04.17.25

ISSUE # 114

CIC Info Bytes 04/17/25

🔊 Listen to the Podcast of Issue# 114

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.  This bi-weekly newsletter is packed to the brim.  We’ve done our best to create meaningful section breaks and incorporate engaging visuals.  When in doubt, Ctrl + F!

N.B.  We pay for subscriptions to access a bunch of valuable content and try our best to share the wealth by providing temporary free access to select articles.  If you find that you do not have access to an article, please consider supporting journalism by subscribing yourself.

💻🔎 SEARCH ALL ISSUES using our Newsletter Database or via the omnibox (upper right corner of your screen). ↗️

View the Calendar

• Visit our homepage to view events and add them to your own calendar.

DeSantis Wants Condo Relief

• Florida: Will Governor Ron DeSantis receive a bill to sign with the condominium relief he wants from the legislature?  Florida’s pain is of its own making: knee-jerk “full funding” requirements with a 2.5 year ramp were not and are not a practical solution to address decades of deferred maintenance and inadequate reserves.

…The governor took the Senate’s side on dueling proposals that committees in neither chamber have heard in weeks, saying Miami Republican Rep. Vicki Lopez’s condo bill, HB 913, puts the interests of developers above that of residents. Lopez represents Key Biscayne.

“Legislative session only has a few more weeks left,” DeSantis said at the City of Sweetwater Community Center.

“There has not been meaningful action in the Florida House of Representatives to give Floridians relief from the condo crisis that the legislation itself has caused, and we’ve got to be willing to step up and do the right thing.”...

...One of the differences between the pending proposals is that Lopez wants to bar the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. from issuing or renewing policies for condominium buildings that haven’t completed their building inspections.

The Senate bill, SB 1742, sponsored by Fleming Island Republican Sen. Jenifer Bradley, would allow condo associations to invest money in reserve funds meant for repairs, whereas Lopez’s bill would allow them to take out loans to cover necessary repairs without requiring approval from association members...

DeSantis rips into condo bill sponsored by Miami Rep. Lopez — Jackie Llanos | Islander News | April 11, 2025

Chicago Deconversion

• Chicago, Illinois: A 132-unit condominium deconversion.  Learn more about Ilinois deconversions in Issue #110.

A condo association recently cashed in on the demand in the suburban Chicago multifamily market by closing a long-deliberated deconversion sale. 

The condo board for the 132-unit Park Towne Condominiums sold 140 West Wood Street in Palatine for $18.5 million in recent weeks. Chicago-based QMR Partners bought the property. The deal comes out to $140,000 per unit. 

Sean Connelly, who sold the property along with fellow 33 Realty broker Mark Kurgan, said the condo board initially hired their firm to market the building in 2019 but had to put those plans on hold during the pandemic. Once the building hit the market again, timing worked in the board’s favor.

“We went back to market with it and got it under contract at $18.5 million, and there was no way you could have gotten that number last time,” he said. “We were getting numbers in the 15 to 16 million range in 2019, but rents grew so much in that submarket that all of a sudden it made sense for a value-added buyer to take that one on.”...

Suburban multifamily momentum spurs $18M condo deconversion — Emma Whalen | The RealDeal | April 14, 2025

Columbus Conversion

• Columbus, Ohio: A 70-unit apartment to condominium conversion.

LeVeque Tower apartments are converting to condominiums — Leslie Caimi | Columbia Business First | April 14, 2025

Condominiums Need to Pay Their Bills

• West Palm Beach, Florida: A sad situation.

Time is running out for residents of the Green Terrace condominiums, south of Belvedere along Georgia Avenue.

In less than two weeks the city of West Palm Beach is planning on shutting down the water, and then plans to condemn the complex as they said the homeowners association is millions of dollars in debt.

The city of West Palm Beach said the complex owes $1.4 million for water/wastewater and $2.5 million in code liens.

On Tuesday city officials along with legal aid met with residents to discuss their rights and offer them up to $7,000 to help pay for their first, last and security deposit of their next place.

"A lot of us here are rent controlled, a lot of people pay like $1,200 as opposed to what's out there in the world and we can't afford it," said Favor. "This was an affordable option. I feel terrible, I cry at night, I love my house."

The complex has 84 units, consisting of mixed income families who say they've paid their bills…

Mosche Stern is the president of the association: "This is an unfortunate situation. The Green Terrace Condominium Association is collaborating with the City of West Palm Beach to prevent a water shutoff and address the underlying issues. The Association, which comprises 84 units owned by a mix of individuals, entities, and the Federal Government, has faced significant challenges due to the substantial non-payment of monthly assessments by many unit owners. This financial strain has seriously impacted the Association’s ability to meet its obligations, including payment of utility bills. The Association is committed to doing everything within its authority to resolve this matter and to protect the well-being of all."...

'I would like to see the HOA be held accountable': Extreme debt to displace Green Terrace residents — Joel Lopez | WPTV | April 16, 2025

Water Challenges

• Henderson, Nevada: This HOA finds itself saddled with expensive repairs to its water system much like what we covered in Issue #99.  Changing Board composition isn’t going to solve the costs associated with deferred maintenance.

According to a letter sent to residents from Colonial Property Management, the company over the HOA for this community, it states they received a quote for the total cost of a project to fix the community's water system.

The projected cost of the project is $1,367,168…  The total cost per homeowner will be $16,879 in the form of a special assessment … paid in four installments at $4,220 each.  It states there will be a several-month period for people to plan out their finances, but all payments will have to be made within a four-month time period in order to schedule the project and complete it.

…Residents originally told Channel 13 on April 3 there will be an HOA board meeting this Thursday April 17, at 6 p.m.  On Tuesday, we were updated that there will be no meeting that day, however residents tell us they are still expecting to receive ballots to vote for a new HOA board Thursday. Residents tell me they will have about 10 days to vote for the new board.  After the vote happens, the current HOA board members are expected to step down, then the new board will be ushered in.

Aldona Leskys hopes relief comes soon. She tells me she's lived in her home since 2005.  When I moved here in 2005, the Homeowners Association was $86 a month; 20 years later, when that is all happening now, it’s $450 a month," Leskys said. “So everybody has been paying more and more, and we don’t know where it’s been going.”

Henderson residents facing possible $1.3 million bill hope new HOA board will bring answers — Ryan Ketcham | KTNV | April 15, 2025

They Paved Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot

•  Edmonds, Washington: They technically repaved the parking lot, but let’s go with it.

Neighbors and tree advocates circled the trunk, trying to protect it.  Condo board members said the tree's removal was sad but necessary.  Big Red stood a hundred feet tall, with a trunk so wide that if it were hollow, you could lay down inside it and go to sleep…

…A man named Bill, who would not give his last name, said he sits on the condo board that voted to remove the tree.  He said the condo association just spent $75,000 dollars to repave its parking lot.  "And so that comes out of everybody's pocket here," he explained. "And they say maybe every five years it'll have to be redone again."  He said the tree had to be removed to protect that investment.

His account was confirmed by Carol Merrill, the board's treasurer.  "We spent a year and a half trying to decide what to do with this," Merrill said. "I mean, I find it sad, but at the same time, I also feel like it's part of the board's obligation to do the best for the property."...

A century-old tree called 'Big Red' comes down in Edmonds — Joshua McNichols | KUOW | April 01, 2025 | 🎶Counting Crows - Big Yellow Taxi 

Small Grants for HOA Projects

• Lacey, Washington: The City of Lacey continues its municipal support for local HOAs.

Lacey locals looking to fix up their streets, refresh parks or create gathering spots finally have a shot at making it happen.  The 2025 Neighborhood Grant Program (LNGP) is now open to the public, giving residents a chance to secure up to $2,500 for local projects...

...City officials made it clear the grants are designed for Homeowners Associations (HOAs) and informal neighborhood groups.  While HOAs already function as legal entities, informal neighborhoods must form a five-member team of nonfamily residents willing to oversee the project…

…...The city government specified that grant funds cannot be utilized for HOA routine maintenance like monthly or recurring lawn care services, tree trimming, recurring mulch/topsoil installation and recurring stormwater facility maintenance. Grants are also off-limits to individuals, business groups, and political or religious organizations…

Lacey neighborhoods eligible for grants up to $2,500 — Kameko Marquez | JOLT News | February 27, 2025

Homeowner Frustration

• Maricopa, Arizona: Frustrated homeowners are clinging to hope for change.

It was just a few months ago when Rancho Mirage homeowners were plagued with problems — flooded sidewalks, inoperable pumps at the community lake and animal feces caked where children play.

Some of those problems persist, but things have slowly improved since InMaricopa magazine’s December story highlighted the frustrations homeowners there have endured for years. At the time, the homeowners mulled staging a public demonstration to keep prospective buyers from the sales office.

The homeowners association on Monday held its first meeting of the year — and its first meeting in years, according to some residents — to a packed room at the Maricopa Library and Cultural Center. There were more than 150 people present to hear what the Trestle Management Company team had to say.

Trestle gave an overview of the vendors hired by the HOA and their responsibilities, what maintenance projects had been completed and the status of the budget. This included spending $185,000 on new pumping equipment for the community lake (after nearly a year of dysfunction), hiring a new community manager after complaints about the previous one and increasing meeting frequency from yearly to quarterly.

Many of the homeowners, who pay more than $1,000 in dues annually, were still dissatisfied…

Rancho Mirage homeowners pulled back from brink, but something’s missing — Monica D. Spencer | In Maricopa | April 03, 2025

• California: Owners at a 40 year old, 200 unit stick-built condominium with no common fire sprinklers are stuck.

Pooled Property (Master) Insurance Causes Non Warrantable Condos > Lowered Property Values — u/Charizard_66 | r/HOA | April 08, 2025

___________________

Los Angeles, California: California has an opportunity to build back better.

Part of the goal is to restore a piece of Los Angeles’ architectural history. But mainly it’s to get everyone home as quickly as possible. Over the past couple of months, California leaders have signaled the same desire. Even before the fires were put out, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an order waiving environmental permitting requirements for resurrecting burned homes and businesses. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass suspended the city’s discretionary review process for rebuilding structures as they were. LA County, the main local government for unincorporated Altadena, has announced it will fast-track permits for “like for like” construction, and its elected officials have asked the state to suspend a raft of housing laws they say will slow the process.

By placing so much emphasis on re-creating individual properties, however, leaders may be missing the most dramatic chance yet to examine LA’s place in an ever more flammable world. The rising risk of catastrophic fire isn’t a problem homeowners can solve in isolation, says Stephen Pyne, a professor emeritus at Arizona State University who’s written dozens of books about the history of fires around the globe. Unlike with floods, hurricanes and other climate-driven disasters, in a fire the survival of one structure is often determined by the hardiness of its neighbor. Rebuilding the same homes in the same places could re-create the same risks that made January’s fires so explosive. Pyne says the yearly blazes that sweep through Southern California’s aridifying landscape call for a new approach that doesn’t doom residents to endless cycles of destruction. “It’s the same question we have about school shootings,” he says. “How many of these does it take?”..

LA Fire Victims Are Betting on a Radical Idea to Help Them Rebuild (free 🔗) — Laura Bliss | Bloomberg | March 31, 2025

___________________

The Fannie Mae condominium “blacklist” (Issue #112) has an insurance requirement, too.

The Town Homes at Meadow Hills homeowners association dots the i’s and crosses the t’s when it comes to keeping the community shipshape. 

“Things like insurance, landscaping, snow removal — everything to keep our property up. We don’t do deferred maintenance. If we have an issue, we address it right away,” said board president Randy Garlington, who owns one of the 46 townhouses adjacent to the Meadow Hills Golf Course in Aurora.

So, it was a bit concerning when he recently learned that a decision the board must make in May could impact owners planning to sell their units. A growing number of condo properties nationwide are ending up on a mortgage blacklist because they don’t meet requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which set the standard for conventional loans and touch 70% of the U.S. home mortgage market. 

One requirement is that the community’s property insurance deductible can be no more than 5%. Any higher and condo owners won’t be able to sell their units to buyers who are using conventional loans, the most common loan available. Buyers can still pay cash, or use more expensive alternatives, like seller financing or FHA and VA loans.

But a higher deductible was a negotiating tool Garlington had hoped to use before the property’s insurance renews in May. The premium unexpectedly tripled last year, forcing the Meadow Hills HOA to raise monthly condo fees by more than 60% — an extra $200 a month to $525. He hoped to avoid that this year and wanted to ask insurance brokers, “What if we take on some of the higher risk?”...

Why there are a growing number of unsellable condos in Colorado — Tamara Chuang | Colorado Sun | March 31, 2025

• Redfin and Zillow might be losing their edge as real estate list aggretagors.

To anyone snooping on Zillow, it appears that the two-bedroom condo at 364 Arkansas Street, in San Francisco's sunny Potrero Hill neighborhood, is not for sale. The site can only offer a hazy estimate of the home's value, basic facts about the property, and some grainy, decade-old photos from the last time it traded hands. Other popular home-listing portals — Redfin, Realtor.com, Homes.com — deliver the same result. The house is "off-market."

The condo is for sale, though, with an asking price of $999,000. I know this because I visited the website of Compass, the country's largest real estate brokerage by sales volume and the firm representing the home's seller. There, 364 Arkansas Street is tucked away from the rest of the internet, along with a vast trove of other homes listed for sale by Compass agents.

This is no accident or failure on the part of the seller's broker. Zillow and its competitors made their names by compiling home listings in one place, helping regular homebuyers navigate a once opaque market. But a monthslong fight over control of these listings, led by Compass CEO Robert Reffkin, is fracturing the housing landscape. A growing number of agents, especially those affiliated with Compass, are advising sellers to opt for a more limited advertising campaign for their homes. In some cases, this means an early release on the broker's website before sharing the listing more widely across the internet, essentially testing the waters before it technically hits the market. In other instances, agents may push their sellers to hide their homes from public view entirely, marketing them exclusively among agents who belong to the same brokerage, or within select groups of brokers known as "private listing networks." This state of play has spawned weird situations like the one in San Francisco: A home may be publicly touted for sale on one brokerage's website while lying dormant everywhere else…

Homes on Zillow, Redfin Disappear Thanks to Real Estate Agent Rules — James Rodriguez | Business Insider | April 09, 2025

Built Environment

• New York, New York: Not on the market yet, but with only 9 full-floor residences, these will go quickly.

Just steps from Wall Street, the former Diamond Exchange at 14 Maiden Lane is where every diamond entering the United States was once traded. For a brief moment in history, this 10-story gem even held the title of New York's tallest skyscraper.

Now, the building has been lovingly restored and reimagined as a boutique condominium. With only 9 private, full-floor residences, it offers a rare opportunity for discerning buyers seeking privacy, character and timeless architectural distinction. Prices are expected to start at just $2.6 million per floor—a remarkable value for this level of exclusivity.

New York's Newest Boutique Condominium: The Diamond Exchange Building — New York Residence | April 08, 2025

• EVERYONE PAYS: Tariffs and on-again, off-again executive decision-making will impact condos, co-ops and HOAs along with the rest of the national and global economy.

🎥 This Is the Formula Trump's Team Used for Tariffs. A Think Tank Says It 'Makes No Sense.'

— Kevin Cornith | Bloomberg Interview w/ American Enterprise Institute | 04/07/25

Trump tariffs based on massive error, conservative think tank says — Ben Berkowitz | Axios | April 06, 2025

Tariffs Can Help; These Won’t (Part 1) — Ben Berkowitz | American Enterprise Institute | April 06, 2025

Trump Tariffs Take Effect Hiking Trade Levies to a 100-Year High — Catherine Lucey | Bloomberg | 04/08/25

Inflation and Monetary Policy

• Here’s a look at the current Central Bank interest rate policy.  Notably, the ECB continued to adjust rates down today. 

Cashing In ... or Out?

• Long-term US government debt (Treasury Bonds) are trading a bit like risky assets.

Fear of a global recession triggered by the US administration’s tariffs agenda announced last week — and uncertainty around whether some of the most severe levies are being negotiated — led to sharp swings in the bond market as the week kicked off…

Bond Market Turbulence Lifts 30-Year Yield Most Since March 2020 — Alice Gledhill, James Hirai, and Liz Capo McCormick | Bloomberg | April 07, 2025

Billed as so rock-solid safe they’re risk-free, US Treasury bonds have long been the first port of call for investors during times of panic. They rallied during the global financial crisis, on 9/11 and even when America’s own credit rating was cut.

But this time may be different. As President Donald Trump unleashes an all-out assault on global trade, their status as the world’s safe haven is increasingly coming into question. They are trading, in other words, a little like a risky asset themselves. Or, as former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers says, like the debt of an emerging-market country.

Yields, especially on longer-term debt, have surged in recent days while the dollar has plunged. Even more disconcerting for America is the pattern of recent market moves. Investors have often dumped 10- and 30-year Treasuries—pushing prices down and yields up—at the very same time they frantically sold stocks, crypto and other risky assets. The inverse is also true, with Treasuries rising in unison with them. This has many on Wall Street increasingly nervous.

Treasuries Suddenly Trade Like Risky Assets in Warning to Trump — Ye Xie, Liz Capo McCormick, and Michael Mackenzie | Bloomberg | April 10, 2025

“Unusual Board Structure” Leads to Lawsuit

• Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Is a retirement community using its position on a condominium board for an improper purpose?

Unit owners in a Glebe condominium have asked a judge to appoint an independent administrator to take over its board, which they say is beset by political unrest, turmoil, hostility and mistrust.

According to documents filed as part of the court application, the problem with the condo board stems from its unusual structure.  Ottawa-Carleton Standard Condominium Corporation No. 758 is made up of 87 units in an Isabella Street building connected by a walkway to Villagia in the Glebe, a retirement residence.  Seventy of the condo units are owned and rented out by a company, OML Residences Limited, which also has an ownership stake in Villagia. The other 17 units are privately held.

The private owners contend the condominium corporation is being operated as if it was an “offshoot” of the neighbouring retirement home. “The affairs of the retirement residence have been intertwined with those of the condominium corporation,” the court application alleges.

Ron Prefasi, and his wife, Suzanne, both former teachers, are two of the private condominium owners behind the court case. They’re both condo board members.  Prefasi contends the company, through its control of the condo board, has suppressed the value of the privately-owned condos by perpetuating an unfair system of fees. That system means the Prefasis pay more than $3,000 a month in fees — more than $36,000 a year…

Glebe condo owners ask court to step in at building amid 'turmoil' — Andrew Duffy | Ottawa Citizen | April 08, 2025

PPP Settlement in Virginia

• Like Ridge, Virginia: This HOA accepted PPP funding.  Check out Even More PPP Problems in Issue# 86.

Lake Ridge Parks and Recreation Association, Inc. paid $695,000 to settle a lawsuit charging it wrongly received federal grant money under the paycheck protection program -- money the government paid to businesses and nonprofits across the country to keep people employed during the pandemic.

The association, better known as LRPRA, has about 8,000 resident members of Lake Ridge. It serves as the Lake Ridge homeowners association and, among other things, runs the five private pools and other recreation amenities in the 50-year-old eastern Prince William County community.

It’s not clear how much the Lake Ridge association received in Paycheck Protection Act funding. The court documents were still sealed as of Tuesday, April 8.

The loans were offered to eligible small businesses for economic relief during the COVID-19 pandemic and were meant to allow businesses to retain their employees.

The United States alleged that Lake Ridge Parks and Recreation Association should not have received the funding because it is a 501(c)(4) tax exempt entity, and such organizations were not eligible at the time the application was submitted, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia…

Lake Ridge homeowners association ordered to pay $695K over federal loans — Lake William Times | April 07, 2025

Suspect Co-op Unit LCE Licensing 

• New York, New York: Co-ops are a special breed.

Q: I was considering buying a co-op on the Upper East Side with a private back yard that was included in the offering plan. The seller and I agreed on the price, but then the co-op board introduced a licensing agreement that imposed a monthly charge equal to 18 shares to use the yard…

A: If the backyard is part of the unit, the board cannot require you to pay a license fee to use it.

“In fact, if it is part of the unit, the monthly maintenance assessed to the unit would technically cover the cost of the backyard, and any additional amount the board would attempt to collect from you would be tantamount to double-dipping,” said Leni Morrison Cummins, chair of the condominiums and cooperatives practice at Cozen O’Connor, a Manhattan law firm.

It’s possible the board is trying to correct a mistake from the past, that predated the seller’s occupancy. If the backyard is not part of the unit, the co-op may have the right to license its use.

But you have to ask why the board is introducing the licensing agreement now…

Can Co-ops Charge Extra for the Use of a Backyard That Belongs to a Unit? — Jill Terreri Ramos | The New York Times | April 05, 2025

Attention Homeowners: Read and Understand your Mail

• Kennesaw, Georgia: This townhome community takes its covenants seriously.

Watson said the ordeal stems from violations dating back to 2022, when he was fined for a non-street-facing wall of his home that had algae on it, a small bucket of water next to his house and a construction worker leaving a ladder outside.

Between September 2022 and January 2023, his homeowners association — Cedarlake Townhome Association — fined him $6,750 for violating its covenants and restrictions by failing to maintain the entirety of his townhome “in a condition…satisfactory to the board of directors.”...

Watson claims he did not see the letters due to personal reasons that led him to not look through his mail for several months.

“They had sent me notices in the mail that I needed to get it power washed, which I did not see, which was my own fault because I didn’t actually answer my mail for months,” Watson said. “...I got to a point where I didn’t really want to see the mail and I deal with almost everybody by phone and email these days anyway.”

By the time he checked his mail a year-and-a-half later, Watson said he found a legal notice stating he owed over $6,000, but “had no idea what it was for.” He said he spent the next months trying to get clarification from the management company and property manager, who he said took nearly six weeks to respond…

'Yard Nazis': Cobb Resident Faces $35,000 in HOA Lawsuit — Isabelle Manders | MDJ Online | April 13, 2025

Michigan Supreme Court Provides Dam Decision

• Sanford, Michigan: Following up on Issue #107 and providing once again that assessments are everywhere.

The State Supreme Court has denied an application to appeal by a group of property owners, challenging a Special Assessment District.  There is excitement on one side, disappointment on the other.  And as we approach the five year anniversary of the dam disaster, some now say they have hope the lakes will return.  The Michigan Supreme Court's ruling now paves the way for the Four Lakes Task Force to begin construction work on the four dams.

A group of property owners known as the Heron Cove Association has filed lawsuits and appeals to their dismissals, challenging the special assessments put in place to help for restoration of the dams.  This latest court ruling appears to end the legal challenges.

Four Lakes President Dave Kepler put out this statement, writing in part, "this is excellent news for the Four Lakes communities. We will now focus on obtaining financing and restarting or continuing construction on the four dams."  The dams would then recreate the four lakes of Secord, Smallwood, Sanford and Wixom, which all but vanished after the dam disaster in May of 2020.

"Everybody is just tired and everybody is ready for the lake to come back," says Teresa Quintana.  She is a co-founder of the group Sanford Strong and understands why property owners who live in the special assessment district, whether they were part of the legal action or not, are concerned about the cost of project.  Those assessments would collect about $218 million over forty years…

Heron Cove responds to state Supreme Court ruling that paves way for dam work to begin — Terry Camp | ABC 12 | April 11, 2025

Re-Roofing Holdouts 

•  Florida: This townhome community changed its architectural standards and wanted everyone to get new roofs to match, but those roofs are an individual unit responsibility.

Q: My community recently approved roof replacements from the existing cement tile to metal. In a year’s time, half of the 28 towns homes replaced their roofs, but the others are still waiting…no time frame was ever given to people to change the roof to meet the new community standards…

A: This is a problem that many communities encounter at various levels when they change an element of their architectural controls. It sounds as if your roofs are the property of the townhome owners and that they have the responsibility to maintain them, subject to the association’s architectural standards. Your board has established new standards either allowing (or mandating) a new style of roof, but it is generally up to the owners to replace their roofs when they want.

I’m sure your declaration of covenants has language mandating that the roofs must be maintained in a particular condition, and if a roof is visibly worn or damaged, I think the board would have some authority to mandate that it be replaced using the new roof style.  But the board cannot use architectural controls to mandate that people replace their roofs before the end of their useful life — they must wait until the roofs need to be replaced.

This comes up all the time with fences, mailboxes, awnings, and even house paint colors (although in many townhome communities the association is responsible for painting the homes, and so changing the color can be done in a consistent manner)...

Community switching from tile roof to metal, but some homeowners are dragging their feet — Ryan Poliakoff | The Palm Beach Post | April 13, 2025

Colorado Condo Hotel Settlement

• Big Sky, Montana: Buyer beware.  Condo hotels are unique arrangements.

Boyne USA, the parent company that owns Big Sky Resort and several other ski areas in North America, agreed this spring to pay nearly $25 million to settle a class-action lawsuit. 

The lawsuit was brought by condominium owners in three Big Sky properties developed and managed by Boyne. The plaintiffs disputed the validity of condo rental programs and the requirement that rentals be exclusively managed through Boyne. 

The suit was originally filed in the U.S. District Court in Butte more than three years ago. Chief District Judge Brian Morris approved the preliminary settlement agreement on Feb. 27, just weeks before the case was scheduled to go to trial on March 10. The agreement will require the judge’s final approval in June.

The plaintiffs and class members are current or former owners of condo units in the Shoshone Condominium Hotel, the Summit Hotel and the Village Center Condominium who participated in Boyne’s rental management program. Class members are the unnamed parties who joined the lawsuit and will receive settlement payments from Boyne.

A condo hotel is a hotel where a portion of rooms are converted to condos, which are then sold to property owners. The condos remain available to rent to the public, and owners may use the unit for vacations and receive some of the rental revenue. In the three condo hotels, unit owners signed an agreement to exclusively use Boyne for rental management and pay Boyne 50% of net rental revenue for management services, according to court documents…

Big Sky Resort’s parent company agrees to pay nearly $25 million to settle class-action lawsuit — Isabel Hicks | Montana Free Press | March 31, 2025

• COLORADO: Shifting liability from developers to condominium owners has taken hold as a legislative priority in 

Even after members of a key Senate committee rallied around a construction-defects reform bill this week, homebuilders continue to have serious questions about whether it will restart condominium construction in the way its sponsors want.

House Bill 1272 would create a new voluntary program that would make it harder to file condo defects lawsuits and limit the scope of legal actions that can be pursued in exchange for builders offering third-party inspections and warranties on their property. The Senate Local Government and Housing Committee voted 6-1 to send it for debate to the full Senate, the last big hurdle it would have to clear before heading to Gov. Jared Polis’ desk…

Builders explain why construction-defects reform bill may not restart condo market  — Ed Sealover | The Sum and Substance | April 11, 2025

• MINNESOTA: The League of Minnesota Cities testified as part of the MN CIC Working Group and is concerned with local government preemption.

The problem addressed by preemption in SF1750 and HF1268 is simple: municipalities mandate that new developments accept plats and covenants to place the cost burden of all manner of otherwise publicly funded infrastructure (gutters, lights, streets, sewers, etc.) on homeowners in the development.  Legislators already removed the Section 2 preemption from SB1750.  Whether it will return remains to be seen.   Arizona's governor vetoed 2024 HB2570 that would have prevented local governments in the state from requiring the creation of covenanted communities.

Homeowners Association and Common Interest Community Reform Bills Advance  — Daniel Lightfoot | League of Minnesota Cities | April 07, 2025

• OHIO: The author of the following opinion piece is of the opinion that homeowners willfully agree to give up a host of rights when they purchase a home in a condo, co-op, or HOA.  While there are some notable – and unavoidable – freedoms sacrificed in the pursuit of community association living, the ability to express oneself should not be one of them.

Freedom of expression to fly certain flags and post signs – particularly political yard signs – has been codified into law in over 30 states.  In fact, Ohio Revised Code (ORC) 5311.191 already guarantees certain rights to place a flagpole and flying of certain flags.  Why shouldn’t similar provisions apply to HOAs?  Situations like this beg for a uniform statutory standard.

HB 16 wrongly targets homeowner association ‘No yard sign’ rules  — Michael O’Neill | Cleveland.com Opinion | April 11, 2025

• WASHINGTON: CAI and its business-centric legislative lobby wants help from homeowners to network with state legislators because, well, CAI isn’t getting its way.  Just.  Say.  NO.