I’m looking at investment property in a subdivision with a homeowners association (HOA). A friend recently bought a home in the same subdivision and (the) lender required a review of HOA documents. These documents turned out to be in a significant state of disarray, which delayed the closing process. Should this concern me? How big […]
Fishhawk Lake neighbors miffed by more dam fees (OR)
The dam holding back Fishhawk Lake, a 100-acre man-made reservoir on Fishhawk Creek surrounded by private homes, needs an improved spillway. But some residents in the community north of Birkenfeld are up in arms about the price tag, estimated at $1.3 million to nearly $2 million, and the way improvements have been pushed through their […]
Southeast Bend neighbors sue over vacation rental (OR)
A southeast Bend homeowner is suing her neighbor because the neighbor is operating a permitted short-term rental that violates the covenants and restrictions of the community. The vacation rental’s owners, Tina and Eric Eckstein, could not be reached for comment regarding the property on Bilyeu Way in Canal Crossing. Read the article…………………
Sisters homeowners sue to stop mandatory gifts for charitable housing (OR)
A homeowners association in Sisters says the deed restriction that Hayden Homes created to support its affordable housing charity is illegal, and it’s suing for the return of $2,690. The Village at Cold Springs Homeowners’ Association filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Deschutes County Circuit Court against First Story, the nonprofit created by Redmond-based Hayden Homes. […]
Homeowners Fees Price Out Ashland Couple, Spur Program Changes (OR)
The housing crunch across the West Coast has cities taking a closer look at their affordable housing programs or forming new ones. But the city of Ashland in Southern Oregon is considering changes to its decades-old program because of one condominium charging exorbitant management fees. Read the article……………………..
Hundreds of trees in Aloha neighborhood cut down (OR)
A series of tree-lined streets in one Aloha subdivision look very different after the majority of street trees were cut down in the last couple weeks. Even more trees are slated for removal. “It’s sad that they’re cutting down all the trees,” said Emily Day, who’s lived in the Arbor Vineyards subdivision for 15 years. […]
Bus service for disabled child posed ‘threat’ to residents’ safety, homeowners group says (OR)
Lawyers for Oregon Sen. Jackie Winters and the Salem homeowners board on which she serves say that door-to-door school bus service for a girl with disabilities posed a “direct threat to the safety” of other residents, according to a new court filing. The girl’s family filed a federal lawsuit against the Golf Course Estates Homeowners […]
Lawsuit: Oregon Sen. Jackie Winters, HOA denied bus service to child with disabilities (OR)
The family of a child with disabilities is suing Oregon Senate Republican Leader Jackie Winters and the Salem homeowners board on which she serves after it voted to bar the girl’s school from providing her with door-to-door bus service. A lawsuit filed in May by Erika Hernandez and Paolo Regalado says the restriction violates federal […]
SE Bend neighborhood wants to prevent use of private road (OR)
A southeast Bend homeowners association is suing land developer J.L. Ward Co. to prevent its use of a gated road. Mountain High Homeowners Association sought a judgment earlier this month in Deschutes County Circuit Court saying the HOA is the exclusive owner of neighborhood roads and prohibiting J.L. Ward from using those roads, including Mountain […]
Short-term rental shakes up life on the hill (OR)
A plan to turn a newly purchased house into a vacation rental has divided residents in Sahalee and adjoining Discovery Heights, one of the Peninsula’s most desirable residential neighborhoods. On Monday, Ilwaco City Council members were hours away from ruling on a request from Lindsay and Shelley Yamane to use a hillside three-bedroom, two and […]
Creekside Homeowners Association owes golf course owners $422,789 after failed lawsuit (OR)
Creekside Homeowners Association must pay the owners of a bordering golf course $422,789 following a failed lawsuit against the club. As the prevailing party, the club’s owners – developers Larry Tokarski and Terry Kelly – are entitled to be reimbursed for their legal fees and expenses, a Marion County judge recently ruled.
Residents, forestry officials clash over wildfire in Sunriver (OR)
After seeing smoke from the Milli Fire rise high over Sisters during a day trip to the Willamette Valley last summer, Doug Hoschek and Tina Machuca decided to do a bit of digging to see what would happen if an equally dangerous fire sparked near their home in Sunriver. What they found concerned them, to […]
Creekside Golf Club owners sue homeowners association over spending (OR)
Creekside Golf Club’s owners have asked a judge to remove the board of an adjacent homeowners association and put the HOA into receivership. It’s the latest volley in a two-year legal battle that will decide whether the club’s owners, developers Larry Tokarski and Terry Kelly, can close the South Salem championship course and turn it […]
King City, quiet onetime retirement community, seeks to reinvent itself (OR)
King City was founded as a planned city for retirees whose homeowners association served as the de facto government. It was unique among Oregon municipalities at the time, and no other Oregon city has replicated the model. Residents paid no city taxes; HOA fees paid for infrastructure and services. The city has no public library, […]
Marijuana debate still blazing in Cannon Beach (OR)
Councilors voted 3-2 to maintain the ordinance, which prohibits marijuana stores in mixed-use buildings to adhere to the community’s desire to keep marijuana out of residential areas. The building meets the city code for a marijuana store because the residents have since moved out and the building is no longer mixed-use. Despite this, the Ecola […]
Creekside Golf Club neighbors appeal loss; club owners want $524,860 in legal fees (OR)
Creekside Golf Club’s neighbors are appealing a judge’s decision allowing the course to be turned into a residential subdivision. The club’s owners, meanwhile, have asked the court to order the 588-member Creekside Homeowners Association to reimburse them more than a half-million dollars they spent fighting the HOA’s lawsuit. Read the article…………….
Portland Condo Owners Toss Out Homeowners Association Board That Imposed High Fees (OR)
Condo owners in the Cedar Mill neighborhood have won a reprieve from the new fees that many feared would drive them from their homes. On Sept. 21, at the annual meeting of the Westlake Village Condominium Homeowners Association, the group calling itself Save Westlake Village took over all five positions on the HOA board. They […]
Here’s What Readers Said About Condo Owners Facing the Threat of Losing Their Homes Due to Increased HOA Fees (OR)
Last week, WW wrote about Cedar Mill condo owners who faced the threat of losing their homes due to increased homeowners association fees (“Trouble in the Village,” WW, Sept. 20, 2017). The fight in Westlake Village continued—in the online comments. Read the article…………….
Condo Residents Discover That Home Ownership Is No Guarantee Against Displacement in Portland’s Housing Market (OR)
Maricela Ramirez’s story is a familiar one in today’s Portland. She came to Oregon more than a decade ago from Northern California, seeking a more affordable place to live. Now, as housing costs climb across the city, a renovation of her building is poised to hike her monthly bills faster than her fixed income can […]
Legislature says homeowners associations can’t bar rooftop solar (OR)
Homeowners associations won’t be able to deny Oregonians their right to go solar under a bill that passed the Legislature on Wednesday. The bill, HB 2111, which sailed through the House more than a month ago on a 56-3 vote, passed the Senate 19-9. Read the article…………….
Elder to appeal verdict in favor of HOA (OR)
A Klamath Falls man who was ordered by a jury last week to pay an outstanding fine to his homeowners association said he plans to appeal the decision. On Tuesday Kenneth Elder told the Herald and News he intends to appeal a jury’s award of $500 against him after a verdict Friday was issued in […]
West Side HOAs Prepare for OSU-Cascades (OR)
With the expansion of the OSU-Cascades campus on Bend’s west side, several Homeowner Associations in the area are looking at rules and regulations to make sure a potential influx of students doesn’t change their neighborhood. Bill Bernardy helped draft new rules for the Skyliner Summit HOA and says changes have been in the works for […]
Breakers Point dune grading denied (OR)
Opponents of the Breakers Point Homeowners Association’s proposal to grade down the sand dunes at the north-end condominium complex were caught unaware at this month’s planning commission meeting when the association unexpectedly changed its proposal in order to alleviate some of the community’s concerns. Read more……….
Water rights cause furor (OR)
On behalf of the subidivision, which is located on Dover Lane, Lois Medlyn, president of the Martin’s Commons Homeowners Association, is challenging the city’s ability to fine residents who haven’t used their water rights. Read more……..