HOA CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT: CAI finally admits to being a business 501(c)6 trade organization By George K. Staropoli January 15, 2017 CAI finally admits to being a business trade tax-exempt organization. Community Associations Institute (CAI) is a national nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization … Continue reading
McClatchyDC: HOAs from hell: more horror stories, more fraud – and prospect of legislative action By Judy L. Thomas December 23, 2016 In Georgia, a decorated Army veteran who lost a leg in Afghanistan is now ensnared in a battle on … Continue reading
THE MORTGAGE REPORTS: Are HOA Dues Making Real Estate Unaffordable? By Peter Miller December 15, 2016 HOA Dues Don’t Make The News — But Maybe They Should When mortgage rates move a quarter percent in any direction, that’s big news. … Continue reading
The Washington Post: Condominiums in Crisis: Financial troubles put many communities at risk By Bill Turque September 18, 2016 For five summers, a tarp has covered the swimming pool at Grand Bel II, a condominium community in Silver Spring that has … Continue reading
STRONGTOWNS.ORG: SUBURBAN POVERTY MEETS HOMEOWNER’S ASSOCIATIONS By Nathaniel M. Hood August 16, 2016 What will happen to Homeowner’s Associations in an America with increasing suburban poverty? It will be messy. The Atlantic went so far as to label suburbs as … Continue reading
The Wall Street Journal: Neighbor Disputes Turn Wealthy Areas Into War Zones By KATY MCLAUGHLIN July 28, 2016 The battle between homeowner Marshall Jenney and the Seabreeze Homeowners Association in Rehoboth Beach, Del., began innocently enough: Some of Mr. Jenney’s … Continue reading
About the Film “The HOAX” is an independent examination of the abuse of power and lack of regulation in the homeowners’ association (HOA) industry; a business whose key selling point is the protection of property values. The film follows an … Continue reading
DAILY DOSE: FHFA Vows to Keep Fighting HOA Super Priority Liens By Brian Honea May 10, 2016 The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has reaffirmed its support of authorized servicer reliance on the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) … Continue reading
Kiplinger: 5 reasons You Hate Your Homeowners Association 5. Some home buyers simply refuse to consider homes governed by an HOA, limiting your market By Bob Niedt April 20, 2016 When you rent, it’s understood you’re playing by the landlord’s … Continue reading
Neighbors at War: KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) Ward Lucas March 9, 2016 Guest Blog by Nila Ridings Many will recognize the acronym KISS. It stands for Keep It Simple Stupid. The question is asked: “How do we wake up … Continue reading
DSNEWS.com: Servicers: Stop HOA Liens From Interfering With Investor Profits By Xhevrije West March 10, 2016 For some time there have been questions surrounding how servicers can protect the lien rights of their investors with regard to the lien position of … Continue reading
Neighbors at War: Associa, CAI and Crooked HOA Transfer Fees By Ward Lucas February 14, 2016 Transfer fees are among the biggest scams in the housing business. North Carolina outlawed them a couple of years ago. Colorado is trying. New … Continue reading
CCFJ.NET: HOAs Behaving Badly – and How Homeowners Can Fight Back Article Courtesy of FOX NEWS Published February 9, 2016 If you own your home, you may be king or queen of your domain. However, if it’s part of … Continue reading
LEXOLOGY.COM: Federal Court in FDCPA and NCDCA case filed by aggrieved former borrower may disregard findings of fact made by state foreclosure court without implicating Rooker-Feldman doctrine Hutchens Law Firm October 1, 2015 Attorneys representing a homeowners’ association in foreclosure … Continue reading
Written on September 12, 2015 by Beth Grimm So, this blog is about options you have, and your Association has, if you have become seriously behind in making homeowner assessment payments. You might ask this: “I owe a whole bunch … Continue reading
By Frank Lovece Do some of your fellow board members have “unofficial” meetings without certain members, where they decide things in advance of the regular meeting? Do they get together in secret and arrange to vote as a bloc? Is … Continue reading
NeighborsatWar.com: HOA Survey is Expanding guest blog by Sara Benson August 17, 2015 So far, we have several hundred responses yet we still need your help! We need one final push. Please take the survey and promote the survey on … Continue reading
The Survey says…. Well, that’s where we need YOUR help. Over the past several decades housing and homeownership has changed dramatically. Gone are the days when a house was a stand alone dwelling, where the owner had full sovereignty of … Continue reading
JDSUPRA BUSINESS ADVISOR: Courts, States Continue to Wrestle with Homeowners Association Assessment Liens By Kenneth Jarin, Joseph E. Lubinski, Abran Vigil, Roger Winston – Ballard Spahr LLP August 3, 2015 The circumstances under which a condominium or homeowners association (HOA) … Continue reading
The board at the Tiber Island Cooperative Homes in Washington, D.C., passed a rule restricting owners’ speech rights after dissenters began challenging the board. A shareholder, John Jordon, opposed the change and is now publicizing the issue–including getting the ACLU … Continue reading
ABA and several other trade groups yesterday released a statement of principles on “super-priority” liens placed by homeowner associations that in some states have been recognized as senior even to claims by first-lien mortgage holders. The principles come in response … Continue reading
REALTY BIZ NEWS: Homeowner associations liens cause problems for buyers By Mike Wheatley May 19, 2015 Home buyers may soon face more stringent underwriting standards and even higher interest rates when applying for a mortgage to purchase a home that … Continue reading
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has issued a statement saying it has not consented nor will it consent to the foreclosure of a GSE-backed mortgage loan when initiated by a homeowners association (HOA) that has attached “super-priority” lien status … Continue reading
By Robert Ducharme Posted Apr. 18, 2015 at 2:01 AM ‘ Most boards in condominium associations are filled with well-meaning, pleasant men and women who willingly give up free time. They do this, strangely enough, to volunteer at odd hours … Continue reading
MarinaCityOnline.com: Is your condo association run by a ‘bully board’? By Don DeBat April 19, 2015 “Bully boards” are so prevalent in the world of condominiums that the term is commonplace among community association property managers and real estate attorneys.It’s … Continue reading
By RON PAGANO5:48 p.m. EDT April 10, 2015 It’s springtime and people are thinking of buying their dream house. However, if you are looking to buy in a community governed by a homeowners association, you may want to think again. I’ve … Continue reading
Neighbors at War: Disbanding an HOA By Ward Lucas April 14, 2015 Posted on April 14, 2015 by Ward Lucas I think I’ve written about this before, so forgive me if this is repetitive. But a friend of mine lives … Continue reading
The Washington Post: Banning speech close to home By John Jordan April 3, 2015 About 20 percent of Americans live in communities regulated by a homeowners association (HOA), run by boards that, under state and federal law, have nearly unchecked … Continue reading
NEIGHBORSATWAR.com: HOA Embezzlement Hits All, From High & Mighty to Small & Weak By Deborah Goonan March 15, 2015 Some readers may be under the impression that embezzlement of HOA funds only happens to Homeowners’ Associations (HOAs) with hundreds or … Continue reading
George K. Staropoli: The unconstitutional delegation of implied rulemaking powers to HOAs In regard to the delegation of legislative powers to private entities, a review of the fuzzy case history of the Non-delegation doctrine indicates a constitutional requirement for governmental … Continue reading
NEIGHBORSATWAR.com: HOA Embezzlement Hits All, From High & Mighty to Small & Weak By Deborah Goonan March 15, 2015 Some readers may be under the impression that embezzlement of HOA funds only happens to Homeowners’ Associations (HOAs) with hundreds or … Continue reading
Professor Gary Solomon: THE BOTTOM LINE: HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS IN AMERICA January 14, 2015 History dictates: Not knowing the truth is a road to social disaster. Introduction Many readers are familiar with my academic work related to Homeowners Associations(HOAs): HOA: Crisis … Continue reading
LawfirmRBS.com: Community Association Managers, Lawyers, and Tooth Whitening? The key to boards avoiding claims of antitrust appears to be “active supervision” by the state. March 11, 2015 So, what do state boards that regulate community association managers and dentists have … Continue reading
Mortgage Servicing News: The Hidden Impact of HOA Delinquencies By Rosie Biundo February 26, 2015 Homeowners association claims pose serious threats to servicers and investors. The number of associations in the U.S. is estimated to be between 300,000 and 350,000 and more … Continue reading
The New York Times: Reform the Condominium By Matthew Gordon Lasner February 17, 2015 FROM New York to Miami, from South Padre Island, Tex., to Park City, Utah, the American condominium has become the hot new investment for global capital. … Continue reading
Posted on February 9, 2015 by wkolobaric As the housing market continues to slowly recover from the foreclosure crisis in Michigan, and other areas of the country, many community associations are still facing significant challenges with unit owners who file … Continue reading
HUD Press Release The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it has charged a 1,144-unit Coney Island cooperative development and the president of its board of directors with housing discrimination for refusing to allow a … Continue reading
MarketWatch.Com: Condo-fee foreclosures become headache for homeowners By Daniel Goldstein January 9, 2015 If you’ve fallen behind on your condo or homeowner association (HOA) fees, this might be a shocker for you: Your HOA or condo association might have the … Continue reading
HOUSING WIRE: FHFA issues warning on “super priority” liens By Ben Lane December 22, 2014 The Federal Housing Finance Agency has issued a warning to homeowners, financial institutions and state authorities, citing its concern with super-priority liens created by either … Continue reading
PVTGOV.WORDPRESS.COM: From NJ Supreme Court Twin Rivers to Dublirer: HOAs are Separate but Unequal Governments By George K. Staropoli December 15, 2014 In a parallel that can be made with Plessy v. Ferguson (163 U.S. 537,1896) and its enlightened reversal … Continue reading
MORTGAGE PROFESSIONAL AMERICA: Federal district court bars HOA foreclosure sale of first lien HUD-insured mortgages By MPA December 2, 2014 Recently, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada held that a homeowners association (HOA) foreclosure sale is not valid … Continue reading
by Ali Donoghue | November 19, 2014 For many prospective homebuyers, a homeowners association (HOA) is not top of mind. Certainly, it’s less sexy than floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a skyline, or a master bathroom with a built-in Jacuzzi. But an … Continue reading
HOUSINGWIRE.COM: Court rulings in unpaid HOA fees raise risk in RMBS, SFR deals Moody’s: Newer deals have provisions to mitigate risk By Trey Garrison November 24, 2014 A new report from Moody’s Investors Service spotlights how recent rulings by the … Continue reading
HUNTINGTONNEWS.NET: Book Review: ‘Escaping Condo Jail’: Comprehensive Book Explores Pitfalls of Condominium, Home Owner Association Real Estate with Research, Wit Reviewed by David M. Kinchen November 18, 2014 If you have your heart set on buying a condo, cooperative apartment … Continue reading
JDSUPRA BUSINESS ADVISOR: “First” Deeds of Trust now Second in Line? …the Nevada Supreme Court upheld the foreclosure of a piece of property for $6,000, which satisfied the HOA lien and completely wiped out the $885,000 first mortgage/deed of trust … Continue reading
Assessments – commonly known as HOA dues – are the lifeblood of any Homeowners and Condominium Association. Each association has different policies. This is why it’s wise to ask for a list of the HOA rules and regulations. In general, … Continue reading
Neighbors at War: CAI Seeks Federal Legislation, So Should Homeowners Rights Advocates By Deborah Noonan November 14, 2014 CAI makes it abundantly clear they oppose federal regulation of HOAs. Yet the HOA industry has relied heavily on federally backed mortgage financing … Continue reading
BY ARI PHILLIPS POSTED ON AUGUST 21, 2014 AT 1:01 PM UPDATED: AUGUST 21, 2014 AT 2:54 PM Homeowners’ associations are naturally conservative, having to appeal to the masses, and many of them find themselves with outdated or unaccommodating solar laws right … Continue reading
By David Myers Posted November 7, 2014 A recent court ruling strengthens the ability of many homeowners associations to file a lien or even foreclose on the home of owners who are behind on their monthly payments. Read more
By: Rob Samouce A recently reported case confirms what we have to sometimes tell clients to their dismay. If an association has grounds for a legal action against an owner or a vendor or the other way around, the legal … Continue reading