Thanks to the Internet, there is a wealth of information available to HOA members, directors, and managers. Here are some useful websites:
• The first place to look is on the North Carolina General Assembly’s website at http://www.ncleg.net. Here you can look up the laws that govern homeowners’ associations in North Carolina. Chapter 47C of the statutes governs condominiums. Chapter 47F governs single-family communities (or planned communities) and townhomes. Chapter 55A governs non-profit corporations, which is important because most HOAs are established as nonprofit corporations.
• You can find specific statutes at http://www.ncleg.net/gascripts/statutes/Statutes.asp . You can also look up the status of pending legislation affecting homeowners’ associations at http://www.ncleg.net/Legislation/Legislation.html
• Another helpful website is offered by the Community Association Institute (CAI). This may be found at www.caionline.org. There is an enormous amount of information on this site, including lots of free articles and for-purchase manuals. CAI also conducts training and certification courses for professional community association managers. North and South Carolina also have their own state chapters of CAI, which may be found at www.cai-nc.org (NC) and http://www.cai-sc.net (SC).
• The website of HOA-USA, located at http://www.hoa-usa.com, offers summaries of state HOA laws, articles on topics of interest to HOAs, and a resource guide with listings of management companies, accountants, banks, attorneys,
construction companies, and other vendors offering services to HOAs.
• The website maintained by the North Carolina Secretary of State is also a good resource. Go to www.secretary.state.nc.us/corporations/CSearch.aspx to look up your HOA to see if it is incorporated and in good standing with the state. You can also download your HOA’s corporate documents that have been filed with the state, such as the Articles of Incorporation.
• In North Carolina, HOAs are required to conduct their meetings in accordance with the parliamentary rules set forth in Robert’s Rules of Order. My colleague, Jim Slaughter, is a Greensboro attorney and a registered and certified parliamentarian. Jim’s website, www.jimslaughter.com , includes many charts and articles on meeting procedures, parliamentary news updates, and links to resources on running effective meetings.
Carolina Common Elements 
I live in a condo in Charlotte NC.Our HOA president has a felony record for trafficking a controlled substance and was convicted. Also convicted on a financial card fraud. Can she still serve on the board?
Unless there is language in your bylaws that prohibits felons from serving on the board, she can serve. There is nothing in North Carolina law that would prohibit her service.
I am a resident & board member of a town home village within Brier Creek Country Club. The covenants indicate that the home owner are responsible for most items interior & exterior. The HOA is responsible for some specific items (ex: roof singles). The question that continues to be raised is, when a roof leaks develops, the HOA has a maintenance company to respond to fix, repair and replace the single(s) which is the direct result for the water leak inside the home. As a result of the water leak, normally the sheetrock material is damaged as a direct result of the water leaking from the compromised roof single allowing water to enter the home and create the damage to the sheetrock material. The HOA is & has advised all owners that the HOA is only responsible for the singles and not for any damages that have developed as a result of the singles failing.
My question would be:
1- the single that is covered by the HOA has failed & resulted in damage to a separate owned by the home owner. Would this single failure be considered direct damage causation ? Thus the HOA would be responsible to the adjacent damage to interior items?
Thanks for your assistance in this matter?
Don A.
Though I cannot say for certain without reviewing your HOA’s governing documents and knowing more details about the event, in general, the HOA is not responsible for interior damage simply because water came through a part of the building envelope that the HOA is responsible for maintaining. The HOA might have liability if it was notified of a leak, and failed to act on it quickly enough and damage occurred AFTER the HOA was notified.