03.28.24
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.
ISSUE # 88
CIC Info Bytes 03/28/24
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. Our goal is to curate content that provides a robust basis for contextual understanding to support practical takeaways for you and your association. Please consider following us on Twitter and Reddit.
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EVENTS
Visit our homepage to view events and add them to your own calendar.
Does your association keep track of code updates that have an impact on operations?
Washington State has released fire code updates. If your homeowners and volunteers are not keeping up with the codes, is your association paying someone else to do the same? 🤔
Connections word game + Condo Connection = CONDO CURE. Awareness, education and engagement are essential.
THANK YOU to the over 100 individuals who have participated!
Haven’t taken it yet? Last chance! Your responses to the Community Association Board Meetings Survey inform opportunities for advocacy and reform.
Trials and Tribulations of a Volunteer Director - Part XIII
PART XIII: BRIGHT LINES and More
There’s a bright line between anti-HOA sentiment and PRO-homeowner reforms.
The "if you're not with us, you're against us" mentality has stymied a number of reforms.
Success is found by balancing the needs of homeowners with the obligations of community associations. Precision is key. So are reasonable remedies to hold all parties accountable. Perhaps Florida’s transition from civil to criminal infractions for specific wrongs will become the norm and create sea change throughout the nation. Only time will tell.
How do you handle reserve studies?
There is no requirement to formally approve or accept a reserve study in much the same way as there is no requirement to approve or accept an engineering report or a building envelope assessment, etc. Associations contract and pay for services with an expected deliverable (almost always) by a third party. Thinking about the series of events, associations accept that there’s going to be a deliverable. There may be delays or cost increases or even disputes about the quality of the deliverable, but there’s no requirement that a vote occurs to accept it. This somewhat bizarre concept of “accepting
Even in states with laws explicitly empowering Boards with the final say over what goes into a reserve study, the Board is required to take action to "authorize" that the final copy for validity or distribution to owners (it’s a record of the association).
Associations should review draft studies and reports to identify errors and material changes, clarifications, etc., but that's about it. Inaction by a Board does not invalidate a study or report and these are records that must, in many states, be provided to owners, posted to an electronic website, etc. That even goes for “draft” copies of studies and reports. Drafts should be disseminated until such time as they are replaced by some later version.
Being re-elected to a fourth board term and the start of a sixth year of service must be an acknowledgment, especially in the face of board members who want to do things their way, that a sufficient number of homeowners want things to work according to what’s written instead of arbitrary decision-making.
Putting in the time to abide by the law and the governing documents and Robert's Rules and municipal codes and simply honoring a reasonable level of due diligence isn't always easy, but the reward is tangible and it's appreciated by at least some homeowners.
There is a segment of the population in the United States that no longer considers board members to be homeowners, yet the vast majority board members are, in fact, owners of real property in community associations. I, for one, do not subscribe to the "board members are from Mars and homeowners are from Venus" theory. There are definitely wayward homeowners and board members and professionals, but there's no black-and-white and there's certainly no "us vs. them" about being a board member in the best sense of the word. Serving on a board is about SERVICE to others and doing the right thing, at the right time, for the right reasons.
Top 5 Ways To Increase Efficiency
You have to be able to trust your vendors! Constantly double-checking or correcting work effort (financials, records, etc.) is not sustainable. Getting the job done right the first time saves time and money.
The time spent contemplating and trying to solve for mediocre results is expensive.
It's difficult to supervise all the bits and pieces that can go wrong every month.
READ: The High Cost of Terrible Service at your HOA or Condo AND Investigating Split or Hybrid Management for HOAs and Condos
Ensure your governing documents support efficient operations
governing documents aligned with the law and best practices
governing documents that use precise language to eliminate ambiguity
policies and procedures that allow the board to focus on meeting on a regular, yet relatively infrequent (often monthly) schedule
P&Ps should obviate the need to make decisions between meetings and support professional autonomy.
Example: an elevator is broken. Everyone generally acknowledges that elevators are essential pieces of equipment with an expectation that they reliably operate 24/7.
On-site staff and the management company should be authorized to engage the appropriate experts to resolve elevator functionality without board direction or intervention.
Create a strategic plan
Where is the organization now and where is it going?
Plan for it: your association will be around for decades!
Incorporate your mission and vision statements
Create a high-level calendar that's easy to use
Write out your short-, medium- and long-term goals in detail and include timelines
Timelines are not deadlines: they can change
Maximize use of technology by adopting a roadmap
How do all of your technology solutions fit together?
How are your technology solutions feeding back into your official records?
Empower professional autonomy
Identify the balance for obtaining professional assistance.
What's the key threshold for project handovers to and from professionals?
Not every project, nor every part of every project, is worth the squeeze.
Who is directing traffic? Are homeowners responsible for directing traffic? Is that sustainable? Should the management company be responsible for directing traffic?
Aligning with P&Ps: how do you empower professionals to execute recurring and ad hoc requirements on behalf of the association?
Identifying projects and deliverables up front; constrain the scope of deliverables
Documentation and repeatable processes are just as, if not more important than the final deliverable(s); how will the association do X the next time?
Documentation is especially critical for long-term facility operations.
Great technology supports documentation.
Support sustainable volunteering
What is a realistic expectation for individual volunteer involvement every month?
3 hours? 5 hours? 10 hours? More?
Consistently over-committed? What's the next step? Find the balance!
Ensure committees focus on concepts and tasks that have been discussed and approved by the Board and pursuant to their charter; avoid self-assigned tasks
Frequently recognize volunteer contributions
Celebrate your achievements together
Fort Collins, Colorado: Reference Issue# 80. In short, NoCo Real Estate Solutions, Inc. managed multiple HOAs and filed for bankruptcy protection while still holding hundreds of thousands of dollars in association funds.
HOA files objection to bankruptcy plan for former association manager — Ken Amundson | Loveland Report-Herald for BizWest | March 15, 2024
Homeowners hope for change that will not arrive in time, if ever. Prior coverage.
The past two years for residents of Horizon West Condos has been full of worrying about finances, housing and navigating bankruptcies. The building is now in the process of being torn down with just the bones of it remaining…
‘We are not done yet,’ condo association president says about insurance fight — Karen Pilarski | The Freeman | January 04, 2024
What would your association do in this situation?
The Children’s House Preschool moved to the building in the neighborhood about 20 years ago, taking over from a previous childcare center. Children’s House signed an agreement with the HOA in 2003 to use the common area playground next door for as long as the building remained a preschool and pay a fee to the HOA....
...The preschool building’s lot, which isn’t part of the HOA, isn’t large enough to meet state licensing requirements for fenced in, outdoor space, he said. The adjacent playground meets the requirement and is open to the neighborhood outside of the preschool’s operating hours....
Knuckey and his wife, Elaine McCarthy, own and run the preschool, which has operated since the 1970s. In 2010, Knuckey said, the couple signed a 10-year agreement with the HOA to allow them to update the playground equipment and make other improvements. Those improvements cost the preschool about $25,000, he said.
When the 2010 agreement expired, a one-year agreement was negotiated in 2020. But negotiations broke down after that agreement ended....
Boulder preschool loses playground access in HOA dispute — Amy Bounds | Daily Camera | February 06, 2024
Scottsdale, Arizona: The Scottsdale House condominium association.
Last month, Scottsdale House board member Hiram Champlin told Scottsdale City Council his board reported thefts to the Scottsdale Police Department at the end of 2022. “The alleged crime was the theft of over $1.6 million from our HOA by the general manager and bookkeeper,” Champlin said.
Scottsdale HOA says manager stole $1.6M — Tom Scanlon | Scottsdale Progress | March 17, 2024
Idaho Falls, Idaho: Westwood Park Village condominium association.
…We got an anonymous email from one condo occupant Thursday morning. The resident said the condo's management knew the carport was leaning badly after a vehicle hit a post but did not do anything to repair the carport or remove the heavy snow on top of it…
VIDEO: Condo residents facing carport collapse aftermath — Noah Farley | KIFI | March 14, 2024
Charlotte, North Carolina: Carmel Chase HOA.
The Carmel Chace community near Johnston Road has three sections. The largest is more than 60 homes. They’re about 50 years old and many residents agree they desperately needed work, a lot of it. So, the Homeowners Association paid a contractor more than $3 million to redo the roofs, siding, and more.
Residents elected the HOA board, the board voted for the project, and it divided the assessments over multiple years.
Lori Worsman says her portion of the tab is $52,500. “I had to borrow from my inheritance. I had to take money out of my 401(K),” she told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke. “I started taking my deceased husband’s Social Security.”...
VIDEO: Homeowners say it’s been hard paying their portion of $3M neighborhood facelift — Jason Stoogenke | WSOC | February 09, 2024
The Board is in charge, EXCEPT in a few specific, frighteningly routine cases:
rogue Board members exercising omnipotence
rogue association managers (CAMs) coordinating with rogue Board members
Boards that provide zero supervision to association managers (CAMs)
Who's the Boss - your Association Board or Management Company? — Christopher Carter | Islander News | March 15, 2024
Emerald Bay can’t catch a break! View prior coverage.
Village officials said Friday night they are monitoring a failure of at least one post-tension cable that snapped at the Emerald Bay condominium Friday that sent chunks of concrete flying in the luxury condominium’s garage. More than a dozen parking spaces were closed off with yellow caution tape and holes could be seen in the garage ceiling…
Post-tension cable snaps at Emerald Bay - Village says no safety concern — Tony Winton | Key Biscayne Independent | March 16, 2024
Ontario Rules
Following the Condominium Authority of Ontario on X (Twitter) is inspiring!
Coverage: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31 and 32
Energy
Natural gas isn’t going anywhere, yet.
The city of Berkeley, Calif., has agreed to repeal a landmark climate rule that would have banned natural gas hookups in new homes, throwing into question the fate of dozens of similar restrictions on gas in cities across the country.
Berkeley’s gas ban, which was the first of its kind when it passed in 2019, had been challenged in court by the California Restaurant Association and was struck down last year by a three-judge panel on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The city settled the lawsuit last week by agreeing to immediately halt enforcement of the rule and eventually repeal it altogether…
…The decision could have widespread ripple effects. Over the past few years, more than 140 cities and local governments have followed Berkeley’s lead in seeking to end the use of natural gas in new buildings in order to tackle climate change, including New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. Many of those efforts are facing fierce resistance and legal challenges from the gas industry, restaurants and homebuilders.
It is unclear whether other gas bans could be overturned. Some city ordinances were structured differently than Berkeley’s and may survive legal scrutiny. Some California communities, including San Luis Obispo and Santa Cruz, had already dropped efforts to ban gas hookups outright and are instead pursuing measures to shift away from natural gas through building efficiency standards…
Berkeley Will Repeal Its Landmark Ban on Natural Gas in New Homes — Brad Plumer | NYT | March 27, 2024
The Cost of Net Zero
Emission impossible! Going electric is expen$ive.
…Frazzled and flustered, I sought help.
“I’m not surprised,” David Lis with Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships said of my predicament. Once people discover that going electric is an option, most run headlong into the complexities. “Your experience of having to navigate a lot of market actors is a big barrier.”
With each step, however, we became increasingly confident that decarbonization was possible. The question quickly became whether we were willing to bear the cost…
Emission Impossible: Two Reporters Tried to Ditch Natural Gas. Chaos Ensued — Tik Root | Gizmodo | March 25, 2024
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“Energy makes up a significant part of the household budget, and it makes up a much larger portion for those who are less economically advantaged,” said Ed Hirs, an economics lecturer at the University of Houston…
…The drop in gas underscores the waning impact that energy is having on the wider cost of living in the US. In June 2022, the sector was contributing to about one-quarter of overall inflation, and now that’s dropped to essentially zero, CPI data show…
US Economy Scores a Win From the Bear Market in Natural Gas — Elizabeth Elkin | Bloomberg | March 16, 2024
New York City’s first all-electric skyscraper is nearing completion in Downtown Brooklyn, reports The New York Times. Known by its address, 505 State Street was designed by Alloy Development, a design and development studio which describes itself as dedicated to making Brooklyn “beautiful, sustainable, and equitable.”
Inside the building, electric energy will power all functions that would normally use gas. To make this possible, Alloy first found ways to make the building more efficient, then sourced the right equipment to provide the needed power. “It’s really not that complicated at the end of the day,” Jared Della Valle, chief executive officer of Alloy Development, told Fast Company. “The less you need air conditioning and the less you need heating, the less energy you’ll use overall, and therefore we can reduce the size of our systems and get them to a place, from an engineering perspective, where we can create enough hot water and enough energy to satisfy those demands.”...
New York City’s First All-Electric Skyscraper Is a Stunning Game-Changer — Katherine McLaughlin | Architectural Digest | March 14, 2024
Environment
Only 5% to 6% of plastic is recycled. Statements from petrochemical executives going back decades characterize the recycling myth. There’s a new 2040 target to establish “advanced recycling” more broadly so that ALL plastics are recyclable.
The plastic industry knowingly pushed recycling myth for decades, new report finds — PBS NewsHour | March 16, 2024
The Fraud of Plastic Recycling — Center for Climate Integrity | February 2024
VIDEO: Climate researcher on what’s causing the record rise in ocean temperatures — PBS NewsHour | March 19, 2024
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Dams aren’t as green as we thought.
Hydroelectricity is a hidden source of methane emissions. These people want to solve that — Anna Turns | BBC | March 27, 2024
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The Midwest: America’s new population frontier. Plenty of land. Less climate risk?
Past the endless acres, I could make out the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, then soon, in the other direction, the Detroit River, Lakes Huron and Erie, and southern Canada. In a world running short on fresh water in its lakes and rivers, more than 20 percent of that water was right here. From a climate standpoint, there couldn’t be a safer place in the country—no hurricanes, no sea-level rise, not much risk of wildfires. That explains why models suggest many more people will soon arrive here…
America’s Climate Boomtowns Are Waiting — Abraham Lustgarten | The Atlantic | March 23, 2024
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Almost half of the tap water in the United States is contaminated with chemicals known as “forever chemicals,” according to a study from the US Geological Survey.
The number of people drinking contaminated water may be even higher than what the study found, however, because the researchers weren’t able to test for all of these per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances, or PFAS, chemicals that are considered dangerous to human health. There are more than 12,000 types of PFAS, according to the National Institutes of Health, but this study looked at only 32 of the compounds.
PFAS are a family of ubiquitous synthetic chemicals that linger in the environment and the human body. PFAS exposure is linked to problems such as cancer, obesity, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, decreased fertility, liver damage and hormone suppression, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Nearly half of the tap water in the US is contaminated with ‘forever chemicals,’ government study finds — CNN via WHDH 7News | March 23, 2024
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in United States tapwater: Comparison of underserved private-well and public-supply exposures and associated health implications — Smalling, et. al. | ScienceDirect | August 2023
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Most of the nation’s plastic sandwich baggies contain toxic PFAS “forever chemicals”, an analysis suggests, raising questions about the products’ safety in the US…
…Among the brands Mamavation found contained the chemicals are Boulder, Complete Home, Great Value, If You Care, Lunchskins, Meijer, Target and Walgreens.
The only brand that did not show any markers of PFAS was Ziploc. Public health advocates say the best way consumers can protect themselves is to use glass containers instead of plastic.
Most US sandwich baggies contain toxic PFAS ‘forever chemicals’, analysis says — Tom Perkins | The Guardian | March 14, 2024
Housing Affordability & Homelessness
Earthen bricks to houses.
Godfrey Riddle is about to see his vision rise up out of the earth: The first of 44 tiny houses, 600 square feet each, built to give more people a chance to become homeowners. It’s an idea as old as the Egyptian pyramids. After a year of planning, research, fundraising and development, Riddle is set to build his first tiny house near Montgall Park, on the East Side of Kansas City, this spring. The prototype is planned to be a 600-square-foot house made of compressed earth blocks (CEBs), an environmentally friendly material that will aid in Riddle’s mission of creating sustainable and affordable housing.
How tiny houses built with dirt 'Legos' hope to help narrow KC's home ownership gap — J.M. Banks | Kansas City Star | March 24, 2024
Office to residential conversions that sell for over $1,000/sqft probably aren’t the solution to housing affordability, but they are a hot topic.
Seattle is the latest city to look for ways to encourage developers to transform unused offices into housing, but those projects are difficult to execute…
…Among other changes, the proposal would exempt conversion projects from the city’s Mandatory Housing Affordability, or MHA, program, which requires builders to either include affordable homes in new developments or pay toward a fund for affordable housing…
…Even if Seattle goes ahead with Harrell’s proposal, the city estimates that over seven years developers could undertake a dozen or fewer projects amounting to 1,000 to 2,000 apartments or condos. Seattle needs about 112,000 new homes over the next 20 years, many of them affordable to people with low incomes, according to county projections…
Seattle Mayor Harrell pushes conversions of empty offices to housing — Heidi Groover | The Seattle Times | March 14, 2024
Magic wand for property insurance in Florida? By changing the law to reduce reinsurance requirements from 1-in-130-years to 1-in-50-years, reinsurance costs would be cut by 50% which would reduce premiums by 25%.
Two longtime South Florida political leaders are pushing a congressional bill they say would immediately lower the cost of homeowner property insurance by about 25% in Florida and across the nation.
That would be welcome news to millions of Florida homeowners suffering under backbreaking increases in property insurance costs over the past several years. The Insurance Information Institute, a nonprofit organization funded by large insurers, estimated in 2023 that Florida homes cost $6,000, three times the national average, to insure.
Reduce insurance costs by 25%? South Florida backers push bill they say would do it — Ron Hurtibise | South Florida Sun Sentinel | March 14, 2024
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…The state and its municipalities also need to rethink their continued permitting of houses and high-rises along defenseless, eroding shorelines. Equally obvious, those who chose to live in such locations must bear the consequences and not expect the government to bail them out.
The building inspection and reserve account requirements taking effect this year, in the wake of Surfside’s Champlain Tower South collapse of 2021, make perfect sense. As noted in an op-ed piece March 23 by Miami lawyer Joseph Hernandez, these requirements could force steep repair costs and major increases in monthly maintenance fees. Thousands of condo owners across Florida might be left with have no choice financially but to sell out to developers for the land value of these shoreline sites and flee for the hills — while new condos get built in place of the old ones and the cycle continues.
All of these crises can be tied to one cause: Floridians' failure to accept reality, over decades.
But for Florida's 1.5 million condo owners, it should be increasingly clear that there's more to this than a quick fix. The owners, the Legislature, and the construction and insurance industries must now join to find solutions that reflect the urgency of these times.
Climate change is threatening South Florida condo owners. The state should help them. — Maya Washburn | The Palm Beach Post Opinion | March 26, 2024
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Hawaii condominium and homeowners are feeling the insurance pinch.
…House Speaker Scott Saiki said a town hall attendee reported their condo building insurance will be increasing from $345,000 to $3.4 million…
...Saiki said that only three companies provide new property insurance policies for condominium buildings and single-family homes. One of those three is threatening to stop issuing policies.
"If that happens, it would be disastrous because then we'd basically be left with two insurance companies. And this is part of the reason why insurance premiums are increasing here. It's a combination of the increased risk, plus the lack of capacity within the insurance industry," Saiki said…
LISTEN: House Speaker Saiki warns looming condo insurance crisis could snowball — Catherine Cruz | Hawai’i Public Radio | March 19, 2024
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State Farm discontinuing 72,000 home policies in California in latest blow to state market — Associated Press | March 21, 2024
VIDEO: California insurance commissioner responds to State Farm non-renewal announcement — ABC 7 | March 23, 2024
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Is there actually a product that protects you from special assessments? Feesible claims to cover over 90% of special assessments up to $25,000.
What it does not cover is a long list.
Housing Market
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has settled a series of blockbuster lawsuits. Will it make a difference for buyers and sellers? That remains to be seen.
American homeowners could see a significant drop in the cost of selling their homes after a real estate trade group agreed to a landmark deal that will eliminate a bedrock of the industry, the standard 6 percent sales commission…
National Association of Realtors Agrees to Slash Commissions to Settle Lawsuits — Debra Kamin| New York Times | March 15, 2024
Realtors Reach Commissions Settlement That Will Change How Americans Buy and Sell… — Laura Kusisto and Nicole Friedman | WSJ | March 15, 2024
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“No seller I’ve encountered will lower the price just because their transaction cost went down,” said Steve Murray, senior adviser to data provider and consultant Real Trends. “That will not happen.”
The NAR said in a statement responding to Biden’s remarks that commissions were already negotiable before the settlement agreement and will continue to be.
“Real estate agent commissions are driven by the market and are not the cause of the affordability crisis,” the NAR said.
US Homebuyers Expecting $10,000 Savings Face Tough Reality — Patrick Clark and Prashant Gopal | Bloomberg | March 24, 2024
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...It's hard to know how much steering actually happens, mostly because a buyer might never know they were a victim in the first place.
The first article in NAR's code of ethics says Realtors must "protect and promote the interests of their client," and the organization's official position can be summed up simply: Steering doesn't exist. It's a myth, the argument goes, created by those who want to dismantle the system and force buyers and sellers to pay their agents separately. But multiple agents told me there are all kinds of ways shady practitioners try to skirt the rules.
For instance, some agents might filter out listings with subpar commissions before passing along options to their clients. Or if they do show their client a house, they could insinuate that a low commission is a warning sign that the seller is hard to deal with or invent reasons the house isn't a good fit. They could also caution that if they're not getting their desired commission from the seller, they'll expect the buyer to make up the difference. Agents are within their rights to do that, but it can discourage a cash-strapped buyer from pursuing a home.
"All a Realtor has to do is make a face about a house and they put a question in the buyer's mind as to whether or not it would be wise to put an offer in on a house," Doug Miller, a real-estate attorney in Minnesota, said in an email....
Real-Estate Agents Use 'Steering' to Hide Cheap Houses From Homebuyers — James Rodriguez | Business Insider | March 13, 2024
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The Dutch offer home mortgages with evolving interest rates that can automatically decrease over time. The thinking is that as the loan gets older and the ratio of the amount owed to the home's value improves — through paying off the loan or any increase in the property's value — the risk associated with the loan decreases. As the strength of the loan improves for the lender, there is less of a need to offset the risks with higher rates...
...The Dutch offer home mortgages with evolving interest rates that can automatically decrease over time. The thinking is that as the loan gets older and the ratio of the amount owed to the home's value improves — through paying off the loan or any increase in the property's value — the risk associated with the loan decreases. As the strength of the loan improves for the lender, there is less of a need to offset the risks with higher rates....
...But there are some deeply entrenched features of the American mortgage system that make it unlikely we'll see widespread adoption of Dutch-style mortgages...
One way to help American homebuyers? Do what the Dutch do. — Cork Gaines and Eliza Relman | Business Insider | March 13, 2024
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Why mortgage assumptions don’t work and more.
Buyers can get a 3% mortgage by taking over someone else’s loan. Mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs have provisions allowing them to be transferred from home sellers to buyers, or “assumed.”
Assumptions can be tough to pull off. About 6,400 buyers managed it last year with government-backed loans. That number is small compared with the overall mortgage market, but growing. The mortgage servicers who process these transactions often drag their feet. Some buyers have had to wait for months just to be rejected, The Wall Street Journal has reported.
The math won’t always work, either. Someone buying a $500,000 house, but taking over a mortgage with a $300,000 balance, would need to come up with $200,000 to cover the difference. That means bringing a lot of cash to the closing table, or taking out a second loan, which can be hard to obtain.
It’s Hard to Beat That 7% Mortgage Rate. These Charts Show Why — Ben Eisen | Bloomberg | March 14, 2024
Built Environment
The owners of Miami Beach’s legendary Clevelander hotel are offering to give up its hard-partying ways in a bid to reshape the city’s Art Deco skyline.
Jesta Group is pitching construction of two 12-story luxury condominiums. The Montreal-based owner said it would keep the hotel intact, but would surrender its outdoor entertainment license, which for decades has allowed the venue to hold raucous parties for up to 700 people until 5 a.m. Jesta would also drop a lawsuit against the city after authorities tried to limit late-night alcohol sales and reduce noise…
Miami Beach Hotel Offers to Swap All-Night Drinking for Condos
— Anna J Kaiser | Bloomberg | March 21, 2024
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The commercial real estate (CRE) meltdown gains steam:
The “first shoe to drop” in commercial real estate debt—CRE commercial loan obligations—face unprecedented stress. Their share of troubled assets has jumped fourfold in seven months.
An obscure investment product used to finance risky real estate projects is facing unprecedented stress as borrowers struggle to repay loans tied to commercial property ventures.
Known as commercial real estate collateralized loan obligations, or CRE CLOs, they bundle debt that would usually be seen as too speculative for conventional mortgage-backed securities into bonds of varying risk and return…
Real Estate Pain Is Showing Up in Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLOs)
— Scott Carpenter | Bloomberg | March 19, 2024
Concerns are mounting that problems in commercial real estate may reverberate. More than 40% of fund managers surveyed by Bank of America Corp. now view US commercial real estate as the most likely source of a systemic credit event, compared with fewer than one in four in January…
Short Sellers Up Their Wagers Against Commercial Real Estate Again — Neil Callanan, Loukia Gyftopoulou, and Norah Mulinda | Bloomberg | March 21, 2024
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A Los Angeles office building that Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. defaulted on is being sold for about 50% less than the outstanding debt on the tower.
Consus Asset Management, a South Korea-based investment firm, agreed to purchase the tower at 777 S. Figueroa St. for about $145 million, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal who asked not to be identified citing private details. Brookfield had about $289 million of debt on the building when it notified investors of a default, according to a February 2023 filing…
Brookfield (BAM CN) Defaulted Los Angeles Office Tower Selling at Major Discount — Natalie Wong and John Gittelsohn | Bloomberg | March 26, 2024
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Described as "buildings within a building" by the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), the recently completed Epiq takes the form of a series of stacked blocks. The tower's unusual design is well-suited to the local climate and maximizes outdoor space and views next to a large park in Quito, Ecuador.
The mixed-use high-rise reaches a height of 100 m (328 ft) and consists of 24 floors, most of which are taken up by residential space. It's described as a "vertical neighborhood" by BIG and the idea is to offer everything in one place. With this in mind, it contains offices on the lower floors, plus a children's play room, a gym and a rooftop terrace with a swimming pool, as well as retail units and food and drink facilities on the ground floor…
Extraordinary blocky tower stacks buildings within a building — Adam Williams | New Atlas | March 15, 2024
A $20M mansion home was built on top of a 400-foot skyscraper... — Cameron Manley | Business Insider | March 23, 2024
Condo Connection's financial coverage is indexed to our Dollar$ and $ense page dedicated to all things CIC finance.
Interest rates have sent household debt surging.
After years of managing household budgets through the stress of the worst inflation in a generation, US families are increasingly pressured by a different kind of financial squeeze: The cost of carrying debt.
Two years after the Federal Reserve began hiking interest rates to tame prices, delinquency rates on credit cards and auto loans are the highest in more than a decade. For the first time on record, interest payments on those and other non-mortgage debts are as big a financial burden for US households as mortgage interest payments…
American Debt Stings Like Never Before in New Era for Households — Claire Ballentine and Eliza Ronalds-Hannon | Bloomberg | March 15, 2024
Debt service defeats higher rates of return.
Unlike past cycles, debt costs rose more than interest income.
Burden of interest falls hardest on lower-wealth households.
Fed Crushes Household Net Interest Income in Break From Past — Ben Holland | Bloomberg | March 18, 2024
Housing costs hurt.
Higher housing costs are actually cutting into the savings of people who leave New York for Florida and Texas. Those earning at least $100,000 a year can still see significant savings when relocating to warmer states without income taxes, but as more people make that choice, they’re fueling higher rent and home prices in those destination states. So much so that the arbitrage on moving south to Miami, Austin and Dallas has been eroding since 2019.
New Yorkers who left for Miami last year saved almost 30% less than they would have if they moved in 2019, while those who left for Dallas or Austin saved about 20% to 25% less. And while Manhattan is still the most expensive place to live in the US, higher inflation rates in Miami, Dallas and Austin mean costs in those popular cities are catching up to New York, said Jaclyn DeJohn, managing editor of economic analysis at SmartAsset. Here’s the full breakdown of how Sunbelt savings have plummeted as housing and utility costs have risen.
— Natasha Solo-Lyons | Bloomberg Evening Briefing | March 18, 2024
Rates are stabilizing-ish.
Markets are once again back on the same page as the Fed in terms expecting three rate cuts in 2024. Yet there's a growing sense bond traders are in for more painful adjustments given the US economy's continued resilience.
Five Things You Need to Know to Start Your Day — Kristine Aquino | Bloomberg | March 15, 2024
Housing costs hurt.
Higher housing costs are actually cutting into the savings of people who leave New York for Florida and Texas. Those earning at least $100,000 a year can still see significant savings when relocating to warmer states without income taxes, but as more people make that choice, they’re fueling higher rent and home prices in those destination states. So much so that the arbitrage on moving south to Miami, Austin and Dallas has been eroding since 2019.
New Yorkers who left for Miami last year saved almost 30% less than they would have if they moved in 2019, while those who left for Dallas or Austin saved about 20% to 25% less. And while Manhattan is still the most expensive place to live in the US, higher inflation rates in Miami, Dallas and Austin mean costs in those popular cities are catching up to New York, said Jaclyn DeJohn, managing editor of economic analysis at SmartAsset. Here’s the full breakdown of how Sunbelt savings have plummeted as housing and utility costs have risen. — Natasha Solo-Lyons | Bloomberg Evening Briefing | March 18, 2024
Florida: DBPR to the rescue.
Sugarmill Woods man takes on the HOA machine — Michael D. Bates | Chronicle Online | March 21, 2024
More Election Improprieties
California: An election overturned. Kruschen v. Annandale Townhouse Association, Inc.
Case# 23VECV05191 - Los Angeles Superior Court - 03/26/24 — HOAdvocate | March 26, 2024
Indian Trail, North Carolina: Holly Park HOA. Gay pride and breast cancer awareness flags are the latest targets of take-down violation notices.
‘Sick to my stomach’: Neighbors demand answers from HOA over flag violations — Cam Gaskins | WBTV 3 | March 17, 2024
Beaverton, Oregon: Cooper Mountain Estates HOA. A board rewriting the bylaws to outmaneuver homeowners trying to establish reasonable accountability.
A group of Beaverton homeowners, facing thousands of dollars in fines from their neighborhood's HOA board, tried to remove their board president from his position — only for the board to change the neighborhood's bylaws the very next day, making it "essentially impossible" to be removed from power…
VIDEO: Beaverton families face thousands in fines from HOA with little recourse — Evan Watson | KGW8 | March 20, 2024
Speed enforcement is possible on private roads in states that have laws allowing it. In Liberty Lake, Washington, the city council requires an annual MOU with each HOA to provide this enforcement. Reference RCW 46.61.419.
HOA’s have different rules what it means for Police and streets — Liberty Lake Splash | March 14, 2024
Don’t rely on affirmative defenses unless you know exactly what you're doing. It’s often better (but not necessarily easier) to seek permission than to ask forgiveness.
Things started stirring up last fall when the couple decided to refresh their home's exterior paint. Threatt admitted the house was almost completely painted before he learned he needed to fill out a request for architectural approval.
"So I went to the HOA representative, and she said to me, 'This color you have, it's not an approved color,"' Threatt recalled…
VIDEO: A Mooresville couple tried to paint their home. They were hit with a $1,000 fine… — Jane Monreal | KVUE | March 12, 2024
Coconut Creek, Florida: The Coconut Creek HOA. Relevant ordinance examples.
Coconut Creek homeowners association leaders recently came to the city asking for help. Tree replacement in Coco Lakes is estimated to cost $200,000. In Country Wood, it’s $50,000…
…City officials have acknowledged the hardships, and they are now looking to create a grant program to help with those costs. They are specifically considering offering grants of up to $20,000 to associations…
— Luis F. Perez | Tap Into Coconut Creek | March 21, 2024
Don’t be fooled by the title. The Q&A that’s most interesting in the article below addresses a question about leasing and potentially criminal tenants. In his response, Poliakoff describes the power to alienate real property that’s limited in certain ways by covenants.
Can condo board limit who can play on its pickleball courts? — Ryan Poliakoff | The Palm Beach Post | March 24, 2024
FLORIDA: Get to know some of the new legislation by reading this article.
Florida Legislature Beefs up Condo Association, HOA Laws — Lidia Dinkova | The RealDeal | March 13, 2024
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