HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - May 1, 2015
Published: Fri, 05/01/15
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California Court Hands HOAs Big Win on Short Term Rentals
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In this week’s tip, we share good news: A California court has shown that it
totally gets how HOAs operate and issued an opinion in March sure to buoy the
spirits of HOA board members far and wide.
In Watson v. Oak Shores Community Association, a California appellate
court has upheld an HOA’s restrictions on short-term rentals and fees
related to rentals. Oak Shores is a community in Bradley, Calif.
The case arose when several owners—the Wattses and the
Burlisons—challenged rules and fees imposed by the association,
including a minimum rental period of seven days and an annual fee of $325 on
owners who rent out their homes. The HOA also imposed a mandatory garbage
collection fee; boat and watercraft fees; building permit fees; and
property transfer fees. The number of cars, boats, and other watercraft
renters are permitted to bring on the property were also restricted.
The HOA filed cross-complaints against those owners for unpaid amounts.
When the cross-complaints were filed, the Burlisons owed $2,355.06 in
unpaid assessments, and the Wattses owed $4,888.47, according to the
court. The Burlisons paid that amount under protest. By the time the trial
began, the Wattses owed the HOA $10,264. The court also noted that Ken Watts
never obtained a business license to rent his home, hadn’t paid transient
occupancy taxes since at least 2000, owed at least $5,000 in back taxes, and
repeatedly mischaracterized his renters as guests to avoid applicable
rental rules and regulations. In a rare move, the court also called out some
of his testimony at trial as “demonstrably false” and noted that Watts
“occasionally intimidated staff with bizarre and threatening behavior.”
The court upheld all the fees and the seven-day minimum rental, solidly
affirming what many HOA boards have known for a long time: “That short-term
renters cost the [a]ssociation more than long-term renters or permanent
residents is not only supported by the evidence but experience and common
sense places the matter beyond debate. Short-term renters use the common
facilities more intensely; they take more staff time in giving directions
and information and enforcing the rules; and they are less careful in using
the common facilities because they are not concerned with the long-term
consequences of abuse.”
“I think this opinion was great,” says James R. McCormick Jr., a partner at
Peters & Freedman LLP in Encinitas, Calif., who represents associations.
Find out why in our new article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/1171.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Thursday, May 14, 2015
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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California Court OKs Short-Term Rental Restrictions, Related Fees
The debate over owners' posting their units on short-term rental sites like
Airbnb and HomeAway should again heat up. That's because a California
appellate court has held that HOAs can restrict owners' rights on this
front.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/California-Court-OKs-ShortTerm-Rental-Restrictions-Related-Fees.cfm
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Will Wisconsin Supreme Court Help Associations?
Wisconsin's highest court has held that when a bank starts a foreclosure,
gets a judgment, and then stops dead in its tracks, a trial court can, if it
determines the property has been abandoned, order the bank to hold a
sheriff's sale.
Does this case help you in your efforts to combat banks' glacier pace when it
comes to foreclosures? It's possible. But you probably have better
options.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Will-Wisconsin-Supreme-Court-Help-Associations.cfm
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Here's a New One on Us: An HOA Rejuvenation Period
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "HELP! We are past our rejuvenation period.
What will happen to the association?"
Unfortunately, we don't have much insight for our reader. Our
experts--every single one of them, despite their decades of experience in
advising associations from the management and legal side--have never
encountered a "rejuvenation period" that applies to community
associations.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Heres-New-One-on-Us-HOA-Rejuvenation-Period.cfm
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How to Determine How Much Insurance Your HOA Needs
An HOAleader.com reader asks, "I'm a new board member concerned that our HOA
doesn't have sufficient liability insurance, particularly an umbrella
policy. We are a 125 single-home gated community in California with very
limited common-use areas. No pools, tennis, golf, club house, etc. Only a
perimeter and a wash area (for rain water collection). Based on my limited
research, it would appear a minimum of $5 million would be required. Some
noninsurance resources have suggested $20 million or more, but that seems
high for our needs. Thoughts?"
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/members/How-Determine-How-Much-Insurance-Your-HOA-Needs.cfm
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How to Choose and Work with Your HOA's Manager
A good HOA management company can make your life so much easier. With your
direction, it'll do the heavy lifting in overseeing nearly all of your HOA's
operations, including running interference with sometimes challenging
owners. The hard part for you is finding the management company that's the
best fit for your HOA and board vision.
Join us for an information-filled webinar on May 14 on how to choose and work
with your management company, with insights from an experienced community
association manager and an equally experienced community association
lawyer.
Click here to read full article:
http://www.hoaleader.com/snip/194.htm
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