Featured Articles

There are times when members may want to make modifications to their homes. In these instances, the concern for associations is that these changes may affect the harmonious design of a community, decrease property values, and increase liability. For example, low-quality construction can drive down property values, increase the premiums on your community's liability insurance, or even render important warranties void. Some types of work, such as a new roof deck, if not done right, can lead to injuries and increase your community's exposure to personal injury liability.

The Red Flags Rule is a regulation published by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) under its consumer protection authority to compel businesses to develop written plans to combat identity theft. It was created under the authority of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) and the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

With colder weather approaching, condominium associations with gas or oil heat need to worry about carbon monoxide (CO), a hazardous gas that's invisible and odorless. At least several hundred people die each year from CO poisoning, and thousands more become ill.

In one recent incident, a 24-year-old woman in Pittsburgh, Pa., was pulled unconscious from her unit after carbon monoxide had been leaking into her condominium building. Crews from the gas company determined the toxic gas was leaking from a faulty furnace.

In recent years, it seems as though the number of disgruntled members has risen. These members might complain of lack of transparency or failures by association boards to follow basic governance principles, such as: adopting an annual budget with notice to the members, holding fair elections for the board of directors, providing key financial information about the association, and fairly imposing association fines. Oftentimes, these complaints are resolved in court or directed to the offices of the states' attorney generals.

Many condominium associations provide storage rooms or lockers for their members for a fee. This is one way for an association to generate additional monthly income and provide a nice amenity for members living in smaller units.

One of the more difficult issues that an association and its manager deals with is what to do when construction defects are discovered in the community. Construction defect claims can be complex, time consuming, and expensive.

Your community may set reasonable rules to protect the safety of your members' children and respect other members' right to enjoy their property. But your community must be careful that your rules do not unfairly single out children, or your association may be charged with discrimination based on familial status. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and familial status, which generally refers to minor children.

From time to time, community associations may need to amend their governing documents because of evolving community needs, such as an aging membership or aging buildings. Other times, they may need to do so to eliminate ambiguities in the existing documents or comply with a change in the law. Amending governing documents can be a very difficult and expensive thing to do, and there's no guarantee of success. Many communities invest a great deal of time and expense in the process only to see proposed amendments get voted down by members.

The Special Issue of the Insider (Dec 2009 SI) took a look at some of the specifics of the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA's) originally proposed mortgage insurance rules, their criticisms, and how some of the requirements may change in advance of the Dec. 7, 2009, effective date.

Since then, on Nov. 6, 2009, the FHA has issued two documents concerning FHA mortgage insurance requirements for condominium associations. These documents, though temporary, replace earlier proposals issued by the FHA.

On June 12, 2009, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced a new, stricter approval process for condominiums to be eligible for FHA financing. At the time, the FHA's revised lending guidelines were to be effective Oct. 1, 2009. However, since they were announced, the effective date of the new regulations has been twice postponed. Now, the new regulations governing condominium mortgage insurance will be effective Dec. 7, 2009.