Independent American Communities
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By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities October 2018 highlights: some state laws won’t apply to your HOA; Associations hiring Private Eyes to collect delinquent dues; owners can’t sue the HOA attorney; California coastal access rights protected; updates to CA law with regard to construction defect lawsuits. Some Florida statutes not retroactive Depending on how their …
Continue reading "HOA, condo & co-op case law, litigation highlights (October 2018)"
By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities A few weeks ago, a group of unit owners at River City Condominium in Chicago filed a lawsuit intended to halt the $90.5 million sale and condo deconversion of their iconic vintage Chicago riverfront building. River City Condominium Association includes 449 residential units. Since 2016, Marc Realty along with …
Continue reading "River City Condo deconversion breeds lawsuits"
By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities Updated October 9, 2018 Note: the updated version of this post corrects the record about Micheline Magharious. Based upon news sources cited at the time of the original post, a previous version of this article mistakenly stated that Magharious was a principal of Marc Realty. I have been informed …
Continue reading "Chicago condo owners file lawsuit to stop deconversion ‘fraud’"
By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities In 2012, California Attorney Tyler Berding published an article on his website, Condo Issues, making his case that an association governed community is purely ‘contractual.’ In Berding’s opinion, ‘community associations’ are not governments, because, in theory, members voluntarily agree to CC&Rs and Bylaws for the good of the …
Continue reading "HOAs, condos, & co-ops: Quasi-governments or ‘contractual communities’?"
by Deborah Goonan, Independent American CommunitiesState Parkway Condominium, located on the Gold Coast in Chicago, has had more than its share of financial controversy. In July, the Association passed a $500,000 special assessment to cover the cost of ongoing legal fees, most of them related to lawsuits against a single condo owner, and former board …
By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities UPDATED: Aug. 7, 2018 10:30 PM Crazy, crazy, crazy! Here’s an HOA dispute over the sale of common property to accommodate a freeway in the Ahwatukee Foothill region of Arizona. According to the report, state and local government officials knew about future plans for the highway nearly …
Continue reading "Arizona HOA cannot avoid the neighborhood holdout"
By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities The more I learn about condo-to-apartment deconversions, also known as (forced) condo terminations, the more I become convinced that no one ever actually “owns” property as a member of a condominium association. Condominium ownership differs from ownership in a homeowners’ or property owners’ association in several ways. And the …
Continue reading "Chicago condo-to-apartment deconversion trend divides co-owners"
Changes coming to HOA, condo neighborhoods The industry keeps trying to tweak the HOA, condo product. But do recent changes improve communities, or simply cause new problems? By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities Six new trends are likely to make homeownership more complicated, and less predictable than ever before. 1. Site Condominiums In Michigan, it …
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By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities What happens when families with young children live in condominium apartments? Quite commonly, children make noise — laughing when happy, crying when upset or hungry, running or jumping in the apartment when excited, perhaps raising their voices in squabbles with siblings. And while a parent can take action …
Investors take over condo boards, vote to terminate the associations, and force remaining owners to sell at their condos at low prices By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities Fifteen years ago, real estate professionals were touting the benefits and affordability of condo living. So thousands of first-time home buyers and retirees puchased a condominium …
Continue reading "Condo to apartment ‘deconversions’ continue in Chicago"