One Side:  HUD, congressional action needed to stop tide of condo lawsuits

In the midst of an already depressed Florida residential real estate market, individuals who purchased condo units in good faith in recent years are now facing yet another threat to their property's value in the form of mushrooming litigation by some speculative pre-construction investors.  Read more

The Other Side:  When it comes to interstate land sales, developers shouldn't get a free pass

Lawyers Alan S. Becker and Allen M. Levine have every right to advocate a position favorable to their big developer clients in the pages of your newspaper, Saturday, April 12. They are not, however, entitled to skew the facts in urging Congress to gut the federal Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act, one of the most important sources of protection afforded to buyers of residential real estate, including Florida condominiums. The authors are dead wrong on the following points:  Read more

Credit squeeze could hurt condo sellers, buyers

If you own or plan to buy a condominium, an ominous new phase of the mortgage credit squeeze could be looming on your horizon. As a result of underwriting changes by giant investors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, plus severe new restrictions by private mortgage insurers, getting a loan on a condo unit -- or even refinancing one you already own -- could prove tougher than you imagined.   Read more

Maintenance, Repair & Replacement of Physical Assets - A Snapshot of the Essentials

Community Associations have certain obligations and responsibilities for the maintenance, repair and replacement of common physical assets.  Typically, the obligations of the Association and responsibilities of its Board are contained within its governing documents and state statutes.  Boards of Directors are well advised to seek counsel from its attorney regarding these obligations and responsibilities and interpretation of any vague or confusing provisions in the documents.  Read more  (PDF)

The latest edition of the newsletter from the Association of Professional Reserve Analysts is now available  (PDF)

Association Loans - A Beacon in a Turbulent Economic Climate

Understandably, few community associations have escaped the impact of the troubled mortgage market. Sub prime interest rates are up and home sales are in decline. With more homeowners’ income being used to pay increasing mortgage payments, the risk of assessment delinquencies increase. Further, associations must contend with inflation, and increases in the cost of utilities and vendor service contracts. Budgeting for bad debt in your communities’ operating budgets is today’s reality.                   Read more (PDF)

Catastrophe & Controversy - Who Should Pay the Manager's Fee?

When disaster strikes a community association, the property manager is usually among the first on the scene, playing a pivotal role first in responding to the emergency and then in overseeing the insurance claim and coordinating the repair and reconstruction work that follows. Managers, understandably, expect to be compensated for time, effort, and angst that far exceed the normal scope of their duties. Indeed, most management contracts today include the management of insurance claims in the list of “non-routine” items for which additional compensation will be paid.
“The question is not whether managers should be paid – everyone agrees that’s reasonable,” David Levy, CMCA, PCAM, owner of Sterling Services, Inc. in Massachusetts, observes. “The question is who should pay the manager’s fee.”   That question defines a long-simmering dispute between managers, who say the insurance the association receives from the settlement of its claim should include coverage for the manager’s fee, and insurers, who argue that this cost is not appropriately part of the damage claim and should not be paid from the insurance proceeds.   Read more

Consumer Alert: Property Tax Reduction Offers

Larry Stone, Silicon Valley's tax assessor , is warning homeowners to beware of companies seeking cash to help homeowners lower their property tax. He says a local company, asking for $99 to perform a property tax reduction services, is "disgraceful" because the assessor's office performs the service for free. The sales pitch also arrives with official-looking letterhead. "There's simply no reason at all for a property owner to pay a fee to a private company for a service taxpayers receive from the Assessor's Office without charge," Stone said. This consumer alert comes from Silicon Valley's Santa Clara County, but it's good advice for any homeowner anywhere facing lower property values. Here's why.    Read more

The Coveted Onsite Manager Position -- or is it?

While portfolio management (managers managing numerous associations) is prevalent in most areas, there are a large number of large scale associations that require an on-site manager, dedicated solely to that site. For many years those positions have been considered the premier positions, largely because:

• The associations are usually considered to be upscale, coveted communities.
• There is only one board and one set of contractors and service providers with whom to work.
• There is a greater sense of being part of the association’s “family” and workforce team.
• There are fewer meetings to attend. The salary is usually comparable to or better than that of a medium-sized portfolio.
• The manager can learn the property’s quirks, needs and operational issues easily because there is just one property on which to focus, shortening the learning curve to becoming an expert on the community.

It sounds wonderful doesn’t it? An ideal life, if there is such a thing in the association management industry. However there are pitfalls that a manager should be well aware of before making such a career move. And there are steps one can take to avoid the shortcomings.   Read more

New Blood:  Where Will It Come From?

I’ve often joked that if you are an experienced community manager, you can always find employment in our industry unless you are a convicted felon, and probably even then. Of course, management company executives and Association Boards know that really it’s no joke. Despite the recent market turndown, experienced community managers are in short supply and that supply is getting shorter everyday. As a national industry recruiter, I can give you some facts to ponder:  Read more   (PDF)

To Prevent Fires, Focus on Occupants

The numbers are sobering. More than 3,000 people die and more than 18,000 people are injured in the U.S. every year because of fires, according to the Society of Fire Protection Engineers. Beyond the human toll, fires cause roughly $10 billion in property damage annually. Those grim statistics explain why commercial and institutional buildings are governed by strict codes and equipped with sophisticated fire and life safety systems. But clearly significant fire risks remain. Understanding the nature and scope of those risks is key to managing them.   Read more

To see how important this is, check the News about the condo/HOA fires during the past six months

 Green Retrofitting: The Old Becomes New

For the owners and management of older co-ops and condos, "going green" may be quite appealing. But is it practical in dollars-and-cents terms? How expensive is it to retrofit an existing building to make it more energy efficient? Every building's needs are different, but upfront you can figure that a 10 percent reduction in energy use is easy, a 20 percent reduction is feasible and a 30 percent reduction is possible — depending on how much you're willing to invest in energy-efficiency technology. With fuel costs increasing, these kinds of savings become ever more attractive.  Read more