Federal Laws

Transfer Fees Victory

User Rating:

/ 0

Details

Category: Federal Laws

The Federal Housing Finance Agency in March issued its long awaited final rule on transfer fees, and it’s a big win for community associations.

FHFA initially proposed a regulation that would have banned federally backed mortgages for property in a community association with a deed-based transfer fee. As originally drafted, the proposed rule would have cut off nearly all mortgage funding for the 11 million housing units, roughly half of all community association housing, that have existing deed-based transfer fees. Over the past two years, CAI members worked diligently to gather data on transfer fees, submitted comments to FHFA and brought the issue to the attention of key lawmakers.

Fair Debt Collection

User Rating:

/ 1

Details

Category: Federal Laws

Since assessments are fees for maintenance and use of utilities and not consumer debt, many association board members wonder if their communities are subject to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Some may be surprised to learn most state and federal courts consider assessments to be "debts" according to this definition: A debt is any "obligation...of a consumer to pay money arising out of a transaction in which the money, unit, insurance or services which are the subject of the transaction are primarily for personal, family or household purposes."

The FDCPA does not apply to every owner, but rather specifically to consumers, who are defined as "any natural person obligated...to pay any debt." This means the FDCPA does not apply to corporations, trusts or government entities.

If assessments are considered debts in your area, anyone who attempts to collect assessments on your behalf must comply with the FDCPA. This means your attorney and probably your off-site property manager or book-keeper (if they collect in their name) must comply.

Although the association and its employees may not be required to comply with the act, when collecting unpaid assessments directly, the association should comply with the spirit and intent of the act because it is not overly burdensome.

Collecting a past-due assessment requires sensitivity, and it's important that the association does not violate the owner's rights. The FDCPA requires that when the association writes to an owner to collect late assessments, it must state:

That the letter is an attempt to collect a debt
Any information the debtor gives will be used to collect the debt
The amount of the debt that has accrued and the name of the association
That the owner has 30 days to dispute the debt's validity in writing.

If the owner disputes the debty, the association must send verification of this. The FDCPA prohibits those collecting debts from the following acts:

Harassing, oppressive or abusive action
Threatening violence or harm
Publishing a list of owners who have refused to pay the debt (except to credit bureaus)
Repeatedly using the telephone to annoy debtor
Making false statements
Misrepresenting the amount of the debt
Depositing a post-dated check prematurely
Threatening legal action not intended
Sharing the delinquent party's information with a third party without authorization

If a debt collector violates the act, the FDCPA says he or she may be liable for damages to the debtor, such as emotiaonal distress or slander.

In addition, abusive debt collectors might have to pay punitive damages, attorney fees and costs if a violation occurs.

The FDCPA is a technical statute. To ensure compliance, the professionals that you rely on to collect delinquent assessments should be very familiar with the FDCPA and applicable state laws.

Purple Haze: Medical Marijuana Laws..

User Rating:

/ 1

Details

Category: Federal Laws

Purple Haze: Medical Marijuana Laws Are Clouding the Smoking Debate in Community Associations

By Stephen Marcus

Take a deep breath these days, and you may detect the unmistakable, sweetly pungent aroma of marijuana – even if you’re not on a college campus or at a rock concert. Sixteen states (Rhode Island, Maine and Vermont among them) have enacted laws or approved Constitutional amendments legalizing medically-related uses of marijuana and 10 states (including Massachusetts) are currently considering medical marijuana laws.

Employment Law and Your HOA

User Rating:

/ 0

Details

Category: Federal Laws

New Federal Regulations Covering Disabled Employees Will Affect Greater Numbers of Associations

By: Mark A. Trank, Esq.

On March 25, 2011, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its final revised Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations in order to implement the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. These new regulations will affect virtually all associations that employ 15 or more individuals, since they are covered under the ADA.

The ADA Amendments Act made important changes to the definition of the term “disability” by rejecting the holdings in several U.S. Supreme Court decisions. The effect of these changes is to make it easier for an individual seeking protection under the ADA to establish that he or she has a disability within the meaning of the ADA.

Following the ADAAA, the regulations keep the ADA’s definition of the term “disability” as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; a record (or past history) of such an impairment; or being regarded as having a disability.

However, under the new regulations, the term “substantially limits” requires a lower degree of functional limitation than the standard previously applied by the courts. An impairment does not need to prevent or severely or significantly restrict a major life activity to be considered “substantially limiting.” This means that, while not every impairment will constitute a disability under ADA, it will be more difficult for an employer to argue successfully that an individual is not disabled.

The new EEOC regulations are lengthy and complex. However, it is clear that associations who have 15 or more employees will have to face the new reality that virtually any worker who claims that he or she is disabled is likely to be deemed disabled. That means that the association will have to provide a “reasonable accommodation” to the employee in order to permit that individual to perform the essential functions of the job. Failure to do so may subject the association to enforcement action by the EEOC, as well as significant damages.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Publishes Rule Regarding Capital Contributions, Membership Fees, Flip Taxes, Transfer Fees, etc.

User Rating:

/ 0

Details

Category: Federal Laws

The Federal Housing Finance Agency ("FHFA") recently published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking directing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Bank System to regulate transfer fees paid to community associations. While the revised FHFA draft will allow community associations to continue to use deed-based transfer fees (i.e., capital contributions, membership fees, flip taxes, etc.) to fund association operations, the rule would still allow FHFA to limit how associations use the funding raised by such fees. FHFA's rule would ban transfer fees paid to investors, but will allow transfer fees payable to a community association. This would apply to investors only prospectively, which should mean that any existing transfer fee paid to an investor or used by an association or any purpose is still valid and enforceable.

Per the rule, community associations could use revenue raised by new transfer fees for very narrow purposes, and would be regulated

Federal Laws

Transfer Fees Victory

Fair Debt Collection

Purple Haze: Medical Marijuana Laws..

Employment Law and Your HOA

Federal Housing Finance Agency Publishes Rule Regarding Capital Contributions, Membership Fees, Flip Taxes, Transfer Fees, etc.

More Articles...