From the Community Association Attorneys at SwedelsonGottlieb The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has finally published the long-awaited final revisions to the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) condominium project approval rules. The FHA does not originate loans for purchasing condos, but rather insures these loans for borrowers who might not otherwise qualify for traditional financing…
From the Community Association Attorneys at SwedelsonGottlieb It is no secret that community associations are often targets for embezzlement. But they are not alone. Newspaper articles tell us that it happens to various types of businesses and organizations, even attorneys and lawyer/bar organizations. Fraud and embezzlement seems more likely to…
By the Community Association Attorneys at SwedelsonGottlieb Through SB 261, the California Legislature fixed some issues with prior legislation dealing with delivery of notices and related matters and generally fixed some issues that had come up after prior legislation was adopted. This bill became effective in January 1st and amends…
By Sandra Gottlieb and Alyssa Klausner, Community Association Attorneys at SwedelsonGottlieb As many of you likely know, when a homeowner files a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, they may be able to “discharge” their obligation to pay the pre-bankruptcy petition debts including the assessments they owe their community association. And you likely…
A senate bill seeking to prohibit California community associations from establishing qualifications for candidates to run for their boards of directors among other changes and requirements (including possible invasion of owner privacy) is a dumb idea that would create bad law. On April 5th, Los Angeles Times’ Sacramento columnist George…
By Joseph L. Gilman, Esq., Associate at SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorneys Effective January 1, 2018, Civil Code Section 4515 was added to the Davis-Stirling Act to protect certain rights of political speech and peaceful assembly within the boundaries of a common interest development. Senator Bob Wieckowski originally presented new Civil…
By Nicholas Marfori, Esq. and David Swedelson, Esq., Community Association Attorneys at SwedelsonGottlieb As you may have heard, the Governor signed into law new legislation that now changes a California condominium’s associations ability to prohibit an owner from installing a solar energy system on the common area roof. AB 634,…
By Brian Moreno, Senior Associate at SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorneys In the assessment collection arena, there have been a number of pro-homeowner court decisions that affect a community association’s ability to collect unpaid HOA/Condo assessments. First, courts have held that associations must accept partial payments, which has allowed homeowners to…
By Sandra Gottlieb, Esq. CCAL, Senior/Managing Partner, SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorneys Recent legal Developments affect community association interests in a variety of ways. In 2017, the California Court of Appeal decided several cases concerning such issues as title to common area and board member liability. These cases may be instructive…
SwedelsonGottlieb annually updates and publishes its Disclosure and Notice Checklist as a resource for Managers and Board Members of California Community Associations. The updated Checklist is 14 pages (there are a lot of things that California community associations are required to give notice of or disclose) and sets out what…