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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

How Many Votes Does An Owner Get For A Board Election?

Posted on January 08, 2009
Here is a very common question, that seems simple to me, but is not clearly understood by the average person in an HOA (sent by a reader): "We have three Board of Directors positions coming available at our annual meeting in February (President, Vice President/Secretary and Treasurer)...

Elections Rules Questions - The Continuing Saga

Posted on January 07, 2009
Here are some recent questions on elections: "Our HOA has an election coming up and still has not adopted election rules. Does this mean we do it the 'old way'?" Answer: The "old way" still works for some elections, but most are governed now by Civil Code Section 1363...

SPA NOISE - WHAT IS REASONABLE!!

Posted on January 05, 2009
Having to endure noise from the neighbors? The pre-eminent question is: "What is reasonable noise and what is not?" I like the "take it to the judge rule" using the small claims forum, if you cannot get any relief in working with the neighbor. However, there are steps that should be tried, first...

FORECLOSURE, BANKRUPTCY, HOW DO WE COLLECT HOA FEES??

Posted on January 02, 2009
It's 2009, and I am still ready to answer the hard questions. To be sure, HOAs had a hard time this past year collecting assessments with so many economic woes, foreclosures and bankruptcies (and its likely to continue). I have written on the subject of assessments time and again and done all that I can think of to help the HOAs figure out the best way to proceed in these though times...

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Time To Sharpen the Saw!

Posted on January 01, 2009
I am sure you all enjoyed the holidays may have commenced the web surfing for information. I wish you all the very best of everything in 2009. Life probably won't get alot easier, however, here is something to remember. You can have a good attitude, or you can have a bad attitude, it takes the same amount of energy to achieve either...

TERMINATING AN HOA IN CALIFORNIA, HOW HARD IS IT?

Posted on December 28, 2008
Many people ask about terminating an HOA. Often, it's because the owner is tired of the Board, or upset with what the Board is doing, but they do not want the job. Newsflash! If there is no HOA board then there are likely to be problems in getting the money needed to maintain the property that is owned in common or by the HOA, which caused the development to be set up as a "common interest development" in the first place...

THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BANKRUPTCY

Posted on December 26, 2008
I am in the process of working on a Primer that tells readers what to expect when a homeowner account goes into bankruptcy and the HOA is trying (hoping, pleading, whining, threatening, etc.) to collect the outstanding assessments. But I told a reader who is anxious for some information right away (because she is on a board and a homeowner account went to bankruptcy) I would write a brief blog on what is critical...

Who Can Serve On The Board? Wife/Husband? Brother/Sister? Convict? Minor?

Posted on December 14, 2008
Who Can Serve On The Board? Wife/Husband? Brother/Sister? Convict? Minor? Someone by Proxy? Someone by Power of Attorney? The HOA Landscape Company Owner? the HOA manager? the developer? The local dogcatcher? The Governor? A Board Member who owes the association back dues? An undocumented or illegal alien? A husband or wife not on title? This question seems to be coming up alot lately...

MAY AN HOA BOARD OPEN A CREDIT CARD ... WHAT IF THEY TAKE THE STUFF?

Posted on December 14, 2008
Lots of HOAs have credit cards - and they use them to allow board members, maintenance personnel and landscape people, etc to purchase things for the HOA. Some HOAs purchase or pay for cell phone minutes so that Board members can communicate, in HOAs where the Board members do not live on site...

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Posted on December 10, 2008
Sometimes an HOA Board forgets that homeowners have rights too, and sometimes homeowners forget that along with the rights come some responsibilities. This message from CAI (Community Associations Institite) sent out recently is a reminder that if the persons sitting on both sides of the table have a better understanding of each (the rights and responsibilities each has), the community will function more effectively and efficiently...

HARD SURFACE FLOORS - NOISE ISSUES - THINGS NEVER STAY THE SAME

Posted on November 28, 2008
People send me complaints and also proposesd solutions. Consider the following emails: "I found you articles on noise interesting. The noise issue has been taken to such an extreme by our HOA that it requires all architectural change application regardless the amount of noise level it might create to be pre-approved by neighbors...

HOA Management, What Designation is Acceptable?

Posted on November 24, 2008
People gravitate to my site for all kinds of reasons. I get a lot of email questions about what it takes to be CID (common interest development) manager, and complaints about managers acting badly, or not knowing what they are doing (at least in the eyes of the beholder - the owner who sent the email)...

Termite Repairs in California - Who Repairs the Property Damaged to Get To Them?

Posted on November 23, 2008
Termites issues come up all the time. A reader recently sent me a long involved story of the situation in his condo association. I cannot answer long and involved emails, or, for that matter, any emails that ask for information specific to a particular person or association's situation, because that would be giving legal advice without the important step of interviewing a client...

Small Claims Court - What Can One Accomplish There?

Posted on November 23, 2008
A reader recently sent this question: "What legal scope would you see small claims handling with HOA laws. I read they would defend new election laws ensuring secret ballot. Would you think any subject that is clearly defined in the Civil Code? Special Assessment maxes, monthly assessmet increase? This is one of the few the Governor signed!" The Small Claims courts are unpredictable but I believe they for the most part try to follow the law...

Raiding Reserves - Capital Improvements - What's What?

Posted on November 17, 2008
Here is a recent, and not unusual, question about spending reserve monies: "This year the new board approved $________ for [several] projects considered "additional work" and maintaining the [______] of the property. There were no hearings on any and in most cases, done without member knowledge of our expense...

Posting of Minutes, Is It Required in California?

Posted on November 17, 2008
The following is a simple question that was sent to me recently. "Do Hoa's in Bakersfield, California have to post in public the minutes from regular monthly meetings, including Executive sessions minute so that the homeowners can view them?" The answer is that HOAs in California are not required to post minutes of meetings so that the owners can view them...

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS [HOA ELECTION] PICTURE?

Posted on November 13, 2008
I receive a lot of comments from readers similar to this: "Thank you so very much for your very informative and helpful website! I never knew there were attorneys specifically well-versed in HOA law, but I am certainly glad there are! Thanks to your website, I feel I have cause to approach my Board to conduct more fair elections and other voting measures...

Guest Parking - Can the HOA Give It To Owners?

Posted on November 09, 2008
This question about guest parking comes up all the time - may the HOA assign guest parking for owner use, or even allow owners to use it at all, on a first come, first served basis? If the governing documents say that common area parking is for guest use, it is best to resolve that issue by amending the documents, before opening up the parking to residents...

Volunteer Board Members -Should They Receive Compensation?

Posted on November 04, 2008
A recent common question: "What specific information can you provide on the topic of Volunteer Board Members serving [HOAs], namely compensation for well defined work NOT related to their duties as a Board Member?" Most HOA docs in California prohibit compensating Board members, allowing only for reimbursement for expenses incurred in serving the HOA...

DISPOSING OF ABANDONED PROPERTY

Posted on November 01, 2008
Here is a recent question that is a little different: "We have sent emails, posted notices with photos for over a month about bikes in our garage. We are down to 5 unclaimed bikes. Is there any law preventing us from giving away these bikes to whomever we wish?" There is not a law to address this specific situation in an HOA that I know about...

Assessment Collection in Today's Economy

Posted on October 28, 2008
"Question posed recently - we seem to have a lot of trouble collecting assessments these days. What can we do to protect ourselves as an HOA?" Tighten Up ...... Tighten Your Belt Tighten Up on Collections Processes - Make sure you have good policies in place - legal and tight (meaning timelines) so that you can get a lien on a delinquent property at the earliest possible moment...

Tough Lessons of 2008 - What We Have (or Should Have) Learned

Posted on October 22, 2008
Life is one big balancing act. Risk vs. Return Brokerage Accounts for HOAs Go for higher return .... and "Go For Broke"? Or invest conservatively. Question posed: "Our Board invests all HOA money in brokerage accounts. One of the Board members is a financial advisor...

What Happens When The Board Becomes a NonFunctioning Entity?

Posted on October 13, 2008
That's a good question. Sometimes, nothing ..... for a long period of time, until the automatic pilot on the ship runs it aground, or into an iceberg. Then, the domino effect of problems begins. I received this email recently from a very frustrated reader, who is not alone: "I'm a homeowner in planned development that is governed by a HOA...

POLITICAL SIGNS - YAY ... OR NAY???

Posted on October 03, 2008
This came in via email recently (and no surprise, given the wild election times in US politics): "Political Signs - my HOA won't let me have one, ... what do you have to say about that, Ms. Grimm!" Here is what I say about it in my book, THE DAVIS STIRLING ACT IN PLAIN ENGLISH (available at http://www...

GOVERNOR BUSY AT WORK VETO-ING 2008 HOA BILLS

Posted on September 30, 2008
I wish I could say I got up early this morning and checked the legislative update pages to see what bills of interest to HOAs have been signed by the Governor and which have been vetoed. But I did not have time; I wanted coffee first! Then, low and behold, my friend Mike Gartzke, a CPA in Goleta who as a volunteer heads The South Coast Homeowners Association (a group that educates boards and homeowners on the Central Coast) answered my prayers...

COMPLAINT ABOUT HOA BOARD MEMBERS - SHOULD WE?

Posted on September 26, 2008
Maybe you have faced this dilemma (from a reader): "We are a very small association. Neighbors to a board member would like to file a complaint against that board member for various reasons. ... How can we do this without the involvement of the Board member who is the problem? We are afraid this board member will get special treatment and nothing will be resolved...

Security Lighting - How Important is It?

Posted on September 20, 2008
This question was passed to me at a seminar today and it is on an important topic. "I am a single middle aged woman and live alone. The walkways leading to my unit are quite dark, and I feel that more lighting is needed. I do not feel safe at night walking to my unit...

May A Board Decide To Add A Capital Improvement Without Seeking Owner Approval?

Posted on September 15, 2008
I love it when I get really good meaty questions from readers that, when answered, can help others. This is a good one that works: FROM A READER: "So here is the question. Can an association randomly just add something to reserves and then build it...

Reroofing Next Year? Look for Energy Efficient Requirements

Posted on September 12, 2008
2009 will be rung in with some new energy efficiency requirements including changes in California Building Regulations (Title 24). The California state website is a wealth of information about everything California and references below will point to it...

BOARD DECISIONS ON MAINTENANCE - AFTER RITTER V. CHURCHILL CONDO ASSN.

Posted on September 10, 2008
What Criteria is Important As Evidenced in Ritter vs. Churchill Condominium Association? This recent appellate court decision in California raises some interesting quandaries and (unless appealed and some things change) for HOA Boards and HOA members...

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