You may have heard that there is a "cloud" on the title to your property.  Generally speaking, a "cloud" appears when a recorded document indicates that some other person may have an interest in the property.  Liens, court orders, easements, and random documents can be recorded to cloud a title.  Some clouds aren’t really cloudy at all.  For example, while a mechanic’s lien may appear on your record, they expire quickly and become unenforceable.

Usually, a document clouding your title is there for a good reason.  If you don’t pay your taxes or HOA assessments, the unpaid entities will record liens against your property.  Remove the liens by paying your bills.Continue Reading There’s a cloud on my title? What’s that?

CAI National has just published the following statement on a new Freddie Mac policy addressing delinquencies in superlien states.  Since Colorado is lucky enough to be a superlien state, this new policy will impact Colorado HOAs.  Here is what CAI has to say about the new policy: Continue Reading Freddie Mac Revises Policy on Assessment Delinquencies in Superlien States

You are probably no stranger to conflict if you have served on the board of, managed or lived in an HOA. We all assume that conflict is bad and something that should be avoided at all costs. In fact, I don’t know many folks who are actually comfortable with directly facing conflict. However, when handled properly, conflict in the HOA setting can actually be a blessing in disguise. Conflict can bring issues out into the open to be constructively reviewed and resolved. 

For conflict to be handled appropriately, both boards and homeowners must do their part. This series of blog entries will focus on important steps both parties should take when dealing with conflict. So here we go:

 

Tip #1: Be Real About What Is Bothering YouContinue Reading Constructively Managing Conflict in HOAs: Tip #1

 Readers of this blog know that CCIOA came into effect on July 1, 1992, but by its definitions, only applied to certain common interest communities, and further, only in limited respects to those communities formed before July 1, 1992. Many legal practitioners held the opinion for many years that CCIOA did not apply to homeowners associations that did not actually own any real property that they were responsible for maintaining, improving, insuring, or paying taxes for.

However, that opinion changed in 2009, when the Colorado Court of appeals issued a ruling that essentially said that CCIOA does not require ownership of real property by the homeowners association. Rather, by the terms of CCIOA, if the owners in the homeowners association were bound to pay assessments, and the assessments were used in part to pay for enforcement of the restrictive covenants or provide services to the members, that was sufficient to make the community subject to CCIOA.Continue Reading When Your Community Doesn’t Own Anything, Is It Subject to CCIOA?

Consistent with the passage of House Bill 1134, the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) has just announced that all HOAs, including pre-CCIOA communities, will be required to register annually with the HOA Information and Resource Center.  Here’s the News Release from DORA. 

It is my pleasure once again to teach the annual Legislative Update for Homeowner Associations which is hosted in Aspen by the Aspen/Pitkin County Housing Authority (APCHA).  This seminar is free of charge and is open to board members, homeowners and HOA managers.  If you live in the Aspen area or are vacationing there, please join us for this seminar!  In addition to the information in this APCHA flyer, here are some specifics you need to know:

Date of the Seminar:  Thursday, August 22, 2013

Time:  11:30 am to 1:30 pm

Location:  Aspen City Council Chambers located at 130 South Galena Street

For more information and to RSVP, please call APCHA at 970-920-5050

Hats off to APCHA for providing this outstanding service for those living in and serving HOAs in the Aspen area!Continue Reading HOA Legislative Update Class Hosted by APCHA in Aspen!

Lately I have been running into folks who have had a lot to say about how boards of HOAs are enforcing use restrictions in the declarations for their communities (commonly referred to as "covenants") and the rules and regulations which I will refer to as the "rules."  While there are always two sides to every story, I thought it would be useful to to address some basic concepts which every board should be aware of when dealing with enforcement issues.   So here we go:

1.  Boards have a fiduciary duty to enforce the use restrictions in the declaration for their HOAs and the rules.  Owners have a legal obligation to comply with the use restrictions and rules.

2.  While Boards have the duty to enforce use restrictions and the rules, boards also have the authority under Colorado law to examine the unique circumstances behind particular violations and to exercise their reasonable business judgment on a case by case basis to determine whether to enforce or how far they should go with enforcement.    

3.  As a general rule, board members are also homeowners in their associations.  That means the board members also have a legal obligation to comply with the use restrictions and rules.   Compliance for board members is not optional!  In fact, if board members are not in compliance, how can they expect to require or enforce compliance from other owners?  Also, board members should be careful not to inappropriately give preferential treatment to their neighbors, family or friends. 

4.  Boards do not have the authority to levy a fine against an owner for a violation unless they first give that individual notice of the alleged violation and an opportunity for hearing to determine whether the violation occurred. Continue Reading Basic Enforcement Concepts for HOA Boards

Last Friday afternoon an Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") at the Colorado Public Utilities Commission issued revised proposed towing regulations. The Towing Carrier Rules start on page 57 of this document. This updated version of the proposed regulations is not nearly as onerous for community associations as the first version that was introduced back in January. For example, this latest version of proposed regulations does not require associations to post signs every 10 feet in their parking lots and allows associations to continue making towing carriers their authorized agents. In fact, the ALJ’s revisions to the proposed rules seem to have accounted for most of the concerns expressed by members of the Community Associations Institute. As an added bonus, these new regulations will clarify the proper signage for giving notice prior to authorizing nonconsensual tows from residential parking lots.Continue Reading Move That Car! Final Proposed Towing Regulations Clarify HOA Towing Authority

 With the influx of new foreclosures the past few years, you may have heard of homes in your community that are being sold through a ‘short sale’. While short sales are fairly common, few people understand what they are or how they should be handled by an association.  

 A short sale occurs when a lender agrees to accept less than is owed on a mortgage/Deed of Trust to permit an owner to sell their property. For example, an individual owning a home with a market value of $200,000 but with a $225,000 mortgage would not ordinarily be able to sell their home since a necessary condition of sale is to payoff the outstanding mortgage and any liens. In this example, the homeowner would need to come to closing with $25,000 in cash to allow the sale to close. Since most individuals are financially unable to sell their home under these circumstances, a solution is to convince a lender to accept a payment of $200,000 on their loan to permit the sale to go through. Continue Reading Understanding Short Sales in Your Community