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I’m a bit of a movie buff. I love a good story. One of my all time favorites is the 1995 “Apollo 13” di- rected by Ron Howard. Who can forget the tense build up of that historic ight in 1970 when things continued to go from bad to worse and it looked like the crew of Apollo 13 was not going to make it back home. At one point during the movie the Director of NASA said to ight direc- tor Gene Kranz “This could be the worst disaster NASA’s ever faced.” And with complete resolve Gene Kranz said in response “...With all due re- spect sir, I believe this will be our nest hour!”

What is this thing called a homeowners asso- ciation? In Minnesota a few associations began to be built in the 1960s and 1970s but the real growth didn’t seem to take place until the 1980s. Since then of course the number of homes in associations has exploded. Some of you may be new to living in a homeowners association. Here’s an overview of why Associations exist and how they function.

In my first article on insurance coverage for owners of homes in attached-unit associations I focused on two of the main components to look for in your HO-6 policy: coverage of bet- terments and improvements made to your home, and coverage for the gap left by the Association’s master policy deductible (typically between $5,000 to $10,000.) In this issue I’ll look at another important item: sufficient coverage for replacement of your personal property. I spoke with over a half a dozen insurance agents in preparation for this month’s article, and they all said the same thing: “Help the homeowner to understand that most folks do not have a realis-tic view of what the cost is to replace all of their personal property should it be lost in a disaster!”

This question is invariably raised by most folks at one time or another after purchasing in a hom- eowner’s association. It’s asked in a moment of confusion when one realizes that their monthly assessment already includes a portion going to- wards an insurance policy maintained by the asso- ciation. If that is the case, then why is additional insurance necessary?

In a large number of condominiums water is a shared community expense that is paid for by the association. Due to the fact that homeowners do not individually see a bill, it can unfortunately lead them to assume that water is free. It is important that every Board and property manager acknowl- edges this misconception and takes the time to educate the member’s of their association that water is, in fact, a major expense.

Unless you’ve been in a cave, (and a pretty deep one at that), the daily news informing us of the mortgage foreclosure debacle seems almost ines- capable.

My father, a military pilot with the United States Marine Corps, told me of a story of his early train- ing days where the Corps’ fixed wing training unit in Pensacola, Florida became increasingly concerned over the number of young pilots who ended up ditching their plane in the water over and over again while beginning take off.