By Wendy Hundley

August 16, 2014

By Molly Armbrister

August 15, 2014

Three mayors, a state legislator and the leader of a nonprofit all came together Friday at the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce’s annual State of the City event to discuss a law that has been on the lips and minds of many in the real estate community: the construction defects law.

“This situation has to change,” said Colorado Sen. Jessie Ulibarri, D-Commerce City, who sponsored legislation in the 2014 session to help protect against lawsuits arising from the defects law.

The problem at hand is current law that allows homeowners’ associations to file large group lawsuits for construction problems associated with new condominiums.  Read more:

By Jeff German

August 13, 2014

Defense lawyers for the six defendants charged in the massive scheme to take over homeowners associations, including alleged mastermind Leon Benzer, have asked to delay the Oct. 14 federal trial up to six months. This is the fourth request to postpone the high-profile case since Benzer and the other defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2013. This time the lawyers said in court papers late Tuesday that the delay is needed because federal prosecutors found 87,000 pages of new documents that must be turned over to the defense through a complicated electronic process.

“Undersigned counsel have attempted to diligently prepare for trial,” the lawyers wrote. “The learning curve in utilizing the database, the volume of the discovery materials and the most recent discovery of 87,000 pages of new material have made preparation for trial on the currently scheduled date impossible.” The lawyers asked U.S. District Judge James Mahan to set a new date in either March or April. Mahan set a Sept. 16 hearing to consider the delay.

Justice Department lawyers have previously turned more than three million pages of documents in the long-running HOA investigation, which became public in September 2008, when FBI agents and Las Vegas police raid locations across the valley. Prosecutors have alleged that 11 HOAs were defrauded of millions of dollars in the scheme between 2003 and 2009.  Read more:

August 15, 2014

By Kris Hudson and Arian Campo-Flores

August 5, 2014

The drama of Florida’s boom-then-bust real-estate market is now playing out in the courts as condominium owners and developers square off over forced sales under a law initially intended to allow for hurricane-damaged condo complexes to be rebuilt quickly.

The battle has percolated since the market collapsed in 2007-08—which left both developers and condo owners facing steep losses—and now various developers want to reverse past efforts to convert rental-apartment complexes into for-sale condos.

The problem is that, after a decline in condo values during the downturn halted sales, these developers are finding themselves with buildings that are composed mostly of apartments they still own and partly of condos owned by individuals. That mix is unworkable for several reasons. Foremost, it impairs developers’ ability to make changes to the complexes’ common areas, like pools or roofs, because such changes require approval and capital from all condo owners in the complex.

All told, 163 complexes in South Florida languish today as part condo and part rental after their conversions failed in the downturn, according to Jack McCabe, CEO of McCabe Research & Consulting LLC, a research firm in Deerfield Beach, Fla. On a statewide level, the number is “probably close to 400,” he said.  Read more:

By Jason Barry

August 14, 2014

SCOTTSDALE, AZ (CBS5) – Some North Scottsdale homeowners are angry and they want answers.Their property management company is accused of embezzling more than $3.4 million. The Edge at Grayhawk Condominium Association has filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court against Eagle Property Management. The lawsuit claims that Eagle Property Management committed fraud and embezzled millions of dollars in HOA money. “It’s a real shame for what they’ve done to us,” said resident Zale Taylor.

According to the lawsuit,  Eagle Property Management president Kelsey Powell, had been making unauthorized transfers of HOA funds into her company’s own bank accounts, dating back to 2010.It wasn’t until HOA board members got suspicious and hired a CPA to do an audit, that financial discrepancies were discovered, the lawsuit states.  Read more:

August 11, 2014

By Sharon Aron Baron

A former president of a Tamarac homeowners association has been arrested and charged with grand theft and fraud for stealing up to $200,000 from her community.

Mainlands Seven resident Michelle Changar-Coe, 44, was arrested last Friday after an investigation revealed that she was fraudulently signing officers’ names to checks made out to an alias and creating a fictitious payee where she could funnel funds.

“She was responsible for paying bills,” said former President Arthur Collier. “The treasurer and vice president should have signed off, but she waved them off. The treasurer was extremely busy, and Michelle didn’t give them [checks] to her anyway.  Read more:

August 5, 2014

Initial efforts to secure additional co-sponsors for “The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2014” — HR.4969 — are starting to produce results. As of August 5, 17 co-sponsors have signed onto the bill, which was introduced in the US House of Representatives with bipartisan support in late June. Additional co-sponsors are anticipated. HR.4969 would call on the FCC to apply the “reasonable accommodation” three-part test of the PRB-1 federal pre-emption policy to private land-use restrictions regarding antennas. The bill’s primary sponsor is Rep Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), and it received initial co-sponsorship from Rep Joe Courtney (D-CT), who attended the ARRL National Centennial Convention on July 19 to speak with League officials and those attending the event.

“With Congress on break for the month of August, we are encouraging our members to meet with their representatives while they are home on break in their districts, and urge their support for HR.4969,” said ARRL Regulatory Information Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND. “We’re very pleased with the initial response, but the more noise we make, the better our chances.” He emphasized that a successful outcome requires as many co-sponsors as possible, and that’s where ARRL members come into play in their role as voters and constituents.

The League has opened a HR.4969 page, which contains information and guidance for clubs and individuals promoting efforts to gain co-sponsors for the measure by contacting their members of Congress. The web page includes a sample letter to a member of Congress and a list of “talking points.” For in-person visits, the League recommends organizing small teams of knowledgeable, articulate radio amateurs to approach lawmakers one to one to plead their case.  Read more:

By Steve Jones

August 9, 2014

Momentum may be building among members of the Horry County legislative delegation for introducing a bill that would address at least some of the concerns about homeowners associations.The complaints legislators hear about the associations are the same ones expressed by residents who talked recently for a series of stories on homeowners associations in The Sun News and indeed, by property owners statewide, according to the S.C. Department of Consumer Affairs.Homeowners say they can’t get information such as financial reports from their associations, that they are charged excessively for the documents they do get, that association boards have a non-cooperative attitude toward owners, and that it is too costly and intimidating to have to seek dispute resolutions through the courts.  Read more:

By Daniel Tepfer

August 10, 2014

BRIDGEPORT — The city is accused of dragging its feet across the $400,000 driveway it built for millionaire developer Manuel “Manny” Moutinho on Sikorsky Airport property in Stratford.

The lawyer for the adjoining condominium complex claims the city of Bridgeport is stonewalling, three months after it agreed to pay $20,000 to the residents of the Breakwater Key condominium for plantings and a fence to divide the 1,200-foot gravel driveway from the condo complex.

“I asked them several weeks ago to step up to the plate and take care of it, but nothing has been done,” attorney Richard Saxl said. “And it’s getting a little late to put in plantings.”  Read more: