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ISSUE # 90
CIC Info Bytes 05/09/24
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.
QUOTE
😮 FILED UNDER DIABOLICAL: “You know, I just wonder, if you never allow yourself to enjoy the spoils of your position, why seek it in the first place?”
— Commander Putnam, The Handmaid’s Tale S5, E6
Trials and Tribulations of a Volunteer Director - Part XV
PART XV: Naught Without Labor
Life is busy, isn't it?! One of the reasons homeowners struggle to obtain robust statutory protections is a lack of applied focus on the root cause. This is not to say that homeowners don't care, because obviously they do. Most homeowners simply want to pay their mortgage and their assessments and live their lives. And we're all busy. After all, many owners are drawn to community associations with assurances of “care free living.”
Homeowners do not buy into condos, co-ops and HOAs thinking: "I know this will be a challenge and I'll probably need to write letters, rally my neighbors, join the board, file a dispute, or initiate a lawsuit to ensure reasonableness and lawfulness prevail." Quite to the contrary, most homeowners either opt not to scrutinize the declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions (CCR&s), bylaws, rules and regulations, annual budget, reserve study and other records before signing to purchase their home OR they acquiesce to purchasing despite their concerns.
Change, whether in your own community association or within your city, county or state, always begins with one person. Are YOU the leader we’ve been looking for?! Stand up and take control of your future by networking with other homeowners and effectively engaging state legislators. Want to know more? Contact HOA United.
We’ve outsourced our responsibility for democracy for too long... And if we don’t take responsibility for democracy in this moment, we might lose it…
The moment we start following people, giving ourselves over to them, we stop working on ourselves. We stop doing the hard work of becoming better people…
…the objective is to create indigenous leadership. Those of us who are working close to the ground in our communities must understand our own power and that’s what organizing is all about. Not to helicopter in, but to engage in the hard work on the ground of creating the conditions of building community with others.
VIDEO: Interview with Eddie Glaude Jr. — PBS NewsHour | May 2, 2024
We’ve written extensively about this topic on our Board Directors & Officers page. Sixty second recap:
There are no “bosses.” Only the Board makes decisions. Directors are equals!
⚠️ The president is a peer director. Nothing more.
Support functions can be assigned to individuals, committees and others.
⚠️ No individual volunteer is responsible for the overall success of the association or for ensuring that XYZ is correct.
President: Chair (preside) at meetings (Board and Member meetings) and act as a primary liaison to communicate Board decisions.
Vice President: Fill in when the President is unavailable.
Secretary: Facilitate accurate and timely meeting minutes (not necessarily capturing them directly) and certain official requests and notices.
Treasurer: Facilitate accurate and timely financials by reviewing information, asking questions and insisting on reasonable answers.
At Large: Duties as agreed.
Board Member Officers: Who Does What? — Kelly G. Richardson | RO Blog | April 29, 2024
Can community associations exist without a board of directors? That’s called receivership. Three answers: simple, hypothetical and practical.
“The simple answer is that there has to be a board of managers to govern the condo,” says attorney Slava Hazin, partner of New York City law firm Warshaw Burstein, LLP … Generally, in the event that there aren’t sufficient votes—or candidates—to fill an expired board seat, “the current board remains in place until a new board is duly elected,” according to Hazin…
The fact is that a fair number of association and cooperative boards—particularly those that were built or converted in the 20th century—are made up primarily of seniors and retirees. Many of them have been serving on their boards for years, if not decades, and whether they are simply burnt-out or must step down due to age or health or the inevitability of mortality, those vacancies must be filled. However, newer and younger owners and shareholders are by and large less inclined to volunteer for their community’s governance—so it is conceivable that these associations and cooperatives can find themselves in the position of our reader, faced with the prospect of not having sufficient membership to run the building or community. What happens then?
“If the association fails to exist,” says Van Duyne, “then arguably, the State could require the unit owners to retain and pay for outside management services to run their community, if they refuse to take on this responsibility for themselves. This is a serious problem, and it will affect all of the unit owners. It is impossible in this type of situation just to ‘stop being an HOA.’”
Can a Common-Interest Community Exist without a Board? — Darcy Gerstein | Cooperator News | May 2024
Do you know what common expenses are? Some associations have – unlawfully – assessed individual units for legal advice and other costs that are truly common expenses. Preventing Common Expenses from Becoming Specially Assessed Expenses
This should not surprise anyone: CAI charges paying members to attend its annual “CA Day” convention, but offers free admission to state legislators in an extraordinary step to inure them to its business-first agenda. Invitation courtesy of lobbyist Krystelle Purkey:
Have you watched Elsbeth? It’s a new show from Robert and Michelle King (creators of well-known TV series The Good Wife, The Good Fight, Evil and more).
Plot Summary: After the president of a luxury pre-war building falls off her balcony to her death, Elsbeth and Kaya are called to the scene to dig for a lead when they meet Joann, a high-powered real estate broker with huge clients and bigger secrets.
"Elsbeth" A Classic New York Character (TV Episode 2024)
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Orlando, Florida: A Florida man was taken to jail last month for allegedly approaching three kids with a gun for fishing at a subdivision where he is the president of the Homeowners Association (HOA)...Kyle Tate, 56, of Palm Bay, was arrested on felony charges of criminal mischief and grand theft, according to an affidavit…
…On April 14, Palm Bay police officers responded to the Stillwater Lakes subdivision after the children reported that a man – later identified as Tate – approached them with a gun, telling them to get off his property.Tate then took their fishing reels and rods, tackle boxes containing fishing lures, and cast nets and threw them in the woods, "maliciously" damaging their fishing equipment, officials said. He then allegedly took one of the kids' phones, which could not be found. The kids' items and the missing phone were valued at approximately $3,700…
Florida HOA president pulls gun on kids fishing on property: affidavit — Aurielle Eady | FOX35 | May 02, 2024
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Kansas City, Missouri: On April 13, 2023, Andrew Lester was accused of shooting Northland teen Ralph Yarl after the boy had knocked at the wrong door to pick up his brothers. [Yarl] suffered a traumatic brain injury and spent months recovering and working to overcome the emotional and mental trauma of the shooting. More than a year later, Yarl’s mother filed a civil lawsuit against Lester and the Highland Acres Homes Association.
Family of Ralph Yarl files civil lawsuit against Andrew Lester, homeowners association — Greg Dailey | KCTV5 | April 29, 2024
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Henderson, Nevada: A man fled from the law and barricaded himself inside a home. Police eventually decided to rip off the face of the house to gain entry.
…According to the City of Henderson, the community’s Homeowner Association will be responsible for paying for repairs to the structure of the building, and the property owners will be responsible for their individual townhomes.
A man who lives in one of the affected units, who wanted to stay anonymous, said he’s waiting for more information from the HOA, the McAuley Homeowners Association. He said he’s hopeful his property insurance will cover what he owes.
VIDEO: Property owners, HOA responsible for paying for damage from multi-day barricade… — Molly McBride | FOX 5 Las Vegas | May 01, 2024
Darien, Illinois: A dormant HOA resurfaces after decades of slumber. Interesting that assessments are voluntary, yet one cannot be a member in good standing without paying up.
State records show that the association was incorporated in 1966. Hinsbrook was one of a handful of subdivisions that worked to found Darien just three years later.
[A recent letter] announced a general meeting for April 24 and that membership dues are now $20. But it's voluntary.
In the beginning, the association served to facilitate basic public services, he said. At the time, it had more than 600 dues-paying members. However, once Darien was incorporated, the city took over public services. The group's only assets are Hinsbrook Park and a pool complex. The association leases the park to the Darien Park District and the complex to the Darien Swim and Recreation Club…
…All members in good standing can take part in the general meeting, Christens0n said. To be in good standing, homeowners must pay $20 by the evening of the meeting…
'Quasi-Dormant' Darien Homeowners Association Resurrected — David Giullani | Patch | April 11, 2024
Darien, Illinois: Disagreements at the Darien Club Owners’ Association led to a change in leadership.
…residents representing 98 of the 164 households in the subdivision voted. That amounts to nearly 60 percent. It occurred at a special meeting set up under the current bylaws and was announced a month in advance, Dreveny said. But he said the existing leadership then changed the bylaws to prevent its ouster.
At the meeting, residents voted 97-1 vote to boot out the current leadership, Dreveny said.
He said the new board tried to get their signatures on the association's bank account, but was unable to do so. "We gave them the results of the special election," Dreveny said. "They said they can't change anything unless told by the management company…”
Darien Neighbors Battle To Control Association — David Giullani | Patch | August 02, 2023
Assessments
From soaring property insurance premiums and state laws requiring full funding of reserves, community associations are doubled over in financial pain.
O’Fallon, Missouri: Marie Estates Condominiums: Within homeowners and condominium associations, residents often find themselves embroiled in disputes over accountability, transparency, and financial responsibility. The I-Team has uncovered that many of these types of associations are struggling to manage soaring insurance premiums and having trouble meeting their obligations.
…We obtained the association’s financial records. It shows a condominium association operating on what industry experts call “a shoestring budget” to keep costs low for residents. The downside: Financial surprises down the road…
O'Fallon residents battle over condominium association fees — Paula Vasan | KSDK | April 30, 2024
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ORIGINAL: Owners Paying Price for New Condo Rules >>> CORRECTED: Owners Paying Price for Decades of Under-funding
The notice reads “...Florida law previously authorized chronic underfunding of reserves resulting in substantial shortfalls in times of need. The practice of waiving reserve each year is no longer an option and the consequences of underfunding have caught up with the need for maintenance and repairs.”
VIDEO: Orlando condo residents fear losing homes after HOA announcement — Treasure Roberts | Click Orlando| May 02, 2024
Orlando, Florida: Owners at the Regency Gardens Condominiums got notices saying their board plans to pass a special assessment on May 15th.
According to the notice, the smallest homes in the condo will need to pay $11,148.42 for the assessment, and the largest homes will need to hand over $22,104.69…
“It’s going to be impossible. You’re going to see 60 or 70 percent of the people living here out within 6 months,” said condo owner Bryan Pricher.
According to the condo board attorney Keith Skorewicz, the association must make up a more than $17 million gap in reserve funding as required by State law…
‘It’s shameful’: Condo board asks residents to pay $20,000 in special assessment fees — Sabrina Maggiore | WFTV | May 01, 2024
Grand Theft - Again
The stealing never ends!
Oviedo, Florida: Tammi Morrison, a former President of the Ashford Park Homeowners Association, was arrested by the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office after investigators say she stole $437,000 from the community association when her business managed the neighborhood.
Morrison is charged with larceny-grand theft of $100,000, fraud-swindle, and obtaining property of $50,000 or more, 16 counts of fraud cash deposit bank item with the intent to defraud, false statement to the Department of State and illegal use of credit cards.
In July 2023, Eyewitness News first reported that Winter Springs Police arrested Morrison and faces similar charges in the theft of more than $600,000 from the Mt. Greenwood Homeowner Association…
VIDEO: Ex-HOA manager accused of stealing $437K from 2nd HOA in Seminole County — Jeff Levkulich | WFTV | March 24, 2024
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In a statement, federal officials said Ranaldo Bennett has confessed to participating in a fraudulent kickback scheme that siphoned $470,000 from a Jersey City condominium…
This case has also seen Bennett's co-conspirators, Nathaniel Obedos and Jonathan Smith, admitting guilt and currently awaiting their sentencing.
The fraudulent activity unfolded between November 2018 and October 2020, involving Bennett, then the condominium complex's lead property manager, and Smith, the superintendent. The duo colluded with Obedos, directing maintenance and repair tasks to his company in return for financial kickbacks.
The scheme was facilitated through the submission of falsified invoices that significantly overcharged the services rendered by Obedos's company, leading to the condominium complex overpaying by $500,000.
Investigations revealed that the complex paid over $1 million for services that were, in reality, worth half that amount. The inflated funds were then distributed as kickbacks, with Bennett receiving $440,000 and Smith receiving $30,000…
Hudson County Property Manager Admits Role in $470K Condominium Fraud Scheme — Richard L. Smith | RLS Media | April 03, 2024
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Norristown, Pennsylvania: A Berks County woman admitted that she embezzled more than $375,000 while working as the bookkeeper for the Gwynedd Office Condominium Association in Upper Gwynedd Township.
Judith E. Butt, 74, of the 700 block of Hopewell Street, Union Township, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court to felony charges of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity and theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received in connection with thefts that occurred between January 2016 and March 2023…
Berks woman admits to $375K theft from Upper Gwynedd condo association — Carl Hessler Jr. | The Mercury | Mary 02, 2024
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Anderson County, South Carolina: An employee connected to a Homeowners Association in Anderson County, South Carolina, is accused of stealing thousands from the account…
Deputies said it tallied up more than 160 transactions from retailers, including utility companies, insurance providers and online clothing subscriptions, all of which were charged to the account.
“So, everything from Netflix to Stitch Fix, which is, if you don’t know, a subscription to a clothing company, Hulu, retailers, utility companies, Duke Energy, everything you could possibly think of," Remien said.
They said Selman stole a total of $209,951.83 over the course of five years…
VIDEO: South Carolina: HOA employee steals more than $200,000 — Rey Llerena | WYFF4 | March 26, 2024
VIDEO: Employee accused of stealing over $200,000 from HOA in Anderson Co. — Mariah Ross | WSPA | March 26, 2024
License plate readers are all the rage in so many ways. Also see Issue# 84.
By all accounts, the controversy over surveillance at Princeton Manor began at a pool party last summer.
“Personally frustrated” by a string of car break-ins and a recent burglary in the Knightdale subdivision, a member of the homeowners association board struck up a conversation with a Knightdale police officer at the event, asking what else the neighborhood could do to fight crime…
…The officer, Willis said, noted that Knightdale police and other neighborhoods nearby had recently turned to technology from Flock Safety to record license plates and other vehicle information. The private, Atlanta-based firm has grown rapidly since its founding in 2017, marketing its small cameras to law enforcement, companies and neighborhoods.
“Before you know it, there’s a camera at each entrance,” said Keith Gibbs, who’s owned a home in Princeton Manor for nearly 20 years. “And people are starting to say, ‘Well, what is this? What’s going on?’”
Neighbors watching neighbors? HOA vehicle surveillance irks some in NC neighborhood — Tyler Dukes | The News & Observer via Yahoo | May 02, 2024
This is what Condo Connection is all about!
Sarasota County has launched a new educational series to help homeowners associations and residents with an array of challenges often encountered in neighborhoods, from stormwater management to wildlife interactions.
Developed by UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County experts, the free, online Neighborhood Best Practices series offers multiple self-help modules that address frequently asked questions and common misconceptions about managing common-area resources…
Sarasota County Launches New Educational Series To Assist HOA’s — Cecilia Lewis | WENG 98.1FM | May 02, 2024
Dubai’s RERA has given approval to allow community associations to use reserve funds, at least temporarily, to pay for costs related to historic flooding.
Dubai HOAs can use emergency funds to take on repair works from April 16 rains — Manoj Nair | Gulf News | May 03, 2024
Evacuate, The Stairs are Crumbling
Bay County, Florida: This is going to cost some money…
The Laketown Wharf Resort Condominium Association has responded to the mandatory evacuation of 63 units.
The owner’s association attorney is Brandon Burg. Burg issued a statement Friday morning saying they’ve hired an engineer to inspect the 2-stairwells deemed structurally unsound by Panama City Beach inspectors.
Due to rust and unsafe conditions in stairwells 1 and 6, the city has ordered people to vacate the 63 units around them by Saturday at 6 p.m…
VIDEO: Laketown Wharf Condominium Association’s response to evacuations — Tom Lewis and Melanie Mitchell | MyPanhandle | April 12, 2024
Municipal
Get rid of the sediment and abandon your plans!
Murrysville homeowners' association wants dredged sediment cleared away — Patrick Varine | TribLIVE | April 23, 2024
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Homeowners association jumps into fight over Delmar jeep event as war of words heats up — Kristian Jaime | Salisbury Daily Times vs. AOL | May 02, 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 and 34
Energy
Vancouver, Canada: District heating with…sewage power.
In False Creek, a waterfront community in Vancouver, Canada, the energy being used to heat homes comes from an unlikely source.
Instead of a boiler, each building’s hot water arrives in underground pipes from a city-owned plant—a system called district heating. A growing number of municipalities are incorporating this strategy into their plans to cut fossil fuel consumption, using renewable energy sources such as geothermal or solar instead of oil or natural gas. But in the case of False Creek, they’re using sewage…
…Across the globe, 380 billion cubic meters of municipal sewage is generated annually, according to a 2022 report by the European Investment Bank. As cities grow, that’s expected to increase 51% by 2050. According to the US Department of Energy, a year’s worth of American wastewater contains an estimated 350 terawatt-hours of energy, which could heat 30 million homes. In other words, that’s a lot of unused heat…
How Sewage Is Helping Along the Energy Transition — William Ralston | Bloomberg | May 01, 2024
The Cost of Net Zero
…Climeworks did not give an exact cost for each ton of carbon removed, but said it was closer to $1,000 a ton than $100 a ton – the latter of which is widely seen as a key threshold for making the technology affordable and viable….
…All the carbon removal equipment in the world is only capable of removing around 0.01 million metric tons of carbon a year, a far cry from the 70 million tons a year needed by 2030 to meet global climate goals, according to the International Energy Agency.
‘World’s largest’ plant to suck carbon out of the air and turn it into stone opens in Iceland — Laura Paddison | CNN | May 08, 2024
Environment
BOGO Carbon Credits: Greenwashing much?
…And so if the actual government comes to you and says “we’re having a special sale on carbon credits, act now and we’ll give you two tons of carbon credit for every ton of carbon you remove,” that’s … fine? Ish? It’s, like, kind of okay as long as not too many people find out? And then if they do find out it’s awkward and embarrassing but not the end of the world? I don’t know; here’s a weird story about carbon accounting…
Here, Have Some Extra Carbon Credits — Matt Levine | Bloomberg Opinion | May 06, 2024
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...The plan was to plant or protect 1 trillion trees by 2030. The goal wasn’t exactly to add another trillion trees to the planet, but to do a mix of growing, restoring and conserving to keep the earth’s tree count 1 trillion higher than it would be otherwise. Other organizations had been trying to do the same thing for years, but Benioff and leaders of the World Economic Forum, where Benioff is a trustee, figured they could help move the needle faster. Leveraging Benioff’s pocketbook (he’s worth almost $10 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index) and WEF’s robust Rolodex, their initiative, called 1t.org, has gotten some of the biggest companies and governments in the world to promise to spend time and money planting trees and saving forests….
…WEF, which runs the program, tracks company pledges. Four years later, the number of trees it accounts for as planted or conserved is less than 0.3% of the ultimate goal.
A spokesperson said WEF has “a rigorous process to track the implementation,” but noted that it relies “on transparency and reporting by the companies themselves.”...
A Billionaire Wanted to Save 1 Trillion Trees by 2030. It's Not Going Great. — Sophie Alexander | Bloomberg | May 03, 2024
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The amount of electricity and greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants likely peaked in 2023, according to the annual global electricity review by energy think tank Ember. That means human civilization has likely passed a key turning point, according to Ember: countries will likely never generate as much electricity from fossil fuels again.
A record 30 percent of electricity globally came from renewable sources of energy last year thanks primarily to growth in solar and wind power. Starting this year, pollution from the power sector is likely to start dropping, with a 2 percent drop in the amount of fossil fuel-powered electricity projected for 2024 — a decline Ember expects to speed up in the long term.
The US is propping up gas while the world moves to renewable energy — Justine Calma | The Verge | May 07, 2024
Housing Affordability & Homelessness
Mobile home parks are big business and a key source of housing affordability challenges. Also view Issues #80 and #79 and #63.
Mobile home parks, also known as trailer parks, are officially and more accurately called manufactured housing parks. Prefab homes are substantial constructions; once placed in a park, more than 80% of them are never moved.
In these parks, residents own their homes but pay rent to landlords who own the land and its infrastructure (including water and gas hookups). Over the last decade, private investors have discovered one very simple thing: owning a manufactured housing park is an incredibly lucrative thing to do. Now, throughout the country, local landlords are making way for out-of-state owners notorious for jacking up rents while letting conditions deteriorate…
…As private owners work to maximize profit, Roc USA is fighting for a radical oppositional model: resident-owned communities, or Rocs. According to an industry analysis from 2019, the average annual rent increase in privately owned parks is 3.9%. In recent years, according to the Washington Post, some park residents have seen their rents rise much more rapidly, even doubling or tripling. According to a 2020 Roc USA analysis, the average annual rent increase in community-owned parks is just 0.9% – or $3 a year…
‘It’s like winning the lottery’: the mobile home owners buying the land they live on — Amos Barshad | The Guardian | May 03, 2024
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Renovictions?! Canada law has provisions to ensure tenants will not lose their homes when condo conversions occur.
Condo plan won't mean renovictions: Owner | Brockville Recorder & Times — Ronald Zajac | The Recorder & Times | May 07, 2024
Florida property insurers are failing. Perhaps it’s because of cherry-picking?
Seven property insurers in Florida went bankrupt in 2021 and 2022. The bankruptcies left thousands of homeowners scrambling to get new coverage, which often came with a big increase in cost. Worse, many had outstanding claims for hurricane damage that had not been addressed…
…Avatar and the six other companies that folded had something in common: They had all been rated A (“exceptional”) or higher by Demotech, Inc., an Ohio-based insurance ratings firm. (One of those insurers was also rated A- by competitor AM Best Co. Inc.)...
…Florida’s insurance market may be full of weak players and is even more precarious than already known…
Florida Home Insurers With Lax Ratings Pose New Property Risk — Leslie Kaufman | Bloomberg | April 24, 2024
Housing Market
State legislators are closing in on legislation to prevent private equity home ownership.
…Wall Street went on a home-buying spree. Now, more lawmakers want to stop it from ever happening again.
Democrats in the U.S. Senate and House have sponsored legislation that would force large owners of single-family homes to sell houses to family buyers. A Republican’s bill in the Ohio state legislature aims to drive out institutional owners through heavy taxation….
…While homeowner associations for years have sought to stop investors from buying and renting out houses in their neighborhoods, the legislative proposals represent a new effort by elected officials to regulate Wall Street’s appetite for single-family homes.
These lawmakers say that investors that have scooped up hundreds of thousands of houses to rent out are contributing to the dearth of homes for sale and driving up home prices. They argue that investor buying has made it harder for first-time buyers to compete with Wall Street-backed investment firms and their all-cash offers…
Wall Street Has Spent Billions Buying Homes. A Crackdown Is Looming — Will Parker | WSJ | April 29, 2024
Homeowner Groups Seek to Stop Investors From Buying Houses to Rent — Will Parker and Nicole Friedman | WSJ | April 18, 2022
Selling your home might mean paying Uncle Sam: Selling a home is now so profitable that many more Americans are getting hit with an unexpected tax bill.
Roughly 8% of 2023 home sales brought windfalls over the $500,000 limit for couples to be exempt from capital-gains taxes, more than double the share in 2019, according to CoreLogic, a real-estate data firm.
More sellers are on the hook for taxes because of the huge run up in property values since the pandemic. While home prices surged, the limit on how much profit is exempt from taxes, meanwhile, isn’t indexed for inflation…
Capital-Gains Tax Hits More Home Sellers — Veronica Dagher | WSJ | May 04, 2024
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…In 2007, just before the financial crisis, there was more than $700bn in home equity loans outstanding. Today, there is roughly $350bn. Home prices have risen more than 70 per cent since then, so why have home equity loans halved?
After the financial crisis, banks have actively taken down their mortgage exposure. Bank of America, for example, has cut its home equity loan portfolio from more than $150bn in 2009 to $25bn. And in 2022, more than 50 per cent of home loans originated from non-traditional operators. These non-bank companies don’t have the balance sheets to hold loans as the banks had traditionally done, so unless they can sell the loans they originate to Freddie, its fellow housing agencies Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae, or private investors, they don’t originate them...
The mortgage reform that could unleash the next big US stimulus — Meredith Whitney | Financial Times Opinion | May 03, 2024
The US could give homeowners a $980 billion stimulus at no additional cost, 'Oracle of Wall Street' says — Filip De Mott | Insider | May 03, 2024
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4 in 10: the number of renters that expect to purchase a home. Ever.
…US renters are more pessimistic about their ability to ever own a home and households’ expectations of home-price growth has reaccelerated after falling last year, a new Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey showed.
…For the first time, half of younger renters — those under age 50 — don’t think they will be able to buy a home. In the past year, the share of renters in the Northeast think their probability of buying has dropped in half, from 51% to nearly 26%....
US Renters Pessimistic on Chance of Owning a Home, NY Fed Survey Shows — Alexandre Tanzi | Bloomberg | May 06, 2024
Syndicated investing generally involves limited partnerships tackling relatively illiquid real property transactions. Some of the investors are non-accredited.
Syndication, or pooling equity from investors to buy property, hit a fever pitch in 2020 and 2021. Multifamily investors, fueled by record-low interest rates and rising rents across the Sun Belt, bet big on the asset class. Their game plan: renovate, raise rents, disseminate returns and exit at a profit.
Syndicators drew investors by dangling the carrots of less time at the 9-to-5, tax benefits and returns that put the stock market to shame…
…But investing carries risk and trust can cloud judgment. Syndicators that produced stellar returns when rates were low have watched deals struggle or fail over the past year. Interest payments on floating-rate loans have soared, rent growth plateaued and value-add plans stalled…
Behind the syndicator machine targeting new investors for multifamily feeder funds — Isabella Farr and Suzannah Cavanaugh | The Real Deal | Mary 01, 2024
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Living on golf courses has surged in popularity since the pandemic. Many courses have upgraded facilities and broadened amenities. Now millennials want in too…
…Millennials moving to private golf communities is a trend that might have seemed unthinkable before the Covid pandemic, when such enclaves seemed destined for the rough due to waning interest in the sport, especially among young people. Then an unlikely coincidence occurred.
Golf play surged during the pandemic and continues to grow: In 2023, more golf rounds were played than any other year on record, according to the National Golf Foundation.
Meanwhile, since the Great Recession, there are private golf clubs that have been transforming themselves into amenity-rich lifestyle hubs, whose resort-style pools, sports facilities, fitness centers, dining and social programming have broad appeal, says Jason Becker, co-founder and CEO of Golf Life Navigators, an online platform that connects golfers to golf clubs and golf communities across the U.S. …
Millennials Are Coming for Your Golf Communities — Jessica Flint | WSJ | April 18, 2024
Built Environment
Two 1,640ft tall, 100 mile long skyscrapers. Uh huh.
Defying skeptics, Saudi Arabia is barreling ahead with hundreds of billions of dollars in projects at Neom, a built-from-scratch region the size of Massachusetts, typified by sci-fi architecture, an arid ski resort and a laundry list of flashy projects meant to attract a population larger than New York City’s.
None is more brazen than a multitrillion-dollar pair of skyscrapers taller than the Empire State Building designed to run 105 miles long and house nine million people, the flagship development dubbed “The Line.” Its champion, Saudi Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman, has likened the project to Egypt’s Great Pyramids.
Saudi Arabia’s Neom, the World’s Biggest Construction, Project Gets a Reality Check — Eliot Brown and Rory Jones | WSJ | May 07, 2024
Are you fascinated by case law? Maybe you should be?
Is your association being run by one volunteer? Failure to act to ensure there’s a functioning Board can result in de facto unilateral governance.
Not Enough Trees, LLC v. Davis, No. 39092-6-III — Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1 | July 10, 2023
Is your association liable to the public for as-built and other property conditions? It’s possible! Also view Association Liable for Collision.
Boca Raton HOA Sued Over Electric Scooter Accident — Litigation Desk |BocaNewsNow | May 07, 2023
You Can’t Make This Stuff Up (An Attorney Begs to Differ)
Opportunity to be heard can be waived, but notice (and lack thereof) and waiver take a backseat to lack of adherence to statute and the association’s written fine and enforcement schedule. The court declined to award summary judgment.
Judge: “I don’t know if it’s so simple if I conclude that the fines were not in accordance with the schedule [of fines]...I don’t know if I can just undo everything that’s been done when it’s a rather substantial difference in the amount of fines. I’m concerned…I have to make a finding that the fines are in accordance with the previously established schedule adopted by the board of directors [RCW 64.34.304(1)(k)]... If I make a finding they aren’t, where do we go from there?”
Association Attorney: “...Harmless error…”
Judge: “The amendment [to the R&Rs] was just removing that line “subsequent violation.”
Association Attorney: “Yes, with the understanding that the last violation continues.”
Judge: “Wait, let me stop you with that line. Where does that come from?”
Association Attorney: “The fact that the whole point what everybody in the industry knows is an escalating fine…”
Judge: “Everybody in the industry knows" is not a very satisfying answer to me. Because we had a fine schedule that had 1, 2, 3, subsequent, right? And then, I’ll tell you right now, I don’t think they followed this and I understand why, because they probably decided “we don’t like that the fine goes down after the third violation” right? So then the subsequent violation language was just omitted, so I don’t have anything about subsequent violations, right? So I’m not quite sure what to do with that because there used to be language about subsequent violations after the third violation. That’s removed… I have to follow whatever this fine schedule says.”
Association Attorney: “It’s a reasonable interpretation of the fine schedule.”
Judge: “That letter did not comply with the statute … it says “You are hereby levied with fines as follows…” I don’t think that’s consistent with what the statute requires which is you have the hearing first and then you impose the fine. You certainly can say “you’ve been alleged of a violation, this is what could happen, we’re going to have a hearing, but that’s not what happened… It is concerning to the court as to how that was worded.”
“The ultimate issue here is that the fines that were imposed were not consistent with the fines per the rules and regulations… As the Board was levying fines, it was inconsistent with their own policies at the time… I don’t know the impacts if one is levying fines in the wrong amounts…
Second, it doesn’t seem unreasonable for one side to say “we didn’t get your letters and we’d like to have a hearing” within a short period of time [30 days] and then the association just refused… I think the association has a lot of discretion in handling these things, but I’m not going to resolve this now…”
— King County Superior Court | Summary Judgment Hearing on April 26, 2024
Case# 22-2-12602-7-SEA | Austin Bell COA vs. TM Landmark Investments et. al.
There are many wild accusations online about courts and judges biased to favor community associations. The reality is that our system of justice in the United States is about as fair a system as possible (recognizing that it favors those with sufficient money and time).
Here's an appellate case arising "from a long and tortured dispute between a condominium unit owner and his condominium association." The result was unfavorable for the appellant Randall R. Steichen.
Steichen v. 1223 Spring St. Owners Ass'n No. 82407-4-I — Court of Appeals of Washington, Division I | October 23, 2023
Miami, Florida: Biscayne 21 Condominium Association (191 units). A developer bought up 90% of the units here over a period of years. The condominium declaration required 100% approval of unit owners to amend the voting rights of owners and “unanimous agreement of the unit owners and all institutional mortgagees” to terminate.
Those thresholds were never obtained. The association argues that more current versions of Florida’s Condominium Act (§ 718.117(3)) control. The Court disagreed. Also see Condo Termination Fails…For Now in Issue# 80.
We agree with the Association that the declaration references the Condominium Act, as amended. But that doesn’t answer the pertinent question. In fact, it doesn’t answer much of anything as it relates to the issue before us. The issue here is whether, as a matter of law, such generic reference to a statute as amended overrides a specific provision delineating voting rights that contains no such incorporation. Of course not.
And Kaufman provides the association no succor. First, the contractual language here merely acknowledges that the declaration gets its authority from the Condominium Act as amended, as opposed to the more muscular language at issue in Kaufman which incorporated, “adopted and included herein by express reference” the Condominium Act as amended from time to time. Id. at 628. Against that backdrop, Kaufman concluded that an amendment to the Act which declared rent escalators as void against public policy should be read into that declaration prospectively. Id.
Second, unlike Kaufman, the declaration at issue contains no “express intention of all parties concerned that the provisions of the Condominium Act [as amended] were to become a part of the controlling document . . . whenever they were enacted.” Id. The language here is not, as in Kaufman, an incorporation of the Condominium Act as a substantive part of the contract, but rather a mere recital that the building is submitted “to condominium ownership, pursuant to Chapter 711, Florida Statutes, the Condominium Act, as amended . . . upon the terms, conditions, restrictions, reservations and limitations contained herein.”(emphasis added).
Third, unlike the specific issue in Kaufman, where the amendment rendered an existing provision void as against public policy, here, the voting rights scheme in the declaration would still be permitted under the amendment to the Condominium Act. In other words, the new law sets a lower floor on the voting threshold but doesn’t prohibit contracting parties from agreeing to a higher threshold. The relevant voting rights provision contains an unambiguous expression of intent. The plain language of the declaration controls. The parties did not contract to having their voting rights limited by a future statutory amendment which simply allowed for a lower voting threshold.
Angelica Avila, et al. v. Biscayne 21 Condominium, Inc., etc., et al. — FL 3rd District Court of Appeal | March 13, 2024
Henderson, Nevada: Discrimination does not suit.
“I was told by the nightclub owner, who is the COA board president, and neighboring building owner, to ‘go black home’ while I was in the back of my lot,” Erica says. “He is encouraging people to park in back of our building to intimidate me and my husband, so we’re in fear of going to our own property in fear of any altercation. The nightclub owner/board president gives our security camera the finger. They honk as they circle our building, at all hours of day and night. We feel very intimidated and scared. He is encouraging people to do this because we have a lawsuit against him, and he is allowing them to do his dirty work.”
Court of Public Opinion — Mark Fierro | Vegas Legal Magazine | March, 2024
This appeal emphasizes an important legal principle and one constitutional reference:
The appeal won by applying plain language and the ordinary meaning of words.
Community associations are NOT government entities.
No case has interpreted RCW 64.38.034(1). One case has addressed the display of political signs: Collier v. City of Tacoma, 121 Wn.2d 737, 854 P.2d 1046 (1993). In that case, a City of Tacoma ordinance limited the posting of political signs to not more than 60 days before an election and seven days after an election. Id. at 742-43. The Supreme Court held that this ordinance was unconstitutional as a violation of the free speech provisions of both the United States and Washington constitutions. Id. at 760.
This case [Collier] is inapplicable here. The constitutional free speech provisions protect a person only against actions by a state actor, not against actions of a private entity. Southcenter Joint Venture v. Nat’l Democratic Pol’y Comm., 113 Wn.2d 413, 419, 780 P.2d 1282 (1989). HOAs are private entities, not state actors. Therefore, they are not subject to the constitutional provisions protecting free speech.
East Vancouver couple prevail over homeowners association re: political signs before election — Dylan Jefferies | The Columbian | April 27, 2024
Landesberg v. Fairway Village HOA No. 57740-2-II — Court of Appeals of Washington, Division II | April 9, 2024
WA Court of Appeal Division II Oral Argument — November 2, 2023
This case delves into what’s a change vs. what’s new. A worthy read.
View Ridge Estates HOA vs. Guetter No. 85897-1-I — Court of Appeals of Washington, Division I | April 8, 2024
New York: Maintenance Assessments? Special Assessments? Capital Improvements? Oh My!
…Reading the declaration as a whole, we find no ambiguity. Initially, the declaration imposes a duty upon the Association "to preserve and enhance the values and amenities of the [p]roperty" by "maintain[ing] the [p]roperty, and all other facilities of the Association" "at all times."[FN2] To that end, declaration section 5.02 requires the Board to fix and determine an annual budget for the Association, necessitating that the Board "determine the total amount required, including the operational items such as insurance, repairs, reserves, maintenance and other operating expenses, as well as charges to cover any deficits from prior years and capital improvements approved by the Board." Conversely, each owner of any unit, by acceptance of a deed therefor, has a duty to pay the Association "[a]nnual [a]ssessments of charges for the maintenance and operation of the [p]roperty" and "[s]pecial assessments for capital improvements."[FN3] "Maintenance [a]ssessments" and "[s]pecial [a]ssessments" are collectively referred in the declaration to as "[a]ssessments."[FN4]...
…Read together, declaration sections 5.03 (d) and 6.01 expressly authorize—and indeed mandate—the use of maintenance assessments to pay for repair and replacement of the harbor. Contrary to plaintiffs' reading, section 5.06 does not establish that an assessment amounting to more than 25% of that year's maintenance assessment is definitionally a special assessment; that provision instead provides only the circumstances when a special assessment is subject to a vote. Section 5.03 (d), by reference to section 6.01, and section 5.06 both contemplate the respective types of assessments funding maintenance and capital improvements. The sensible reading of these provisions together is that section 5.06 special assessments are intended to fund capital improvements not listed in 6.01 (a). To hold otherwise would render the 5.03 (d)'s incorporation of section 6.01 and 6.01's inclusion of harbor maintenance, repair and replacement meaningless (see generally Beal Sav. Bank v Sommer, 8 NY3d 318, 324 [2007]). To the extent that any conflict between these authorizing provisions may arguably be found to exist, we would further find that the more specific language of sections 5.03 and 6.01 must control (see generally Muzak Corp. v Hotel Taft Corp., 1 NY2d 42, 46 [1956]). Additionally, in view of the Association's explicit duty to maintain the harbor, among other assets of a capital nature, plaintiffs' reading would ostensibly nullify the declaration's general purpose (see generally Matter of Olszewski v Cannon Point Assn., Inc., 148 AD3d at 1309)—leaving the Board with no practical means to satisfy its duty in light of the significant number of owners eligible to vote on the would-be special assessment who do not directly benefit from the harbor….
Zollo v Adirondack Lodges Homeowners Assn., Inc. — New York State Appellate Division, Third Department | March 07, 2024
Arizona: Dorsey Place Condominium Association was taken over by an investment company that eventually acquired more than 90% of the units. While terminating the condominium did not amount to a taking of real property, the termination would have required sale of ALL the property (common elements and units) instead of specific units held by a small minority of owners.
Notably, the Supreme Court of Arizona cites UCIOA (and specifically the most recent v2021 update to the UCIOA framework) to justify its decision.
¶11 Initially, the court of appeals determined § 33-1228 was unconstitutional on its face. Id. ¶ 15. Nevertheless, the court of appeals held § 33-1228 was applicable to the Xias by consent because the Declaration incorporated the Condominium Act. Id. at 556 ¶ 17, 558 ¶ 24.
¶14 The Xias petitioned this Court for review. We granted review on the following issues: (1) whether § 33-1228 authorized the taking of private property for private use in violation of article 2, section 17 of the Arizona Constitution, either on its face or as applied in this case; (2) whether § 33-1228(C) required all of the common elements and units of a condominium to be part of a sale if any common elements or units of the condominium are to be sold pursuant to a condominium termination agreement; (3) whether the terms of an unconstitutional statute are enforceable as to the contracting parties if a contract incorporates the statute by reference; and (4) whether subsequent statutory amendments are incorporated into a condominium declaration if the condominium declaration incorporates the statute by reference. These are important issues of statewide concern. We have jurisdiction under article 6, section 5(3) of the Arizona Constitution.
¶19 We have no cause to resolve the constitutionality of § 33-1228(C) in other instances because the Association's power to forcibly sell the Dorsey Place units in this case emanated not from that statute but from contract—specifically, the Declaration that all unit owners signed and to which their property interests were subject. “[P]arties are generally free to contract on whatever terms they choose.” Zambrano v. M & RC II LLC, 254 Ariz. 53, 56 ¶ 1 (2022). Among the terms to which they generally may agree is a waiver of constitutional rights. See State ex rel. Polk v. Hancock, 237 Ariz. 125, 128–29 (2015); CSA 13-101 Loop, LLC v. Loop 101, LLC, 236 Ariz. 410, 411 ¶ 6 (2014).
¶22 Importantly, § 33-1228(J) provided that most of the statute's provisions—including subsection (C), the locus of the Xias’ complaint—“do not apply” if the declaration “contains provisions inconsistent with these subsections.” In other words, condominium owners were free to contract around most of the Condominium Act's provisions. The Dorsey Place Declaration emphatically did not.
¶37 Arizona rejected different treatment for condominiums with horizontal boundaries and those without, and instead extended the Uniform Condominium Act's forced-sale power to all types of condominiums. In doing so, the legislature did not change the nature of the power, which was to sell the entire condominium without the consent of all unit owners if the termination agreement provided for a sale.
¶38 In 1984, the ULC combined the Uniform Condominium Act with other model legislation, to create the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act. The 1984 Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act included § 2-118(c) & (d) from the Uniform Condominium Act.
¶39 In 2021, the ULC amended the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act to combine subsections (c) and (d). Unif. Common Int. Ownership Act § 2-118(c) (Unif. L. Comm'n 2021). In combining the subsections, the ULC mostly retained the language that applied to condominiums with horizontal boundaries, except it provided that a termination agreement “may provide for the sale of some or all of the common elements and units.” Id. (emphasis added). The comment to the amendment characterizes the change as “substantive” and states that the new language, unlike the prior version, “allows for the sale of some but not all common elements and units.” Id. cmt. 6. The amendment and comment demonstrate that the Uniform Law Commission understood the prior language, which Arizona substantially adopted and applied to all condominiums, permitted only the sale of an entire condominium over a unit owner's objection. The amended language has not yet been adopted in Arizona, despite the legislature recently amending § 33-1228. Regardless, the Uniform Law Commission's understanding of § 2-118(c)’s operative language, which § 33-1228(C) adopted, is consistent with our interpretation.
¶40 For all these reasons, we construe § 33-1228(C) as having authorized only a sale of all condominium property if the termination agreement provided for a sale. Thus, the forced sale of the Xias’ unit alone rather than as part of a sale of all common elements and units of the condominium was impermissible under § 33-1228(C).
— Arizona Supreme Court Case No. CV-22-0228-PR | March 22, 2024
— Inversecondemnation | April 09, 2024
Couple forced from condominium taking fight to court — Kiera Riley | Arizona Capitol Times | August 23, 2023
CALIFORNIA: AB2159, SB900 and a total of 46 bills that reference “common interest development” are moving through the legislature.
COLORADO: Not much progress this year.
Effort to limit lawsuits over construction errors — and in turn boost Colorado condo construction — fails at Capitol — Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun | May 06, 2024
LOUISIANA: SB23 is a major overhaul to HOA legislation. This bill borrows heavily from UCIOA.
NORTH CAROLINA: The legislative session is finally underway and HB959 is the promise provided by the House Select Committee on HOAs from earlier this year. This bill is a relatively timid attempt to improve the balance of power, but it does provide steps for greater accountability and transparency.
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