May 1, 2015

NORTH CAROLINA — Under North Carolina law, if you live in a neighborhood that has a homeowner association and you don’t pay your dues, that HOA can foreclose on your house.

But now a new bill has been introduced in the North Carolina Legislature that would strip HOAs of their ability to foreclose.

Instead it would open up a legal avenue for associations to try to satisfy debts owed to them including garnishing state income tax returns.

The idea is to keep people from losing their homes because they haven’t paid their HOA fees.

By Kim Miller

April 17, 2015

A Miami businessman was found guilty Thursday of one count of conspiracy in connection to a housing scheme that left a Royal Palm Beach condominium mired in foreclosures.

Eli Riesel, who was managing member in a company that bought about 100 units at the Kensington of Royal Palm Beach in 2007, is one of six people to be charged following what federal investigators described as a $25 million mortgage scam.

Riesel, who was found not guilty on 24 charges of bank fraud, is the only one who faced a jury trial. That occurred this week in a Miami federal courtroom in front of U.S. District Court Judge Darrin Gayles. The other defendants pleaded guilty to various charges last year.

Prosecutors say Riesel conspired to provide prospective buyers with incentives to purchase condominium units at Kensington but concealed those incentives from the lenders who financed the transactions. Read more:

CCFJ.NET:  Fort Lauderdale Beach condo residents hit with $60,000 assessment

Article and Video Courtesy of Channel 10 News Miami By Bob Norman Published April 24, 2015

Thousands of people live in condos across South Florida, but many don’t know the potential financial pitfalls. Investigator Bob Norman says a special assessment levied by the board for what they claim are much needed repairs could drive them right out of their homes.

   

By Don DeBat

April 19, 2015

 “Bully boards” are so prevalent in the world of condominiums that the term is commonplace among community association property managers and real estate attorneys.It’s a moniker used to describe condo and homeowner association boards that are so drunk with power, they resort to abusing their subjects – the owners.

Unlike typical renters, most homeowners simply cannot pick up and move when a problem exists. They are tethered to their real estate – and often tied to a 30-year mortgage as well.

Escaping Condo Jail, a newly published 600-page book about community association living, co-authored by Chicago Realtor Sara Benson and this writer, examines a nationwide random sampling of owner complaints that include, but are not limited to, the following issues…

• Cigarette smoke from a neighboring unit infiltrates ducts and electrical sockets, sickening an asthmatic.
• A “neighbor from hell” uses a 150-pound Rottweiler to frighten and intimidate residents.
• Organized crime thugs extort protection fees from homeowners.
• A roach infestation of “biblical proportions” from a hoarder’s unit contaminates neighboring units and renders them uninhabitable.
• A cell phone tower installed on top of a penthouse unit continuously awakens its residents at 3 a.m. with violent shaking of the ceiling.  Read more:

By Jenny Dean

April 15, 2015

Tampa, Florida — A Marriott Hotel is being proposed in South Tampa, but not everyone is happy about it.

The 84-room TownePlace Suites by Marriott would sit between a couple of condo complexes and a self storage building on South Dale Mabry, just north of Gandy Boulevard.

Residents of the Fair Oaks Condominiums are not happy with the plans for a number of reasons: noise, drainage issues, traffic and the close proximity of the building itself.

On June 11, Tampa City Council will consider whether to change the zoning on that piece of property to accommodate the four-story Marriott.

Greg Sinadrinos is a Fair Oaks resident organizing letters and a website, hoping to convince the council to deny the zoning change.

“My condominium overlooks this property and I will walk out onto my back porch or look out my bedroom window at a four-story hotel.”

Dave Patel is a partner with Inspire which runs several hotels in the Tampa Bay area. He says the Marriott here would be a perfect fit for this community. Read more:

By Sally Mamdooh

April 4, 2015

SPRING HILL — Pasco County is fighting to get a local gun range to cease fire citing it has been operating illegally.

It’s a fight that first started three years ago between residents who live near the gun range and and the gun range owner.

Shawn Roark and his family moved to Pasco Trails five years ago because it was a quiet and peaceful community.

“It’s very quiet, occasionally a lawn mower, but not too much more than maybe a car driving by occasionally,” said Pasco Trails resident Shawn Roark.

But the serenity that his community once had slowly turned what typically sounds like a war zone.

Roark and his neighbors in both Pasco Trails and Pilot Country Estates recorded the constant loud noises coming from a nearby gun.  Read more:

By Nancy Alvarez

April 10, 2015

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. —

The special meeting was called by a member who said Poinciana Homeowners’ Association president Peter Jolly was overstepping his boundaries by asking too many questions of FirstServices Residential, the company hired to conduct Poinciana’s business.

He sent a letter to the State Attorney’s Office for Osceola and Polk counties, alleging at least $2 million is unaccounted for.

“We have a management company that does not follow the orders of the APV Board of Directors. We have the tail leading the head,” Jolly said.

Residents said they support Jolly’s call for an investigation, but others oppose it.  Read more:

By Ward Lucas

April 14, 2015

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Ward Lucas