A How-To Guide for HOA, Condo, and Co-op Board Members
1) Start off right – provide as little information as possible prior to closing the sale with a new buyer. Take full advantage of weak state disclosure laws. Delay providing a copy of governing documents and minimally-required financial documents as long as possible. Be sure to charge hefty “management” fees for this “service” to the buyer. Work with state Legislature to minimize disclosure requirements, and the time allotted for a buyer to review information and cancel a sale prior to closing.
Condo owners in Chandler, Arizona are finding themselves under water, lots of water!
Irreplaceable family photos and damage to items stored in their garages, such as cars, are not their problem, says the HOA. The insurance company for the HOA says it’s not their problem, either. And the condo owners didn’t carry flood insurance. Whose problem is it? Well, it looks like that is going to be decided in lawsuits. (Oh! Here we go again!)
Regular readers of this blog know that I’ve preached from the street corners that an avalanche is coming which will send the American housing market into a massive tailspin. Billions of dollars will be lost and won. Ultimately, individual homeowners will be the big losers.
Remember the refrain? An avalanche starts with just a tiny imbalance, a molecule of ice falling from the crest of a snow ridge. But that tiny chip can hurl millions of tons of snow down a mountainside. Living in Colorado, all of us who love the outdoors have to be wary of this potential killer.
Egads, it’s just an average meeting of an average Condo Board. Some poor average shmuck who’s been insisting that the board repair the fire damage over his apartment gets taken to the cleaners. All the resident did was ask to see the Condo Association’s financial records…it seems there are no reserve funds to pay for the fire damage. The board president repeatedly tries to scratch this guy’s eyes out. Another former board president admits to a local TV crew that he’s harrassed and even pulled a gun on this same resident.
LOL! What a wonderful day it was when the video camera was invented!
In a previous blog, I explained CAI’s conflicted stance on private property rights of condo owners. In this blog, I provide the back-story.
Prior to 2007, if owners wanted to terminate the condominium regime, Florida law stated that 100% of owners – and lien holders – had to agree to the termination and a specific plan for liquidation of all assets. (Governing documents could specify a lower threshold, but few did.) The main problem with unanimous consent was that, following some of Florida’s hurricanes which damaged a significant number of condo buildings beyond repair, it was difficult or nearly impossible to locate and obtain consent from every unit owner, thus delaying termination and redevelopment.
