By David Swedelson, Senior Partner, SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorneys In the last year, prices for detached single-family dwellings have skyrocketed in Los Angeles. “A single-family house with a backyard is . . . a luxury,” mourned a 34-year-old financial analyst. No wonder “Southland Buyers Shift to Condos,” as an article…
MEMORANDUM Confidential Attorney Client Privileged Communication/Not For Distribution From: SwedelsonGottlieb, Association Legal Counsel To: Happy Holidays Homeowners Association Re: 2013 Holiday Party Legal Issues We are reporting our preliminary findings following the events that unfolded at the Association’s mandatory Holiday Party last week. We report the following pending matters…
Sandra Gottlieb will appear as a co-presenter on the CAI-GLAC’s luncheon program, Trends Update: Hoarders, Board Member Hostility and Controlling Rental Tenants on Wednesday, January 15 at 11:30 a.m. at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Topics include: Hoarders: how long can you ignore them? Hostile Board Members: how…
By Robert Nordlund, Association Reserves and David Swedelson, SwedelsonGottlieb The body of statutory law (as opposed to case law) governing California Community Associations, known as the Davis-Stirling Common Interest Development Act, went into effect on January 1, 1986. As the industry developed and matured over the last 27 years, approximately…
By David Swedelson, Senior Partner, SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorneys San Rafael, a city just north of San Francisco, recently made active a smoking ban which prohibits smoking cigarettes inside any dwelling that shares a wall with another unit and this would include condominiums. It is considered the strictest smoking ban…
By David Swedelson, Attorney, Partner at SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorney/Writer/Blogger How clear is your writing? Do you spend time editing to make sure that your message is clear and concise? Are your communications rambling? Sometimes community association managers or board members think that writing in legalese will impress their attorneys.…
By SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorneys At some point, just about every community association will have a delinquent owner who files for bankruptcy. And while a bankruptcy filing is often interpreted as meaning that the debt has become uncollectable, it does not necessarily mean the end of the road for creditors, especially…
By David Swedelson, Condo Lawyer, HOA Attorney, Partner at SwedelsonGottlieb, and Dog/Pet Lover According to an article in the Tuesday, November 5, 2013 edition of the Los Angeles Times (follow this link for the article), Orange County supervisors are debating a proposal to create a website showing where every dangerous…
By SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorneys As you likely know, there are different types of bankruptcies that an individual can file. Typically, we see delinquent owners file either a Chapter 13 bankruptcy seeking to readjust their debts, or a Chapter 7 bankruptcy where the owner is seeking to liquidate their assets and…
By David Swedelson and Sandra Gottlieb, Senior Partners at SwedelsonGottlieb, Community Association Attorneys We are often asked if a condo or homeowners association is required to obtain FHA certification. And unless the CC&Rs make such a requirement (most do not), we generally respond with a resounding “NO!” But what has…