In early November an attorney
from our office attended an annual meeting of an association consisting of 44
homes. In spite of the attendance of our attorney, the property
manager, the association’s accountant, 5 board members, and 13 homeowners, no
business could be conducted in that the association failed to achieve a quorum.
At this particular association, the required quorum is one half of the
owners attending either in person or by proxy. The meeting had to be
rescheduled and was held this past week. However, this time the property
manager wisely submitted to the owners a five-year proxy. In Ohio, a
proxy is valid for longer than one year so long as it explicitly states
the term of validity. The property manager wisely drafted the proxy
following the form available on our firm’s educational portal for
property managers and board members called ATLAS. (See Sample
Forms: Proxy (5 year) with voting power to Board President) The
association received 30 of these five-year proxies. As a result this
association should not have trouble obtaining a quorum for their annual
election meeting for the next five years. All boards should consider the
use of a five-year proxy. It is an effective and legal tool to overcome
owner apathy.
