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ISSUE # 107
CIC Info Bytes 01/09/25
🔊 Listen to the Podcast of Issue# 107
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.
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EVENTS
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QUOTE
💡Dwight Eisenhower apparently said “What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important” so often that it gave birth to the Eisenhower Matrix, a time management tool that splits tasks into four quadrants:
Urgent and important: Tasks to be done immediately.
Important but not urgent: Tasks to be scheduled for later.
Urgent but not important: Tasks to be delegated.
Not urgent and not important: Tasks to be eliminated.
Understanding the wisdom of the Eisenhower Matrix—then ignoring it when things get hectic—is a startup tradition. [Also a tradition of condos, co-ops and HOAs!]
Sam Altman on ChatGPT’s First Two Years, Elon Musk and AI Under Trump (free 🔗)
— Josh Tyrangiel | Bloomberg | January 05, 2025
Eisenhower Matrix Tool | Eisenhower Matrix Template from Miro | Action-Priority Matrix | Action-Priority Matrix II
Trials and Tribulations of a Volunteer Director
Trials and Tribulations of a Volunteer Director
View parts I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX, XX, XXI, XXII and XXIII.
Boynton Beach, Florida: Multi-million dollar repairs have owners tied in knots.
A group of Boynton Beach condo owners is pushing back on plans for a $8 million safety repair project, alleging that its board has so mismanaged the work that a court-appointed receiver needs to take control of the complex.
At issue is a concrete restoration project at Seagate of Gulfstream, a 50-year-old, five-building community on the Intracoastal Waterway in Boynton Beach that consists of 360 condominiums. Each of the buildings is four stories…
…The group of owners at Seagate, upset over the cost of the repair work and how it was being done, went so far as to create a limited liability corporation called "The Concerned Owners of Seagate of Gulfstream."
The LLC hired a lawyer and then filed a complaint in Palm Beach County Circuit Court alleging that the engineer hired by the association recommended unnecessary work, and that the contractor overseeing the work failed to monitor it properly.
As a result, many condo owners have had to cope for months with the removal of “screens, hurricane shutters, windows, sliding glass doors, and floor coverings,” the complaint alleges…
Cost, delays in Boynton condo repair project have residents asking court to take control — Mike Diamond | The Palm Beach Post | December 26, 2025
Minnesota: This is the second in a series of articles about HOA concerns in Minnesota. Also read Feeling Shingled Out: Roofing Costs Come to Roost in Issue# 102.
Townhome owners in a Rogers neighborhood are preparing to pay a $16,400 bill from their homeowners’ association for new roofs — just two years after a full roof replacement.
Given their toddler-aged existing roofs, residents of the Dutch Knolls community were surprised when the bills arrived in mid-November with a payment deadline of Dec. 15. Most didn’t realize their HOA had filed an insurance claim, and some residents say their roofs have no damage. Many homeowners will have their bills covered by their own insurance; others don’t have the right type of insurance or enough coverage to foot the bill.
Tensions erupted last week between homeowners, their HOA board members and the property management company, Sharper Management, at a meeting meant to answer residents’ questions about the insurance claim that led to the roof replacement bill. Residents expressed frustration, alleging poor communication from management and questioning the decision to pursue an insurance claim for the 2-year-old roofs. After the meeting, the HOA board pushed back the deadline to pay until Jan. 31.
…On July 13, a wind and hail storm damaged all buildings in the community, the letter sent to homeowners explained, so the homeowners’ association filed an insurance claim.
Replacing all of the roofs in the community will cost an estimated $1,593,329, according to the insurance company and the homeowners’ association’s public adjuster. The association’s master insurance policy has a deductible of $1,576,712; split among the community’s 96 units, that means each homeowner pays $16,424. The insurance company will pay out a total of just $16,617…
…Dutch Knolls has been through this process before.
On Oct. 5, 2022, residents received a letter explaining that they each owed $3,592 to pay for roof replacements due to hail damage. The community had a different insurance policy and carrier and property management company that year…
HOA files: Two new roofs in two years cost some Rogers townhome owners thousands — Madison McVan | Minnesota Reformer | December 19, 2024
Minnesota is close to wrapping up a series of meetings about reforms for its state laws pertaining to condos, co-ops and HOAs (common interest communities / CICs). Legislatures across the nation have created panels like this one to gather public feedback and discuss reforms.
Minnesota Working Group on Common Interest Communities and Homeowners Associations
🔊 Minnesota CIC HOA Working Group Audio Summary
Palm Beach, Florida: THIS is a condominium gone wrong. Uninhabitable units. Bearing walls removed.
Unsafe buildings at Century Village near West Palm Beach continue to cause problems for the community's manager as well as county building officials.
In an unusual move, the umbrella organization that oversees the common elements at Century Village, the United Civic Organization, wrote a letter to a county special magistrate complaining that enforcement orders are being ignored. The letter was dated Dec. 13 and signed by Donald Foster, the community's manager under the United Civic Organization. The group also advises the 309 separate building associations that make up the sprawling community, which has nearly 8,000 units and more than 10,000 residents…
As more unsafe Century Village structures are exposed, county struggles to address the issue — Mike Diamond | Palm Beach Post | January 02, 2025
Greenbelt, Maryland: No heat for the holidays.
A condo complex in Greenbelt continues to go through the holidays without heat. We first told you about the Chelsea Woods heat troubles two weeks ago and when we went back we found residents still in the cold, with no solution in sight. But, new emails seem to show the problem with heat...
...We called the Chelsea Woods property management company RGN. The owner of RGN shared emails between the company and the condo association’s board. In the emails, an RGN representative tells the board: the problem is broken water pipes across the complex. Including one under a building. The cost to fix the pipes will be at least $150,000 and they are trying to find a contractor to do the work. The emails go on to urge the board to meet with residents to explain what is happening.
“When you call or email, they don't respond,” Thompson countered. “They don't pick up the phone.”
RGN’s owner wouldn’t go on camera, but he said funding is the problem. The board which pays for fixes out of its condo association budget doesn’t have enough money to pay for the fix....
Greenbelt condos going through holidays without heat — Matt Gregory | WUSA 9 | December 30, 2024
Manchester, Connecticut: Winter is especially cold in the absence of electricity.
Residents of a condominium complex went about a month without power, leading to them paying for electricity through a generator, costing them each thousands of dollars out of pocket and the loss of their refrigerated food before power was restored Thursday.
Residents of the Lawton Gardens condominiums lost power around Thanksgiving and initially went completely without power for days before a private company provided a diesel-powered generator thanks to the property manager, who used his own credit card to pay the upfront costs.
However, the generator cost about $600 per day once it was up and running, equating to a total of more than $3,000. Residents are not yet sure whether their insurance company will reimburse them for the costs…
Manchester condo residents face generator bill after going a month without power — Eric Bedner | CT Insider | December 26, 2024
New York: An owner installed a heat pump. Now there’s water descending down onto others’ decks. This article misleads readers to believe that this is a dispute between neighbors, but the association should be responsive to encourage – and require – the offending party to correct the issue.
Boards must equally enforce “no drip” rules and nuisances created by alterations and improvements. All heat pumps should have drip pans and/or condensate collection systems that ensure there are no drips.
My Neighbor’s Apartment Is Leaking Into My Space. Who Has to Fix This? — Jill Terreri Ramos | The New York Times | January 04, 2025
New York: The NY attorney general does not help homeowners resolve conflicts with their condos, co-ops and HOAs, but does help associations with developers who break the law.
My Condo Sponsor Owes the Building $30,000. How Do We Make Him Pay? — Jill Terreri Ramos | The New York Times | December 28, 2024
Houston, Texas: Cluster mailboxes under siege. Issue# 91 includes more mailbox mayhem.
A community in the Champions area is left feeling hopeless after they say thieves have hit their cluster mailbox at least six or seven times in the last year. Jim Penn, president of the HOA for the Kings Row Townhome Community located on Champions Drive, said they do not know what to do about the problem.
He has had two driver's licenses sent to him stolen. Penn said he finally had to have it delivered to a friend's house nearby. They have also gotten reports from residents in the 16-unit community having their insurance cards, tax bills, and packages taken.
Penn said they have reported it to law enforcement and the postal service and have not gotten a helpful response. "We know it's being broken into, but how do you stop it?" Penn asked. "That's the big question."
One resident who lives directly across from the cluster mailbox installed a camera that points directly at the box, hoping to deter thieves. Since installing the camera, he has caught two instances of theft. "They're pretty bold. For that matter, they really don't seem to care that somebody's watching," Penn said.
Townhome residents frustrated after at least 6 cases of mail theft in a year — Mycah Hatfield | ABC 13 | December 31, 2024
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, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50 & 51
Energy
Energy
We have featured multiple articles about AI demands for power, water, silicon and more. In addition to the quantity of power required, data centers that support AI might also be impacting the quality of power available to individual homes and businesses.
Every day, Americans reach into their refrigerators or turn on their dishwashers without much thought given to the electricity flowing through their homes. But a hidden problem now threatens these seemingly mundane tasks: distorted power supplies.
The term for the issue is “bad harmonics.” It may seem a bit esoteric, but you can think of it like the static that can be heard when a speaker’s volume is jacked up higher than it can handle. Electricity travels across high-voltage lines in waves, and when those wave patterns deviate from what’s considered ideal, it distorts the power that flows into homes. Bad harmonics can force home electronics to run hot, or even cause the motors in refrigerators and air conditioners to rattle. It’s an issue that can add up to billions of dollars in total damage...
...The problems in the US are compounded by the fact that not enough investment has gone into the grid to fortify it for the coming demand boom. For decades, US power use was largely flat. Now, it’s about to be turbocharged. The nation’s demand for electricity will surge almost 16% over the next five years, more than triple the estimate from a year ago, driven largely by new data centers, according to a recent report from Grid Strategies, a DC-based consulting firm.
The increase means that without major improvements to the grid and power equipment, harmonics issues seen today are likely to get worse...
AI Needs So Much Power, It’s Making Yours Worse — Leonardo Nicoletti, Naureen Malik and Andre Tartar | Bloomberg | December 27, 2025
The Cost of Net Zero
The Cost of Net Zero
The latest experiment removing carbon from the atmosphere aims to sink it in the ocean.
The world’s oceans stow vast amounts of carbon dioxide. Now, a growing group of scientists and companies say they’ve found a way to increase that storage capacity by tweaking ocean water chemistry.
The technique, known as ocean alkalinity enhancement, usually involves dissolving acid-neutralizing rocks in the ocean, allowing it to absorb more carbon dioxide.
Researchers have been exploring this technology for the last five years, but over the last two months, at least a couple of start-ups have begun operation along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Planetary, a start-up based in Nova Scotia, removed 138 metric tons of carbon last month for Shopify and Stripe. The start-up Ebb Carbon is running a small site in Washington state that can remove up to 100 carbon metric tons per year and committed in October to remove 350,000 metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere over the next decade for Microsoft.
Proponents of the technology say it’s one of the most promising forms of carbon removal, which experts say will be necessary to meet climate goals even as the world cuts emissions.
But in order for this to make a dent, it will need to be scaled up to remove billions, not hundreds of thousands, of metric tons of carbon per year, said Matthew Eisaman, an associate professor of earth and planetary sciences at Yale…
How an antacid for the ocean could cool the Earth — Sarah Raza | The Washington Post | January 03, 2025
Environment
Environment
Formaldehyde is a risk.
A long-awaited report from the Environmental Protection Agency has found that formaldehyde presents an unreasonable risk to human health. But the report, released Thursday, downplayed the threat the chemical poses to people living near industrial plants that release large quantities of the carcinogen into the air.
The health risk assessment was published weeks after a ProPublica investigation found that formaldehyde, one of the most widely used chemicals in commerce, causes more cases of cancer than any other chemical in the air and triggers asthma, miscarriages and fertility problems.
Our analysis of the EPA’s own data showed that in every census block in the U.S., the risk of getting cancer from a lifetime of exposure to formaldehyde in outdoor air is higher than the goal the agency has set for air pollutants. The risk is even greater indoors, where formaldehyde leaks from furniture and other products long after they enter our homes.
EPA Report Finds That Formaldehyde Presents an “Unreasonable Risk” to Public Health — Sharon Lerner | ProPublica | January 03, 2025
Housing Affordability & Homelessness
Housing Affordability & Homelessness
Washington State: Homelessness is only getting worse, but we already knew that…
…In some ways, the report to Congress last week that homelessness is surging wasn’t news in Seattle or the state…
…The headline is that Washington has the third-largest homeless population in the nation, after California and New York. A closer look at the data though shows it’s much worse than that.
Washington has higher rates of unsheltered homelessness than most other states, except California. These are people living out in the elements, in greenbelts, in doorways and by the sides of roads — what the British call “rough sleepers.” These are the worst places to be.
Compare here with New York, a state with nearly 2 ½ times more people. Washington had 16,222 rough sleepers on a given night in 2024. While the entire state of New York had just 5,638. For the hardest, chronic cases — people who have disabilities such as mental illness or substance abuse, and are homeless for long periods — Washington had 9,185 unsheltered compared with New York’s 1,337. These huge disparities are largely because New York has so much more emergency shelter than Washington does — by design.
It’s the same dire picture if you compare Seattle-King County to New York City — which researchers at the Brookings Institution did last year. “Seattle is the stark outlier in the sample: Over 57% of its homeless population is living without shelter,” the researchers found. This compares with just 3% in New York City….
The new report on homelessness shows a catastrophe for WA — Danny Westneat | The Seattle Times | January 04, 2025
The 2024 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR to Congress) Part 1
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US national homelessness soared to all-time highs in 2024.
Homelessness in the US soared to its highest level since the federal government began keeping track nearly 20 years ago, according to a new report from the Biden administration, driven by high rents and a lack of affordable options but also a crush of migrants claiming asylum at the US border with Mexico.
Nearly 772,000 people were counted as homeless on a single night in January 2024, an 18% increase over the prior year’s count, which itself set a record for the number of homeless people nationwide. The count includes more than 80,000 families with children, whose ranks grew dramatically — up 39% over 2023.
This surge in family homelessness as well as unsheltered homelessness — up about 7% — is due in part to the state of the border back in January, when an influx of migrants overwhelmed shelter systems in New York City, Denver, Chicago and other cities. That crisis has abated since June, when President Joe Biden took executive action to clamp down on asylum claims, according to officials from the White House and US Department of Housing and Urban Development. Unlawful border crossings are down substantially.
“While homelessness increased nationally, the intensity of the increase appears to be driven by a small number of communities that were heavily impacted by migration,” says Marion McFadden, principal deputy assistant secretary for HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development…
…Homelessness has increased over the last 10 years as a result of skyrocketing housing costs. Rents have climbed 1.5 times faster than wages over the last four years, with housing costs outpacing salaries in 44 out of the 50 top US metros. While the construction of apartment units has reached its highest level in decades, bringing badly needed housing supply to lower costs, the Federal Reserve has warned that rent inflation may not fall back to pre-pandemic levels until 2026. Competition for increasingly scarce affordable units has pushed many families to the brink, including households with unstable housing who are not captured in counts of shelter beds…
Migrant Crisis Pushed US Homelessness to Record High in 2024 — Kriston Capps | Bloomberg | December 27, 2024
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Increasing costs of homeownership are driving boomers to the brink.
Many baby boomers are struggling with rising home repair costs, insurance premiums, and property taxes while also facing a scarcity of affordable retirement housing options. And working all their lives isn't enough to prevent a growing number of older people from experiencing homelessness.
Rising rents and home prices, largely caused by a housing shortage and other cost-of-living spikes, are hitting older adults especially hard. Overall homelessness surged to its highest level on record last year, according to the federal government's most recent count conducted in January 2024. And older people make up a growing share of those losing their homes: The portion of homeless single adults 50 or older is estimated to have grown from about 10% to 50% over the past three decades.
"The cost of housing and the cost of everything, quite frankly, is getting more and more expensive," Marcy Thompson, vice president of programs and policy at the National Alliance to End Homelessness, told Business Insider. "And this is particularly true for older adults who are on fixed incomes."...
Baby boomer homeowners fear losing their properties as they spend down their savings — Eliza Relman | Business Insider | January 05, 2025
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Florida’s condominium chaos is roiling young and old alike.
Florida’s ongoing condo crisis is not only affecting older residents on fixed incomes, but also young professionals in Palm Beach County who are feeling the financial strain and are weighing up whether they can afford to stay in their units or will be forced to sell.
One young condo owner told WLRN the “super overwhelming” future assessment fees — jacked up to several hundreds of dollars per month — has already pushed him out, forcing him and his fiancé, a nurse, to put their unit in West Palm Beach on the market…
'We were happy': Young owner is among those forced to sell as South Florida condo crisis bites — Wilkine Brutus | WLRN | December 30, 2024
California: FAIR Plan, the insurer of last resort, is under fire. Literally.
The conflagrations tearing across Los Angeles are on track to be among the most expensive wildfire disasters in US history, draining insurance coffers and threatening California’s massive state-sponsored insurance program.
Losses from the fires “could push insurance markets over the brink in California,” said Michael Wara, a senior researcher for climate and energy at Stanford University and a wildfire expert.
It’s an unprecedented test of the FAIR plan, the state-sponsored insurer of last resort. Pacific Palisades is the high-cost neighborhood at the center of the Palisades Fire. The FAIR plan has seen its exposure there skyrocket to $5.89 billion. Its policies in one ZIP code central to Pacific Palisades grew 85% between 2023 and 2024…
Los Angeles Fires Become Existential Test for California’s Stopgap Insurer — Leslie Kaufman | Bloomberg | January 08, 2025
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Los Angeles, California: Billions in property damage.
The Los Angeles wildfires are set to be the costliest in U.S. history, analysts said Thursday, as the first initial estimates of damage from the infernos soared with their unchecked spread.
Total economic losses from the fires are now pegged at close to $50 billion, double the estimate of a day earlier, according to JPMorgan analyst Jimmy Bhullar. That includes insured losses which he estimated at more than $20 billion and “even more if the fires are not controlled.”
Other initial estimates of the fire’s economic toll also placed the disaster as among the nation’s most expensive. Ratings firm Morningstar DBRS estimated total insured losses of more than $8 billion.
The final tally of insurance losses from natural disasters can vary markedly from initial estimates, particularly for forecasts made while events are still unfolding. Analysts and others work out potential costs in part by comparing the number and average value of properties destroyed to previous fires.
Los Angeles Fire Damage Likely to Be Costliest in U.S. History — Jean Eaglesham | WSJ | January 09, 2025
You can read more about catastrophe bonds (“cat-bonds”) in our prior issues.
Catastrophe-bond issuance rose to a record this year, increasing the overall market to almost $50 billion, as insurers transferred more risk from costly climate disasters to private investors.
Sales of bonds earmarked for supplemental coverage of large windstorms, earthquakes and other events totaled $17.7 billion, up 7% from the previous record set a year ago, according to Artemis, which tracks the market for insurance-linked securities. The figures include cyber-risk and private transactions.
“The cat-bond market had another year of strong growth,” said Tanja Wrosch, head of cat-bond portfolio management at Zurich-based Twelve Capital AG. “Larger, more diverse and deeper markets are key to the success and sustainability of cat-bond solutions and investment strategies.”
Cat-Bond Issuance Pushes Overall Market to Almost $50 Billion — Gautam Naik | Blomberg | December 23, 2024
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Florida: Is there relief in sight for condo unit and association insurance? Maybe?
…The third-quarter report contains some good news for condominium owners. The average cost to cover a condo unit in Florida increased by just 1.3% for the second straight quarter — to $1,737 — after rising as high as 5.9% between the first and second quarters of 2023.
The average cost of commercial coverage for condo associations, after doubling between the second quarters of 2022 and 2024, declined by 3% to $142,909 between the second and third quarters of 2024….
Home insurance costs in Florida spiked in third quarter. Are more increases on the way? (free 🔗) — Ron Hurtibise | Sun Sentinel | January 04, 2025
Florida Office of Insurance Regulation: Residential Market Share Reports
Florida: Property insurance premiums of the future may take ruggedized housing into account as a primary factor in determining premiums.
“The fundamental problem that we have is: How do we replace or upgrade old building stock to current standards?” Ingoglia said. “That is a question I think the Legislature needs to answer.”...
...The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) was founded by the property-casualty industry to look at best construction practices. It has concluded that asphalt shingles are failing American homeowners, and their durability has not advanced. It’s because consumers don’t know how to be more discriminating in choosing roof materials, and insurers are footing the roofing bill 30% of the time, according to the nonprofit’s Strategy 2026.
Those observations are coming out of IBHS research, which is the result of experiments in the world’s only lab created to simulate high winds against full-scale housing construction, according to IBHS’s materials. “IBHS will evaluate the relative wind performance across roof systems both for residential and commercial construction, forming the basis for a series of ‘Roofing Roadmaps’ that provide guidance on the best and worst performing roof systems over their lifetime,” says the organization’s “Strategy 2026: Turning Science Into Solutions” publication.
People in the construction industry may beg to differ on the efficacy of asphalt shingles, however. Billy Venhuizen, general manager of Hermitage Roofing, based in Mangonia Park, said he’s been stunned by the roofs that insurance companies have refused to insure. He’s seen insurers force homeowners to get new roofs based on their existing one’s chronological age, even if there are no visible signs that the shingles need replacing....
...Switching to other roofing materials, either ceramic tile or metal, would not likely improve the state’s affordability housing problems, he noted. “Concrete (ceramic) tile is 50% more (than asphalt shingles) and metal tile is even more — about 65% more,” Venhuizen said...
Top insurance regulator: Asphalt tiles, popular roofing material, may need to go in Florida — Anne Geggis | The Palm Beach Post | December 27, 2025
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Demand for the “My Safe Florida Condo” program gobbled up $30,000,000 in 5 days. Read more about the program.
Florida offered wind-safety grants to condos. They sold out in 5 days. — Amelia Davidson | E&E News | January 02, 2025
Housing Market
Housing Market
Florida is a buyer’s market for condominiums.
It's a buyer's market for Palm Beach County townhomes and condominiums, with November's inventory nearly double what it was in 2023 and median prices idling at about $310,000.
According to a report released Dec. 19 by the Broward, Palm Beaches, and St. Lucie Realtors Group, the months’ supply of condos and townhomes for sale in November was 8.8 months. That’s an 87% increase from the same time last year and above the 5.5 to 6 months’ supply considered a balanced market, where neither the buyer nor seller has the upper hand.
Statewide, there was an 8.2-month supply of condos and townhomes in November, an increase of 64% from the same time in 2023….
“After the reserve studies are completed and the condos need to start collecting all the funds, you are going to have more and more owners that are willing to take less and less for their units because they just need to get out,” Margolis said…
Home sales: Big supply of condos for sale in Palm Beach County as Surfside deadline looms — Kimberley Miller | The Palm Beach Post | December 26, 2025
Built Environment
Built Environment
Alabama: A story of starting small and dreaming big to build condominiums along the Alabama coast.
…"We didn't have any money," Brett remembered. "I mean, we might have had $1,000 or $1,500 in the bank, and we each had to have $1,000 a month back then just to pay our bills and keep our families fed."
As a visionary, Brett knew he would succeed, but he wasn't sure how. Every brick that went into building what he has today was laid with persistence and honesty.
"We grew up; our parents taught us to do what we tell the people we're going to do," Brett said…
Gulf Coast Phoenix condominiums started with a dream and $500 — Erica Thomas | 1819 News | January 01, 2025
Condo Connection's financial coverage is indexed to our Dollar$ and $ense page dedicated to all things CIC finance.
Ballooning US dept is a challenge even primary dealers are fretting.
It was once the club every Wall Street institution wanted to join: the elite network of primary dealers who serve as gatekeepers of the world’s biggest and most influential bond market, US Treasuries. Not so much anymore. Just as America’s debt load is poised to balloon beyond already-record levels, a variety of forces has made membership in this vital cohort less coveted…
Formed in 1960 by the New York Fed to ensure the smooth functioning of a Treasury market that has since grown to nearly $29 trillion and is a benchmark for setting borrowing costs across the world, the current system of primary dealers stands at two dozen, about half the number at its peak in 1988, when US debt was a fraction of what it is now and before a wave of bank mergers.
Those remaining in the ranks warn of mounting pressures in navigating their role. In interviews with Bloomberg News, they say it’s getting tougher to fulfill their duty of bidding on new debt at the Treasury’s regular auctions of securities and maintaining an active secondary market, blaming in part post-financial crisis regulations setting capital and leverage levels that they say constrain them.
“Issuance has gone up almost threefold in the last 10 years and the anticipation is for it to close to double to $50 trillion outstanding in the next 10 years, whereas dealer balance sheets haven’t grown at that magnitude,” said Casey Spezzano, head of US customer sales and trading at primary markets dealer NatWest Markets and chair of the Treasury Market Practices Group, the government-debt watchdog sponsored by the New York Fed. “You’re trying to put more Treasuries through the same pipes, but those pipes aren’t getting any bigger.”
Treasury’s Elite Bond Dealers Will Struggle to Handle $50 Trillion Debt — Michael Mackenzie, Liz Capo McCormick, and Alex Harris | Bloomberg | December 30, 2024
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Dollar dominance plays a major role.
…So the greenback isn't coming undone anytime soon. Its dominance goes beyond an official desire for a strong dollar, a weak one or something in between. The currency's pivotal role is tightly woven into the fabric of the modern economy. It accounts for the majority of global reserves and is one side of about 90% of foreign-exchange trading. The bulk of cross-border loans are in dollars, as is a disproportionate amount of invoicing.
Nothing comes close, despite China's impressive advances in the past four decades. The yuan’s small share of international payments has fallen slightly this year, according to Swift, a financial messaging service. Periodic portfolio shuffling notwithstanding, foreigners hold trillions of dollars of US debt, a lot of it in Treasuries. Asian economies may account for much of global economic growth in the coming years, but they struggle to find a sufficiently large number of safe and liquid assets close to home…
…This isn't to say a credible greenback rival won't materialize. Nor does it mean Trump's nominee for Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, can spend to his heart’s content, oblivious to any consequence. “The main benefit of the dollar is there isn't really much of an alternative and that makes a crisis less likely,” Hendrickson told me. “You start thinking what will come next and it’s a world of infinite possibilities and thought experiments, but it's unclear how realistic these exercises are. The subtext is we just kind of stumble along.”...
Dollar Dominance Is the Key to US Debt and Deficits — Daniel Moss | Bloomberg Opinion | December 26, 2024
Are you fascinated by case law? Maybe you should be?
Are you fascinated by case law? Maybe you should be?
Not Common Ground: Exclusive Use Matters
Not Common Ground: Exclusive Use Matters
Massachusetts: Associations are not responsible for the cost of adapting exclusive use limited common elements (LCEs) for disabled persons.
In Geezil v. White Cliffs Condo. Four Ass’n, 105 Mass. App. Ct. 103 (2024), the Massachusetts Appeals Court held that an association of condominium unit owners was not responsible for the expense of accommodating an individual unit owner’s handicap modifications to a patio that was exclusively dedicated to the plaintiff’s unit but considered common area under the master deed. In so doing, the Appeals Court affirmed that the condominium association did not engage in an unlawful practice or retaliation within the meaning of the Massachusetts Anti-Discrimination Law, G. L. c. 151B…
Condominium Association’s Refusal to Pay for Unit Modification Is Not Handicap Discrimination — Amanda Zuretti | Bowditch | December 31, 2024
Singapore: Owning a condominium unit involves a certain amount of flexibility and willingness to allow access to and through a unit.
The facade of a stack of condominium units in Bukit Batok has not been repainted for 16 years. This is because the couple who own the topmost unit have refused to let contractors access the roof through their home.
Since at least 2008, the couple and the management corporation of Guilin View have been feuding over various matters, including issues of access to the unit to facilitate repair and repainting works.
In the latest episode of the dispute, the management corporation filed a court application against Mr Tan Eng Siang and his wife, Madam Quah Kim Lui, in the State Courts in February. The management corporation sought a court order for it to be allowed to enter the couple’s unit so that repair and repainting works can be carried out, without obstruction from the two homeowners…
Condo management seeks entry to top-floor unit after owners refuse roof access for painting works — Selina Lum | The Straits Times | December 27 , 2024
Boca Raton, Florida: Boca Pointe condominium owners face a frustrating situation.
…Here’s what the condominium association seeks from the Court: “WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests that this Court: Take jurisdiction of this cause and of the parties to this action.
Grant a mandatory and permanent injunction against Defendant Murray Feit to immediately cease making constant and repeated outbursts of yelling in the hallway;
Grant a mandatory and permanent injunction against Defendant Murray Feit to immediately cease repeatedly slamming of Defendants’ Unit door;
Grant a mandatory and permanent injunction requiring the Unit door be repaired in order to eliminate and/or reduce the loud sound made upon the Unit door closing in a manner that doesn’t disturb the other residents;
Grant a mandatory and permanent injunction requiring the Defendants cease all work within their Unit until permits are applied for and obtained by the applicable governmental agency and/or provide proof of obtaining such permits;
Grant a mandatory and permanent injunction requiring the Defendant Murray Feit cease making abusive and improper comments to the Board of Directors and management staff; Grant a mandatory and permanent injunction requiring the Defendants cease using the front door for deliveries;
Grant a mandatory and permanent injunction requiring the Defendants cease posting paper signs on their Unit door to “not enter;”
Grant a mandatory and permanent injunction requiring the Defendants cease denying representatives of the Association access to their Unit as needed to inspect ongoing construction; and Enter an award of reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs incurred herein from Defendants, in favor of the Association, Award such other and further relief to the Association as the Court deems proper.”
Condo Association At Boca Pointe Sues Couple For Screaming, Slamming Doors — Boca News Now | January 05, 2025
Michigan: It’s not just condos, co-ops and HOAs missing special assessments. Assessments from government entities are bigger and bolder.
Michigan's Court of Appeals upheld the imposition of special assessments on properties near Wixom, Sanford, Smallwood, and Secord Lakes to fund dam repairs and lake restoration.
The unanimous decision, issued Monday, Jan. 7, concluded that the Midland and Gladwin County Boards of Commissioners, along with the Four Lakes Task Force that the two boards have jointly delegated to operate the dams, acted within their legal authority under Michigan’s Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA).
The case involves funding for the $398,875,000 project to restore water levels after dams in the region failed in May 2020. Federal and state grants and an MDOT settlement covered over $181,175,000 of the costs, leaving $217.7 million to be raised through special assessments on local property owners. The assessments are to be paid over 40 years…
Heron Cove Association loses state appeal in lake restoration case — Dave Clark and Dan Chalk | OurMidland | January 07, 2025
Memphis, Tennessee: This hot topic was postponed to February 4, 2025.
…Award-winning actress and new Memphis homeowner Madeleine Stowe says she’s ready to go toe-to-toe with the Chickasaw Gardens Homeowner’s Association.
Stowe and her husband, actor Brian Benben, moved just outside Chickasaw Gardens last year, and for months have been working behind the scenes in opposition to what they say is an attempt to turn the neighborhood into a private, gated community, restricting public access to a city park.
The HOA says it’s about restricting traffic, but Stowe and others say the data just doesn’t hold up and they plan to make their case at Tuesday’s city council meeting…
Gate debate: Award-winning actress ready to go toe-to-toe with Chickasaw Gardens HOA — ActionNews5 | January 06, 2025
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