In a two-hour annual meeting last week that was at times tense and other times jovial, members of the embattled Dobson Ranch Homeowners Association elected three board candidates who had been critical of the previous board’s handling of financial turmoil over the past three years.    Read the article…………………………….

It was a full house at the new Gold Canyon Community Center on March 27. The attraction was the first-ever gathering of neighborhood leaders coming together to share interests, concerns and best practices for the common good of Gold Canyon.   Read the article…………………………….

Dobson Ranch residents are getting ready to elect three new homeowners association board members after a challenging year that saw revelations of financial problems totaling millions, a failed recall, swelling attendance at board meetings and allegations of nastiness and misinformation.    Read the article…………………………….

Peter Williams thought he had the law on his side last year when he led an effort to remove ugly and illegal housing restrictions that still appeared in the founding documents of his Tucson neighborhood.  Now he knows it for sure.    Read the article…………………………….

Homeowners at Phoenix condo complex say they’re dealing with another sinkhole months after another one opened up in February.  They added they are frustrated with how the HOA and property managers handle repairs.    Read the article…………………………….

As he cruised up one street and down another, Grahame applauded some light fixtures as he groaned aloud about others.  His nightly excursions have increased of late.  Grahame is the outreach specialist for Southern Arizona Chapter of DarkSky International, and homeowner associations all over Green Valley have been inviting him into their neighborhoods to evaluate their lights and offer tips on extinguishing light pollution.   Read the article…………………………….

The Town of Paradise Valley is hosting a forum for local Home Owner Associations 3:30–5 p.m. Wednesday, March 27 at Town Hall, 6401 E. Lincoln Drive.  This will be an informal meeting and will include introductions to the town’s HOAs, as well as remarks from Town Manager Andrew Ching, Police Chief Freeman Carney and Beth Mulcahy, president of Mulcahy Law, which representa a number of HOAs in Paradise Valley. Code Enforcement Officer Kristi Hillebert will also be present to answer ...

If you live in a Chandler homeowners’ association community and want to learn more about how an HOA operates, next month is your chance, according to a news release.  The City of Chandler’s HOA Academy is back for a three-session spring series in April. The academy classes are taught by people from Mulcahy Law Firm, P.C.    Read the article…………………………….

Monday, March 18, might live in lore as the night the lights went out along two sections of Rancho Vistoso Boulevard in Oro Valley.  The Vistoso Community Association turned off the 226 streetlights it owns and operates along the major roadway. It wants residents to express whether they’re fine with being in the dark, or if they want the aged lights replaced… at a cost likely to exceed $750,000.    Read the article…………………………….

Scottsdale House board members wish they had been more attentive a few years ago.  After failing to do a background check on a twice-sued manager who ran the HOA for years, the board started discovering money was disappearing from funds targeted for repairs and upgrades.  The deeper into the books they dug, board members found more and more money missing – hundreds of thousands of dollars.    Read the article…………………………….

Three communities in Green Valley have become designated Firewise USA sites, and are encouraging homeowners associations to do the same to help protect Green Valley from wildfires.  The Firewise USA award is given to communities that have put in a lot of time, effort and planning to educate homeowners in wildfire safety and mitigate the impact of wildfires.  Read the article…………………………….

When we first purchased our home on West Esperanza Boulevard in November 2021, we noticed the median in front, like many in Pima County that year following the third wettest Monsoon on record, was overgrown with weeds.  In January 2022, I brought the subject up at the annual HOA meeting for our small, 52-homeowner group for Green Valley Townhouse Association 5 and was told that it was county property. I contacted the county and was told that ADOT was responsible ...

Question: We want to sell our Valley house ourselves and put a “For Sale By Owner” sign in our front yard. One of our neighbors is a real estate agent, and she says that the covenants, conditions and restrictions of our homeowners association only allow agents to put up “For Sale” signs. Don’t we have the right to place a “For Sale By Owner” sign in our front yard? Answer: Yes. A.R.S. § 33-1808 allows a “For Sale by Owner” sign ...

A country club in Glendale finds itself in hot water over a pervasive and repugnant stench coming from one of its golf course ponds that has frustrated nearby residents of the Arrowhead Ranch subdivision.  Stephen Kyle Bais, the golf course superintendent for Arrowhead Country Club, is suspected of violating a city code related to odors and is scheduled to be arraigned in Glendale Municipal Court on Monday afternoon, local officials confirmed.     Read the article…………………………….

“It’s just a nightmare,” said Samuel Ybarra. He has been a homeowner in the Parkside Condominiums in Phoenix on Bell and Cave Creek Roads since 2019. Ybarra said a small crack in 2022 led to a sinkhole in the middle of the street just feet away from his condo.  He said property managers informed the community that the streets had a weak foundation due to rusty stormwater tanks underneath.   Read the article…………………………….

Question: In our East Valley subdivision, we have never had a homeowner association. The result is that our covenants, conditions and restrictions requiring homeowner association approval of sports courts have never been enforced, especially in relation to the recent construction of three pickleball courts. One pickleball court is next to our primary bedroom. Who is responsible for enforcing our covenants, conditions and restrictions? Read the Q&A………………………………..

FOX 10 Investigator Justin Lum has been following problems at the Canal on Baseline (COB) for several months. Police reports we’ve obtained from 2023 provide a wider scope of the complex.   Read the article…………………………….

In Arizona’s housing market, lawmakers want to make sure condo owners get a fair deal if they’re ever forced to sell to investors.  Under the Arizona Condominium Termination Act, if an investor reaches 80% ownership of a condominium complex, they can dissolve the HOA and require the remaining homeowners to sell for fair market value.     Read the article…………………………….

Question: As I understand it, a homeowner association has an automatic lien against a home if the association’s monthly dues are not paid. Thus, a buyer of the house would be responsible for any unpaid monthly association dues if not paid by the seller at the close of escrow.   Read the Q&A……………………………….

A virtual HOA/condo academy and upcoming in-person HOA summit is designed for all homeowners association or condominium board member, owner or property manager in Surprise.    Read the article……………………………..

The Arizona Court of Appeals has ruled that the Village of Oakcreek Association cannot retroactively impose its 2016 ban on short-term rentals on property owners who acquired title to their property prior to the ban, reaffirming an earlier decision that defined STRs as a residential rather than a business use.    Read the article…………………………

Question: We live in a community with homeowner association covenants, conditions and restrictions adopted 20 years ago that prohibit any rental for less than one year. For the past three years, in the months of January, February, and March, we have lived with our daughter in Tucson, and we do short-term rentals of our home. These short-term rentals pay our mortgage for the entire year.   Read the Q&A………………………………..

Lately when Riyon Harding steps into her backyard, she has to clean up the bufelgrass by herself to avoid her yard catching on fire. With a broken wrist, raking can be hard.  Since it’s flammable, she does it often, but normally her HOA would have paid to have it done through her HOA fees.    Read the article…………………………………..

A new bill recently passed by the state Legislature requires ungated communities with a homeowners association to decide whether to keep their existing parking restrictions. The new bill only applies to parking rules that were established before January 2015.    Read the article…………………………………

HOA parking controls Ungated communities with a homeowner’s association have until June 30, 2025, to decide whether to keep their existing parking restrictions.  If the HOA opts to ditch the restrictions, parking oversight falls to the city in which the community is located.  The bill, sponsored by Rep. Neal Carter, R-San Tan Valley, applies only to HOAs that were created prior to January 2015. Those created after that date can’t supersede city parking rules.The measure does not apply to condominiums. ‘Rouge’ HOAs HOA ...

East Valley residents, both in HOAs and traditional neighborhoods, can apply for financial help for neighborhood improvements, social engagement and cat colony management, officials said.   Read the article………………………..

For the past three years, the Rock Springs Ridge Homeowners Association has tried to strike a deal to bring the RSR golf course lands back to its residents. It’s been a struggle, to say the least, but after announcing a new contract to swap the 51-acre gopher tortoise conservation area for the golf course lands, a new roadblock has emerged.   Read the article………………………..

Many older adults live in communities with monthly or quarterly homeowners association fees. These HOA dues are typically used for the maintenance of a community — things like landscaping or upkeep of the pool. But seniors on fixed incomes could run into trouble if they can’t pay their mandatory dues.   Read the article………………………..

People who live in communities with homeowners associations typically love or hate them. But at least in metro Phoenix, the typical HOA fee is lower than the U.S. average, according to a new analysis.   Read the article………………………..

Hearing the sound of water splashing into her buckets and pitchers, Riyon Harding collected water to prepare for the next time the water goes out.  She’s lived at the Viewpointe neighborhood on Skyline and Swan for about three years and is used to the water going out due to ongoing repairs for leaks in their water system.   Read the article………………………..

This letter is in response to the recent article in the Independent that was submitted by Lisa Gray, Sun City Home Owners Association general manager.  The issue Ms. Gray was addressing was the construction of a group home that is in the process of being constructed along West Cherry Tree Lane in Sun City.   Read the article………………………..

With Phoenix City Council preparing to take up two controversial zoning code amendments next Wednesday, Sept. 6, an Ahwatukee expert on real estate law has shed some light on a big question involving the measure permitting casitas in the backyards of single-family homes.   Read the article………………………..

Jie Cao and Haining “Frazer” Xia did not want to leave their home. But after an investment company bought the majority of the units in the couple’s condominium complex and voted to sell the unwilling remaining residents’ units to themselves, Cao and Xia were forced out.    Read the article………………………..

In August 2021, Nick and Josie Argyros woke up in the middle of the night to a thumping noise. Nick got out of bed to investigate the source of the sound and was alarmed when he found himself standing in ankle-deep water.   Read the article………………………..

Opinion: An investor bought most units in a condo project, sold the building and kicked out the owners who refused to go along. And yes, it’s completely legal.   Read the article………………………..

Fire personnel responded to a two-story condo at Camelback Road and 15th Avenue around 11 p.m. and found smoke coming from the unit, the Phoenix Fire Department said.  While crews were inside extinguishing the home, they found the woman on the second floor of the condo suffering from smoke inhalation    Read the article………………………..

The La Barranca II Homeowners Association in the Village of Oak Creek received its Firewise certification and accompanying signage at its entrance at the intersection of Jacks Canyon Road and La Barranca Drive on the morning of Wednesday, July 26.   Read the article………………………..

The 307-home Vintage Ranch Homeowners Association says it was deprived of its ability to weigh in on a 352-unit apartment that Gilbert Town Council eventually approved.  The association has filed a claim alleging the town failed to ensure that the project applicant adequately notified Vintage Ranch of the Stillwater Rivulon apartments  Read the article………………………..

Overgrown mesquite trees and other desert shrubs and bushes are blocking city light views for Las Sendas residents who paid a premium for their lots.  Read the article………………………..

Financial rebates will be offered to Surprise water customers as a way to encourage water conservation.  Through May 1, 2024, city-serviced residential and business customers can make the most of the water conservation rebate programs, according to a news release.   Read the article………………………..

Firefighters found the fire in the bathroom and attic space in a unit at Villa Viejo Condominiums and believe the fire originated from one of the unit’s bathroom ventilation fans.  According to YFD, the fire spread throughout a common attic and ended up affecting four units with significant fire damage and another unit with a large amount of water damage.   Read the article………………………..

Battle lines have formed in Maricopa County Superior Court between a homeowners association and a related sub-association in far west Ahwatukee.  The lawsuit filed by the Foothills Reserve Parcels A-1 & A-2 Owners Sub-Association against the Foothills Reserve Master Owners Association partly involves allegations of improper and unauthorized expenditures from a $6.5 million partial settlement the parent group won from the Arizona Department Transportation.   Read the article………………………..

Question: We live in a beautiful community of about two dozen homes. Our community’s covenants, conditions and restrictions require any amendment of these rules to have the approval of the majority of the homeowners. Everyone in our community has always been opposed to short-term rentals.   Read the Q&A……………………………..

In their Queen Creek backyard, you can see Tim and Jared Deluca’s Pride flag waving in the wind. It’s been up since December but the one you see now is far from the original.  “This is the original Pride flag that we put up,” Jared Deluca said while holding up their first Pride flag.  “They took a knife to it and slashed it,” he said.    Read the article………………………..

Rancho Resort residents Jim Gyovai and Sandra Hartman can be found every day sitting on his porch, watching hummingbirds perch on their feeders.  But when HOA management company Associa Arizona banned all bird feeders in the Rancho Resort retirement community in early May, Gyovai and Hartman weren’t happy. And they weren’t alone.   Read the article………………………..

Property owners scored a win this week when Governor Katies Hobbs put down her veto stamp temporarily to sign a bill that empowers homeowners to hold non-compliant homeowner association boards more accountable. HB 2607, sponsored by Rep. Barbara Parker, passed on a bipartisan vote.   Read the article………………………..

Tom La Porte has lived in Silverleaf Arcadia for close to five years. He said the HOA has wanted to remove all of the Sissoo trees in the gated community since 2020 because of the reputation these trees have: from damaging roads to underground pipes.   Read the article………………………..

One Green Valley neighborhood is making history as the first local homeowners association to become a certified Firewise USA site.  Bill Hollingsworth, a board member with Solar Del Viejo HOA, accepted the award Wednesday on behalf of his community alongside representatives from the Green Valley Fire District and the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management.   Read the article………………………..

The Club West Conservancy has told a judge it will be ready for a March 2024 trial in its suit against golf course owner The Edge and Shea Homes.  The Edge and the Conservancy last month also told Superior Court Judge Timothy Thomason they remain at an impasse in litigation over the course’s future.   Read the article………………………..

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