House Bill 15-1040 ("HB 1040"), which was introduced by Representative Dan Thurlow (R-Grand Junction), was just killed on a 6 to 5 vote in the House State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee.  As originally introduced, the bill would have destroyed the requirements of the new manager licensure law which are intended to protect folks living in HOAs in…

The Colorado Division of Real Estate has announced that a hearing on permanent rule-making for manager licensure will be held on Wednesday, March 4, 2015, at 10:00 am at the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center in Conference Room 1D. 

We have heard an outcry from management companies of every size that the emergency rules relating to insurance will put management companies out of business.  This is your chance to attend the hearing to testify on insurance and other important rules which are under consideration by the Division.  Since the Division has given so much advance notice of the hearing, make sure to clear your calendar for that day and attend! 

Here’s the formal announcement from DORA and the Division of Real Estate:Continue Reading Hearing on Permanent Rule-Making for Manager Licensure Scheduled

Representative Kit Roupe (R-Colorado Springs) has introduced House Bill 15-1113 (“HB 1113”) in an attempt to protect HOAs in Colorado from the financial consequences of lenders continuing the sale dates of public trustee foreclosures. HB 1113 would require lenders who continue the foreclosure sale beyond the first required sale date, to pay the assessments of the individual they are foreclosing upon until the lender actually sells the home. However, in an attempt to be fair to the lenders, Representative Roupe has also built into the bill exceptions to this assessment payment requirement. 

Under Colorado law, once a lender commences a public trustee foreclosure on a home, the lender is required to set the foreclosure sale date within 110 to 125 days. The lenders are then permitted to continue the foreclosure sale date for up to one year. It’s common for some lenders to continue the sale date over and over. It’s also not unheard of that after the sale date has been continued for one year, some lenders will withdraw the foreclosure and start the process and continuances all over again. Continue Reading Bill Introduced to Protect HOAs from the Financial Consequences of Prolonged Public Trustee Foreclosures

Senator Jesse Ulibarri (D-Commerce City) has introduced Senate Bill 15-079 (“SB 79”) to create a statewide affordable housing investment fund to promote the construction of affordable housing across Colorado. This is an honorable goal.

SB 79 would raise funds through imposing a $2 surcharge on every document recorded with every county clerk and recorder in Colorado. To…

As predicted, the first construction defect bill of the session has been introduced in Colorado and it’s a real whopper! Senator Ray Scott (R-Mesa County) has introduced Senate Bill 15-091 (“SB 91”), which would cut the statute of repose in half for construction defects.   

While statutes of limitations and repose for construction defects can be very complicated to figure out in Colorado, the statute of repose governs the timeframe during which a homeowner can bring legal action for construction defects after substantial completion of their home has taken place. SB 91 reduces the 6 year period of time currently permitted under Colorado law to 3 years. In addition, if a defect is discovered in the second or third year after substantial completion of the home has occurred, the owner of the home will only have 1 year to bring their legal action. This provision provides a double whammy by cutting the current 2 year statute of limitations in half! Continue Reading First Construction Defect Bill is a Whopper!

Representative Dan Thurlow (R-Grand Junction) has introduced House Bill 15-1040 (“HB 1040”). The bill is intended to greatly reduce the individuals who are required to be licensed by the Division of Real Estate as community association managers. Frankly, if you look at the practical implications of the bill, HB 1040 would essentially destroy most of the manager licensure requirements which were intended to protect folks living in common interest communities and to elevate the profession of community association management. 

HB 1040 has been assigned to the House State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee (“State Affairs Committee”) where it is almost certain that this bill will die. In a nutshell, if passed, HB 1040 would provide:Continue Reading Manager Licensure “Modification” Bill Introduced

This morning, the first regular session of the 70th Colorado General Assembly will formally convene and is currently slated to adjourn on May 6th. Unlike last year when the Democrats controlled the House and Senate, this year the Republicans will control the Senate by 1 seat and the Democrats will control the House by 3 seats. These are very slim margins indeed for both chambers! 

The conventional wisdom of some is that split chambers are positive for the citizens of Colorado, because it forces both parties to cross the aisle to work together for the common good of Coloradoans. While some may argue that this is painfully naive, for now I’m signing onto this perspective. While I am hoping that I am not wrong, I will call myself out on this blog if extreme partisanship ultimately rules the 70^th General Assembly!

Will this be a big legislative session for HOAs? As always, only time will tell. However, there’s no question that we will see a variety of bills addressing construction defects and the creation of more affordable housing stock. Since many of these bills are still on the drawing board, I cannot report on any specifics until they are formally introduced. In addition, I suspect we will see one or more bills intended to “clean-up” the community association manager licensure law and will report on the specifics of those bills when introduced. Continue Reading 2015 Colorado Legislative Session Gets Underway!

The Colorado Division of Real Estate has just published emergency interim rules on community association manager licensure.  The rules will go into effect today and will continue in effect through May 6, 2015.  Here is the notice from the Division of Real Estate with links to the emergency rules:

***Important Notice***

Notice of Emergency Rule …