HOA Law Blog
As we reported on July 31st (follow this link), FHA’s Revised Condominium Guidance Solves Some Problems But Creates Many More. Community Association’s institute (CAI) has been actively addressing the issues. In a July 22 letter to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), CAI asserts that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) “failed to undertake even the most basic due diligence” in its latest mortgage-approval guidance. CAI wants OIRA to require FHA to re-examine its June 30 guidance, which CAI says will prevent many condominium associations from meeting FHA-certification guidelines. “We hope OIRA will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that FHA conducts a more thoughtful, thorough and transparent analysis,” said CAI Chief Executive Officer Thomas Skiba, CAE. Read more. Visit Mortgage Matters to learn more about what CAI is doing on behalf of HOAs, condominium communities, homeowners, prospective homebuyers and the housing market.
Articles Posted in Current Affairs
How Does Fraud Take Hold In A Private Residential Community?
By David Swedelson, Senior Partner at SwedelsonGottlieb, Condo Attorney and HOA Lawyer
I came across an interesting article with this title written by fellow community association attorney, Donna DiMaggio Berger, who practices in Florida. As Donna states in her article, “fraud is certainly nothing new but in today’s troubling economic climate, the chance that your community may be harmed by a fraudster, especially if you don’t have a series of checks and balances in place, rises dangerously.” This is so true. I track news articles that relate to condominiums and homeowners associations around the country, and I have not been surprised by the many news articles I have seen reporting on fraud and embezzlement committed by board members and association managers. And they go to jail!
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Governor Signs Senate Bill 209 Dealing WIth Electric Charging Stations
Posted by David C. Swedelson,
Partner, SwedelsonGottlieb; Community Association Legal Expert
With the proliferation of electric vehicles comes a new law that limits and restricts California community associations’ ability to prohibit an owner from installing their own electric charging station. On July 25, Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 209, which adds new Civil Code Section 1353.9. The new law takes effect January 1, 2012.
New Civil Code Section 1353.9 will prohibit California condominium and other community associations from unreasonably restricting the installation of electric vehicle charging stations. Homeowners who place charging stations in the common areas will be responsible for costs associated with maintaining and repairing the station, as well as costs for damage to common areas and adjacent units resulting from installation and maintenance of the station. The new law will impose other responsibilities on the homeowner, including maintaining a liability insurance coverage of $1,000,000 that names the association as an additional insured.
Unfortunately, the new law allows individual owners to use or occupy common areas, contrary to existing statutes and case law. In his signing message, Governor Brown stated that the author of the bill plans to introduce legislation that protects the right of common interest developments to establish reasonable rules for any use of common areas for charging stations. Governor Brown recognized this issue in his signing message:
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Beyond Ctrl, Alt, Del (Taking your Tech to the Next Level)-Technology Program Links
On Tuesday, June 28, 2011, David Swedelson of SwedelsonGottlieb and Timothy Cline of Timothy Cline Insurance Agency will present their technology program, “Beyond Ctrl, Alt, Del (Taking your Tech to the Next Level)” at Community Association Institute’s Channel Islands Chapter.
Download this PDF page for a handy link reference to some of the cutting edge technologies covered in the program.
CACM Celebrates 20 Years
We just received CACM’s 20th Anniversary publication. SwedelsonGottlieb and Association Lien Services congratulate the California Association of Community Managers (CACM) on providing 20 years of leadership and education for California’s community managers. CACM’s record of support for managers and the communities they serve is truly extraordinary, and homeowners across the state have CACM to thank for a better quality of life in their associations.
CACM’s publication included a retrospective of the major milestones in its development from its formative years through today. It contains a number of photographs of members, attendees at events and participants, and we were pleased to see a 1999 photograph of Senior Partners David Swedelson and Sandra Gottlieb and a 2009 photo of Sandra Gottlieb receiving CACM’s Lifetime Achievement Vision Award.
We look forward to many more years of working closely with CACM and supporting California’s community association managers.
CAI Unites with Housing Allies to Push FHA on Condo Rules
Blog post by David Swedelson, Partner, SwedelsonGottlieb
On May 6, 2011, the Community Associations Institute (CAI), the Institute for Real Estate Management, the National Association of Home Builders and the National Association of Realtors united in calling for greater transparency and opportunity for public input into the development of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) lending rules for condominiums. In addition to calling for greater public input, the group united in specific recommendations on key elements of the FHA Condominium Insurance Program. Follow this link to read the entire article.
A Bankrupt Billionaire, Donald Trump
By David Swedelson, Esq., Senior Partner, SwedelsonGottlieb
Check out this interesting article about former potential presidential candidate, TV star and real estate mogul Donald Trump and all his bankruptcies. Four, to be exact. They do not seem to have stunted Trump’s prospects. The article addresses how Trump has made bankruptcy work for him. And in case you have not noticed, there are a lot of people filing bankruptcy these days. Since the beginning of the “Great Recession,” our office has been involved in hundreds of them, monitoring, filing claims and motions for relief from stay.
Bankruptcies impacting your assessment collection efforts? Interested in more information regarding bankruptcy? Check out the following articles and hoalawblog posts on the subject:
FHA Approval and Your Association: What You Need to Know
By Sandra L. Gottlieb, Partner, SwedelsonGottlieb
Now that the “spot loan” approval process (which allowed for on-the-spot FHA approval of an association for the benefit of a buyer) has been eliminated, it is only possible for an owner or prospective purchaser of a condominium to obtain an FHA-insured loan if the association is or becomes FHA certified. This leads to the question of what, if anything, California community associations should do to obtain FHA certification. FHA certification is effective for two years, after which time the association must be recertified, although it is worth noting that the certification process has changed so frequently that there is no guarantee that the same certification requirements will be in place two years from now.
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Mother’s Day is This Sunday, May 8th
Blog Posting by David C. Swedelson, Partner, SwedelsonGottlieb
Mother’s Day is coming up, and I was thinking about my mom, who passed away almost 25 years ago. I still remember some of the sage advice she handed out, although I must admit that, at times, I did not appreciate everything she had to say.
In honor of Mother’s Day, I’m sharing an article I read in May of 2010 by LA Times Personal Finance reporter Kathy Kristof, who shared some of her mom’s words of wisdom and advice as it related to the workplace. What her mother had to say about being respectful, listening, honesty, being responsible, apologizing and not whining applies to all of us, whether it relates to the work we do for community associations, or serving on the board. Follow this link to read the article. And if it applies to you, Happy Mother’s Day.
FBI Raids Las Vegas Condo Association-Alleged Embezzlement
New embezzlement story out of Las Vegas. The Nevada Attorney General’s Office, with the assistance of the FBI, served a warrant at the Paradise Spa Homeowners Association on Las Vegas Boulevard South near Serene Avenue.
Owners allege the association’s board embezzled more than $1 million of their money.
The news story reports that several units were destroyed by two fires in 2009 and 2010, and the insurance company paid $842,000 but nothing has been repaired.