Category Archives: affordable housing

How will changes in FHA financing affect condo homebuyers?

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By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities   FHA to ease condo financing, claims it will boost homeownership If you’ve been following housing news over the past several years, you’ve probably read many articles on proposed revisions to FHA financing. The HOA-industry, including trade group Community Associations Institute (CAI) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) have been pushing their agenda to ease mortgage qualification standards for condos for several years. Now it looks like stakeholders Continue ReadingHow will changes in FHA financing affect condo homebuyers?→

Why can’t home buyers find the modern non-HOA homes they really want?

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By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities   If you’re in the market to buy a home, you’ll relate to today’s post on IAC. Have you noticed that there’s a huge housing market mismatch between the kind of homes buyers want, and the supply of homes available for sale? But, contrary to standard political messaging these days, it’s not just a matter of high home prices and a lack of so-called “affordable” housing.  Based upon careful Continue ReadingWhy can’t home buyers find the modern non-HOA homes they really want?→

My View: HOA-industry makes housing less affordable

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By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities In case you haven’t noticed, in just about every city and town in the U.S., housing costs are going through the roof. (Pun intended) Here in my home state of Pennsylvania, I’m starting to see reports of piecemeal government programs designed to increase the supply of affordable housing. For example, WBRE reports that four Monroe County organizations have received $300,000 in state grants to tackle the problem. Pocono Mountains Continue ReadingMy View: HOA-industry makes housing less affordable→

Building your Dream HOA — a Checklist

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By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities debgoonan@icloud.com Does your HOA have what it takes to work well for residents? The industry that builds, sells, and serves homeowners’ associations (HOAs) promotes a wildly unrealistic premise — that unit owners and shareholders will forever engage in fair and friendly cooperation with their association leaders and their neighbors. Unfortunately, in the real world, HOAs aren’t always fair or friendly. In the U.S., reports of HOAs from Hell are Continue ReadingBuilding your Dream HOA — a Checklist→