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Bullying is a huge headline lately.  Lady Gaga is starting a foundation to fight the problem, the government’s involved with www.stopbullying.gov, and there are hundreds of news articles every week on the subject.  Bullying is pervasive and infects every area of life.  As an association attorney, I see bullying every day.

Sometimes the bully is a board member, refusing to allow other board members or association members the right to speak and discuss a subject.  Other times, the bully is a homeowner who has a personal issue with another homeowner, and brings the association into that conflict. The bully can also be a homeowner who disagrees with association policy, and disrupts meetings in an attempt to assert his position.

I know a lot of people probably figure I’m a bully – after all, I’m the attorney who tells you to take down your tree house and that you have to re-paint your purple trim white.  Surprisingly, lawyers get bullied too.  We’ve received simple death threats, insults about our practice, professionalism, intellect, and personal grooming, and even threats of biological weapons.  A homeowner once chased one of our attorneys with a machete.  A lawyer involved with the widespread association fraud in Nevada was found severely beaten yesterday.  It is not clear whether the beating was related to his involvement in the fraud, or just his graduation from law school.Continue Reading Homeowners Associations and Bullying

The Side Streets column in the Colorado Gazette today covered the Sunrise Application that has been filed with the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies to determine whether the licensure of community association managers in Colorado is necessary. The article highlights the thoughts of veteran association manager Michelle Green who manages the Flying Horse Homeowners Association.

Like many other managers who have taken the initiative to become educated in the complexities of managing HOAs, Ms. Green is concerned that virtually anyone in Colorado can become a community association manager. “Anybody can hang a shingle on a door and call themselves a management company with no previous experience,” Green said. “They’ve got the checkbooks for the associations. They are doing the financials. They should be monitored so associations don’t lose money or get embezzled.”Continue Reading Colorado Gazette Weighs In On Manager Licensure

A Parker couple recently made the news after an unknown person spray painted offensive language on the couple’s garage, and left a noose on their front porch.  The couple, Aimee Whitchurch and Christel Conklin, rent a unit at a condominium development in Parker.

It is never good news when your association makes the news for a hate crime.  Aimee and Christel have been on most local stations, and their story is being picked up by blogs everywhere (including this one).  While the individual who vandalized the unit is the person ultimately responsible for the crime, the couple’s homeowners association is feeling heat as well.

When I saw video of the garage after someone covered the offensive language, I groaned to myself.  This screen capture, taken from KWGN News, shows a sloppy attempt to hide the offending words. 

Unfortunately, the white primer does little more than to highlight the crime.Continue Reading So You’ve Got a PR Disaster…Now What?

The Community Association Institute has an annual Law Seminar that many of our attorneys like to attend.  It allows us to get out of the office, meet with colleagues in a less formal environment, and earn our annual continuing legal education credits with courses specific to our field.  This year, the Law Seminar was in Las Vegas, at the Venetian.  One thing I noticed was the presence of cameras everywhere.

 Apparently, in Las Vegas, everything is under surveillance.  A Las Vegas-area homeowner recently received a violation notice for a car parked in front of her property.  The only problem – it wasn’t her car.  The management company alleged that they had her home “under surveillance” and had seen someone park the offending car and enter the property.

Continue Reading HOA or Big Brother? They’re Both Watching You!

In March, Molly Foley-Healy blogged on the Nevada crime ring that conspired to steer homeowners associations to certain law firms and contractors in exchange for kickbacks.  On Tuesday, one of the "hired" Board members pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

Darryl Scott Nichols used funds from other conspirators to become a strawman purchaser, and eventually was elected to the Boards of Directors of two different condominium associations.  As a Director, Nichols used his influence to send association business and money to other parties.  These parties compensated Nichols for his assistance, a fatal conflict of interest.Continue Reading Nevada HOA Fraud – Could it Have Been Avoided?

The Wall Street Journal has just reported that the Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA") has filed "lawsuits against 17 of the nation’s largest banks over soured mortgage bonds, aiming to recoup billions of dollars in losses from failed investments."  The lawsuits focus upon securities "based on subprime and other risky loans that were originated by mortgage companies…

According to the celebrity gossip website TMZ.com, Chris Brown’s condominium association wants his probation revoked.  As you may recall, Mr. Brown plead guilty to assaulting his ex-girlfriend, singer Rhianna, and as a result was sentenced to five years of probation.

A condition of Brown’s probation is that he will obey "all laws."  This seems like a pretty broad requirement – I mean, do they have a LoJack in his car to make sure he doesn’t go three miles over the speed limit?  What if he removes the tag from a mattress?

Brown’s condominium association alleges he is a nuisance, playing loud music, parking in handicapped spaces, and vandalizing association property.  The association thinks that Brown’s probation should be revoked because he isn’t obeying "all laws."Continue Reading Celebrity Justice, HOA-Style

As a result of increasing numbers of foreclosures, associations now have to deal with collecting delinquent balances against not only its individual homeowners but also against the foreclosing lenders/banks. With the sheer number of foreclosures that any given bank must deal with, a depressed economy and a saturated and slow moving real estate market, it is currently not uncommon for banks to retain ownership of a property following a foreclosure sale for up to a year or more. I am not aware of many associations that can carry that kind of debt for such an extended period of time.Continue Reading Place An End To Bank Owed Debt!

It’s important that associations follow their governing documents and understand the procedures they should follow when dealing with collection of assessments, fines and other fees. The easiest way to do this is to review the association’s governing documents and the relevant provisions having to do with collections of delinquent accounts. This is especially important should the file proceed to court as a judge will review the case to determine whether the association followed its own rules before finding against a homeowner who did not. Continue Reading Collections: Are you following the rules?

CNNMoney has just reported that Standard and Poor’s Rating Services (“S&P") has downgraded the credit rating of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from a triple A rating to AA+. As you know, Fannie and Freddie fuel home sales by purchasing mortgages from lenders. What impact, if any, will this have on the sale of units in homeowners’ associations…