Board of Managers of 374 Manhattan Avenue Condominium v. Harlem Infil LLC, No. 105826/08, N.Y. Supr. Ct., June 18, 2010

Developer Liability/Warranties: With the exception of a cause of action for fraudulent misrepresentation, a New York Supreme Court dismissed all claims against a condominium sponsor, his affiliates, architects and engineers, finding that the suits were precluded by the Martin Act.

[Read more]

Restrictive Covenants, Easements May Be Enforced by Successors-in-Title

Fallis v. River Mountain Ranch Property Owners Association, Inc., No. 04-09-00256-CV, Tex. App. Ct., July 7, 2010

Covenants Enforcement/Developmental Rights: A Texas appeals court ruled that a homeowner, who acquired his property subsequent to the time violations of restrictive covenants were alleged to have occurred, could enforce the covenants, because he was a successor-in-interest and the covenants ran with the land.

[Read more]

Floodlight Violates Restrictive Covenants

Hawk’s Landing Homeowners Association, Inc. v. Williams, No. 2009AP701, Wisc. App. Ct., June 24, 2010

Architectural Control/Covenants Enforcement: In an unpublished opinion, a Wisconsin appeals court ruled that a floodlight mounted on a 17-foot pole to illuminate a backyard sports court violated the architectural restrictions contained in the subdivision’s declaration of covenants.

[Read more]

Owner Responsible for Late Fees, Interest on Unpaid Assessments Mailed to Wrong Address

Hazelwood Association, Inc. v. Helfrich, No. 09 CA 0119, Ohio App. Ct., June 16, 2010

Assessments/Covenants Enforcement: An Ohio appeals court affirmed a trial court’s finding that an owner was liable for late fees and interest on unpaid assessments, even though the invoices were incorrectly mailed to the vacant property address.

[Read more]

Association Has No Liability for Damage Caused by Failure to Correct Drainage, Sinkhole Problems

Lore v. Suwanee Creek Homeowners Association, Inc., No. A10A0012, A10A0013, Ga. App. Ct., June 24, 2010

Risks and Liabilities: A Georgia appeals court reversed the trial court’s determinations in a suit filed by residents of a subdivision against their homeowners association for trespass, nuisance and negligence, and a separate personal injury claim that arose from the association’s alleged negligence.

[Read more]

Ten-Year Limitation on Developer Rights Unenforceable

Madowitz v. The Woods at Killington Owners’ Association, No. 08-502, Vt. Supr. Ct., July 2, 2010

Developer Rights: A Vermont court rejected an association’s argument that conflicting language contained in property deeds and a condominium declaration could be read harmoniously. The unambiguous language of the declaration explicitly gave developers the right to continue with their phased development plans, even though the deeds provided that there was a 10-year limitation on future development.

[Read more]

Association Entitled to Recover Unpaid Assessments

Pew v. One Buckhead Loop Condominium Association, Inc., No. A10A0569, Ga. App. Ct., July 12, 2010

Assessments/Covenants Enforcement: A Georgia appeals court upheld a trial court’s award of summary judgment in an action to collect unpaid assessments.

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Unincorporated Association Has No Standing to Sue for Past Due Assessments

Port Village HOA, Inc. v. Summit Associates, SCR 60571/09-1, N.Y. Civ. Ct., April 21, 2010

Association Operations/State and Local Legislation and Regulations: In an unpublished opinion, the Civil Court of the City of New York, Richmond County, dismissed an action to collect past due assessments because the action was brought in the name of a non-existent corporation.

[Read more]

Ms. Deapen holds her PCAM® (Professional Community Association Manager) certification which is the highest nationwide professional designation available to managers who specialize in community associations. Nationwide, less than 2000 of all Community Managers have achieved this advanced recognition awarded by the Community Associations Institute (CAI), the nation’s voice for condominium, cooperative and homeowner associations. Through advanced education, training and guidance, the PCAM® designation helps ensure that the manager has the knowledge, experience and integrity to provide the best possible service to an association. The PSCA has greatly benefitted from this distinction as she has saved us tens of thousands through savvy contract and negotiation skills (can provide real life examples upon request). While she has achieved the highest level of certification, she hasn’t stopped seeking greater knowledge of the industry which continues to directly benefit our community.

What is the value of continually gaining industry knowledge? The value lies in learning how to better control costs in changing economic and housing environments, understanding how to address unpopular topics to residents and handle business in the best interest of the Association, and uncovering new ways to protect the Association against liability exposure as community association laws evolve and change. Liz not only has gained the priceless trait of knowing how to educate herself further, she has the drive to it. This lends itself more value, less runaround, faster response, and better management of our community. Evidence of this can be found in the fact that our HOA dues decreased in 2010 at a time of skyrocketing foreclosures and delinquencies. How many other communities were able to do this?

Another area I deeply value is the transparency Ms. Deapen brings of the Association’s business. We have visibility of every dime that runs through the PSCA. Where there is lack of understanding in transaction reports, Ms. Deapen has taken time to educate Board members and residents on how to read and analyze these reports.

Not only does she stay on the cutting edge of industry updates, she takes lessons learned from her extensive history in Community Management and applies this to current situations while keeping an eye on the future which brings excellence to the Potomac Station Community Association. If you are looking for somebody who can be trusted to deliver a well-managed property that looks nice, operates smoothly, and preserves the resale value of your home, look no further than Elizabeth Deapen. She is the one you want managing your community’s business affairs if you are looking to maximize offerings while keeping costs down.

- Brenda

Associations Oppose Proposed Private Transfer Rule
Community association managers nationwide have rallied in opposition to a proposed regulation issued on August 13 by The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) related to transfer fees. The proposal would prohibit Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and federal home loan banks from purchasing mortgages for any property that contained a deed-based transfer fee payable at time of sale. [more]

Never Stop Learning
During this time of year, all of the back-to-school promotions revive childhood memories for managers everywhere about the anticipation of learning so many new things. Just because you aren’t returning to school doesn’t mean you have to stop being a student. Indeed, successful association managers continue to learn throughout their careers. Even the most seasoned experts can benefit from lessons about new techniques or innovative twists on some old ones. [more]

Embrace E-mail Etiquette
Could you be sending the wrong signal with your e-mail style? Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC, recently offered a few thoughts about e-mail embarrassments that might keep employees from being considered as management material.
[more]

Associations Should Promote Benefits of Walking, Biking
Communities throughout the United States are acknowledging a growing need and responsibility to provide options for walking and biking more often, to more places and to feel safe while doing so. Walking and biking—whether for utilitarian or recreational purposes—result in many benefits, including improved environmental and personal health, reduced traffic congestion, enhanced quality of life, and economic rewards. [more]

Green Building Council Partners with Associations
In summer 2009, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced its Building Performance Partnership (BPP), a program to engage owners and managers of commercial and residential buildings in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. In late July 2010, USGBC opened the program to all current whole-building LEED-certified commercial and residential projects. [more]

NBC-CAM News [more]

Donna, Open Space Chair
Northern Virginia

- R.S.

David Troxell, President
Ambertowne Condominium

Liz is an experienced professional who can handle many tasks at one time and never considers a job complete until the HOA is satisfied.  Liz is a very resourceful person who can advise the HOA on everything from snow plowing to financial representation.  Liz is always prepared to answer questions from the HOA board or members of the community- she is an excellent speaker who displays an enormous amount of enthusiasm for her job.

Liz Deapen, in my opinion, was the biggest and best advocate for our community during the early years of our development as a new community.  We simply could not have set up a board and committees and then kept the volunteers coming in without her.  New communities as ours was in 1999, generally have a lot of work that needs to be done in order to make the jobs of the incoming HOA board members easier and to me, Liz made it extremely easy.  She has a way of telling you (nicely) that she thinks you might be making a bad decision or she will enthusiastically support the right one.

Liz gave our community a “small town” level of service and feeling while she managed our community as she knew just about everyone in the community (over 400 homes) and everyone knew her. She knew every inch of our community grounds and was on top of every project all the time.

Being a volunteer member of an HOA board or committee is not easy- the demand is high and there is no pay so sometimes the only things you end up getting out of it are the pride you feel in your accomplishments and the camaraderie you develop with the people you have accomplished so much with and that is how me and my fellow board members feel about Liz.  Liz has moved on to other communities since I have been involved with my HOA but her impact is still very much felt by everyone in the community.  To this day I miss working with her and would do so again in a heartbeat.

Liz manages her communities with pride and it shows in everything she does.

I would be happy to speak with anyone who is interested in working with Liz.”

Regards,
Jim Alba
Former HOA President
The Courts and Ridges of Ashburn, VA