Insurance news and information

Community association boards often waver between doing what’s expected of the community per the bylaws and what’s right to do. Case in point – pets. Many communities prohibit pets for obvious reasons: the noise, the smell, the additional stress on the lawns and property, etc. But holding a strict line could land your association in legal hot water.

 That’s because some homeowners require the use of service animals. Seeing-eye dogs are the obvious exception to your board’s rules. And the exception should be made, because to deny a disabled person the right to animal assistance is in direct violation of federal and state disability legislation. But some pet owners are going to great lengths to claim disabilities in order to keep pets that wouldn’t otherwise fall under the definition of a service animal.  What about a service monkey to assist the disabled, or a guide horse for the blind?   It’s an area of the law that lacks clear definition, and while the Department of Justice has a proposal pending that would exclude exotic animals (such as snakes or other wild animals, there’s no clear legal precedent to follow.

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It’s no secret that foreclosures are crippling the condominium industry. Record numbers of unit owners are in or dangerously close to foreclosure. Many condo associations are struggling to keep occupancy levels up and wondering how to deal with so many vacant units at once. And amid this foreclosure crisis comes yet another – condo owners are delinquent on their condo fees. In some cases, the delinquencies total in the hundreds of thousands.

 Such is the case for one Florida-based condo association, whose association board announced recently that its residents are delinquent to the tune of $675,000. That figure represents half of the West Palm Beach-based Palm Beach Grande association’s resident population. With 106 of its 304 units facing or in foreclosure, it’s a crisis situation for the condo association. Read more…

Be careful what you wish for. That’s the hard lesson learned by one Pittsburgh-area condo association board. The board fought for, and won, independence from the local township when it came to roadwork and maintenance. The condo association won its private-road status from the township.

However, privacy can be pricey. The condo association board now faces a costly final project phase – a storm water system – and they’ve gone back to the township, hats in hand, looking for some help. Help, it appears, isn’t forthcoming. Moreover, the project plans were expected to follow township regulations involving setbacks and structure placement. On closer look, the township and the condo association members realized compliance was rather spotty.

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If your condo association has bylaws in place that restrict the community members to a certain age group – say over 55 only – you’d enforce that, right?

 One condo association in Florida is doing just that. Yet the media furor and outrage from surrounding communities is enough to cripple business as usual for the group. The bylaws for the over-55 community are clear: no one under 55. Yet tell that to Kimberly Broffman, whose grandparents were awarded custody when Kimberly’s mother was deemed unfit to care for the little girl.

 It’s a no-win situation. The grandparents are in violation of the rules of the condo association. Residents want the girl out.

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It’s tough being the Grinch.

A Florida-based condo association upset its residents recently by barring a Jewish-specific religious display on condo property. The condo association members were clear – no temporary alterations to condo’s common property, including a Sukkah, a hut used by the Jewish faith to celebrate Sukkot, an eight-day celebration in which the faithful eat their meals in a temporary hut. The condo association attorney stated that to let one resident put up a religious display on common property would mean the association would have to allow all residents the same permission. Read more…