Unused Development Rights Can Generate Welcome Revenue or Costly Headaches for Community Associations

 Most condominium boards are struggling, to some extent, with delinquent common area fees, budget shortfalls, rising foreclosures and other collateral damage from the economic downturn.  Many condominiums will also confront, if they haven’t already, another problem, painfully familiar to anyone who recalls the last crushing real estate downturn in the 1980s—arrested developments.  Some developers who began large-scale, multi-phased projects in happier times earlier in this decade have hit an economic wall.  They successfully completed the initial phases, but are now unable to find financing or prospective buyers for the rest.  So they have either moved on to more promising ventures or disappeared, leaving the communities they created with fewer units than anticipated, the land designated for the remaining buildings vacant, and the permits for the remaining phases approved but unused.  It is difficult for those living in a crisis to envision its end.  But however dismal the current picture seems, real estate is still cyclical and this miserable cycle, too, will end.  When it does, many condominium boards will have to decide what to do about their unfinished communities:  Complete them as planned; remove and sell the vacant land; sell the development rights; plant corn and raise chickens, or some combination of those options.   Read more

Past Homeowner Association Lawsuit May Be A Material Fact

Suppose that, in the past, your homeowner association (HOA) brought a lawsuit against the developer claiming some kind of construction defect. It happens, of course, all the time. Regardless of when the suit occurred, or what its outcome might have been, is the fact of the suit something that needs to be disclosed to a prospective buyer? A recent case from California's Second Appellate District (Calemine v. Samuelson) gives us some guidance.          Read more

Financial Storms Challenge Associations

National press reports provide almost daily examples of the financial pressures that are challenging, and sometimes crippling communities all over the country. “U.S. Property Bust Threatens Condominium Death Spiral,” a recent headline in a Miami newspaper warned, describing the record delinquencies and foreclosures that have left hundreds of Florida condominium communities without the revenues they need to pay their operating expenses.    Read more

How the Fair Housing Act Affects Community Associations

We should begin by looking at compliance with these federal laws with the premise that anyone who is a party to a real estate transaction can violate the Fair Housing Act. The purpose of the Fair Housing law, which was first implemented in 1968, is to protect a person's right to own, sell, purchase, or rent housing of his or her choice without fear of unlawful discrimination. The Fair Housing laws are intended to allow everyone equal access to housing. State and Federal Fair Housing laws prohibit discrimination in the housing market on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, handicap, or familial status. To discriminate against a person on the basis of his or her membership in one of these protected categories is against the law.   Read more

8 Ways to Share HOA News

Do you have a reliable system to get information to your HOA members quickly and accurately? Do you request suggestions and feedback? These are all signs of a proactive management style. Proactive managers welcome communication because it lets them know whether they are on track or derailed. As the saying goes, "The light at the end of the tunnel may be the headlight of an oncoming train." Better to know sooner than later.  Read more

In today’s harsh economic times, maintaining a healthy reserve fund is more important than ever. A co-op or condo’s reserve fund can be used to cover any number of emergency expenses from sudden repairs to legal costs. In addition, a reserve fund can be used for ongoing maintenance projects or for anticipated future repairs.   Read more

Low Reserves and Defaults Challenge Boards: Drafting a Budget in Uncertain Times

Even in the best of economic times, preparing a co-op or condo’s annual budget can be a tiresome task, fraught with uncertainty, estimations and shifting numbers. Factor in one of the most harrowing economic downturns in a century, with cash-strapped owners sometimes “skipping” their monthly maintenance fees—or even winding up in foreclosure—and you have a downright daunting task.    Read more

Association’s private street replacement conundrum

Most community associations that were established 30 years ago or more have been forced in recent decades to face the costly task of replacing their private streets. While all associations have numerous responsibilities for the replacement of very expensive common area infrastructure, typically including roof replacements, the private street replacement responsibility is perhaps different and more problematic.   Read more

Online Voting for Board Elections

Your association recently had its annual meeting and 2 board positions were up for election.  Out of 200 members, 10 were in attendance at the meeting, and an additional 10 submitted a proxy for their vote.  There were a total of 20 votes out of a possible 200, or ten percent.  Was apathy or inconvenience to blame for the lack of member participation?   Read more

Look It Up

In High School, my chemistry instructor advised me, “Never memorize something that you can look up; however, you still need to learn your periodic table of elements.” In college I worked as an assistant to the reference librarian continuing the discipline of “looking things up.” It was a wonderful lesson and it is one that I encourage others to pursue. There is a wealth of information available to anyone willing to “look things up”. The reference librarian is still an option, but the average person has several other alternatives available from the comfort and convenience of their home. The Internet opened the door to a vast resource. Frequently, board and committee members’ decisions are challenged by other owners; having substantiation from a reliable source brings ease to the overall process and results in increased credibility for the decision-makers.    Read more

Above and beyond: Creating technology amenities residents can get excited about

When it comes to managing the needs of a condominium’s residents, it can be nearly impossible to find solutions that please every resident all of the time. People take for granted the benefits of the association and consider dues a mandatory assessment. As a result, no one raves to family and friends about the amazing trash collection service their association has selected or the quality of the new vinyl siding on the building. Of course, all of these things are critical to the functionality of the condo, but no one wants to get out their checkbook for a special assessment.   Read more

FL: Don't withhold assessment in fighting condo board  I finally told him I will not pay my assessment if things don't improve. Is it OK to not pay my assessment?...

UT: Cedar Hills says no to HOA membership
Should a city have votes in a residential homeowners association? One city has decided no....

TX: Councilwoman hosts first neighborhood group mixer  She hosted the first mixer for District 9 homeowners' association presidents July 16 to mingle and introduce her staff to about 60 HOA leaders....

FL: New condo hurricane kits hit the market
Joan Cain knows what it's like to be trapped by a major storm. She was holed up in her three-bedroom home during Hurricanes Katrina, Wilma and Francis and knows how important it is to be prepared with enough supplies to last for days, even weeks....

UT: Bluffdale man shot while on neighborhood watch  A late night altercation left one man fighting to survive. The shooting happened Tuesday night in a Bluffdale neighborhood. The victim, authorities say, is a member of the local neighborhood watch; the shooter is a resident of the neighborhood....

VA: FBI looking into lost money; missing hiker was treasurer of funds
The Albemarle County Police Department has opened a joint criminal investigation with the FBI to find out what happened to the $666,446 missing from the Glenmore Community Association's coffers....

AZ: Homeowner fights HOA rules
A valley man is upset about the latest HOA rules that govern his Community in Goodyear. He's even hired a lawyer. Tom Anuszewski rents out his home in Canyon Trails. He claims the new rules are unfair to him and his tenants and that they may even be discrimina...

CA: Homeowner Associations Wield Great Power Amid Foreclosures
Californians are well aware of the flood of foreclosures that have swept through and continue to sweep through the state in this nagging recession that is now 19 months old. In the first half of 2009, more than 390,000 Californians were foreclosed upon in near...

FL: Police: former HOA president steals $166K from association
This after police say the president and bookkeeper of Casablanca's homeowner's association raided association funds for more than $166,000....

MA: Ashland condo owners help local charities
Since then, the condo owners' philanthropy has grown remarkably. In addition to the food donations, they give holiday presents through the pantry to needy children, pay for the lunches of children at the town summer camp who qualify for federally subsidized me...

CA: Is deactivating gate transponders legal?
Ladera HOA says residents delinquent on fees will lose amenities, including automated gate access to Covenant Hills...

SC: Wedgefield Plantation owners split on canal upkeep
The question over who should pay $1 million or more to dredge canals at Wedgefield Plantation in Georgetown County continues to divide the 577-lot community, as residents who oppose paying for the project threaten to remove the association's board....

NV: Changes to AB 350 include investing funds and policies
We'll continue our discussion from last week on the amendments made to Assembly Bill 350....

NV: You ask: wrong color hydrants?
According to the fire department, the hydrants in Heather's neighborhood are the wrong color....

TN: Tellico residents sue association
Tellico Village residents have filed a lawsuit in Loudon County Chancery Court challenging the refusal by the property owners' association to provide access to records related to the management of the community....

FL: Hogs Make Mess Of Retirement Community
The Homeowner's Association had her call a trapper. And Friday morning she got proof of her problem: two piglets in the trap....

IL: Reforms will have significant impact on association members
In early 2009, the council's findings were circulated for public comment and though a final report was not submitted, the recommendations and findings were circulated throughout the legislature and as a result a number of bills are pending or have been adopted...

TX: Former condo owners, SMU settle lawsuit over land near Bush library
The long and bitter lawsuit over who owns land near the site of the future Bush presidential library came to an abrupt end Friday when SMU settled the case with two former condominium owners....

CT: Condo association audit probes 'irregularities'
Lakeside Condominiums, a 140-unit complex on Lakeside Drive, is in the midst of a forensic audit of one of the complex's two associations to look into "irregularities" that were uncovered....

GA: Dam being raised at Mirror Lake
Though the lake is technically a ML Homeowners' Association asset, Fairgreen still controls the HOA and paid $1.2 million to have the dam replaced to protect the company's investment in the property...

TX: Bobcats prey on smaller cousins in subdivision  Al Zito, president of the Hills of Monticello Homeowner's Association, said that bobcats had been seen for two or three months and that residents were warned in e-mails, newsletters and on the association's Web site to keep their pets inside...

WA: Get to know the neighbors before you buy a condo  Condos offer the benefits of home ownership without all the maintenance and repair work. The condo association takes care of all that. Unfortunately, that's where many condo buyers drop the ball....

FL: Community split over association mandates
It's an age-old story. Two rival factions become locked in a power struggle. Allegations are made, then threats follow. Money, honor and territory are at stake....

NC: Woman charged with stealing $35,000 from homeowner's association  A Flat Rock woman has been charged with obtaining property by false pretenses for allegedly stealing from a homeowner's association...