Los Angeles

HOA Management

J & N REALTY, INC.

Time-Honored Quality & Commitment Since 1993

- Primus Inter Pares -

~ first among equals

Criteria for Selecting a Mediator

__ What is the scope, nature, and dollar amount of the dispute? If the dispute involves a large number of association members or a subject that is frequently in dispute, it may be worthwhile to use a mediator such as a retired judge or an attorney who is experienced in common interest development law. If the dispute is between two neighbors over noise, a local neighborhood dispute resolution center may be just as good or better than using a mediator, and will be a lot less expensive. Mediating a noise dispute does not require years of experience as a judge. On the other hand, a local dispute resolution center that has no attorneys on staff may not be a good choice to mediate a dispute that involves complex legal issues.

__ Does the dispute involve legal issues or some other technical issues? For example, if the dispute involves issues related to building design or construction, the parties may be better off working with a mediator who is a contractor or a design professional than using a judge or an attorney who lacks specialized knowledge about the issue in question.

__ How reasonable are the parties, and how tenacious is the mediator? Most disputes between reasonable parties can be resolved without much difficulty. Typically, the most difficult disputes involve one or more difficult or unreasonable people. If the mediator gives up too easily, the association may be back in the middle of such a dispute, which may drain limited time and financial resources. The best mediators are tenacious and keep working until they get the job done. They are usually worth whatever the parties have to pay them.

__ Does the mediator have a staff or an organization? If so, the fees will likely be higher, to cover the staffing costs. Some private mediators who work independently of organizations can be much less expensive. However, private mediators may be difficult to contact because they lack a secretary or a receptionist to answer calls and help schedule meetings. Using word of mouth referrals can be useful in this regard.

__ How creative is the mediator? Excellent mediators can resolve seemingly intractable disputes by thinking in very creative ways.

We do the difficult immediately; the impossible takes a little longer

● PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

● CONDOMINIUM ADMINISTRATION

● HOA MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

● HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION SERVICES

● HOA FINANCIAL OPERATIONS

● PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENTS

● COMMON INTEREST DEVELOPMENTS

● HOA MAINTENANCE OPERATIONS

● HOA QUALITY OF SERVICE

● - Clarifying the Manager’s Role

● - Checklist for Identifying Deficient Management

● - Small Claims Court Actions

● - Compare Your Rent

● - Model Code of Ethics for Homeowners Association Board Members

It is the fate of the Property Manager to toil at the lower employments of life; to be rather driven by the fear of evil than attracted by the prospect of good; to be exposed to censure without hope of praise; to be disgraced by miscarriage or punished by neglect, where success would have been without applause and diligence without reward. While others may aspire to praise, the Property Manager can only hope to escape reproach, and even this negative recompense has yet been granted to very few.

HOA Board Members may request log-in information to our Members Only area, which is packed with lots of very unseful information cannot be found anywhere else on the web

As Property Managers, we all have learned primarily

through our mistakes and pursuits of false assumptions

rather than by our exposure to fountains of wisdom and

knowledge.