01.08.23
CIC Info Bytes are frequent, succinct updates that provide educational and engagement opportunities to help your community thrive! Subscribe to receive CIC Info Bytes updates by email. Join us on Reddit at r/HOA.
CIC Info Bytes 01/08/23
CIC Info Bytes are frequent, succinct updates providing educational and engagement opportunities that help your community thrive! Please forward and share this newsletter with your peers, neighbors and colleagues so they can connect and join.
You’ve probably noticed that this newsletter isn’t happening every Thursday like clockwork lately. The amount of time required is a bit overwhelming, but the goal is to still publish at least every other week throughout 2023.
Please join us on Reddit: r/HOA + r/f*ckHOA. 100% free. Zero corporate moderation!
Demand Freedom
Oppression is defined as prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control. As he led a movement to stop the systematic oppression of people based on the color of their skin, Martin Luther King Jr. famously said Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.
There’s no comparison being made here to MLK Jr’s battle against systemic racism, but homeowners and their associations have been subjected to an unjust level of control by an overwhelmingly unaccountable and unapologetic industry. Why does this oppression exist for millions of homeowners across hundreds of thousands of communities across the United States? Because chaos is profitable!
Please consider this: demand freedom. Demand freedom from crimes against democracy and from assumptions and from ignorance. Demand freedom from lack of due diligence and from “you should ask your attorney” as the first line of defense. Most of all, demand freedom from lack of transparency in an industry that operates without readily available metrics for the individuals and companies that you are told to trust. Credentials and ethical obligations are only as good as the record you can see. The proof is in the doing. Don’t let the lowest common denominator rule your roost.
Please think twice before you act on emails like “Who’s In Your Network”. By the way, thanks for being part of our network! We never use your personal information to lobby legislators! We’ve updated CAI By The Numbers: a picture’s worth 1,000 words…
In case you missed it in our last issue… cash flow is king!
Reserve funding is a marathon, not a sprint. You should expect peaks and troughs.
🏠HOUSING🏡
In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, major US banks promised to support more Black homebuyers, with giants like JPMorgan and Bank of America vowing to boost loans. But in 2021, JPMorgan underwrote just 122 additional mortgages for Black homebuyers. And then there’s Wells Fargo: The bank made the boldest pledge of all by saying in 2017 that it would loan $60 billion to create 250,000 Black homeowners within a decade. Last year, Wells Fargo hit a 15-year low in its lending to Black homebuyers. — Bloomberg Evening Briefing 12/20/22
— Christian Edwards | CNN
How to Read This Chart is a fun weekly column that explores fascinating charting based on all kinds of data. This entry features some historical charting about housing starts.
How to Read This Chart — Philip Bump | The Washington Post | 12/17/22
How Bad Can it Get?
Dodd-Frank and other regulatory improvements will help avoid a repeat of 2008.
Why This Housing Downturn Isn’t Like the Last One
— Ben Eisen & Nicole Friedman | The WSJ | 10/17/22
Condo owners in Florida, already getting squeezed by increasing insurance costs, also might get hit soon by higher monthly fees from new state regulations on structural inspections and reserve funds….
How Tall is Too Tall? — Bianca Bosker | The Atlantic | 12/17/22
Condo Connection's financial coverage is indexed to our Dollar$ and $ense page dedicated to all things CIC finance.
Americans Expect Worsening U.S. Economy in 2023, WSJ Poll Finds
— John McCormick | The WSJ | 12/16/22
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We believe in transparency which is why we disclose our fiscal support. In total, Condo Connection has received about $1,800 of support throughout 2022. If that doesn’t sound like much, that’s because it isn’t. Thousands of people visit Condo Connection every month seeking insights and answers. Requests come in every week to provide more free resources, but very few people are willing to spend even $10.
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THANK YOU to all our supporters past, present and future!
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