Educational Resources

By: Scott Welker Many Utah families have utilized their increased equity from the strong buyer’s market and healthy economy to upscale or downscale their housing situation. All of this movement in the housing industry is expensive for nonprofit homeowners’ associations and requires adequate budgeting and preparation for current and future market fluctuations. According to the […]

By: Scott Welker When an association considers adopting new regulations, they often turn to their declaration (CC&Rs) or bylaws.  Association rules are sometimes overlooked and underutilized. However they can be the most efficient and flexible means for implementing restrictions or procedures.     One of the primary difference between Association Rules and other governing documents is that, […]

By: Scott Welker For a real estate agent, an HOA can add headaches to an already painful transaction.  Your client’s lender has asked you to jump through hoops, the title company is requiring you to do it without the use of your legs, and now the HOA has decided to light the hoops on fire […]

By: Scott Welker A board member in a small, close-knit community recently posed a question to me that I have heard many times in one form or another.  He asked, if a local ordinance already bans an activity the HOA is trying to stop, is there any point to the HOA banning the same activity […]

1.      PRE-LITIGATION/NOTICE REQUIREMENTS. a.      Purchaser Dwelling Actions Act, ARS § 12-1361, et seq., requires pre-lawsuit notice of claim to “seller” entities (which includes contractors), and allows seller an opportunity to make repairs. b.      ARS § 33-2002, requires an association board to make certain disclosures to the members before initiation of a construction defect claim. 2.      […]

By: Travis B. Keenan On January 30, 2020, Representatives Brianna Titone (D – Jefferson County) and Michael Weissman (D – Aurora) introduced House Bill 20-1200 (“Bill”). As described in more detail below, this bill would task Colorado’s Department of Regulatory Agencies (“DORA”) with implementing a dispute resolution and enforcement program (“DREP”).  Through this program, DORA […]

On January 28, 2020 the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) issued new guidelines regarding “certain obligations of housing providers under the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) with respect to [assistance] animals that individuals with disabilities may request as reasonable accommodations.” A copy of the new guidelines may be found at https://www.hud.gov/sites/dfiles/PA/documents/HUDAsstAnimalNC1-28-2020.pdf  The guidelines […]

Utah law provides an excellent starting point to deal with smoking problems in your communities.  In fact, “as a matter of law,” second-hand smoke is a nuisance.  In Utah, if tobacco smoke drifts into a residential unit, the affected homeowner may bring a legal action for nuisance against the offender.  Additionally, the law gives homeowner […]

By: Scott Welker I was recently presented with this scenario from an HOA Board President who was hoping to force some local residents out of his neighborhood: “We have a group of unrelated college students living in a house in our neighborhood.  Our governing documents say that houses in our neighborhood can only be used […]

By: Scott Welker  As the old saying goes, the only things certain in life are death and unnecessary remarks in HOA minutes.  Well, that might not be exactly like the original but, for our purposes, it’s close enough.  When it comes to minutes, less is more. Details of things that are said at a meeting […]