When developers started building condominiums it was agreed that having property shared by all owners was a good idea, except for "Who's going to take care of it"? Local government was not responsible because the land was privately owned. The developer would eventually sell all the homes and move on to another project. The developer did not want to be responsible after the project was completed. The responsibility was then left to the owners of the condominiums, who shared ownership of the property. This responsibility included maintenance and governing the property. Thus the concept of an association of owners was born. During the planning phase of a project, the developer will draw up a set of legal documents establishing a community association to govern its operations and to provide rules for use of all properties in the community. A homeowners' association is a legally incorporated, non-profit organization (business) operating under recorded land agreements through which each owner is a described area is automatically a member. As members, the owners have a voice and vote in the association's affairs. The votes are cast during annual or special meetings of the general membership. The homeowners' association major responsibility is to protect the investment and enhance the value of the property owned by the members. In order to fulfill this responsibility, each member is subject to a charge for a proportionate share of expenses for maintenance of common property and support of other necessary activities of the organization.