Investigators are working to figure out what sparked a fire that burned through a building of condominiums off Oracle Road Monday evening. Northwest Fire and the Golder Ranch Fire District responded to the two-alarm call at the Barcelona Manor Condominiums just before 6 p.m. The fire started inside a condo on the third floor of […]
A community that binds: BV Ranchos musters massive work effort to aid a stricken neighbor (AZ)
A close-knit neighborhood in South Tempe has rallied around one of its own in the wake of tragedy. Craig Cottrell, 51, a Buena Vista Ranchos resident and a father of two, suffered a devastating hemorrhagic stroke July 13. Now facing a long recovery during which he must learn how to walk again as well […]
HOA cracks down on street parking (AZ)
This year, residents of one of Maricopa’s oldest homeowners associations have been notified multiple times to get their vehicles off the streets by Aug. 1. The initial notice from community manager Dawn Haskin said the HOA board “decided to take action by adopting Parking Rules and Regulations … and has contracted with a parking patrol […]
HOA says American flag has to go. It doesn’t maintain the neighborhood’s ‘look’ (AZ)
In February, Cordero struck up a conversation with a firefighter, called to her street by a neighbor’s medical emergency. The firefighter asked her why no one in the neighborhood had their house numbers painted on the curb. She called the Westbrook Village Homeowners Association and says she was told the HOA had no responsibility for […]
Local groups offer private subsidy to Oro Valley golf courses (AZ)
The group has teed off at the two 18-hole courses for years, and have watched it change hands multiple times. Stephen Jones is a member, and happens to also be president of the Cañada Hills Community Association, which consists of 1,889 homes wrapped around the golf courses. Many of these homeowners have been concerned about […]
HOA demands extra cash for solar-panel review (AZ)
No one wants to pay more than they have to. That’s especially true if you’re making a sizable outlay on something expensive and socially beneficial, like rooftop solar panels. But some homeowners associations say they have a right to charge residents a fee so they can review the plans for new solar panels. Read […]
Orbitel sues HOA for breach of contract (AZ)
Orbitel attorneys filed a breach-of-contract complaint in Superior Court in May. They claim Desert Passage violated an agreement when it elected to terminate its cable service as of Dec. 21, 2018. The suit seeks nearly $1 million in damages. The HOA’s attorneys, however, are challenging a common contract clause that has been a point of […]
Club West golf could return this fall (AZ)
Club West residents likely will know by next week if the prospective new owners will be closing their deal with Wilson Gee to buy the golf course. Four men, including Ahwatukee Realtor Mike Mendoza, have until June 10 to complete a due diligence period for evaluating the property — but Gee’s broker is optimistic the […]
Chandler residents get surprise bill from homeowners association (AZ)
Neighbors living in the Clemente Ranch Subdivision in Chandler are fed up with the sight of dozens of exterior walls cracking and falling over. The residents’ homeowners association is asking them to pay for a multi-million-dollar project to fix the damage. Read the article…………………….
Real estate appraisal: Home values drop if Oro Valley closes golf (AZ)
A real estate appraisal commissioned by the Cañada Hills Community Association finds that a partial or full closure of the town-owned golf courses would result in a “significant loss” in home values near the site and an overall negative effect on the community. Read the article………………………
Forest Park celebrates firewise with brush dumpster (AZ)
To celebrate Firewise Week, the Forest Park Homeowners Association rented a dumpster for residents to toss clippings and brush. The community has worked hard to follow the Firewise guidelines of the National Fire Protection Association. The effort has paid off, NFPA recognizes Forest Park as a National Firewise Community. Read the article………………………
Arizona Homeowners Association and Hams Agree on Outdoor Antenna Guidelines
The Board of Directors of an antenna-restricted community in Arizona voted overwhelmingly in April to allow radio amateurs to erect certain outdoor antennas on their properties. Some 75 hams live in the 10,000-home Sun City Grand, a self-contained residential community for older adults. An article in the Grand Ham Newsletter by Gordon Bousman, NW7D, called […]
Changes to Arizona law that forces condo owners to sell
A law that forces Arizona homeowners to sell their condos to real estate investors is getting an update. The Arizona Condominium Termination law allows real estate investors to buy 80 percent of the units in a complex, take over the homeowner’s association, and force the remaining 20 percent to sell at a fair market value […]
Neighborhood Under Construction For Those With Special Needs (AZ)
In what developers say is a first, an entire neighborhood of brand-new homes is set to hit the market that is specifically designed for adults with developmental disabilities. The development called Luna Azul is located in Phoenix. A model home and the neighborhood clubhouse and pool are slated to open in May, while the remainder […]
Tempe condo owners may be forced to sell to investor group (AZ)
As Dorsey Place Condominiums in Tempe were being built in 2007, Jake Geller worked with the developer to design accommodations he’d need to live comfortably. He lives with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, an illness that progressively weakens muscles, and uses a motorized wheelchair to get around. To improve his quality of life, the developer installed wider […]
Paradise Valley HOA sends message about short-term rentals: Not in our neighborhood (AZ)
Mark Snyder had lived in Camelback County Club Estates in Paradise Valley for three years when he began noticing changes in the neighborhood: trash stacked up on the curbs, red Solo cups on the front lawns, blaring music and 12-passenger vans parked on the street. The homes were being rented out on VRBO and Airbnb […]
Recall drive roils Foothills Community Association board (AZ)
A Foothills Community Association resident has launched a petition drive to recall the HOA board’s longtime president and two members who were added when it expanded. Keith Smith said he mailed notices of the recall drive to about half the HOA’s approximate 4,100 homeowners and another 300 member-businesses, seeking to oust board President William Fautsch […]
3 Sentenced for Defrauding Phoenix Homeowner Associations (AZ)
A California woman and her ex-husband have been sentenced to more than a year in federal prison for defrauding Phoenix-area homeowner associations while an Arizona resident will serve probation. Read the article…………………………
Phoenix HOA manager imprisoned for taking $1.3M from homeowners associations, officials say (AZ)
The former head of a Phoenix-based property management company was sent to prison for taking almost $1.3 million from several Valley homeowners associations, officials said. Harlow White, 77, of Gilbert, was sentenced Friday to 15 months in prison for stealing the money, which was used, in part, to cover approximately $300,000 in personal charges on […]
Valley condo owners living in limbo (AZ)
Real estate investors and residents of a Chandler condominium association appear to be in a stalemate in the take over their complex, according to condo owners. Read the article…………………..JoAnn and Mike Zagarello and their neighbors received a letter in October telling them they needed to be out by December 16.
Q&AZ: How Are HOAs Formed And Regulated? (AZ)
About one third of Arizona’s housing stock is in a community association, which means almost two million Arizonans are connected a home-owners or condominium association. KJZZ listener Michele wanted to know more about these associations, and asked via Q&AZ. Read the article…………………
Verrado HOA tells resident to park work truck elsewhere (AZ)
A Verrado man may be forced by his HOA to move or quit his job. Tim Andersen, an air conditioning and plumbing technician, is expected to receive and attend to calls quickly and efficiently so he takes home his 10-foot-tall work truck and parks it in his driveway. He’s ready when customers call. Read the […]
Buckeye HOA won’t allow man to park work truck in housing community (CA)
Timothy Anderson says the Verrado HOA claims his work truck violates the rules and told him he can’t park it anywhere within the Buckeye housing community. Watch the news report……………………..
Outdoor Christmas decorations banned by North Phoenix HOA (AZ)
It’s not just package thefts that can kill the holiday spirit. Residents of a condo complex in North Phoenix said their HOA has banned outdoor Christmas decorations. The decision was announced in a notice, telling homeowners they are not allowed to put out any decorations on the outside of their homes. Read the article……………..
Maricopa County orders Phoenix condo complex to clean up sewage (AZ)
Maricopa County is ordering a Phoenix condominium complex to clean up raw sewage after residents complained the waste has been pooling outside their homes for weeks. On Friday an inspector notified management at Autumn Park Condominiums near Bell and Cave Creek roads they had 24 hours to fix the issue, according to Maricopa County Environmental […]
Sun City worries that Airbnb renters are too young (AZ)
When people move to Sun City, they expect wide-open streets buzzing with golf carts, recreation centers for the retired and tranquil lake views. They don’t picture a bunch of children running around on a pontoon boat out on the water, said Jim Hunter, president of the Sun City Homeowners Association. “That’s not why people move […]
Ready to put up those holiday lights? First check your HOA rules (AZ)
Tis the season for holiday lights and decorations. Right after Thanksgiving, the huge blow-up Santas and snowmen start showing up in yards and twinkly lights begin adorning homes. But many metro Phoenix homeowners live in homeowners associations, with rules for just how festive they can make their home exteriors and yards. Homeowners who don’t follow […]
Woman takes on HOA with marijuana signs (AZ)
66-year-old Helene Feinerman is in a legal battle with the exclusive River Ranch Homeowners Association on Tucson’s far east side. An aging hippie, who displays “hipi” on her license plate, and a former protester, she believes the HOA is harassing her. “Singling me out and treating me differently than the other homeowners,” she said. The […]
Check out this ancient condo complex in Arizona — built 900 years ago (AZ)
A multi-level condo complex with about 100 rooms — built some 900 years ago — has held up far longer than we can expect for comparable housing units today. Known as Wupatki Pueblo, the ancient stone-walled site is the striking centerpiece of a national monument northeast of Flagstaff. Read the article………………
True Life likely to bid goodbye to Ahwatukee Thursday (AZ)
The True Life Companies is headed for the exit door from Ahwatukee as former owner Wilson Gee prepares tomorrow, Sept. 20, to foreclose on his $8.6 million note the developer signed more than two years ago in its ill-fated quest to build an “agrihood” on the site of the defunct Ahwatukee Lakes Golf Course. Unlike […]
Shade can ease heat, but one neighborhood finds trees are just part of the solution (AZ)
Don McNeil walks the tree-lined streets of Westbrook Village in Peoria to keep his blood pressure down, but hotter weather limits his daily outings. He suffered several strokes two years ago, which stymied his body’s ability to regulate heat. Since then, he’s become more passionate about rising temperatures due to climate change and heat-absorbing urban […]
You can’t live here: Why senior communities get to prohibit young people (AZ)
Al Morton spends his days working with veterans and volunteering at his Sun City Homeowners Association. His wife frequently attends a clay club, making pottery with fellow members. The Mortons, from Texas, were drawn to Sun City because other family members had already retired there. They followed suit in 2004 and are now among the […]
‘No, you can’t,’ condo owner says to HOA after alleged age and race discrimination (AZ)
Ward Tyczka was renting his Phoenix condo to a family with two children when the property manager began raising concerns. The family eventually moved out when their lease was up, but the property manager informed him this spring that Sunrise Village Condominiums Association had changed its rules to prohibit kids under age 16. Read the […]
Homeowner fighting Gilbert HOA after crackdown on AirBnB rentals (AZ)
A Gilbert homeowner is facing off with her HOA after it suddenly told residents they could not rent out sections of their homes, only their entire homes. The move was aimed at limiting homeowners’ ability to rent using Airbnb or similar products. The homeowner, who lives in Val Vista Lakes near Val Vista Road and […]
My two cents: HOA doing best it can to save Arizona National
On the same day that upscale Golf Club at Vistoso suspended operations last week, the Nogales-area’s Kino Springs Golf Club announced it will shut down at least until October. A month ago, Blanchard Golf Club at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base closed. All three of those courses have financial problems, but more direct, water problems. Inescapably, […]
Are you paying an unlimited HOA fee? (AZ)
We’ve found another HOA fee you may not know you’re paying. It’s called a “transfer” fee and is collected when a title changes hand. That usually happens during a sale. It’s legal, it’s unlimited, and it’s not tied to any specific project. Read the article……………..
Southwest Valley HOA Summit open to the public (AZ)
Those interested in homeowner’s associations are invited to the next Southwest Valley HOA Summit from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, February 6, at Avondale City Hall. Topics to be presented at this summit include Best Practices for Community Associations and How to Select a Management Company Read the article………………..
Judge rejects True Life’s plan for Ahwatukee Lakes Golf Course (AZ)
A state Superior Court judge on Tuesday rejected The True Life Companies’ plan for houses and other amenities on the defunct Ahwatukee Lakes Golf Course. Judge John R. Hannah Jr. also ordered True Life to pay the attorney fees of the two residents who sued to have the course restored and further directed their attorney […]
Santa Monica attorney to be reproved for unauthorized practice of law in Arizona
Santa Monica attorney Cynthia Ann Futter has been recommended for private reproval with public disclosure by the California State Bar following her 2015 discipline before the Arizona State Bar for unauthorized practice of law in that state, according to a recent filing. Futter, during the Arizona proceedings, admitted to violating rules before that state’s bar […]
Outsmarting the law and keeping your condo
A lot of you are outraged about a law that allows you to be booted from your condo, even if you paid in full. It’s called the “termination of condominium” statute. Investors can buy up units, become majority owners and then force the rest to sell at their appraiser’s value. Investors do this because they […]
Timeshare development pitch at Troon North draws ire of neighborhood (AZ)
A collection of north Scottsdale residents are calling into question a development proposal critics say is against the character of the existing neighborhood and behind-the-scene municipal moves on behalf of the developer of the project has some crying foul. Leading the charge against a proposed 62-key timeshare resort property at Troon North on about 3 […]
Did Gov. Ducey flip-flop on Arizona HOA regulations?
In late March, Gov. Doug Ducey vetoed a bill regulating homeowner associations. He said the state shouldn’t get involved in how HOAs vote. But a month later, he signed another bill that regulates HOA meetings. Rep. Ken Clark, D-Phoenix, sponsor of the bill vetoed in March, is crying foul. “You need to look at the […]
Attorney draws throng to Chandler’s HOA Summit (AZ)
Summit conferences typically draw international leaders to discuss serious policy matters, but Tumbleweed Recreation Center in Chandler was the scene of a similarly weighty confab that examined critical issues of a different sort, but on an admittedly smaller scale. The Chandler Homeowners Association Summit drew about 90 residents from West Chandler and other areas across […]
Living next to a ‘tumbleweed farm’ owned by Phoenix (AZ)
Charisse Walls, president of the Country Place HOA, talks about the frustration in her neighborhood about a vacant lot that she says the city of Phoenix has ignored for years that is not only ugly, but potentially dangerous. View the video…………
How to connect HOAs and cities
Homeowners associations are key elements of West Valley communities, but the original concept has outgrown its usefulness. Many cities make HOAs a virtual requirement before approving construction of new residential communities, but they eventually fall victim to their own success. The most successful HOA communities tend to develop their own identities, which leads their residents […]
Workshops help unlock puzzle of homeowner association rules, regs
If you live in a neighborhood with a homeowners association, chances are the Phoenix Suns fan next door won’t be painting his house purple with orange trim any time soon. But how much power does the HOA board really have when it comes to sprucing up your castle? Read the article…………
2016 Arizona Legislative Update: February 22, 2016
The Arizona Legislature has been in session for 40 days and 1,200 bill have been introduced. However, there have been no community association bills passed by both the House and the Senate and signed by the Governor yet. Read the article…………
‘Can my HOA really do that?’
Whether you love them or hate them, HOAs are common place in the Virgin Valley. Estimates are that one-third of the homes in Nevada are located in HOAs. Read the article…………..
Residents at odds with HOA
Van Dan Elzen explained that some homewoners were angry because the Board has “subrogated their responsibilities to an outside management company that is only interested in making money”. He went on to say that specific things not regulated in the past were now being enforced at Carter Ranch. Read the article…………
Invasive, noxious fountaingrass
Q: Do you have any info that would help our HOA organize its response to its fountain grass infestation? Also, are there any fountain grass variations that local nurseries sell that are sterile and won’t spread? Read the Q&A………….