Many of us have been taught the wisdom of a hand up versus a hand out. One association in California has taken that to heart. The association developed a community spirit team which helps owners who are facing fines and violations for deteriorating home conditions. The team helps owners who can’t take corrective action because of financial hardships by making modest repairs. The team takes donations of time, money, materials and labor from community volunteers, industry business partners as well as it owns management and maintenance staff. This is a creative way to address a real problem in many communities. We all know that allowing the exterior condition of homes to deteriorate affects property values throughout the entire community. Fines and covenant enforcement action can be expensive and not always produce the desired result. This may be a situation in which a hand up does much more good for the community. If you are interested in setting up a “community spirit team” we’d recommend that you 1) have clear guidelines on how resources will be used; 2) that you consider tax implications and that you 3) make sure volunteers are protected from liability. We can guide you through any of these issues if you contact one of our attorneys.