HOA Law Blog

October 4, 2011

Attorney Owner Wins Condo Association Wastebasket War, Uses $201K Check to Pay Off Mortgage

Blog posting by David C. Swedelson, Condo lawyer and HOA attorney; Senior Partner SwedelsonGottlieb

Amazing story out of Florida involving an attorney/owner of a condominium who asked her condo association to place a trash receptacle in the mail room so she could have a convenient place to dispose of her junk mail. When her association declined the request because of a concern about having to maintain that trash receptacle (as owners may put more than junk mail in the trash), the owner decided that she would just dump her mail on the floor. This is a true story; you can’t make this stuff up.
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September 30, 2011

Building Inspector Jailed for Taking Bribes

by David C. Swedelson

Blog post from David C. Swedelson, Condo Lawyer, HOA Attorney and Senior partner SwedelsonGottlieb

We are often asked how a building contractor’s poor workmanship was approved by the City’s inspector from the Department of Building and Safety. Now we know one reason; some inspectors are taking bribes to look the other way or not even inspect.

The LA Times reports that Raoul Germain, a City of Los Angeles building inspector, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to taking bribes. Germain was caught as part of an FBI sting operation in which he approved work in exchange for thousands of dollars in bribes. The Times notes that that in some cases, Germain never visited the construction sites.

September 28, 2011

Record The Trustee’s Deed Upon Sale ASAP; Too Bad The Legislature Did Not Consider These Consequences Before Requiring A 90 Day Post Foreclosure Sale Redemption Period

by David C. Swedelson

By David Swedelson, Condo lawyer / HOA and Community Association Attorney; Partner, SwedelsonGottlieb

It has been assumed by many that if a California community association holds its foreclosure sale (as part of the assessment collection process) and after the sale the delinquent owner files bankruptcy, that the bankruptcy did not impact the sale. Not so, according to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, which recently held that the filing of a bankruptcy petition by a borrower (in our case a delinquent owner) can void a trustee sale even where the petition is filed after the trustee sale, so long as the borrower/delinquent owner files the bankruptcy petition before the execution and recordation of the trustee’s deed upon sale. [In re: Gonzalez (Bkrtcy. C.D.Cal. August 1, 2011) 456 B.R. 429].

As we know, a delinquent owner has the ability to file a bankruptcy to stay or stop a trustee sale prior to the actual sale. And many delinquent owners do. Many people believe that once the trustee sale occurs, the bankruptcy filing by the owner does not impact the sale. Wrong!
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September 22, 2011

Governor Signs AB 771 (Butler) Into Law Requiring Associations to Itemize and Disclose Fees Charged For Documents To Be Provided to Buyer in Escrow

by David C. Swedelson

Assembly Bill 771 (Betsy Butler), which amends Civil Code Section 1368 regarding documents to be provided the buyer in an escrow, was sponsored by the California Association of Realtors and initially sought to place a cap on fees that may be charged by management companies and others who provide documents upon sale or transfer of a separate interest. This bill was opposed by all industry trade groups and was ultimately revised to remove the cap. As signed by the Governor, the bill sets out the items which are to be provided to a buyer as well as an estimated fee for each.
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September 19, 2011

Governor Brown Signs SB 563; Say Good-bye to Actions Without a Meeting

by David C. Swedelson

By David Swedelson, Condo lawyer and HOA attorney; Senior Partner SwedelsonGottlieb

Despite significant industry opposition, the Governor has signed into law amendments to the Davis Stirling Act and specifically Civil Code Section 1363.05, also known as the Common Interest Development Open Meeting Act. Here is the story of how this new law came to be:

As most of you know, the Act was amended with the addition of this code section requiring that board meetings at California community associations be open to members except for certain specified executive session meetings when those meetings should be kept confidential or emergency meetings when the required notice to owners is not possible.
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September 11, 2011

Las Vegas Man Pleads Guilty in Connection with Fraud Scheme to Gain Control of Condominium Homeowners’ Associations

by David C. Swedelson

Blog posting by David C. Swedelson, Condo and HOA lawyer, Partner SwedelsonGottlieb
According to an FBI website article, a Las Vegas man pleaded guilty for his role in a scheme to fraudulently gain control of condominium homeowners’ associations (HOA) in the Las Vegas area so that the HOAs could direct business to a certain law firm and construction company.

The story is amazing, and you might wonder how this could happen. Over my many years as a California condo and HOA attorney, I have seen several community associations that were taken over and controlled by groups that bought up units and votes. But I have never seen this done so that work could be funneled to attorneys or contractors. But considering the money that could be earned on these projects, we should not be too surprised that this happened.
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September 10, 2011

Age-Restricted HOA Doesn’t Want Young Guests Visiting

by David C. Swedelson

Blog posting by David Swedelson, California Condo lawyer and HOA attorney; Partner SwedelsonGottlieb
Community Associations Institute’s Fast Tracks News Bulletin reports on a Fort Myers, Fla. age-restricted homeowners association that is telling an owner that that he does not have the right to have guests who are younger than 55 visit his home while he is away.
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September 1, 2011

Accommodating Medical Marijuana Users Does Not Mean They Can Cause A Nuisance To Other Condo or HOA Association Residents

by David C. Swedelson

By David C. Swedelson and Sandra L. Gottlieb, Partners, SwedelsonGottlieb, Condo Attorneys and HOA Lawyers

We have been receiving a number of calls lately from board members and community association managers asking what they can or should do about complaints from residents about marijuana smoke that is wafting into their units or homes. Many of you may be wondering why this is an issue and questioning why anyone would complain. We won’t go there. We are hearing that some of these marijuana users are saying that the association cannot stop them from smoking their medical marijuana, as they have their doctor’s recommendation and it is permitted by state law. So, must California community associations accommodate medical marijuana use by residents even when it creates a nuisance for other owners/residents? We thought that the answer was pretty clear that even if a resident is legally using medical marijuana, their use cannot cause or create a nuisance which interferes with another resident’s quiet enjoyment of their unit or home. Apparently this is not so clear, as we have been told that some attorneys are telling their condo association clients that they can do nothing about marijuana use by a resident who possesses a doctor’s recommendation. Seriously?! We do not agree. And we have written an article on the issue. Follow this link for our full article on this subject.

August 21, 2011

CAI Slams Latest FHA Guidance

by David C. Swedelson

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.

August 17, 2011

SB 150 Limits Certain Rental Restrictions Recorded On Or After January 1, 2012

by David C. Swedelson

By David C. Swedelson, Esq.; SwedelsonGottlieb Community Association Attorneys

SwedelsonGottlieb has been responding to a flood of inquiries regarding the recently chaptered California SB 150, a bill which amends Sections 1368 and 1373 of the Davis-Stirling Act and adds a new Civil Code Section to the Act affecting certain rental restriction provisions in CC&Rs that are recorded on or after January 1, 2012. As there seems to be a good deal of confusion about this bill (even among some attorneys in our industry), we thought it would be beneficial for the readers of HOALawBlog to clearly explain the applicability and effect of this new legislation.

The Legislative Counsel’s Digest contains a good summary of the purpose of the bill: “This bill would prohibit the owner of a separate interest in a common interest development from being subject to a provision in a governing document, or a provision in an amendment to a governing document, that prohibits the rental or leasing of all or any of the separate interests in that common interest development to a renter, lessee, or tenant unless that governing document, or amendment thereto, was effective prior to the date the owner acquired title to his or her separate interest.” As noted above, this bill applies to some, but not all, rental restrictions recorded on or after January 1, 2012.