Too often, housing that targets “empty nest” and “life after work” buyers is still set up for “drop out of the mainstream” and “end of purposeful life” living that can dead-end people financially and socially in the future. These condominiums and developments seem set on housing residents for a handful of quiet retirement years after […]
Un-American Condo Termination Law Needs To Be Changed and In Rebuttal: Another Take on Condo Termination Law
Strong property rights are fundamental to our country’s capitalist system of free enterprise. In The Founder’s Constitution in 1787, President John Adams wrote: “Property is a right of mankind as surely as liberty. The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there […]
The vilification of outdoor play
Monday. Late-morning. Hotter than hot. Not even 24 hours home from vacation, and I was going through the piles of mail. There was a knock at the door, which was weird because no one ever knocks on our door unless it’s the UPS guy, and he doesn’t come until dinnertime. Corralling the crazy barky dog, […]
New Hope for Homeowners in California HOAs
Homeowner’s Associations, created by deed provisions to serve homeowners in condominium developments, are often at odds with individual owners of units. Sometimes these conflicts escalate to the point where the HOA actually forecloses on a homeowner’s interest in the unit, resulting in a total loss to the homeowner. Read more…….
The end of neighbours
It’s a new day in the neighbourhood all across the Western world. More than 30 per cent of Canadians now say they feel disconnected from their neighbours, while half of Americans admit they don’t know the names of theirs. An Australian sociologist investigating community responses in the wake of the 2011 floods in Queensland found […]
CAI Presses for Defeat of Federal Legislation to Pre-empt CC&Rs
Congress is slated to begin its final weeks in session prior to adjourning for the 2014 election. While the primary purpose of the session is passage of stop-gap legislation to temporarily fund federal government operations through December, CAI Government Affairs is working to prevent action on legislation that harms community associations. Read more……….
A Radio Tower in Every Yard?
Most often the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (also known as the “CCR’s,” “Declaration of Condominium,” “Restrictions,” or by other names) is the highest governing document within an association. Typically, the terms of this document cannot be waived without express authority. After all, the Declaration is a binding contract among the members of the […]
HOA Management, A Reality Check for Board Members, Management and Homeowners
Having professional management, especially in these times of economic down turn, is more important than ever. With the continuing barrage of laws being passed related to our industry, combined with the statues already on the books, not to do so would be like going into court without an attorney, you can do it, but the […]
Heritage House Condos, Greensboro, NC
One of the negatives to linking to news stories, is that those stories are most often, just one side of an issue. Rarely do you get comments from the association, as it takes them too long to meet and decide on a response. By then, it’s “old news” and no longer on the active pages. […]
Other victims of the recession (ID)
The recession hit hard in America as well as here in North Idaho. Not only were families affected by job loss and the resulting foreclosures of their homes, but there were other victims as well. With an inability to make house payments came other difficulties including a decrease in revenue for Home Owners’ Associations. […]
The days of simply being able to smoke ‘em, anywhere, if you got ‘em are long gone, and smoking pot at home may be going the same way.
Where this is going to get dicey in Aurora is in apartment, condo and townhouse complexes. Homeowner associations governing these communities can and should regulate drunken behavior in common areas, but they can’t and shouldn’t restrict residents from consuming legal alcoholic beverages Read more…………
Our view: Rules are meant to be … followed (CA)
Reports of a Nevada County man’s duel with his homeowner’s association made headlines well beyond the county borders in the past week, after he said his furniture-building hobby was ordered to be shut down. Read more……..
California drought: We all must conserve
The “Tone Deaf Award of the Month” goes to the Bay Isle Pointe Homeowners Association, which just sent out green postcards warning selected residents of the Alameda development to use a little more water on their lawns. Read more……..
Federal Legislation re: Ham Antennas
Last month, U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) introduced H.R. 4969, legislation that may invalidate community association rules and architectural standards that govern the installation and use of amateur radio towers and antennas. If H.R. 4969 becomes law, homeowners who want to install a radio tower or antenna for amateur radio use would not have to go through the […]
Battle begins for Sarasota County Human Rights Ordinance
The desire for the HRO came out of a conflict with 2013 Venice condo complex, Casa Di Amici, where Nowak rents her condo to her parents. Last summer, the property released a new restrictions that stated any couple—gay or straight—that is defined as being in a domestic partnership is barred from buying a home at […]
When You Send Plans to Your Homeowners Association, It’s Real
In case you don’t know me very well, here’s the deal on my property. Eric and I have 4 acres. Our acreage is located in a neighborhood. Our neighborhood has an Homeowners Association. Read more……..
It May Be Time to Fire Your HOA Management Company
Here is a lesson that we can all take to heart. My contact and experience with management companies is fairly extensive–both as a home owner/investor and in my experience as a Realtor with many different management companies in condo associations and single family communities alike. What I have seen over the years is that management companies […]
Survival and Prepping in a Homeowner’s Association,
As federal, state, local, and county governments reel under the weight of reduced tax revenues, declining productivity, and impossible “unfunded liabilities” (pensions, entitlements and health–welfare services), many communities are only able to continue to operate and maintain their facilities and infrastructure due in whole or in part to self-governed Homeowner Associations (HOAs). Part 1………. […]
EDITORIAL: Intense secrecy in HOA fraud case a travesty (NV)
The federal justice system’s contempt for transparency knows no bounds. A culture that has long rejected openness and accountability to taxpayers is taking secrecy to an outrageous new level in the prosecution of defendants in the valley’s homeowner association fraud case. Read more…….
FHA poised to release new rules impacting HOA’s
New FHA rules may cause problems for buyers and sellers. An article by Ken Harney in a recent issue of Inman News overviews the potential negative impact of a looking FHA rules change. Read more……..
The saga of solar panels
We applied for a permit to install solar panels on the roof of our house in Great Island of Plymouth in September 2013. On April 3, 2014, our panels started to produce electricity. During the seven months between those dates, we encountered the most infuriating resistance from our homeowners association. Read more………
Rules, Laws, Guidelines or Suggestions
Today is tax day. Not a fun day for a lot of people, I suspect. Most of us have come to terms with it as just being one of the many rules that we have to deal with if we are to live in the U.S.A. That particular set of rules is complicated. Tens of […]
Don’t require condos to have thirsty lawns
Anyone who’s ever lived in a condominium knows that the homeowners association isn’t a happy institution for neighborly chats: it’s a form of hyper-hyper local government that can have a huge effect on how you live your life. Read more……
Saving Lives Verses Driveway Mildew — Our Skewed Values
I have recently returned from a poor dusty village west of Leon, Nicaragua where the locals live in huts built of plastic wrap walls and corrugated tin roofs held up by tree branches. During this trip with the Yale Alumni Service Corps, I helped organize volunteers to construct a school addition, build a bridge, teach […]
LETTERS: HOA board loses valuable members (NV)
As a homeowner within a community with a homeowners association, and as a volunteer on that association’s board of directors, I was heartbroken by the article in the March 6 Review Journal (“Three off HOA oversight board”). I believe the citizens of Nevada have suffered a great loss. Read more………
Law skews condominium votes (FL)
Thanks to the Legislature’s constant tinkering with Florida Statute 718, which regulates our condominiums, an association conducting a vote on issues related to ownership and bylaws encounters something quite unheard of. Read more……..
The realities of CC&Rs, homeowner associations
agree with Sen. Jim Rice about unwarranted homeowner association fines; however, the issue goes much deeper than that. When community developments are proposed to the county commissioners and city planners, the developers also present the CC&Rs to the community for approval. Once a set portion of the project is inhabited, the developer hands off the […]
Why Taxpayers Will Bail Out the Rich When the Next Storm Hits
As homeowners around the nation protest skyrocketing premiums for federal flood insurance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has quietly moved the lines on its flood maps to benefit hundreds of oceanfront condo buildings and million-dollar homes, according to an analysis of federal records by NBC News. Read more……..
Transfer Fees and other add-on costs in management contracts
When I began managing condos back in the mid-’70’s, the management contract contained only a few add-on costs above and beyond the basic per-door management fee. Copies and postage were the main two and I can’t even remember if their were any others. We absorbed all other costs in the basic contract. This worked fine […]
It’s My Opinion: Rules Are Rules
Lois Mondres has lived in a South Florida condominium for 25 years. For the past five years she has enjoyed maintaining a small vegetable garden. Mrs. Mondres grew lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, bok choy, kale and tomatoes in a plot in front of her unit. The 82 year-old senior is a vegan and depended on her […]
The Attack on Transfer Fees
The first major legislative issue concerning homeowners associations within the state of Colorado was kicked off today on competing fronts. In a Call to Action sent by CAI’s Legislative Action Committee, community association professionals were alerted of pending legislation geared at capping or eliminating transfer fees collected by management companies when a unit or home […]
A Grave Injustice in the Dallas Dog Poop Shooting Case
Recently, Chung Kim, an elderly Korean American man was sentenced to life in prison for shooting his neighbors over an ongoing conflict over poop, urine, and noise. To call it a simple dispute would trivialize the matter. Originally, there had been tension over noise and excrement, which his neighbors had consistently dropped or sprayed into […]
Suburban homesteading on a subdivision scale
If I were the only one with an interest in suburban agriculture, I wouldn’t blog about it so frequently. But the fact is, it’s pretty popular around here, as these aerial photo grabs indicate. Read more…….
New Years’ Resolution – Peaceful Living in Community Associations
For years I have represented homeowners in disputes with their associations, whether it is a homeowners’ association, condo association, or mobile home park. These battles are not easy, emotionally, and are very expensive, with costs of more than $100,000 if the matter goes to trial. Even if the client wins, the end result is misery. […]
Guest opinion (CO): Our roads, our responsibility
Yesterday, as former president of my HOA, I received a note asking both if I was aware of the latest propaganda email from Fairness in Road Maintenance (FIRM) stating that, without immediate action, I would lose all right to object to a new assessment on my property, and what I was going to do. I […]
Imposter service animals posing a growing problem
It’s an easy law to break, and dog cheats do. By strapping a vest or backpack that says “service animal” to their pet, anyone can go in stores and restaurants where other dogs are banned, creating growing problems for the disabled community and business owners and leading to calls for better identifying the real deal. […]
Airing Dirty Laundry
I have a bit of apprehension in writing today’s column — it’s a little like airing one’s dirty laundry, not mine but the dirty laundry of my neighborhood. For that reason no names will appear. All of this stems from the annual WillowBrook Homeowner’s Association meeting held this past Tuesday evening. Read more…..
Chicago COA’s City Trash Rebate
The City of Chicago has been reimbursing condo owners $75.00 every year since 1985, due to the fact that their city haulers are unable to retrieve trash from condominium buildings. Thus causing condominiums to hire their own waste haulers. Now, this wouldn’t be such a big deal, but the city trash fees are incorporated into […]
New legislation does harm to HOAs (NV)
I’ve have often thought that there should be a sign above the door as you enter the state Legislative Building in Carson City that reads, “Do no harm.” It was always my thinking that state legislators should be trying to make our lives better. Then I read Barbara Holland’s homeowners association column (“HOA law to […]
Federal Agencies Release New Qualified Residential Mortgage Proposal
On August 28th, six federal agencies tasked with writing mortgage rules released new draft regulations to define the characteristics of Qualified Residential Mortgages or QRMs. Mortgages classified as QRMs will likely have lower interest rates and are projected to become the preferred mortgage product offered to consumers. Federal banking regulators have struggled to define QRM […]
Could academic principles transform private residential communities?
My husband and I just returned from dropping off our daughter for her freshman year of college at a very beautiful school with a rigorous undergraduate business program. While we were bracing ourselves for the flood of emotions associated with dropping off a child at a campus a great distance from our home, we also […]
In seeking storm relief, condos and co-ops find not all homeowners are equal
Thousands of condominium and housing cooperative owners whose properties were damaged when Hurricane Sandy battered the East Coast last year learned — after the fact — that they were not eligible for financial grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Read more…..
The lesson of Florida v. Zimmerman
The much discussed murder trial in Sanford, Fla., which came to a conclusion earlier this month will be cited as State of Florida vs. George Zimmerman; but that name doesn’t speak to the overriding issues involved in the case. Those issues are the proliferation of guns in our society and an emerging vigilantism. Read More……
Who should be responsible for common areas?
Folded into the seemingly endless stack of papers people sign when the by houses in modern times, at least houses in residential developments, are seemingly innocuous commitments to participate in homeowners associations. Generally, homeowners and the associations have relatively little contact. The associations send dues bills or dues bill booklets to the houses or townhouses […]
Should Co-op Boards Prohibit Shareholders Having Guns? The Issues
After the recent mass-murder shootings at Sandy Hook and elsewhere, co-op boards have begun in earnest to consider gun control. Part 1 of this story established that boards may ask about gun ownership during an admissions interview and may prohibit gun-owners from becoming shareholders: The Second Amendment only applies to the government, not privately held […]
How the Trayvon Martin tragedy affects you, your community
With the George Zimmerman trial dominating the news and calling attention once again to the tragic shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin last year in Sanford, Fla., many homeowners need to take notice. Specifically, the horrific incident and the likelihood of a subsequent large civil lawsuit for wrongful death should serve as a wakeup call for […]
CAI continues fight for FEMA disaster relief equality
Since the beginning of the year, CAI has continued to step up its efforts to secure access to federal disaster relief funds for community associations across the United States. CAI members impacted by Hurricane Sandy continue facing high recovery costs as local governments are being denied Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reimbursement for debris removal […]
American Idle: HOA Circus
After the annual homeowner association meeting in our little gated community of 19 homes in south Orlando, one neighbor declared it “our best meeting ever.” Read More……
Time to abolish the owner-occupied director position
It is rare for us at Ontario Condo Law Blog to beat up on an underdog, but the owner-occupied reserved position on condo boards is decidedly worthy of that honour. That reserved position (set out in the Condominium Act, 1998, subsections 28(3), 46(3) and 51(5) to (8)) surely is an underdog – it enjoys little or […]
Legalized, Decriminalized or Prescribed, Marijuana Issues Will Confront Boards
Marijuana is becoming legal, to various extents, in a lot of places. Some states such as New Jersey and California allow if for medical purposes. Colorado just plain allows it. Some predict that sooner or later it will pretty much just be legal, basically everywhere. Read More……