Who owns our association website and email addresses?

The association should, and frequently it does not, which is discovered at the worst possible moment. Domain registrations, website accounts and association email addresses are often set up by a manager under the Management Company's account, in good faith, and then simply stay there.

The consequences at transition are real: an association that cannot access its own domain, a website that goes dark, and board@ addresses that stop delivering during the exact weeks owners have the most questions.

Check three things now rather than later. Who is the registrant of record on the domain — you can look this up yourself in seconds. Whose account hosts the website and who pays for it. And where association email addresses actually terminate.

Then get it in the agreement: the association owns its domain, website content, and email addresses; the company holds any credentials as agent; and everything transfers within a stated number of days of termination at no charge. If the current registration is wrong, move it now while the relationship is good. Transferring a domain requires cooperation from whoever holds it, and cooperation is exactly what is in short supply after notice is given.