Lamplight Village, update

Remember the HOA in Las Vegas, where a swing set collapsed and severely injured a 15 year old boy, and somehow a $2 million dollar demand was turned down, and then the jury returned was a $20 million dollar judgment against the HOA? The owners have been facing the spectre of paying something like $90,000 each to pay the excess judgment. But according to their Facebook page, all is well. And we know we can trust Facebook, right? :-)  So let's see what the newspapers have to say.

State will not ‘take over’ a condominium association or HOA

State will not ‘take over’ a condominium association or HOA: "Question: What is the legal standard for the state to intervene and take over an HOA? What is the procedure to initiate the state to investigate an HOA? —"

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The answer this attorney gives it basically, the state doesn't take over associations, but sometimes a court may appoint a receiver. The attorney mentions cases of fraud, but I think it is more often done if an association is falling apart and becoming nonfunctional, or if the BOD refuses to pay a court-ordered judgment.

Welcome to Zucktown. Where Everything Is Just Zucky. - The New York Times

Welcome to Zucktown. Where Everything Is Just Zucky. - The New York Times: "In just a few years, Facebook built a virtual community that linked more than two billion people, an achievement with few precedents. Now the social network is building a real community, the kind you can walk around. It is a project with many precedents in American history, quite a few of them cautionary tales about what happens when a powerful corporation takes control of civic life."

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Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link to the latest step in Facebook's efforts to take over the world. They've done a great job wrecking the entire concept of truth in our electoral system, so no doubt this community-builder stage in their world domination strategy will go equally well.

The Spread of 'Billionaire's Bay,' the Glut of Million-Dollar Homes Across San Francisco - CityLab

The Spread of 'Billionaire's Bay,' the Glut of Million-Dollar Homes Across San Francisco - CityLab: "Between 2012 and 2016, the percentage of $1 million+ homes in San Francisco grew a gobsmacking 37.8 percent, rising to represent 57.4 percent of the homes in the city.

In San Jose, 46.3 percent of homes now cost more than $1 million, an increase of 28.9 percent. And in Oakland, an astonishing 19.7 percent of homes hit seven figures in 2016, a growth of 14.5 percent since 2012. Oakland today boasts a higher percentage of $1 million+ homes than San Francisco did four years ago—a figure that ought to give Oakland residents pause."

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The California housing market has gone nuts, and nowhere is it crazier than in the San Francisco Bay area.

Washington D.C. Appellate Court Holds Foreclosure of Condominium Lien Extinguished First Mortgage Despite Condominium Association’s Representations to the Contrary - Lexology

Washington D.C. Appellate Court Holds Foreclosure of Condominium Lien Extinguished First Mortgage Despite Condominium Association’s Representations to the Contrary - Lexology: "The District of Columbia Court of Appeals recently held that a condominium’s foreclosure of a “super-priority” condominium lien extinguished an otherwise first-priority mortgage on the property, despite the fact that the association’s notice of sale and deed to the third-party purchaser stated that the sale was “subject to” the mortgage. See Liu v. U.S. Bank Nat’l Ass’n, 2018 WL 1095503 (D.C. Mar. 1, 2018)."

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This association superlien policy is controversial. In this case, I wonder if it will stand up to an appeal, because the association stated that the sale was "subject to" the first mortgage lien.

Nursing Home No More: The New Trend Is Aging With Your Friends

Nursing Home No More: The New Trend Is Aging With Your Friends:

This is about cohousing for seniors, which is an interesting alternative to seniors communities designed and run by large-scale developers and other mass-produced housing for retired people.  Contrary to what the article says, cohousing is not a "new trend." It has been around in Europe and the US since the 1980s, but it has not caught on in this country. It involves common ownership, but the residents set it up themselves and make their own rules.  The problem seems to be that it takes a lot of work and capital, and so far there haven't been many people willing or able to do it. It is much easier to respond to an ad about The Villages in Florida and walk into a turnkey, corporate-designed, large-scale seniors-only community with golf courses and swimming pools everywhere.

St. Boniface Church Is Resurrected as a New Condo Development | Chicago magazine | April 2018

St. Boniface Church Is Resurrected as a New Condo Development | Chicago magazine | April 2018: "In a nod to the church’s charitable history, Northwestern Settlement, a social services agency, plans to move its offices into the new building. The nonprofit’s space will include four affordable housing units.

Skoulsky says that it’s still too early to give a price range for the units in the main part of the development, Skoulsky says, though he does concede that, given the size, “the prices may push the neighborhood.” (The average condo in Noble Square now goes for $511,000, according to Redfin.) Better hope you find some pennies from heaven scattered on the sidewalk."



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This is a historic church that has been closed for several years. It will reopen as a high-end condo development. It's nice that there will be a social services agency there, and four units that are "affordable," but it is another example of trends in the housing market since the crash of 2008, where developers are interested in building for the rich.

Completion of Preparatory Work on Gated Communities Legislation Anticipated by 2019/20 - Jamaica Information Service

Completion of Preparatory Work on Gated Communities Legislation Anticipated by 2019/20 - Jamaica Information Service: "The proposed Act aims to address issues associated with town houses and gated communities that are not currently covered by legislation.

They include non-payment of maintenance fees, dispute resolution, violation of by-laws and other communal living arrangements.

Noting that the Act could, arguably, represent the last major piece of legislation required to streamline the entire real estate sector into “good order”, Dr. Chang said the consultations were timely.

This, he pointed out, against the background that “we are going to see more and more town houses, gated communities and expanded apartment complexes; so we need the appropriate legislation to ensure that properties are properly maintained and developed”."



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In Jamaica, as in so many other places, common interest housing is the way the housing market is going.

Man says battle with Olathe HOA proves need for proposed KS law | The Kansas City Star

Man says battle with Olathe HOA proves need for proposed KS law | The Kansas City Star: "Scott Wircenske’s eight-year battle with his HOA started with a simple request.

The Parkhill Manor Homes Association had just awarded a property management contract to one of its own board members, and the Olathe homeowner wanted to know whether the job had been put out for a bid.

“This man had been on the board in 2008 and then all of a sudden in 2009 he becomes the property manager, and he’s also a homeowner,” Wircenske said. “It smelled really bad. I wanted to know, ‘How did we arrive at this? How did we pick him?’ And basically, the response has been, ‘Go away and mind your own business.’ ”"

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This is a familiar story. Unregulated private government is a fertile ground for conflicts like this.