July 9, 2014

By JOHN BURNETT Stephens Media Hawaii

The board of apartment owners of a Banyan Drive condominium has gone on the offensive against an apartment owner who tried to assume control of the building by ballot and in court. Honolulu attorneys Christian Porter and Linda Ichiyama filed suit July 1 in Hilo Circuit Court on behalf of the Association of Apartment Owners of Country Club Hawaii Inc. The lead defendant is Carl Oguss, leader of a group of apartment owners that held an election seeking to unseat the original board. Also named are attorneys Steve Strauss and Peter Steinberg, both of whom represented Oguss’ board against Country Club master leaseholder Herbert Arata, former building manager Kevin Aoki and the original board in two lawsuits. On May 23, Kauai Circuit Judge Randall Valenciano dismissed one of two suits brought by Oguss’ board, saying the mail-in election held by the group is not allowed in the association by-laws and that Oguss’ board lacks legal stading to bring the matter to court. The dismissal was with prejudice, which means Oguss and his group cannot refile. The current suit — which states all parties have stipulated to dismiss the other suit brought by Oguss’ board — seeks a permanent injunction ordering all association books, records, files and fees that Oguss, Strauss and Steinberg may have in their possession be turned over to the original board, as well as tax records for the years 2012 and 2013. It also seeks an accounting of all funds received and disbursed by the Oguss Board on behalf of the association. Read more:

The Birmingham News: Saying she won’t be bullied, Shelia Smoot vows fight over attempts to foreclose on her condo unit

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Shelia Smoot, a former Jefferson County Commissioner who wants her job back, said the scheduled foreclosure sale of her condominium unit will be met with resistance. According to a notice published last week, the unit will be sold by the Regency Terrace Condominium Homeowners’ Association, Inc. on July 24. Smoot said her lawyers are currently reviewing the foreclosure sale of her unit at 1120 Beacon Parkway East.

“This foreclosure was not from the (property) owners; this was from the association,” Smoot said. “They have a right to do that. I’m going to fight back and they’re not going to bully me because I’m in an election.” Smoot is in a July 15 runoff with incumbent Sandra Little Brown in the Jefferson County Commission District 2 race. Smoot has said the foreclosure was “politically motivated” and contends that she was never given her say in the dispute.  Read more:

By Liza Fernandez

July 4, 2014

NAPLES, Fla –  Lots of people run into problems paying their homeowners’ association fees at one point or another. And an elderly Naples couple, Phil and Sally Duplers, is no different. They tried making good and pay up, but lost their $1,000,000 home when their homeowners’ associated foreclosed on the house anyway.

   

The couple tells 4 In Your Corner it’s been a tough couple of years. “We ran into financial problems. I’ve been quite sick,” said Sally Dupler. She had a stroke, and the couple missed about 6 months of HOA dues. “It was about $3,500 approximately,” Sally added.

After several attempts at collecting, the Serafina Association at Tiburon in Naples started to foreclose on the home last October. And in May, a Collier County judge decided the Duplers owed approximately $7,000, plus any additional interest and fees. On June 3, the Duplers paid the amount they thought they owed — $6980.24, the amount stated on the final judgment.

But the check was 10 cents short. “That was my fault; I added it up wrong,” admitted Sally Dupler.  On June 9th, The Duplers’ home was sold in a foreclosure sale.  Read more:

By Lisa Magill

July 1st, 2014

Two recent cases decided by Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal impose conditions on access to individual units by condominium association boards.  The statute provides the association with the irrevocable right of access.  Section 718.111(5), Florida Statutes says:

RIGHT OF ACCESS TO UNITS.  The association has the irrevocable right of access to each unit during reasonable hours, when necessary for the maintenance, repair or replacement of any common elements or any portion of a unit to be maintained by the association pursuant to the declaration or as necessary to prevent damage to the common elements or to a unit or units.

 The court focused on the word “necessary” in both cases – both ruling that additional facts had to be shown in order for the association to prove that access was indeed necessary.

Small v. Devon Condominium B Association, Inc. was issued in April of this year and involved access to the unit for the purposes of performing monthly pest control.  The unit owner had allowed the association to have her unit treated for pests on a monthly basis for a number of years.  She asked the association to discontinue the service in 2005, claiming she would use an alternative non-chemical pest control treatment.  The association agreed until 2009 when it demanded she allow the association to resume pest control treatments.  The owner refused and the dispute headed to arbitration before the Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares and Mobile Homes.  Read more:

By Todd Beamon

July 1, 2014

A Florida man who may lose his home for displaying an American flag outside it has received support from two of the Sunshine State’s Republicans in Congress. “When did we relinquish our common sense as citizens in this country?” Rep. Gus Bilirakis, vice chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, asked The Hill. Bilirakis is backing Larry Murphree, 73, who is facing foreclosure of his Jacksonville condominium this month because he has refused to pay $8,000 in fines for hanging a small flag in a flower pot on his front porch, the Hill reports. The flag violates the rules of the community’s homeowners’ association.”It is absurd that a veteran who wants to display his love of country is being punished. It is even more preposterous that he could lose his home,” Bilirakis said. “The homeowners association should do the right thing and waive the fees and let Mr. Murphree exercise his First Amendment rights.” Rep. Ander Crenshaw, who represents the district in which Murphree lives, called him a “true patriot.”

“Larry Murphree’s dedication to country in the Vietnam War and his fight to fly the American flag today is the story of a true patriot, and I commend him,” Crenshaw told The Hill.  Read more:

By Allie Norton

July 1, 2014

POST FALLS, Idaho –  Korean War vet Curtis Benham, who was asked by his homeowners association to remove an American flag from his window has received an apology from the HOA and the overwhelming support of his neighbors. Benham received a violation notice last week that his American flag was considered “inappropriate curtains” and was asked to remove them. Within hours of the story going viral on Facebook Monday, the Fieldstone Homeowner Association board rescinded the violation.Later in the evening the HOA board president paid Benham a visit. When he showed up at Benham’s home Monday night, he probably noticed some of his supporters had placed small American flags on his lawn. “They were out there when that gentleman from Fieldstone came last night,” Benham said. The purpose of the visit was to tell him personally that he could keep his flag displayed in a window and to apologize. “He just wanted to know if I would accept an apology and he’s apologizing all over the place,” Benham said.A week ago Benham received a notice that his flag violated the covenants, conditions and restrictions of the neighborhood. He had two options: take it down or face a $100 fine, a decision that ultimately wasn’t needed once the board rescinded the violation late Monday.  Read more:

By Danielle Urban

July 1, 2014

AUSTIN, Texas–(Business Wire)–Condominiums and townhomes were the fastest growing segment of the Texas housing market during the first half of 2014, according to the 2014 Texas Condominium Mid-Year Sales Report. Released today by the Texas Association of Realtors, the report shows double-digit growth in condominium (condo) and townhome sales among Texas’ four major markets.According to the report, Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio experienced an average 10.5 percent jump in condo sales between January and May 2014. Individually, San Antonio condo sales jumped 18 percent, followed by Austin at 14 percent, Houston at six percent and Dallas at four percent.Dan Hatfield, chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors, explained: “The thriving economic growth in Texas’ major metro areas has led to a revitalization and redevelopment of our urban centers, providing new needs and opportunities for condo development. Condos offer greater affordability and inventory than other housing types on the market and, as a result, are playing an increasingly important role in the Texas housing market as a whole.”

Indicative of rising demand, condos have shown steady, consistent growth in all four of Texas’ major metro areas in both price as well as sales volume so far in 2014. However, the average price for condos from January through May 2014, which is $226,814 among Texas’ four major cities, is considerably less than other housing types on the market. Read more:

http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/2028284

By Joe Coscarelli

June 30, 2014

Georgetown – Today’s Wall Street Journal features hilarious, practically parodic complaints from neighbors of Fed chair Janet Yellen, who just don’t understand why she needs such fat and sloppy security guards. This is a Georgetown gated community, crotchety residents say, and there are rules here (50 pages of them, including a two-pet maximum). And Yellen’s massive security detail, with their visible fast food, giant, leaky vehicles, and “doughnut bellies” are just an eyesore.

According to one neighbor — who was granted anonymity “because she is worried about federal-government reprisals” — “we have this group, overweight, wearing the most ridiculous blue uniforms with the most ridiculous blue caps, and they have guns that are visible.” Meanwhile, their vehicles idle for “approximately 22 minutes daily,” according to an official complaint, and then pull out “speedily … all the while spilling fluid onto the street, which has now left a permanent stain,” against the neighborhood’s explicit “no car fluid stain” rule (seriously).  Read more:

By Allie Norton

June 30, 2014