One of the more difficult and confusing issues that boards and association management often have to deal with is determining who is responsible for the maintenance and repair of common area plumbing, ventilation and other utility components, especially those that serve only one unit. Even attorneys sometimes get it wrong…
Don’t you wish that you could utilize e-mail or other new technology to disseminate important association documents? Maybe you can! Effective January 2010, Civil Code Section 1350.7 was amended to allow community associations to send certain documents to the owners via e-mail or other methods of electronic delivery. Our Senior…
By Alyssa Klausner, SwedelsonGottlieb Senior Associate In the case of Villa Vicenza Homeowners Association V. Nobel Court Development (follow this link to see the entire decision), the developer of a condominium project recorded a Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs) which required a homeowners association to arbitrate any construction…
As we reported in April, Assemblymember Julia Brownley had proposed AB 2502, which would have made assessment collection in California even more difficult than it already is. We have great news. Because of all of the opposition she received (your letters and emails were acknowledged) and because some of those…
Where a homeowner paid an unlicensed contractor for landscaping work at his home, his knowledge that the contractor was not licensed when work commenced did not bar an action for full reimbursement under Business and Professions Code Sec. 7031(b), and the homeowner was entitled to recover the total amount paid…
By the Community Association Attorneys at SwedelsonGottlieb So the board has done its due diligence, investigated its options and decided that chasing down the owner who has not paid their assessments for many months is likely to be a waste of time, money and association resources. The board has considered…
When it comes to enforcing obligations secured by California real estate, California is a “single action” or “one-action” state. Civil Procedure Code Section 726(a) provides in part that “[t]here can be but one form of action for the recovery of any debt or the enforcement of any right secured by…
As we make our way through the “Great Recession”, we find that many owners are still upside down in their units/homes, owing more to their lender than the current potential sales price. In many cases, the owners cannot afford to pay the bank and are looking to get out from…
When property is sold through non-judicial foreclosure on an assessment lien, buyers (third parties or the association) take ownership subject to a 90-day right of redemption, which allows the foreclosed owner to recover the property if the owner pays the delinquency and any fees and costs (Civil Code §1367.4(c)(4); Code…
Sandra L. Gottlieb, Esq. and Alex Noland, Esq. of SwedelsonGottlieb have had two new articles published in the O.C. View, the official magazine for the Orange County Regional Chapter of the Community Associations Institute. Sandra’s article, Electronic Delivery, describes a recent amendment to Civil Code Section 1350.7 and the positive…