Condo owners sue management -- Walworth County Today:
ELKHORN — Forty-five Lake Lawn Lodge condominium owners have sued the resort and its condo association for more than $5 million over rent payments, a unit management agreement and other financial matters.
The suit, filed Sept. 26 in Walworth County, has been assigned to Judge James Carlson. The summons requires the defendants to respond with a written answer to the complaint within 45 days.
The 40-page complaint alleges that Lake Lawn and Lodges at Lake Lawn Resort Condominium Association manipulated agreements with the owners following the resort’s Aug. 5, 2009, foreclosure. The 45-condo owners allege that the defendants illegally obtained a majority of the governing board through four commercial units and assumed control of 70 percent of rental revenue when a customary percentage for management was 40 percent.
--------------
Another dispute over alleged manipulation of voting rights to seize control of an association for financial gain. I don't know who is right or wrong in this particular case. However, it seems to me that the frequency of this sort of situation has increased since the housing market collapsed. Before the crash, disputes over architectural review decisions, foreclosures for unpaid assessments, and strange rules violations cases were the norm in the press. Now there seem to be more embezzlements, frauds, and association control controversies. Everybody involved in common interest housing is getting squeezed by the loss of value--banks and investors, developers, management companies, lawyers, and most of all the owners who are expected to support these associations through collective use of their scarce individual resources.
1 comment:
Loss in value?
But, but, but....haven't you heard?
HOAs 'preserve property values'.
says the HOA industry. And HOAs do preserve value in your property for the benefit of the developer, the local government, the HOA attorney, the HOA management company, and all the HOA vendors - just not you the owner.
The HOA industry folks never like to state exactly "who" values are preserved for. They would rather just leave that off and let your imagination fill in the blank with the wrong answer.
The industry's response in this case might be "it's a condo not an HOA". True and one should think about that before buying condo property. Perhaps the industry would be better off responding with the typical "isolated instance" remark?
These condotels provide 80% of the city's room tax revenue. Wonder whose interest the city was protecting throughout the planning and implementation of this project? Citizen's rights or city coffers?
Post a Comment