Category: Oregon

Attorney and blogger Chris Jaglowitz from The Ontario Condo Law Blog makes some excellent points in his recent posting on the use of Social Networking sites to increase homeowner association communication.  Check out his post here. I agree with Mr. Jaglowitz that  Social Networking concepts and sites will become increasingly popular among condominium and homeowner residents as a medium to: […]

This week, Congress is scheduled to vote on H.R. 1106: “Helping Families Save their Home Act of 2009.”  I urge all owners who live in homeowner associations to call  or email their Congressperson and tell them to oppose this legislation as it is currently written. Part of President Obama’s plan to stabilize the housing markets, H.R. […]

On March 5, 2009, HR 1106: “Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009” was approved (234 to 191) by the U.S. House of Represetnatives and is now off to the Senate for debate and vote.  There is a companion bill in the Senate that is concurrently being debated. If you have concerns related to the […]

In early March, we posted a couple of blogs relating to proposed federal legislation that would significantly impact a homeowner association’s ability to collect past-due assessments from a homeowner undergoing foreclosure.  Within days of my post calling for homeowners to contact their Congresspersons, I was contacted by an aid to a Tennessee Congressman wondering what all […]

We’ve been writing about several Bills on this Blog lately because there is a lot of prospective legislation (both locally and nationally) affecting homeowner associations and individual homeowners.  The level of legislative activity in this area appears to have increased probably in part as fallout from the economic crisis. As an update, H.R. 1106 “Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009” remains […]

There was an article in last week’s Stranger reporting that new Fannie Mae regulations established in March have blocked condominium developers from closing unit sales if the developer has sold fewer than 70 percent of the units in a building.  Many of the large condo towers currently being built in Seattle and Portland are below the 70-percent threshold; consequently, hundreds of […]

Kevin Lisota wrote an informative posting Friday (5/1) on the Smart Real Estate Blog Site regarding due diligence a prospective condominium purchaser should conduct prior to purchasing a unit.  Click here to view the article. Lisota lists the following steps: Conduct a visual inspection; Review meeting minutes; Review the operating budget; Review the current reserve study; Review […]

Earlier this year, I wrote Blog postings on proposed federal legislation that could adversely impact the ability of homeowner associations to recover past-due assessments.  Specifically, H.R. 1106: “Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009,”  would have given bankruptcy judges the ability to ‘cram down’ the principal balance and monthly payments, wiping out tens or even […]

[Associate David Silver conducted research and assisted me with this post–thanks, Dave!.] In recent months, I have posted several articles discussing various aspects of condominium and HOA mortgage lending in the wake of the present housing and financial crisis. In early April, I blogged about Congress’ attempts to pass a mortgage modification bill, and, later that […]

With the economic crisis continuing and foreclosure rates still increasing, I have heard a lot of talk recently regarding rental cap hardship exceptions.  Many condominium and homeowner association boards of directors whose associations have rental ceilings are feeling the pinch between following their CC&Rs and facing unprecedented levels of claims of hardship. A typical rental ceiling Hardship Exception leaves […]