| Date | Title | Description |
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| Dec 16, 2017 | Q&A: Don’t forgo earthquake insurance for your condo even if your association rolls the dice | QUESTION: After 29 years of renting, I finally saved enough for a down payment on a small condo. I really like a building in the San Fernando Valley with restaurants and other commercial businesses nearby, but it is not retrofitted and the ... |
| Dec 9, 2017 | Q&A: When a landscaping project goes awry, sometimes it’s better to dig it up from the roots | QUESTION: Over the years, the exterior of our HOA development, from the perimeter wall to the public curb, has deteriorated, looking dated and dilapidated. To increase our property values, the board embarked on an ambitious “beautification”... |
| Dec 2, 2017 | Q&A: HOA parking restrictions should be rooted in reality, not for sake of appearances | QUESTION: My parents purchased a five-bedroom home with a small two-car garage in an “exclusive” homeowner association, and I am beginning to think they made a huge mistake.
Over the years, they have become disabled and require full-time as... |
| Nov 25, 2017 | Q&A: Renting out a room in your condo could land you in hot water with your board | QUESTION: I live in a three-bedroom, three-bath home with a homeowner association. I leased a single room to a friend and asked the HOA to provide a parking permit so he could park in the community. It declined to issue the permit, saying t... |
| Nov 18, 2017 | Q&A: An HOA needs an attorney retainer agreement, but a good one requires negotiation | Question: Every year, the board automatically renews the association attorney’s retainer agreement and deposit. Without reading it the directors sign and send him a check for $60,000.
This year, I spoke up and told my fellow board members t... |
| Nov 11, 2017 | Q&A: Managers can prepare HOA budgets but the buck stops with the board | QUESTION: My neighbor, who’s a board member, recently handed me a copy of a solicitation letter from an HOA trade group given to him at a management conference.
The letter encourages managers responsible for drafting association operating b... |
| Oct 28, 2017 | Q&A: Managers can’t make up HOA election procedures on the fly | Question: Our bylaws require an election committee created by the board to supervise elections and create rules to ensure they are fair. That includes the nominating process and voting procedures since our bylaws and covenants, conditions a... |
| Oct 14, 2017 | Q&A: Board meetings are the chance for owners to express grievances and directors should hear them out | QUESTION: Our homeowners association board constantly discusses issues at meetings that are not on the agenda or not included in the notice of meeting distributed to owners.
But if an owner who attends the meeting tries to speak about issue... |
| Oct 7, 2017 | Q&A: When it comes to noisy neighbors, it’s the board’s responsibility to enforce association rules | Question: I’ve owned and lived in my very small Los Angeles condo complex for 16 years and am president of the association. Many of my neighbors are established professionals, including a couple of financial advisors across the hall. They h... |
| Sep 30, 2017 | Q&A: Association boards should not wait for legislation before inspecting and repairing deteriorating balconies | Question: I own a condo in Orange County that has a second-floor balcony. For two years I’ve complained to management and the board that my balcony is drooping and is unsafe to use but they just ignore me. My neighbor in the building next d... |
| Sep 23, 2017 | Q&A: Here’s why closing the sale of a condo has suddenly become harder for an association | Question: I’ve been the treasurer of our 30-unit self-managed condominium association for more than 20 years and until recently the handling of buyer and refinance escrows and other paperwork for property transactions was a breeze.
This yea... |
| Sep 16, 2017 | Q&A: Making an insurance claim can be far superior to initiating internal HOA litigation | Question: I am a board director for a large association that is plagued with major plumbing leaks, bursting pipes and pressure regulation problems.
About three years ago, one of the upper units had a sink supply-line burst, resulting in wat... |
| Sep 9, 2017 | Q&A: Charging interest on interest on past-due HOA accounts is a no-no | QUESTION: Around eight years ago, the HOA filed a lien on my property because I fell behind on my association dues. After 11 months, I finally paid off the outstanding dues. I also paid the lien filing fees and interest at the same time. Un... |
| Sep 2, 2017 | Q&A: Buying into a homeowners association is a lot more complicated than just making an offer on a property | QUESTION: We recently acquired a condo, but even with a 60-day escrow, we felt the purchase process was too fast. We wanted to take our time to read and review everything before signing, but that didn’t happen. The seller imposed time restr... |
| Aug 26, 2017 | Q&A: Establishing an email trail for HOA litigation isn’t as easy as it seems | QUESTION: For two years I tried to get an electrical problem fixed in my condo. Though my emails were mostly ignored, I made a point of writing the association manager and board directors weekly, sometimes emailing them several times a day.... |
| Aug 19, 2017 | Q&A: There are established safeguards that can help ensure a board election is fair | Question: We are about to have another board election at our homeowner association, and I am concerned about tales I hear about rigged elections at other associations.
The gist of these stories is that a corrupt manager colludes with compli... |
| Aug 12, 2017 | Q&A: A board needs time, smarts and a strategy to wisely choose a new management company | QUESTION: Our association has hired and fired so many management companies that we’ve lost count and, as a board director, I am exasperated with the situation.
Most companies made it very difficult to reach them by phone and it was worse ac... |
| Aug 5, 2017 | Q&A: Homeowners find it not so pleasant when their street is ‘discovered’ by professional dog walkers | QUESTION: Our common-interest development is in the middle of a busy area in Los Angeles but still off the beaten path. It faces a public street that the city maintains along with street lighting and sidewalks. Five years ago, our area was ... |
| Jul 22, 2017 | Q&A: Freedom of speech doesn’t end once you enter a homeowner association | Question: I live in a common interest development with a homeowner association board that aggressively stifles residents’ freedom of speech.
During association elections, the board makes ample use of newsletters, meetings and minutes, assoc... |
| Jul 15, 2017 | Q&A: It’s hard to believe but a condo could be lost to squatters | Question: About 17 years ago I inherited my father’s mortgage-free town house in Southern California. I made the five-hour round-trip drive from my home to the townhouse to pick up mail and pay the leftover bills. As the mail and bills even... |
| Jul 1, 2017 | Q&A: Just because a buyer has a criminal record doesn’t mean your HOA can bar them | Question: Over the past decade, our association has suffered from increased criminal activity. Some residents have criminal records, and although there is no evidence that these residents are committing any crimes, the board wants to make a... |
| Jun 24, 2017 | Q&A: Even homeowner associations are targets of hackers looking to profit off cybercrime | Question: Our HOA’s website, which was created and controlled by the management company, houses a treasure trove of documents and information pertaining to our association and its members.
The website has been hacked, causing embarrassing a... |
| Jun 17, 2017 | Q&A: When voting on HOA issues, there’s no room on the ballot for a straw poll | Question: Owners are getting some strange correspondence from our management company that appears prompted by some homeowners renting out their units on the Airbnb platform. One letter, for example, claimed that “rental units lower our prop... |
| Jun 10, 2017 | Q&A: What is an HOA to do when a resident claims diplomatic immunity in a dispute? | QUESTION: A couple of properties in our common interest development belong to titleholders of foreign countries. These properties are often occupied by employees and families of different foreign embassies. Their vehicles have diplomatic li... |
| Jun 3, 2017 | Q&A: Advertising a bong on an association bulletin board may be inappropriate but is not illegal | Question: Our homeowner association’s official bulletin board is located by the mailboxes where residents have easy access to it. Normally it’s used for typical resident announcements, such as personal items and cars for sale, or owners loo... |
| May 27, 2017 | Q&A: You can sue your board without an attorney — but think twice before doing it | Question: I finally sued my homeowner association board for mismanagement and breach of duty in a Los Angeles court but did so in “pro per” without an attorney.
The association’s insurance company’s attorney filed a demurrer and argued that... |
| May 20, 2017 | Q&A: Common-area property belongs to everyone. Board members can’t take it for themselves | Question: I purchased a detached single-family home in a homeowner association around San Clemente with a zero lot line that comes right up against the back edge of our property.
There is a permanent concrete walking and jogging path that w... |
| May 13, 2017 | Q&A: Is an $11-million termite job legit or a scam targeting the elderly? | Question: A few weeks after hiring a new property management company, about a dozen different termite vendors began walking our grounds and digging holes into woodwork on all balconies, walkways and stairs. They also gouged holes into our m... |
| May 6, 2017 | Q&A: Who owns an employee’s emails and computer files? Spell it out in a written policy | Question: Our association purchased a laptop and allowed the manager to use it while at work in our homeowner association’s office, where it remains today. Upon the manager’s termination, she wanted to remove information on the laptop’s har... |
| Apr 29, 2017 | Q&A: When a board won’t fix a code violation, filing a city complaint is an option | Question: I live in a mixed-use condominium complex in Los Angeles. There is only one subterranean parking garage for the entire building, and over time, serious problems have developed with exhaust fumes. There does not seem to be adequate... |
| Apr 22, 2017 | Q&A: Does a condo seller have an obligation to inform a buyer about a noisy neighbor? | Question: We purchased a condominium in a small complex and in a great location for an incredibly low price because the previous owners had to move suddenly. Shortly after we moved in we started hearing strange outbursts of swearing and bar... |
| Apr 15, 2017 | Q&A: Doing auto repairs at an HOA parking lot? Here’s a crash course in the violations | Question: We’re a small HOA with limited parking. There’s an owner who runs an auto-repair business from his unit. He also occupies more parking spots than those allotted to him — about four in all — and does mechanic work in those spots, i... |
| Apr 8, 2017 | Q&A: A maintenance vendor owned by an HOA management company creates an inherent conflict of interest | Question: As a board director I cannot get the other directors to adhere to a rule that the board implemented. The rule requires all vendor work over $2,000 to be submitted for bidding by three unrelated, competent vendors.
The problem is t... |
| Mar 25, 2017 | Q&A: Buying an HOA property in a liquefaction zone is not for the faint of heart | Question: My family is interested in purchasing a townhome or condominium by a marina so we can dock our boat. Someone we know is moving from the marina because of rising homeowner association dues and too many special assessments, so we ma... |
| Mar 18, 2017 | Q&A: Didn’t pay your HOA assessments? Get ready for steep penalties and interest costs | Question: Our homeowner association is trying to foreclose on our home for unpaid dues and assessments. The mortgage payments have been paid on time, but the board is still threatening foreclosure. Worse, after the board hired a lawyer, our... |
| Mar 11, 2017 | Q&A: Owners who help out around their complex can pose liability risks for an HOA | Question: We’re a small association of 35 units. For decades, owners volunteered to help around the complex. There is a woman who likes to pull weeds and clean the pool furniture, another that sweeps walkways and picks up debris, and a man ... |
| Mar 4, 2017 | Q&A: ‘Firescaping’ an HOA’s property takes real expertise but can’t be ignored in Southern California | Question: We live in a 60-year-old town home community and have been casualties of drought, heat, wind and fire.
A few years ago our homeowner association board replaced some of the common area vegetation with drought-tolerant landscaping, ... |
| Feb 25, 2017 | Q&A: Can an HOA palm off responsibility for maintaining common-area greenery? | Question: We own a detached single-family home in a common interest development and are in a difficult situation with the board. Our water bills have been going way up over the years and we just discovered that the association’s shrubs outs... |
| Feb 18, 2017 | Q&A: Here are best practices for storing an HOA’s electronic and hard-copy documents | Question: Our association has struggled with document storage and management. Most of our important documents are in an electronic format and some are in hard copy. Each time we change management, it seems we have troubles getting back all ... |
| Feb 11, 2017 | Q&A: Digital signatures, computer-documents storage pose challenge to HOA board | Question: Our association seems to be stumbling over itself when it comes to electronic documents. First, it’s embroiled in litigation and received a subpoena for documents, which prompted our association attorney to have the board gather a... |
| Feb 4, 2017 | Q&A: Trusts aren’t a surefire way of making your HOA property judgment-proof | Question: We own a townhouse in a homeowner association that shares a wall with our next-door neighbor. We also own a detached single-family dwelling in a gated community some 50 miles away where the HOA board takes care of the common areas... |
| Jan 29, 2017 | Q&A: ‘Churn and burn’ schemes can defraud HOAs when boards don’t pay attention | Question: I was finally able to do a walk-through with our association’s gardener after our property manager was let go. I was shocked to learn that several beautiful mature trees were removed from our common areas without approval from the... |
| Jan 15, 2017 | Q&A: Titleholders can get restitution after suffering losses from bad management | Question: Our management company unilaterally chose and assigned one of their employees to manage our homeowner association’s property. As president, my worst fears were realized when I discovered that the manager was hiring his friends as ... |
| Jan 8, 2017 | Q&A: Board directors who act as property managers can pose a liability threat to associations | Question: Our homeowner association president has a second job as a property manager for several investors who rent out their condos in our common interest development. I’ve heard through the grapevine that she harasses tenants she doesn’t ... |
| 2017 | Q&A: Homeowners have a legal right to be notified when HOAs spray pesticides near their units | Question: I live in a high-rise where each unit has a private balcony. A dog walker routinely takes my next-door neighbor’s small dogs for off-site exercise and grooming. The minute they leave, my neighbor springs into action with aerosol p... |
| Dec 25, 2016 | Q&A: Water damage caused by a common-area source is an association’s responsibility — and there’s no way around it | Question: Everyone in our common-interest development just received a letter from an attorney representing our association. The letter advises us that in less than a month our board of directors will hold a meeting to vote on a “Proposed Wa... |
| Dec 18, 2016 | Q&A: HOA attorneys have a duty to retain legal files — and boards have to hold them to it | Question: I’m the newly elected president of my association. Last week at our first meeting, the board decided to terminate the association’s counsel of more than 30 years and get a new attorney. Our new counsel has made two written demands... |
| Dec 10, 2016 | Q&A: Hiring a board member as a vendor is not good business for an HOA | Question: Our board has five members and the president of our homeowner association is a real estate salesperson. Her three friends are also on the board and voted to approve hiring the president to act as property manager of a foreclosed c... |
| Dec 3, 2016 | Q&A: The drought doesn’t mean your HOA has to look like a wasteland | Question: Our homeowner association near Santa Clarita has a problem that most of the other associations around us don’t seem to share. Our association board appears to go out of its way not to approve drought-resistant landscaping or makes... |
| Nov 26, 2016 | Q&A: The time to protect your real property assets is before any HOA litigation | Question: Not long after we moved into our townhouse, we came to loggerheads with the board. Try as we might to resolve our differences, nothing worked. My wife and I found ourselves in a lawsuit with the association that started shortly af... |
| Nov 19, 2016 | Q&A: It’s in titleholders own best interest to make sure HOAs have all their addresses | Question: My daughter just learned that her homeowner association is foreclosing on her condominium, but she was never served with notice. Doesn’t she have to be personally served? Also, the board told her she did not comply with a legal re... |
| Apr 3, 2006 | EarthLink Resurrects MindSpring Brand | EarthLink said Monday it is bringing back MindSpring -- one of the most successful Internet brands of the 90s -- for a free voice over IP offering. Like Skype, MindSpring users can make free calls via the PC and receive voicemail to their e... |
| Jul 4, 2000 | PC Weenies | Krishna Sadasivam writes “I’d like to invite the wonderful folks of TechDirt (and all the readers!) to check out “The PC Weenies”, an Internet cartoon that I’ve been working on for the last two years. ‘Two comics a week or the next one is F... |