HOAleader.com - Tip of the Week - December 18, 2015
Published: Fri, 12/18/15
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Community Limits Sales to Those of German Descent. Seriously? In This Day and Age?
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In this week’s tip, we discuss a New York community’s lingering restrictive covenant that actually restricts owners to persons of German descent.
In rural Long Island sits Yaphank, where according to The New York Times a Nazi summer camp once hosted parades and nearby streets were named after infamous Nazis. The streets have been renamed, reports the Times, but what still remains is a proviasion in the community’s bylaws requiring owners to be primarily “of German extraction,” a clause that has led to the 45-family community nearly all white.
During World War II, the community was eyed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and when Hitler fell, the feds seized the land. The German American Settlement League headed to court and regained the land. The Times describes it as a co-op of sorts: The group retains collective ownership over the land and allows members to own homes there.
In October, two homeowners—Philip Kneer and Patricia Flynn-Kneer—sued the league. They say its bylaws are discriminatory and violate the Fair Housing Act. In addition to the “German extraction” provision, the league’s covenants kept residents from advertising their homes on the open market, even banning for-sale signs, reports the Times. League members and their friends are the only people informed of homes for sale.
The league’s president, Robert Kessler, told the Times that most residents don’t even know of the community’s pro-Nazi past and that the league plans to discuss the bylaws to determine whether they’re appropriate. He said previous attempts to amend the bylaws had been voted down.
The league isn’t an HOA. However, restrictive covenants, though typically not as controversial as those adopted by the league, are common in HOAs.
Restrictive covenants like those in the German American Settlement League are much less common than they once were.
“The provisions noted in The New York Times article shocked me,” admits Tyler LaMarr, a partner at Miller Harrison, a law firm in Salt Lake City that represents hundreds of HOAs throughout the state.
“The only time I come across them is when we’re doing governing document re-dos on a set of documents from, say, the 1970s,” he explains. “I find board members are shocked they’re even there. I ran across one the other day that restricted children under the age of 14 from the association. I was helping the association seek Federal Housing Administration project approval, and the association wouldn’t be able to quality because that’s discrimination on the basis of age. Other than that, those types of provisions aren’t very common.”
But there are others you should be wary of. Read more in our new article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/1298.cfm
Best regards,
Matt Humphrey
President
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Recent articles posted at HOAleader.com:
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Former Nazi-Supporting Community Still Enforces Rules on Sales. Is that OK?
The New York Times recently highlighted a New York community with a strong Nazi-supporting past whose bylaws restricts owners to those of German descent. Owners have now sued the German American Settlement League, alleging that and other covenant restrictions--like prohibitions against advertising home sales on the open market--violate fair housing laws and keep the community essentially all white. Here we explain the background and offer lessons to other communities.
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Former-NaziSupporting-Community-Still-Enforces-Rules-on-Sales-that-OK.cfm
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Group Homes are Sprouting Up in HOAs; What You Need to Know
Group homes for all sorts of residents--from Alzheimer's patients to special-needs adults--are popping up in more and more HOAs. One of our experts has even run into the issue within his own community.
"I haven't had it an association I represent, but I had it in the neighborhood where I live," explains Harry Styron, a community association attorney at Styron & Shilling in Ozark, Mo. "There's a recovery house--actually, there are several--for people with substance abuse problems. They live together, and there's a church that serves them located nearby.
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Group-Homes-are-Sprouting-Up-in-HOAs-What-You-Need-Know.cfm
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Dude, Those Mushrooms Aren't Supposed to Be in Your Unit!
In this week's tip, we disgust you. (Sorry!)
Utah lawyer Tyler LaMarr was contacted after an HOA owner moved furniture and found mushrooms growing in his walls! Was it time for a construction defect suit?
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/public/Dude-Those-Mushrooms-Arent-Supposed-Be-in-Your-Unit.cfm
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Mushrooms Growing in Units; Time for Construction Defect Litigation?
Ewwwww! Utah lawyer Tyler LaMarr was contacted after an HOA owner moved furniture and found mushrooms growing in his walls! Was it time for a construction defect suit?
"There are multiple factors to consider, so it's hard to draw a hard-and-fast line or a one-size-fits-all policy," says LaMarr, a partner at Miller Harrison, a law firm in Salt Lake City that represents hundreds of HOAs throughout the state.
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/members/Mushrooms-Growing-in-Units-Time-for-Construction-Defect-Litigation.cfm
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You Won't Find This HOA and Owner Kissing Under the Mistletoe!
In this week's tip, we try to suss out who's naughty and who's nice when it comes to holiday lights.
The question in Idaho is whether an HOA is acting like Scrooge over last year's festivities in a different location. Last Christmas, lawyer Jeremy Morris and his wife Kristy hosted a light show complete with carolers, Santa, and Dolly the camel at their home in Hayden, reports the Spokesman-Review. The word spread on Facebook, and thousands flocked to the spectacle, which raised funds for two charities.
Click here to read full article: http://www.hoaleader.com/public/You-Wont-Find-This-HOA-Owner-Kissing-Under-Mistletoe.cfm
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