Nancy T. Polomis

Nancy brings considerable insight to all stages of community association development and function, including entity formation, creation and interpretation of covenants and bylaws, and collections. Her clients include residential builders and developers and numerous homeowners associations throughout Minnesota.

Nancy’s many long-term relationships with community associations testify to the quality of her work, and her experience extends across the real estate spectrum. Her in-depth understanding of the real estate market enables her to provide direct and proactive counsel to builders, developers, individuals, and entities involved in real estate transactions, as well as to condominium and townhouse associations.

Clients rely on Nancy for her clarity, conciseness, her talent for explaining complex legal matters in everyday language, and her ability to anticipate and avoid potential issues. Associations and builders particularly value these qualities.

Moreover, when particularly vexing issues arise, clients count on Nancy for the collective wisdom of her fellow practice members. “We truly function as a team,” she explains. “That’s important because it enables practice members to have particular expertise in our niche practice area.  Where my knowledge may trail off, one of my colleagues will likely have the answer. That kind of breadth and depth of knowledge is a unique feature of our practice — and a formidable asset for our clients.”

She is licensed to practice in the Minnesota state courts.


Assistant


Experience

  • Assisted numerous condominium associations in completing Addendum to Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac’s standard Condominium Questionnaire addressing structural soundness and integrity of condominium buildings and financial health.
  • Represents multiple local builders in the development of common interest communities (CICs) (townhome and condominium communities) and single family home communities, including navigating title issues and drafting of declaration of covenants, articles of incorporation, bylaws, rules and regulations, easement agreements, cross easement agreements and license agreements.
  • Represented large local land developer in development of a master community consisting of multiple commercial parcels and 1,000+ residential dwellings, as well as multi-family parcels, including drafting of master association governing documents and governing documents for sub-associations (CICs and single family home communities).
  • Represented local builder in negotiating land purchase agreements, including reviewing title and handling closing-related matters, as well as drafting governing documents for homeowners association.
  • Represented 100 or more homeowners associations in updating and re-writing governing documents, including coordination of owner and lender approval of same.
  • Represented countless associations in amending specific provisions of their declaration and/or bylaws (including leasing restrictions, business use restrictions, director qualifications, etc.), including coordination of owner and lender approval of same.
  • Represented associations handling requests for reasonable accommodation under federal and state fair housing laws.
  • Assisted homeowners association board of directors address a situation involving a difficult and threatening resident to ensure the safety of all residents in that community.
  • Reviewed and revised rules and regulations of multiple associations to ensure compliance with fair housing laws.
  • Successfully recovered assessments (dues) owed to an association that neither the association nor other debt collection professionals were able to collect.
  • Assisted condominium association in negotiating the early termination of a lease between a unit owner and his loud and belligerent tenant.

In The News

Thought Leadership

Affiliations

  • Member, Real Property Section of the Hennepin County and Minnesota State Bar Associations
  • Member, American Bar Association
  • Active member in CAI-MN, the local chapter of the Community Associations Institute
    • Board of Directors, 2020 – present, 2010 – 2016
    • Editorial Committee member, 2020 – present
    • Secretary, 2022 – 2023, 2010-2016
    • Past member of Vision Awards Committee
    • Past member of Expo Committee

Community

  • College of St. Benedict Alumnae Board, 1998 – 2004
    • Development Committee Chair
  • Edina High School Thespian Boosters
    • Co-President, 2019
    • Program Editor and Coordinator, 2017 – 2019
    • Volunteer 2017 – 2020
  • Edina High School Band Booster Volunteer, 2017 – 2020
  • Edina High School Choir Booster Volunteer, 2019-2020
  • Past volunteer activities:
    • St. Patrick’s of Edina – lector, religious education instructor, choir member
    • St. Peter’s of Richfield – choir member
    • YMCA Twin Cities – Sustaining Campaign team leader
    • CommonBond Communities – mentor/tutor

Honors & Awards

  • The Best Lawyers in America® – Real Estate Law, 2021-2023
  • Minnesota Super Lawyers® – 2021-2022
  • CAI-MN Lifetime Achievement Award, 2022
  • CAI-MN Business Partner Excellence in Service Award, 2020
  • Notable Women in Law – Twin Cities Business, 2020
  • CAI-MN Volunteer of the Year Award, 2016

Additional Presentations

  • Featured speaker at CAI-MN Law Seminar, 2020 & 2022
  • Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Lender Questionnaires, FirstService Residential, 2022
  • “The Dangers of Inadequate Reserves: Lessons from Surfside FL,” Co-presenter, HOAleader.com, 2021 & 2022
  • Multiple Board Training Sessions, FirstService Residential, 2018 – present
  • A frequent speaker for continuing education seminars and a regular resource for and contributor to several print and online publications, including Minnesota Community Living (CAI-MN publication), CIC News (CIC Midwest publication), HOAleader.com and bankrate.com.
  • H&J Community Association Seminar 2016 – present
  • How To Get It Done: A Homeowners Guide
  • “The Challenges of Growing Legalization of Marijuana: What HOA and Condo Associations Boards Need to Know,” HOALeader.com, March 2020
  • “Fair Housing: An Overview,” CAI-MN Expo Educational Series, February 2020
  • Town Hall Meeting, Gassen Company, 2019 – 2022
  • Manager Training, Gassen Company, 2019

Past Seminars

Additional Presentations

  • Featured speaker at CAI-MN Law Seminar, 2020 & 2022
  • Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Lender Questionnaires, FirstService Residential, 2022
  • “The Dangers of Inadequate Reserves: Lessons from Surfside FL,” Co-presenter, HOAleader.com, 2021 & 2022
  • Multiple Board Training Sessions, FirstService Residential, 2018 – present
  • A frequent speaker for continuing education seminars and a regular resource for and contributor to several print and online publications, including Minnesota Community Living (CAI-MN publication), CIC News (CIC Midwest publication), HOAleader.com and bankrate.com.
  • H&J Community Association Seminar 2016 – present
  • How To Get It Done: A Homeowners Guide
  • “The Challenges of Growing Legalization of Marijuana: What HOA and Condo Associations Boards Need to Know,” HOALeader.com, March 2020
  • “Fair Housing: An Overview,” CAI-MN Expo Educational Series, February 2020
  • Town Hall Meeting, Gassen Company, 2019 – 2022
  • Manager Training, Gassen Company, 2019