PARScore® FINE-TUNED TO EVALUATE CONDO ASSOCIATIONS & HOAs BETTER
The newly designed, consumer friendly 2015 PARScore® report now features a comparison algorithm: “How does your association compare?” The technology also utilizes geo-coding with longitude and latitude satellite reporting. “Just because you live in the Gold Coast doesn’t mean your building will have a 24-karat gold PARScore®,” noted Benson. “Wealthy neighborhoods can be an asset […]
TRID RULE FOR MORTGAGE DISCLOSURE HELPS HOME BUYERS GET SMARTER
If you are planning to start home-loan hunting to finance the purchase of a new or existing dwelling now or in 2016, better clip this article and keep it so you avoid becoming a mortgage dummy. Once you wade through the alphabet-soup the federal government uses to describe the nation’s newly revised mortgage-application process, understanding […]
The Myth of the Homeowners (& Condo) Association “contract”
By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities blog http://independentamericancommunities.com/ In a recent discussion forum on rules regarding display of flags in Common Interest Communities (aka Homeowners Associations), there was some vigorous back and forth about the fact that Association-controlled communities are controlled primarily by the CC&Rs (or Declaration of Condominium) contract, rather than Constitutional law. The […]
Omaha HOA Homeowners Disagree Over Park Improvements
By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities, CHPPI Today’s article is a reminder: when you buy into a homeowners association, you agree to common ownership of assets and liabilities for that Association Governed Community. Take Harrison Woods HOA, for example. The community of roughly 185 homes, a mix of detached single family homes, townhouses and villas, […]
HOA Makes $109K Fair Housing Settlement Contingent On Owners Moving Out
By: Deborah Goonan Another report of fair housing discrimination by a homeowners association board, with all of the typical hallmarks. After filing a complaint with California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) in 2013, Allen and Cynthia Campbell have settled their dispute with Sonora Springs Homeowners Association. The complaint was filed when the HOA […]
Are You Entitled to Free Speech in your HOA?
by Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities Blog, Coalition for Community Housing Policy in the Public Interest (Chppi.org) As the 2016 Presidential election campaign heats up, so do political sign controversies in homeowners associations. Here’s a perfect example from Florida, a dispute over a Hillary Clinton sign in a resident’s window. Help Me Howard, Channel 7 […]
‘EASY’ CONDOMINIUM AND HOA LIVING IS NOT WITHOUT ITS DRAWBACKS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 20, 2015 National Community Housing Survey: ‘EASY’ CONDOMINIUM AND HOA LIVING IS NOT WITHOUT ITS DRAWBACKS First of two reports on community-association living. CHICAGO—Seventy-million Americans may reside in condominiums and homeowners associations (HOAs), but it is not a perfect lifestyle. One of the biggest attractions of shared-community ownership is the so-called “carefree living” aspect. Often, there […]
DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONT: DENVER PROPOSES ORDINANCE TO CURB LAWSUITS BROUGHT BY CONDO HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION DEFECTS
This proposed construction defect ordinance highlights the vital importance of condominiums in providing affordable housing for emerging markets, like Denver. However, the proposed legal protection for developers wouldn’t guarantee more condo construction. Denver unveils construction-defects reform proposal to spur condo building10/15/2015By Vic VelaTHE COLORADO STATESMAN Denver Mayor Michael Hancock this week unveiled a proposal aimed at reining […]
DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONT: Negligent Hedge-Trimming by Condo Association Cited In Death of 9 Yr. Old Boy
The jury ultimately found the driver 10 percent responsible, the condominium association 30 percent responsible, and the property managers 60 percent responsible for the child’s tragic death. The ruling has triggered a whirlwind of hedge-clipping activity at the entrances of many community associations throughout the county. Parents to get $12M verdict in son’s 2011 bicycle […]
DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONT: S. CAROLINA RESPONDS TO CONSUMER OUTCRY REGARDING HOA ABUSE
Bluffton Today: S.C may empower gated-community dwellers against HOAs, managers By Sarita Chourey Morris News Service\September 30, 2015 COLUMBIA — The volume of homeowner association complaints filed with one state regulator since January has already outpaced an earlier year, according to the S.C. Department of Consumer Affairs. There were 40 complaints for a 12-month period […]