individual unit owners to serve as the property manager.   This is usually a mistake because usually the individual unit owner does not have the expertise to serve as the property manager.   Further, the individual unit owner will sometimes have a conflict of interest as to various issues that arise.   In selecting a property manager, the Board should consider references from other associations (who employ or have employed the property manager), the level of commitment of the property manager (functions, hours, staffing, etc.) and the expense.  
   
   In the selection of association counsel, the Board should consider many of the same factors as described in connection with the property manager.   The Board should retain an association counsel with experience in the area of community associations in general and developer transition in particular.   The Board should not select the same person or firm retained by the developer.   Aside from the obvious conflicts of interest, there is an advantage to retaining a professional staff that will take "a fresh look" at the problems and opportunities of the community association, including the past history.  

Conclusion
This article is not intended as a definitive treatment of all the problems that may arise in the process of developer transition.   It is an attempt to highlight some of the major issues that are likely to be placed in your path.   This article should assist you in connection with the developer transition process.
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