Neighbors at War: HOAS as ‘MINI-governments” Are HOAs “contractual agreements” or “mini-governments?” Guest blog by Deborah Goonan November 6, 2014 A recent particle published at Virginia’s TimesDispatch.com, has summarized the proliferation of HOAs as follows: “(Homeowners’) associations are nearly ubiquitous … Continue reading
Neighbors at War: What Should Federal HOA Regulation Look Like? Federal legislation, therefore, must be viewed as the next generation of Civil Rights in America. guest blog by Deborah Goonan October 29, 2014 We have a huge, systemic problem in … Continue reading
By MICHAEL KINCART Published: Wednesday, October 22, 2014 at 9:46 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, October 22, 2014 at 9:46 p.m One of the most common and critical mistakes a person can make before buying a home is failing to read … Continue reading
Posted: September 26, 2014 By Rob M. Davies Before you buy into a homeowners association, you should know what you are getting yourself into. A new homeowner moves into a neighborhood governed by a private association, receives an invitation to … Continue reading
neighborsatwar.com: The Rental Restriction Quandary in Residential HOAs guest blog by Deborah Goonan September 29, 2014 One of the most controversial battles in residential HOAs and Condos centers on rental restrictions. This blog analyzes the arguments for and against rental restrictions … Continue reading
Neighbors at War: Titleholder Equity Is The Association’s Windfall By Donie Vanitzian JD September 3, 2014 Human Capital is used to supply ALL the homeowner association’s cash flow. Without the board’s statutory mandate to assess at-will, the association could not … Continue reading
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination against individuals based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin. The Fair Housing Act applies to community associations in that it prohibits discrimination in the provisions of services or facilities … Continue reading
If you don’t pay the fees and special assessments imposed by your homeowners’ association, in most cases, a lien will usually automatically attach to your property. In certain states, homeowners’ association liens are given “super lien” status. Read on to … Continue reading
ARRL.ORG: Early Efforts on Behalf of “The Amateur Radio Parity Act” HR.4969 Bearing Fruit “HR.4969 only seeks ‘reasonable accommodation’ for Amateur Radio communication. It would give you a seat at the table with your homeowners’ association, requiring it to arrive … Continue reading
by Shelah Lynn, Katherine Noonan, Roger Winston Ballard Spahr LLP August 1, 2014 A recent Nevada Supreme Court decision suggests that community association common areas may be subject to property tax based upon the value of common area improvements, even if the underlying land … Continue reading
CONSUMER AFFAIRS: Court gives consumers stronger protection from debt collectors “Verification of debt” gets stronger definition By Mark Huffman August 4, 2014 It began with a dispute between a Michigan condominium owner and the homeowners’ association (HOA) over an unpaid … Continue reading
The Herald: Condo towers rise again in U.S. rebound Bloomberg News June 12, 2014 LOS ANGELES — For the first time since the U.S. housing crash, new condominium towers are sprouting in downtown Seattle, Boston and Los Angeles as developers … Continue reading
The Motley Fool: Condominium Ownership Is Becoming the American Nightmare By Amanda Alix June 15, 2014 Many homeowners who have bought into the American dream by purchasing a condominium are now regretting that decision, as some find themselves unable to sell … Continue reading
Consumer Affairs: From religious discrimination to pointless paint jobs: it’s HOA round-up time By Jennifer Abel — April 25, 2014 We have previously referred tohomeowners’ associations (HOAs) as “government minus the checks and balances,” and hardly a week goes by without an … Continue reading
nakedcapitalism.com: Foreclosures by Homeowners’ Associations Rising as Their Financial Condition Worsens By Yves Smith — January 8, 2014 While foreclosures are falling on a nation-wide basis, one category that is an exception is foreclosures filed by homeowners’ associations against members that … Continue reading
Coloradohoaforum: Who or What is the Community Associations Institute (CAI): You May Be Surprised Tuesday March 25, 2014 — By Stan Hrincevich For decades the sole source for Homeowners Association (HOA) information for the media and State Legislature has been the … Continue reading
HuffingtonPost.com: Saving Lives Verses (sic) Driveway Mildew — Our Skewed Values (HOA Threatens Court Action For Dirty Driveway) Posted: 03/31/2014 By Constance Spencer I have recently returned from a poor dusty village west of Leon, Nicaragua where the locals live … Continue reading
Kiplinger.com: Homeowners Associations Are Short on Cash March 4, 2014 By Sandra Block Robert Riddick of Moreno Valley, Cal., has belonged to the Sunnymead Ranch Homeowners Association for 22 years and served on its board for the past eight. For … Continue reading
Republicans believe that contracts requiring membership in a labor union as a condition of employment should be outlawed. It is time to extend that same protection to American home owners, and prohibit mandatory membership in an H.O.A. corporation as a … Continue reading
RealEstate.aol.com: Homeowners Associations in Crisis as 70% Are Underfunded Reuters January 15, 2014 — By Michelle Conlin For six years, Ingrid Boak, who travels a lot for work as a racehorse trainer, ignored mail from her homeowners association. Boak, of Lexington, Ky., … Continue reading
Neighborsatwar.com: The Baby Is Sick!!! Yes, the Feds have only gone after 11 Homeowners Associations out of 335,000. February 4, 2014 — By Ward Lucas I’m late getting this one up on the blog, since most of those-in-the-know already read this … Continue reading
IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY and REPUBLICAN PARTY VISION FOR AMERICA, LOOK AT H.O.A.s by Robert In Colorado, there are an estimated 12,000 – 15,000 H.O.A. corporations, governing the homes of 1 million to 2 million Coloradans. … Continue reading
The Washington Post: Rising community association fees are squeezing homeowners on tight budgets By Tara Bahrampour Published: January 11, 2014 When Brenda Batts purchased her condominium near the U Street corridor in 2006, she was planning to retire at age 65. Now … Continue reading
Posted on December 21, 2013 by Ward Lucas by guest blogger Nila Ridings Every now and then some “advice” appears on the internet about buying in an HOA. And quite honestly some of it gives me a massive headache like this one. To … Continue reading
NATIONAL – Buying into an HOA leads to buyer’s remorse by Beanie ConsumerAffairs.com: Buying into an HOA leads to buyer’s remorse Melody eventually concluded: “HOAs are not about pink doors and purple pansies that are not allowed. It is about money, lawyers … Continue reading
by Donna DiMaggio Berger, Esq. posted Octoboer 13, 2013 Recently, several buyers in the Valencia Golf and Country Club in Naples, Florida were shocked to learn that their developer, D.R. Horton, had retained the rights to extract minerals, oils and other … Continue reading
INVESTORS.com: Homeowner Association Feuds Grow Amid Rules And Fees By Kathleen Doler, for Investor’s Business Daily — September 26, 2013 “Love thy neighbor as yourself” is a noble idea, but community governance brings complicating factors. More and more U.S. homeowners live … Continue reading
Salon.com: Privatization fetishists resist reform, costing cities millions “[Politicians] try to argue that privatization is about sheer dollars and sense, that it’s cost benefit analysis. That’s hogwash.” (Evan McKenzie author of PRIVATOPIA) By Micah Uetricht — September 20, 2013 Local governments around … Continue reading
By Benny L. Kass, Published: September 12, 2013 Can condominium associations ban people who are “living in sin”? That’s what the headlines called it when a Florida condo enacted rules prohibiting unmarried couples from buying units there. In July, the Casa Di Amici … Continue reading
By Benny L. Kass — Wednesday, August 21, 2013 Thousands of condominiums and housing cooperatives that were damaged when Hurricane Sandy struck the East Coast last year learned – after the fact – that they were not eligible for money grants … Continue reading
Satellite dishes and exterior antennas are sometimes considered an eyesore. Accordingly, many community associations would like to regulate—or even prohibit—them. Indeed, some associations already have language in their governing documents that forbids or places restrictions on installation of such devices. … Continue reading