Month: February 2010

Speeding drivers in your community can ruin your neighborhood's tranquility and, more importantly, threaten the safety of anyone on foot, especially playing children. According to the American Journal of Public Health, two-thirds of children who are hurt or killed in traffic accidents are struck and injured within several blocks of their homes.

Facts: Two members claimed that they did not know a homeowners association existed when they purchased their respective homes. The property deeds make no mention of the association, and the deeds contain no restrictions that require the owners to become members.

In addition, the association's governing documents state that any owner within the community “may become a member” of the association “upon submitting a letter of application and being accepted by a majority vote of the membership.”

Facts: A condo association's governing documents prohibits members from keeping pets on the premises. The association sued a member and sought a court order preventing him from keeping a pet in violation of the governing documents. During the course of the trial, the member raised numerous counterclaims, but stated that he was not requesting an accommodation under the Fair Housing Act (FHA). However, he stated that he will claim the need for an accommodation under the FHA in the event a court holds valid the restrictive covenant prohibiting pet ownership.

Results of the most recent survey of Florida's community association members show no immediate end in sight to mounting foreclosure-related financial pressures that have resulted in increasing budgetary restraints and falling property values in community associations across that state.

Meeting Federal Housing Administration (FHA) requirements is important for your condominium association because doing so dramatically increases your condominiums' marketability. An increasing number of first-time homebuyers are pursuing FHA-insured mortgages for purchasing condominium units. And for communities that meet FHA requirements and obtain approval, these potential buyers can get loans that require down payments of only 3.5 percent and qualify for loans under less burdensome terms.