An unbiased, unfiltered guide to 2018 midterm election signs

Getty Images/Alexeys

The 2018 midterm elections are less than two weeks away, which means, of course, campaign signs are popping up like dandelions in yards and along roads.

These signs become a particular pain point for community associations every election season. Without fail, some communities end up on the evening news or in the local newspaper for attempting to enforce their covenants on signs.

We asked James A. Gustino, a community association attorney in Winter Garden, Fla., to provide some guidance on the subject. What should associations do about the signs? This is what he had to say:

Strict enforcement of association sign prohibitions, particularly as they relate to political signs on an owner’s property during the election season, is almost always unwise.

Check your state’s highest court rulings and the specific “freedom of speech” verbiage in your state’s constitution. Most federal and state courts currently don’t protect political signs from association enforcement. However, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued a pair of decisions in 2012 and 2014 protecting political speech. These opinions could influence other state courts considering similar legal issues in the future.

Covenants restricting signs often incorporate exceptions for security, developer, “for sale” and other board-approved signs. Under such circumstances, an association actively enforcing bans against political signs is unnecessarily exposing itself to charges of selective or arbitrary enforcement. When a ban on signs is universal but an association permits residents’ holiday decorations—another kind of speech—it also exposes itself to claims of selective or arbitrary enforcement. This nuance is often overlooked.

Practically speaking, political signs usually are posted for just a few weeks. By the time the typical association cycles through its standard three noncompliance notifications, the signs will likely have been removed.

Lastly, political beliefs and affiliations—like religious beliefs—tend to produce strong feelings that lead to costly and time-consuming litigation. Even if litigation isn’t the end result, is it sensible to pursue actions that invite unnecessary friction?

I recommend that my clients permit political signs but enact reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions. For example:

  • They can only be placed on the property for 45 days prior to an election
  • They must be removed within three days after the election
  • They cannot contain any profanity
  • They must be limited in number
  • They cannot create a sight obstruction or other safety concern.

I also advocate involving community members to help craft the association’s specific restrictions and then prominently posting (via email blasts, special notices on your website and at entry signs) the rules to encourage compliance.

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BiggerPockets Podcast 301: The Incredible Power of Long-Distance BRRRR Investing with Alex Felice

Looking to get started investing but don’t have millions of dollars and notice there’s not a lot of opportunity in your market? Well, this is the episode for you! Today’s guest is a long-distance investor who uses the BRRRR strategy to buy fixer-upper properties in other states, then refinances to use the money to buy more deals!

Alex Felice shares his valuable insights on his criteria for analyzing deals, how he builds his out of state team, and why he’ll never look at a property in person! You won’t want to miss Alex’s strategies for overcoming the fear of investing long distance, as well as his plan for living broke on purpose and how he combines long-distance investing with the BRRRR method to build a portfolio that scales! Alex is a high-energy individual who is passionate about taking action and building the future he wants. Don’t miss your chance to learn from what he’s accomplished, and start making progress building your own portfolio now!

HOAs, BOTs, CC&Rs, and more: Defining community association terms

Today, 70 million Americans live in 344,500 common-interest communities. Even if you haven’t lived in a condo, co-op, or HOA, chances are you’ve at least heard of these communities. Admittedly, those who live in, volunteer in, and work for common-interest communities tend to throw around terms like “ARC,” “CC&Rs,” “D&O” or “CMCA” that make things sound more complicated than they really are. So let’s pull back the curtain on some important terms related to living in and working in community associations.

Types of communities

CA: Community Association

CID: Common-Interest Development

Co-op: Cooperative

Condo: Condominium

HOA: Homeowners Association

PD: Planned Development

POA: Property Owners Association

PUD: Planned Unit Development

TOA: Townhouse Owners Association

Community leadership, governance and operations

ARC: Architectural Review Committee

BOD: Board of Directors

BOT: Board of Trustees

CC&Rs: Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions

D&O: Directors & Officers liability insurance

E&O: Errors & Omissions insurance

RFP: Request for Proposal

SOP: Standard Operating Procedures

General CAI terms

CAI: Community Associations Institute

CAMICB: Community Association Manager International Certification Board, a sister organization to CAI.

FCAR: Foundation for Community Association Research, also a CAI affiliate

CCAL: College of Community Association Lawyers

LAC: Legislative Action Committee

PMDP: Professional Management Development Program

Designations, Certifications, and Accreditations
AAMC: Accredited Association Management Company

AMS: Association Management Specialist

CIRMS: Community Insurance & Risk Management Specialist

CMCA: Certified Manager of Community Associations

LSM: Large-Scale Manager

PCAM: Professional Community Association Manager

RS: Reserve Specialist

Whatever the acronym, all community associations—CA, condo, HOA, POA, TOA, etc.—share a few essential goals: preserving the nature and character of the community, providing services and amenities to residents, protecting property values and meeting the established expectations of owners.

Stumped by other acronyms or industry terms? Ask a question in the comments below.

The post HOAs, BOTs, CC&Rs, and more: Defining community association terms appeared first on Ungated: Community Associations Institute Blog.

BiggerPockets Podcast 300: How to Invest in Real Estate—The Ultimate Show for Getting Started with Josh Dorkin, Brandon Turner, and 11 Rockstar Investors

What is the best way to get started investing in real estate? The problem with this question is that there are SO many different pieces of advice. That’s why we’re excited to bring you one of the most unique episodes of the BiggerPockets Podcast we’ve ever had. In this episode, Josh Dorkin is back—and he and Brandon deliver a series of interviews with some of the past guests from the BiggerPockets Podcast, including David Greene, Kenyon Meadows, Andrew Cushman, Arianne Lemire, Darren Sager, Ryan Murdock, Tim Shiner, Anson Young, Zeona McIntyre, and Ben Leybovich.

What do community associations look like in China?

Shanghai urban skyline, China

Picture this: A place where community associations aren’t legally able to have their own bank accounts, property management companies can retain ownership of common areas and rent them out without homeowners’ consent, and developers interfere with board elections because they are opposed to the formation of community associations. While this might seem improbable, situations like these occur frequently in China.

In the U.S., the community association housing model has become commonplace. According to the latest figures from the Foundation for Community Association Research, there are roughly 344,500 common-interest communities across the country. CAI has chapters throughout the world, including Canada, the Middle East, and South Africa, and relationships with housing officials in Australia, Spain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom. But how prevalent are community associations elsewhere in the world?

They’re a recent development in China, emerging shortly after housing reforms in the 1990s. Previously, urban housing was mainly provided by danwei, or place of employment. Danwei were organized by occupation and were both a physical space where people lived and a system whereby the government could regulate residents’ decisions and actions. With economic and political reform, this system largely became obsolete, leading to significant housing changes.

In response to property rights violations by developers and property management companies, community associations began to emerge. Developers have been faulted for failing to give homeowners their deeds and using them as collateral for loans, understating the area of the home, or not providing promised amenities. Unlike in the U.S., where community associations are usually formed by developers and membership occurs upon purchase of a home, associations in China are a grassroots effort spearheaded by residents to preserve their rights.

From a cultural and political perspective, community associations are novel in the single-party authoritarian regime that is the People’s Republic of China. In a 2008 dissertation by Feng Wang, at the time a Doctorate of Philosophy candidate at the University of Southern California, local governments often looked down upon associations as “an unstable social force that interrupts the establishment of a harmonious society.”

In China, a community association needs to form a preparatory group before it can officially establish—a difficult process. Residents need a representative from their developer and management company. Without their participation, local governments easily strike down the burgeoning association. The group also must meet a voting threshold for approval, and appeal to the management company or developer for a list of residents’ names and contact information to generate participation. Causing further complications, the initial vote is determined by property percentage. This gives developers an opportunity to vote to block its formation if they still own unsold units.

Despite the difficulty in forming and managing community associations, some have achieved commendable success in the country. In 1998 (before some important reforms), residents in one housing complex in China staged a coup and successfully disbanded their HOA after discovering that their management company had falsified a neighborhood mandate giving them permission to form the group. New leadership was voted in, and an HOA with community approved leadership was formed. The group was even able to successfully negotiate lower fees with the management company.

The residential conflict commonly reported in the media in community associations across the U.S. seems trivial compared to the conflict between developers, property managers, and homeowners in China. One might even wonder at the seeming lack of internal disputes among Chinese residents. In fact, according to a survey conducted by Wang, 92 percent of homeowners rate conflict among themselves as a serious issue, but only 25 percent of community associations focus efforts on addressing these issues. It is precisely because of the focus on exterior challenges, rather than internal conflict, that many community associations in China have flourished despite an unfavorable environment.

Through transparency, inclusion, and mobilization of homeowners in China, associations have made huge gains for the rights of residents. Whether in China or the U.S., community associations cannot lose sight of their goals: to elevate residents’ standard of living and protect property values.

Read more about homeowners association in China in the following:

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BiggerPockets Podcast 299.5: 4 No (& Low) Money Down Investing Techniques with Brandon Turner and David Greene

Would you like to invest in real estate but lack the capital? In this powerful episode of The BiggerPockets Podcast, Brandon and David dive deep into the topic to cover four unique strategies for building a real estate empire using other people’s money. In addition, you’ll learn why creative finance is SO important (even for experienced investors,) why equity is far more important than a down payment, and how to combine multiple strategies into one magnificent deal!

This is an episode where you may learn more about real estate investing than you have in the last year, so don’t miss your chance for a content packed, highly valuable episode with Brandon and David sharing the tips THEY’VE USED to build real estate wealth themselves!

27 million reasons why a condo would ‘deconvert’

 Lake Michigan from the North Shore, Chicago

In a deal worth $27 million, Edgewater Beach condominium owners in Chicago plan to sell their lakefront building to Greenstone Property Group, a New York- based real estate investor that will convert its 188 units to apartments.

Almost 80 percent of unit owners accepted the offer in a vote over the summer. Under Illinois law, bulk con- dominium sales must be approved by 75 percent of unit owners. The sale is expected to close this year.

“I think owners were beginning to realize that if we don’t sell, we will be required to raise several special assessments to fund crucial deferred maintenance issues, many of which are not prepared for,” says Shawn Swift, president of the Surfside Condominiums board. “We felt it was important that all owners have the choice to decide the building’s fate collectively, rather than a board of directors’ decision to move forward with $3–$4 million in special assessments over the next two years.”

Owners will receive approximately 40–50 percent more on average for their units than if they were to sell on their own, explains Swift, and without the worry of paying hefty assessments in the future.

“We have also negotiated favorable leaseback terms for any owners who wish to stay in their units post-closing,” Swift adds. “The buyer will honor any cur- rent leases in place between an owner and their tenant. About half the building is currently being rented.”

The sale will be one of the largest condominium-to- apartment conversions—also known as deconversions—in the city’s history, according to the Chicago Tribune.

“Condominium deconversions became popular a few years ago because of the increased rental rates in Chicago,” says Patrick T. Costello, a shareholder at Keay & Costello law firm and a legislative liaison to CAI’s Illinois Chapter Legislative Action Committee.

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