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Real Estate & Property Law

California Condo & HOA Law

Information about legal issues for California condominiums and homeowner associations

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Last Entry: March 28, 2011 at 03:22:54

What Are Some Options for Struggling Boards and Homeowners?

Posted on April 23, 2009
In my last blog I had to pass on some discouraging information about the options HOAs and Condo Associations have with regard to collection of assessments. It's discouraging for the owners of course because owners tend to think they may be able to just "walk away" from the assessment obligations...

What If I Can't Afford To Pay My Assessments? What Can Happen?

Posted on April 15, 2009
This is a question I am hearing way too often these days. These are truly desperate times. On the HOA and Condo side, and on the individual owner's side. Question: I am strapped with expenses and can barely manage my mortgage, what will happen if I don?t have monies to pay my HOA dues? Answer: The likely answer (as always, it depends on what the HOA or Condo documents say of course), is that the Board can probably initiate foreclosure (judicial or nonjudicial), or sue the owner responsible for the assessments personally - for the unpaid assessments and collection costs which will be substantial if the collection matter is protracted...

What Happens When Members Vote Down A Proposed Special Assessment?

Posted on April 09, 2009
Here is a question an owner in an HOA sent recently. The Board of the HOA proposed a special assessment, and the owners did not approve it. The owner wanted to know what happens now. Read on... "I just found your website today and it is great. I was just wondering if you know of any articles related to what happens when an HOA votes down a special assessment that is needed to pay off debts and reserves are unable to pay due to bankruptcy shortages and other shortfalls...

Small HOAs and CONDOs - What Are The Options Legislatively and Otherwise?

Posted on April 09, 2009
"Small" HOAs and Condo Associations - Maybe we should be talking about the differences between ultra small (10 and under) and small (25 and under, as NL says, or 50 and under as the CLRC says) associations - because there are some considerable differences...

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A FLAG FLYING STORY WITH A GOOD ENDING

Posted on April 02, 2009
I don't know about you, but I like a flag flying story with a good ending. So many times, people take a "no win" position and stand firm to the "end", which usually is not good. A reader sent me this email and I am always gratified when the information I publish helps to resolve a delicate situation (or an indelicate one!)...

IRS RULING 70-604 - WHAT IS IT?

Posted on March 26, 2009
I am not a tax attorney. I am not a CPA. I will state that right off. However, it is my belief from everything I have read and heard about including the ruling that this is an important ruling, and HOAs and Condo Associations that file as same need to put an election to the members each year to vote on what to do about this resolution...

HOAS & CONDOS - SHOULD THEY HAVE FIDELITY BOND INSURANCE?

Posted on March 19, 2009
I get questions all the time about whether an HOA or a Condo Association must have fidelity bond insurance. The answer is: not unless the governing documents require it! There is no legal requirement in California that requires the boards to procure it...

TURNOVER OF RECORDS AND MANAGEMENT

Posted on March 16, 2009
Questions about management turnover come up all the time. HOA boards get frustrated with HOA or condo management in various ways. Sometimes the board of the HOA or condo association created the merciless swirling and scary "eddy" and everyone goes down together...

For Every Problem, There is a Solution

Posted on March 12, 2009
What do you do when you discover a problem in an HOA or Condo Association? It could a conflict in the documents or an inconsistency in HOA or Condo Association practices, it could be a law that was broken that a board knew about or did not; it could be just about anything...

How Do You Diffuse the Power of A Director Who is Misusing it?

Posted on March 10, 2009
I have seen documents called a "Code of Conduct" or "Code of Ethics" for HOA and Condo Association directors and I have crafted my own, from those ideas and through my own experiences. I want to share my document and believe if more HOAs and Condo Associations used it, more board members would have a sense of what is expected of them...

HOA DELINQUENCIES - ONE FOR THE REALTORS

Posted on March 05, 2009

What's Up? Anyone Stopping Just To Say Thanks?

Posted on March 03, 2009

Management Practices - What's Happening?

Posted on February 27, 2009

DOES TAKING SECURITY MEASURES INCREASE RISK TO HOA or Condo Association?

Posted on February 26, 2009
Since we are on the issue of security, I have heard from some readers about it. This, received today: "Some years ago, our board discussed the possibility of putting security cameras in the garages (we are stacked units with gated garages underneath)...

The Need for Security vs. The Desire for Privacy - Which Wins?

Posted on February 25, 2009
Security Cameras, Can They Be A Breach of Privacy? Here is an interesting contradiction sent in by a reader: "I am currently on the "Security Committee" of my Condo Association. We are in the process of looking for way to make the complex safer for those who live here...

Board Code of Conduct ... or ... Commitment To Good Service

Posted on February 24, 2009
I have seen documents called a "Code of Conduct" or "Code of Ethics" for HOA and Condo Association directors and I have crafted my own, from those ideas and through my own experiences. I want to share my document and believe if more HOAs and Condo Associations used it, more board members would have a sense of what is expected of them...

Managers Recommending Contractors - Is it Kosher?

Posted on February 23, 2009
As a followup to a very recent blog, another possible issue has been raised by some boards and owners that I should discuss. Some management companies own maintenance companies and some have their own affiliations with maintenance and construction contractors, landscapers and the like...

Is It Okay For Managers To Recommend Contractors to Homeowners?

Posted on February 21, 2009
I just attended one of the biggest events in California for managers, the CACM Expo in Oakland. While there, I polled many managers and asked the question, "what do managers want to know?" I was asking for questions for the blog, as I find homeowners and board members tend to pose more questions than managers...

HOAs and Workers Compensation Insurance

Posted on February 16, 2009
Some confusion has apparently arisen about worker's compensation insurance and requirements under the law. I have written articles about the good and common sense rationale of having it, even if an HOA does not have employees per se, because it adds protection for HOAs and managers who might be caught in a position of having hired a contractor, having received proof of insurance, and having found out that the insurance either expired or was never purchased...

CC&Rs and Rules Conflict, What Controls?

Posted on February 14, 2009
Lots of people wonder about how to set HOA rules, and others wonder about other rule-related things, like this reader who sent this email: "I'm sure you can provide clarification for me...Our HOA CC&Rs and Rules and Regulations differ over the same issue...

Notice of HOA Meetings: 4 Days or 96 Hours - What Does it Mean?

Posted on February 13, 2009
What is the notice requirement for HOA open Board meetings in California? Boards must post notice or get it to homeowners (various forms allowed by Civil Code Section 1363.05 which you can look up on my webstite at http://www.californiacondoguru.com on the Resource Page/Davis Stirling Act) at least 4 days before the meeting...

Collections in HOAs - What is Working?

Posted on February 10, 2009
I was recently at the National CAI Law Conference in Palm Springs where hundreds of HOA attorneys from across the country attended classes and brainstormed about HOA problems. Guess what the prevailing issues were for everyone - how to keep the HOAs, the members, the vendors and selves afloat during these tough times...

Assessment Increases - Aggregate Limits

Posted on February 06, 2009
The question of the day, this day, is: "Is there a clear basis for applying the '20%' increase-limit (stipulated in CC 1366[b]) to the Association's budget (assessment income) as a WHOLE, rather than to any INDIVIDUAL's assessment?" In other words, is the 20% limit on increases a limit on the total assessment for everyone, or each individual assessment...

Solar Energy - What Are The Trade-Offs? What Do You Need to Know?

Posted on February 06, 2009
In today?s world, owners are, by their own initiative, seeking to be environmentally conscious. Outside clothes drying is coming back strong (we already talked about this in a separate blog). Solar installations are in vogue. One can place anything on their own home or in their own yard, but be careful if you are in a development where architectural approval is needed for changes to the exteriors of the buildings or erection of things on the roof or common area or other areas...

The Questions About EQ Insurance Never Stop Coming!

Posted on February 02, 2009
I get quite a few emails from people who are frustrated, about this ... about that ... about the other .... and especially about earthquake insurance. Some say: " I can't believe our board is spending $@!$%!*& on earthquake insurance. If there's a big one, everyone is going down together anyway, so why not use the money for something with a reward!" Others say: "I have been speaking with my neighbors and we cannot believe that the Board has dropped the EQ insurance on our homes...

DOES A CONDO COMPLEX HAVE TO HAVE A BOARD?

Posted on January 28, 2009
The following is a question I received recently. "Does a condo complex have to have a board? Why can't we just abolish the board and simply hire a property manager as apartment complexes do? Where can I find info about this concept?" A COA (Condo Owners Association) - and the same applies to an HOA (Homeowners Association) can decide collectively that it wants to do away with a board but I would not recommend it...

Smoking in HOAs - Is it a Fundamental Right?

Posted on January 27, 2009
Smoking, should we feel sorry for the smokers, or those who have to smell it? Many want to know if HOAs can ban smoking in common areas, exclusive use common areas (like balconies and patios), or in units. There are more decisions coming down all over the US on smoking, and the ones I have seen are not in favor of the smokers...

HOA Disclosure of Delinquent Accounts - Is It A Breach Of Privacy?

Posted on January 27, 2009
I got a phone call in the office the other day. The person on the other end just said (no hello, how are ya, I am, or I have a question): "Is it a breach of privacy to disclose a homeowner's debt?" I was on my way out to a meeting so I said, "It can be, I'm on my way out to a meeting, sorry, you can call back tomorrow if you want a consultation," and hung up...

Tough Choices for HOAs - Is Tough Love in Order?

Posted on January 18, 2009
I recently sent out an E-news (free signup on my website) about the tough choices HOAs have today considering the assessment income dilemmas many have faced due to the foreclosure crisis. You can see this E-news archived on my website at http://www.californiacondoguru...

Can You Go Door To Door and Collect Ballots in an HOA?

Posted on January 14, 2009
There is a lot of confusion these days about how/whether anyone can go door to door and collect anything from owners which would enable them to vote on behalf of the owners in an HOA election. Remember the "olden" days when people who had a cause for or against a measure proposed by the Board or who wanted to get elected ...

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