Author Archives: Beanie
FLORIDA – Failed condominium conversion could be sold in Bankruptcy Court
Article Courtesy of The South Florida Business Journal
By Brian Bandell
Published October 5, 2014
An apartment complex in West Palm Beach that failed to complete its condominium conversion and was declared a public nuisance could be sold in Bankruptcy Court.
HFAH Clear Lake LLC filed Chapter 11 in Palm Beach County on Sept. 30 listing $4.23 million in assets and $30.1 million in liabilities. The company, headed by Hawthorne, N.Y.-based Homes for America Holdings and Daniel G. Hayes, owns the shuttered apartment complex on 11 acres at 719 Executive Center Drive.
The goal of the Chapter 11 filing is to sell the property, according to court filings. It is delinquent on taxes and has accumulated $2.5 million in fines from the city, which declared it a public nuisance.
The bankruptcy filing reads like a case study of everything that went wrong in the recession.
HFAH bought the property for $14.5 million in 2005 with the intent of converting the 180 apartments to condos and building more amenities. The existing four buildings were to be torn down. The residents left, but the work stalled after the developer was unable to pre-sell the units because of the real estate crash, Hayes said. Read more:
TEXAS – Mission Bend faces city problems without city powers
When Mike Martin bought his first home nearly four decades ago in Mission Bend, the manhole covers and storm sewer grates were stamped, “City of Houston,” reflecting expectations that the fledgling suburb west of Alief would be annexed by the city within a few years. That never materialized, and he has watched as curbs have crumbled into the street and local leaders have been unable to manage new development.
More than a decade after Texas lawmakers made it harder for cities to expand, the effects are being felt in places like Mission Bend. As these rapidly urbanizing communities in unincorporated parts of counties age and grow, they face city-like problems without the tools of cities to address them. Read more:
FLORIDA – Kissimmee HOA lets couple keep religious statues
A homeowners association threatened legal action against a Kissimmee family who put a statue of Jesus and the Virgin Mary on their front lawn.
Stephen Guschov is an attorney representing the couple that lives in Shingle Creek Reserve in Kissimmee. “Our clients aren’t asking for any special treatment,” he said. Guschov said the couple applied with their HOA to put the religious statues in their front yard, but they were denied. Read more:
FLORIDA – Wild fight at Sunrise condo board caught on video
When a fire gutted the unit directly above his, causing water damage to his own condo, Smith sued for damages after it took years for the board to get the repairs. He’s been on a years-long hunt to get into the condo’s books, which he said have been illegally denied to him.
“The more I dug the worse the harassment got, and it became violent,” he said.
Smith shared a video of a board meeting with Local 10 News during which he was attacked by the board president at the time, Jacqueline Chance. Smith said she became enraged when the subject of Smith’s lawsuits was raised and after Smith mentioned a bathroom renovation that was done at her condo. Read more:
FLORIDA – Flag fight continues with $1M countersuit
JACKSONVILLE — The last few years have been a revolving cycle for 72 year-old Larry Murphree.
“Same flag, same flowerpot, same everything,’ he explained.
We last sat down with Murphree in the summer – when he found out his homeowner’s association was threatening foreclosure. He’s offered to pay fees but claims the HOA wouldn’t work with him. Now, he’s fighting back with a 64-page, $1 million countersuit.
“We’ve tried and we’ve tried. They won’t take the money. All they want is to get me out of here. The only thing to stop this thing is to file a lawsuit, which we did,” Murphree continued. Read more:
SOUTH CAROLINA – Isle of Palms condominium complex fined after state says sandbags hid illegal seawall
ISLE OF PALMS, South Carolina — The state is levying a heavy fine against an Isle of Palms condominium complex after officials say an illegal beachfront seawall was hidden behind sandbags.
The Post and Courier of Charleston reports (http://bit.ly/1nTluOw ) the fine against the Ocean Club Villas – $1,000 a day retroactive for two years – has now reached $750,000.
Department of Health and Environmental Control Director Catherine Templeton says the wall was concealed deliberately. Read more:
NATIONAL – The Rental Restriction Quandary in Residential HOAs
One of the most controversial battles in residential HOAs and Condos centers on rental restrictions. This blog analyzes the arguments for and against rental restrictions in HOAs, and why the ratio of tenants to owners in Associations has become a hot button issue.
The argument against rental restrictions
Like many Americans, I have owned homes in HOA-free neighborhoods, and I lived in these homes as my primary residence. However, when employment opportunities took my family to another state in the midst of the recent real estate bust, we found ourselves unable to sell our home of 14 years. Fortunately, we were able to lease the home to another family for about a year and half, until the market improved, when we were able to sell. I don’t know what we would have done if we had been forced to keep the house vacant due to rental restrictions that are often imposed by HOAs. Read more:
HAWAII – Country Club: $1.3M in delinquent maintenance fees
West Hawaii Today: Country Club: $1.3M in delinquent maintenance fees
Battle of two boards competing for control
September 25, 2014
By John Burnett
The managing agent of a beleaguered Banyan Drive condominium building testified Wednesday in 3rd Circuit Court the building’s owners association is owed about $1.3 million in delinquent maintenance fee payments and owes about $400,000 in accounts payable. Richard Emery, president of Hawaii First, said the battle of two boards competing for control of Country Club-Hawaii hampered efforts to pay the bills and meet other responsibilities. That, he said, has resulted in a six-figure debt to Hawaii Light Co., which has at least twice threatened to turn off the lights at the six-story building. Read more:
http://westhawaiitoday.com/news/local-news/country-club-13m-delinquent-maintenance-fees
TEXAS – How letting my kid play alone outside led to a CPS investigation
…(now) my children aren’t allowed outside until we can sell our house and move to a more hospitable neighborhood.
By Kari Anne Roy
September 25, 2014
Late-morning. Hotter than hot. Not even 24 hours home from vacation, and I was going through the piles of mail. There was a knock at the door, which was weird because no one ever knocks on our door unless it’s the UPS guy, and he doesn’t come until dinnertime. Corralling the crazy barky dog, I looked out the front-door window and saw a woman I did not know — and my 6-year-old. I whipped the door open, trying to figure out what was happening. The woman smiled. My son frowned. And as soon as the door opened he flew into the house, running as far away from the woman as he could.
“Is that your son?” she asked with a smile. I nodded, still trying to figure out what was happening. “He said this was his house. I brought him home.” She was wearing dark glasses. I couldn’t see her eyes, couldn’t gauge her expression. “You brought …” “Yes. He was all the way down there, with no adult.” She motioned to a park bench about 150 yards from my house. A bench that is visible from my front porch. A bench where he had been playing with my 8-year-old daughter, and where he decided to stay and play when she brought our dog home from the walk they’d gone on. Read more:
NORTH CAROLINA – Man And HOA At Odds Over Gate
He says for 35 days, he’s only been able to get in if someone else triggers the gate to open. “My understanding from talking to attorneys is you cannot keep someone from their property,” Bartels said.
The HOA says Bartels hasn’t abided by by-laws, which means he doesn’t have access to common areas including the main road and the gate. Meanwhile they say he should be quite familiar with the by-laws because he was once president of the HOA here. Read more:
HOA Reform Coalition 