Tag Archives: homeowner

HOA Reform Coalition – Texas Legislature

Dear Texas Homeowners: Our work has begun.  The homeowners of Texas must now respond to all bill activity as best as each can.  Those who live in or near Austin and can go to the Capitol for hearings, please go to as many as you can. A citizen may testify for or against or one has the option to merely select that choice on the forms found in the back of the Hearing Rooms. Even though not testifying, those positions for or against are tallied and announced. Your presence is most important. Those a distance from Austin can be very effective by contacting … Click Here For Entire Entry

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Court Decision Helps Community Organizations

Q. I received a legal update via e-blast from a local law firm that specializes in real estate and condo association law. Apparently there is a new court decision that provides relief for banks and third party investors who buy a property at foreclosure sale. As I understood it, a condo or homeowners association will no longer be able to pursue past due maintenance fees if the association foreclosed its lien and owned the property for a period of time. Can you better explain the court decision and what it means for community associations? Q. We have an owner who … Click Here For Entire Entry

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HOA Accountability

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Homeowner Association Attorney Ethics

By Jan Bergemann In a perfect community association world the association attorney would make sure that the interests of all members of the community are represented when acting on behalf of the association. The actions of the attorney would benefit all members of the community – since all are paying the legal bills equally. Board members and owners should be able to rely on an attorney, who acts as the professional the association hired to represent its legal interest. But since we are not in a perfect community association world, we see lots of problems caused by association attorneys who … Click Here For Entire Entry

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HOAs Adjust To Texas Law Changes

By MATTHEW WATKINS Want to go green by harvesting rainwater and installing solar panels at your house? Your homeowners association can no longer stop you, even if it considers the projects eyesores. Religious symbols under a certain height and flagpoles with United States, Texas or military flags are now also fair game. And if your homeowners association wants to foreclose on your home for missed dues and unpaid fines, there are new hurdles it must clear. That is because of a series of new laws passed during the 2011 legislative session that have shaken up how the state’s numerous and … Click Here For Entire Entry

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Texas Homeowner Association Laws

By Bill Oliver With more than 60 homeowners associations (HOA), the city of College Station TX is devoting staff time to staying on top of new state laws. Barbara Moore of College Station’s neighborhood services office says additional requirements for HOA’s will affect how she does her job. Before new laws took affect January 1st, Moore says they worked with recruiting and training new HOA officers. Now, she will be assisting HOA’s with complying with new open meetings and records requirements among other things. Moore says a recent meeting with 80 HOA representatives and members of a HOA trade association … Click Here For Entire Entry

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Legislator ‘oops’ on HOA Legislation HB-2160

by Kathleen Stinson Arizona House Bill 2160, authored by Scottsdale Republican state Rep. John Kavanagh and approved by the state House earlier this week, sets new standards for condominium and HOA board elections. It will now go before a Senate committee. Kavanagh said his bill guarantees secret ballots, prohibits an HOA from including endorsements in official board mailings, prohibits counting ballots before the close of an election, allows for a representative from each candidate to observe the counting, and provides that any identifying information be placed on the outer envelope and not on the ballot itself. Kavanagh said his bill … Click Here For Entire Entry

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Are All HOA Monies Tax Exempt?

By Gary Poliakoff A Las Vegas HOA is currently fighting with the IRS over the question of whether $2 million held in the HOA’s savings account is subject to a 30% sales tax as corporate surplus. Associations are generally organized as not-for-profit corporations (some older associations are not incorporated) and therefore must file tax returns like other not-for-profit corporations. Associations are not entitled to tax exempt status like charitable organizations. To be tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, an organization must be organized and operated exclusively for exempt purposes set forth in the Code. To be tax … Click Here For Entire Entry

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Big Money To Be Made In Foreclosures

By John Gittelsohn Private equity firms are jumping into distressed housing as the U.S. government plans to market 200,000 foreclosed homes as rentals to speed up the economic recovery. GTIS Partners will spend $1 billion by 2016 acquiring single-family homes to manage as rentals, Thomas Shapiro, the fund’s founder said. That followed announcements this month that GI Partners, a Menlo Park private equity fund, expects to invest $1 billion, and Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital Management LP will spend $450 million on similar housing. “It’s a massive market,” Shapiro said in a telephone interview from New York. “We’re starting to see … Click Here For Entire Entry

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Disturbing New Trend Impacting HOA’s

By Donna DiMaggio Berger Two recent legislative attempts signal a disturbing trend that has the potential to negatively impact Florida’s community associations. The first is this year’s construction defect bill, HB 1013, sponsored by Representative Artiles and its Senate companion, SB 1196, sponsored by Senator Bennett. These bills would take away a homeowner’s rights to pursue a developer for defects to the driveways, roads, sidewalks. utilities, drainage areas and other so-called “off-site” improvements that are not located on the lot on which a home is constructed or which are located on such a lot but do not contribute to the … Click Here For Entire Entry

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Texas HOA Law Changes

By Jennifer Slewer A slew of changes are now in effect for the state’s homeowners associations, the love-’em-or-hate-’em groups that everyone seems to have an opinion about. The changes grant homeowners more freedoms when it comes to outdoor decorating and installation of environmentally friendly systems. The changes also make it harder for HOAs to foreclose because of unpaid fees. Now, HOAs won’t be able to keep you from displaying the U.S. or Texas flag, or flags of military branches. Free-standing flagpoles 20 feet tall or less will be allowed, too — legislation filed in response to an HOA that sued … Click Here For Entire Entry

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Preparing For HOA Annual Meeting

By Stan Riddle Over the next few months, a number of homeowner associations will be holding their annual meetings. Of all of the HOA meetings held during the year, this one probably has the most members in attendance due to a number of important issues that are likely on the agenda, such as election of officers. In an effort to assist HOAs in making this meeting run both effectively and efficiently, the Green Valley Council offers a few suggestions: –> Read Complete Story Here

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Round Rock TX HOA Confuses

By John Salazar Construction on the Patton family’s backyard shed began in August 2010. At that time, Brian Patton said he was given the green light from his neighborhood’s Homeowners Association. “They came out and did the first inspection. That’s a line inspection (he said pointing to the outline of where their shed would go) where they set out ropes and they check the lines to make sure we are not on easements. They passed it,” Patton said. The storage building was nearly completed when the postman delivered a letter of bad news. “The letter says we were not in … Click Here For Entire Entry

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Texas Homeowner Association Disagreements

By Christin Coyne Located in far east Parker County off of White Settlement Road, Remuda Ranch Estates is where rural Parker County allows residents to escape the Fort Worth area. When a home burned down several months ago, many neighbors left their homes to support the family. But the neighborhood isn’t as peaceful as it appears. After years of feuding, some neighbors don’t speak to each other any more. Ten lawsuits have been filed in Justice of the Peace Court or District Court during the last three years involving the Remuda Ranch homeowners association, those on the board of directors, … Click Here For Entire Entry

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New Texas Laws Change HOA Powers

By Natalie Solis Nearly 5 million Texans live in neighborhoods with homeowner associations. Compared to other states, HOAs wield a lot of power. But that’s starting to change. For many North Texans, home owners associations are the norm and not the exception Angel Long is well versed in the rules. “Just those little things… the arbor on the back that had to be approved, and all the regulations,” she said of her Frisco home. “It wasn’t ever a hard process, but just something that had to be followed.” Rules are one thing, but taking away someone’s house is another. “Lawyers … Click Here For Entire Entry

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