Thursday, December 06, 2007

Maryland law to deal with defunct associations
Fred Pilot sent this. Just watch. This will become a common situation in the years to come. I have been predicting it for a long time, and now the evidence is starting to make it into the press.

Apathetic homeowners' associations soon could find themselves paying court-appointed receivers to manage their affairs. A Maryland law that took effect Oct. 1 states that a group of three or more owners can ask the courts to appoint a receiver if their home-owners' or condominium association fails to recruit enough directors to meet a quorum. The receiver then would make all management decisions for the community until it assembled a large enough board. "We've had some communities in Maryland that have gone bankrupt. Some others are just hanging on by a thread and are in terrible condition" due to neglect by their boards of directors, said District 10 Sen. Delores Kelley, the sponsor of the bill.
Entire Neighborhood Faces Foreclosure Over Association Fees - Video - WFTV Orlando: "Unless They Pay, By The End Of The Month, They Could End Up Fighting A Legal Battle... Just To Keep Their Homes. More Than 70 Homeowners... Already Have Liens Against Their Properties, In The Stonebridge Landings Development, Off Goldenrod Road, Near The Airport."

Thanks to Fred Pilot for this shocker.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Reason Magazine - The Death of Main Street: "Big businesses know that a heavy regulatory burden is the best way to make sure small- and medium-sized businesses never rise up to challenge them."

Good point.
KSTP.com - Record home foreclosures cause snow removal problems

The snow brings a new problem with the high number of foreclosures in the Twin Cities. All those empty homes mean no one is around to clear the sidewalks.
Couple asked to take down American flag - Local & State News - Tampa Bay's 10 - tampabays10.com: "The flag, flies from a 16-foot tall pole. But last month the Grants were told their flagpole violated their Homeowners Association guidelines and now the Grants have been told they have 15 days to bring it down."
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly: Owners can't block costly condominium assessment: "Unit owners in a condominium complex could not bar the condo's board of trustees from levying an assessment for a major renovation project, even where the project is expected to cost $75 million, a Superior Court judge has ruled."