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The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) recently told me that it will not approve condominiums that participate in a police endorsed crime free program. As an Arizona HOA crime free attorney, I cannot for the life of me figure out why. First a little background. In 2008, congress passed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA). Read More…
HOA Institute Blog
Archive for March, 2008
The Federal Housing Administration vs. The Crime Free Program
Tuesday, April 10th, 2012Duties of an HOA President
Monday, April 2nd, 2012“What are the duties of an HOA president?” – an HOAI reader The president of a homeowner’s association is appointed by the board. As HOAs are non-profit, he or she does not get paid, nor should he be allowed special privileges (i.e., special parking or discounted monthly assessments). However, it is a very important job Read More…
Crime Free Certification
Monday, March 5th, 2012Crime Free certification is generally supervised by local law enforcement. Cooperation between law enforcement and communities is essential to making this program work. There are three phases of certification: Phase one of the process is educating the property manager and board about all the facets of the program. This training includes screening tenants, learning to Read More…
The Crime Free Multi-Housing Program
Friday, March 2nd, 2012The Crime Free Multi-Housing Program is dedicated to making neighborhoods safer places to live. It was founded in 1992 in Mesa, AZ and has grown consistently and quickly, spreading throughout the United States and even internationally, into countries such as Japan, Mexico, England, and Russia, including many others. HOA boards may adopt the Crime Free Program as Read More…
How to Find Assets to Garnish to Satisfy a Judgment
Wednesday, February 29th, 2012After receiving a judgment to collect from a debtor, the debt collector can give the debtor fifteen questions to answer, which they must answer truthfully or be guilty of perjury (lying under oath). These are called “Interrogatories in Aid of Execution.” This is an easy way to get information about the debtor’s assets and financial Read More…
Common Areas in HOAs
Monday, February 20th, 2012One of the purposes of Homeowner Associations is to keep the common areas looking well-kept. Common areas include pools, parks, etc. The money to take care of these areas comes from the dues that homeowners pay each month. Often when homeowners stop paying their dues, commons areas suffer because of it. There are two types Read More…
Three Types of Arizona HOA Meetings Defined
Friday, September 23rd, 2011This last session the legislature defined three types of meetings: (1) member meetings, (2) board meetings and (3) committee meetings. Member meetings generally include member voting. For example, annual meetings and elections are considered member meetings. A good rule of thumb is that if members are voting on an issue, it is a member meeting. Read More…
Emails: iPandora’s Box
Tuesday, September 20th, 2011QUESTION: Can a homeowner member request emails exchanged between board members and committee members? ANSWER: House Bill 2609 (ARS 33-1804 and ARS 33-1248) was passed into law by the Arizona legislature. The new language leads to questions about whether director to director, director to committee, or director to manager emails are considered association discussions subject Read More…
Annual Meetings and Voting – AZ HOAs
Saturday, September 10th, 2011I was recently asked whether any new laws changed membership meeting voting procedures. For example, one director asked if he could eliminate voting at the annual meeting. He said he thought this was now possible under revisions to ARS 33-1812, which provides that the board may provide for some other form of delivery. Actually, ARS Read More…
Managing Trees to Reduce Monsoon Damage
Thursday, July 21st, 2011The monsoon season in Arizona generally begins in July and lasts into September. During this time, we often experience intense weather events with high winds, dust- and thunderstorms. The high winds that can occur during this time can damage trees, ripping off branches or even blowing them over and uprooting them. Proper tree selection as Read More…
