Last year’s Legislative Day was a huge success.  You can read about the meetings, the remarks from guest speaker Senator Mark DeSaulnier and see pictures from the day on our blog.

Download the form below and send to CAI-CLAC.

CLAC-2012-Leg-Day-Invite

Last year, several members ere even able to present an award for Legislator of the Year to Assemblymember Norma Torres:

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This is your opportunity to be part of the most important event of the year for CAI-CLAC members.

Below is a PDF, with information on how to participate as a sponsor. Join us and help us bring together a winning event on April 15 and 16, 2012 in Sacramento!

Following is a complete list of the evening’s award recipients:

•  Rising Star Award – Tiffani Reynolds, Rodent Pest Technologies
• Magazine Article of the Year – Jan Hickenbottom, First Bank Association Services
• Community Outreach of the Year – Walters Management
• Committee of the Year – Business Partner (Renegade) Committee chaired by Tiffani Reynolds, Rodent Pest Technologies and Greg Borzilleri, PCW Contracting Services
• Committee Chair of the Year – Deborah Maglasang, CMCA, CCAM, Euclid Management
• Legislative Action Support Award – Voit Management
• Industry Innovation – Environmental-Concepts Landscape Management, Inc.
• Community of the Year – Sunnymead Ranch PCA, Avalon Management Group
• Business Partner of the Year – Rodent Pest Technologies
• Manager of the Year – Kristie Rose, CCAM, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, MERIT Property Management
• Hall of Fame – Sherry Neal, PCAM, CCAM, Walters Management
• President’s Award – Lana Hamadej, Avalon Management Group

ASSESSMENT COLLECTIONS:

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN THE BANK HAS FORECLOSED?

 Associations rely on assessments. In most cases, they are an Association’s only source of revenue. Yet the lack of equity in homes restricts an Association’s ability to recover unpaid assessments. Often, an Association can expect to receive payments only after the lender has foreclosed and taken title. Only then is an owner in place with the financial resources to pay.

 But how does an Association know when title has transferred to the lender? Senate Bill 1511, which became law January 1, 2009 (and is now a part of the California Civil Code at Section 2924b(f)) allows Associations to receive notice when the bank takes over. Under this law, an Association may record a notice, requiring that a lender mail a copy of any trustee’s deed upon sale involving a unit or lot in the Association.

The notice must contain three things:

            1. There must be a legal description, or the assessor’s parcel number, of all separate interests in the project. This may be complicated in large Associations, but  would only need to be done once. Moreover, the information will be useful in other contexts.

            2. The notice must include the name and address of the Association. Of course, this will be the address of the managing agent, if there is one.

            3. The notice must also include a statement that the Association is an Association created for the purpose of managing a common interest development, as defined in Civil Code Section 1351(a) (part of the Davis-Stirling Act).

 The request will not be effective as to any property currently in default; Associations must record their requests before a notice of default is filed.

After it records its request, the Association will receive a copy of any trustee’s deed on sale, reflecting a transfer to a lender, within 15 days of the date the deed is recorded. After that, the Association will know where to send the assessment bills.

 When the law was first enacted, some County Recorders required Associations to file a separate notice for each separate interest, based on their interpretation of the statute.  This made the procedure impractical for all but the smallest Associations.  To remedy this, CAI-CLAC sponsored clarifying legislation, AB 2016, which allowed Associations to record just one notice, for all lots or units in the project.   AB 2016 became law January 1, 2011.

The law does not solve all problems arising out of foreclosures. Often, banks don’t take title to property, and leave the defaulting homeowner on title. However, SB 1511 is a useful tool, and provides a relatively simple way to solve one assessment collection problem.

Kimberly Lilley, CAI-CLAC PR Chair

How did you first get involved with CAI-CLAC and when was it?

I first got involved with the California Legislative Action Committee by participating in the local legislative support roundtable in San Diego.  The immediate needs of the roundtable were in the fundraising field, and I had experience in putting on events, so I put together proposals for the committee about how to develop a fundraiser.  At the end of 2008 I was named as Chair of the roundtable and was appointed as a Delegate to the state-wide committee.  At the end of 2009 I was elected to the executive committee of CLAC as secretary.

What’s the most important goal for you in your new role as PR Chair?

Improved communication is the most important goal I have for this year as PR Chair.  Our communication avenues are threefold:  1) communication with the Delegates and Liaisons about their roles and responsibilities with CLAC, 2) communication with the CAI membership-at-large regarding the legislative process and how they can be involved; and 3) communication with non-members of CAI about what the California Legislative Action Committee does for them with regards to advocacy for the community association industry.

How would you like to work with CAI-CLAC members this year?

As the “spokespersons” for each chapter, the Liaisons and I will probably work the closest together this year.  We will be working on clarifying the message that we give to our membership about legislation and CAI-CLAC events by using announcements at Chapter events, the California Legislative Action Committee blog (ed note:  Right here!), newsletter articles for HOA newsletters, Facebook, Twitter and e-mail through CLAC-TRAC.

What are the biggest challenges facing CAI-CLAC members this year?

Our challenges this year as California Legislative Action Committee members are mainly going to be from legislation:   SB 561 could potentially change how associations do business regarding collection procedures, the fix to SB 209 needs to be ironed out regarding the “taking” of property, and there is the massive recodification of the Davis-Stirling Act that will certainly make use of the new-and-improved communication skills our committee is working on developing!  The 2011-2012 legislative year holds some possibly major changes, and we need to be ready to rally the troops and make a difference.

You’re a member of several CAI chapters.  Tell us a bit about them.

I am the Director of Marketing for Berg Insurance Agency, which has been around for 38 years and was one of the first insurance companies to specialize in the community association industry.  As such we joined Community Associations Institute many years ago with Orange County as our “home” Chapter.  I currently chair the PR-Membership Committee in Orange County, and my boss, Michael Berg, co-chairs the Education Committee and has been elected to their Board of Directors in 2012.  Both Michael and I have won the Outstanding Service Award (2009 and 2010 respectively) for the Orange County chapter and I was also given the Committee Member of the Year award in 2008.

We then joined the San Diego, Greater Inland Empire and Greater Los Angeles chapters.  Members of our company have served on the Magazine, Education, Membership and Legislative Support committees in San Diego, the Education, Monte Carlo, Bowling and Awards committees in the Greater Inland Empire and the Education committee in the Greater Los Angeles chapter.  We have been honored with the Rising Star, President’s, Committee Chair and Committee Member of the Year awards in the Greater Inland Empire and the Committee Chair and Member of the Year awards in San Diego.

As our business grew in the Bay Area, we joined the Bay Area and Central California chapter of CAI to support the industry and education in that area.

We strongly support the messages of education and advocacy that CAI promotes, and do what we can to continue providing those things to community associations throughout California.

California Well Represented at Foundation for Community Association Research Planning Session

CAI California North Chapter members Bob Browning (RS) and CLAC Lobbyist Skip Daum just participated in a two day planning session for the Foundation for Community Association Research (FCAR).  The Research Foundation is comprised of numerous individuals from around the nation who are experts in their respective fields in service to associations, as well as homeowner members.

Bob is the President of Browning Reserve Group and he Chairs the FCAR Research Committee which will recommend the issues for research.  Skip is a member of that committee, was recently selected to serve as an FCAR Board Director, and has been CAI-CLAC’s Legislative Advocate since 1994.

Carole Murphy (CMCA, PCAM) is President of the FCAR, and member of the CAI Bay Area and Central California Chapter.  She is the founder and former owner of M & C Association Management Services, Inc. in Stockton and is Associa‘s Director of Product Support.

About the Speakers:

Erica Brynes, Esq.

Associate Erica Brynes joined the firm in 2006. Ms. Brynes represents homeowners associations in all aspects of their day-to-day operations, including governing document analysis, interpretation, revision and enforcement, management of commercial relationships with vendors, and representation of homeowners associations in member disputes and litigation.

Amy Tinetti, Esq.
Amy Tinetti joined the firm in 2007. Since 2004, she has been representing homeowners associations in all aspects of their day-to-day operations, including governing document analysis, interpretation, revision and enforcement, elections, real property and title issues, planning and collection of large special assessments, analyzing and drafting agreements with vendors, and member disputes and litigation.

Ms. Tinetti is a member of the Community Associations Institute and currently serves as the Vice President of the Bay Area and Central California Chapter. Ms. Tinetti is a frequent speaker for trade organizations and community association on a variety of topics pertinent to Board members, community managers, and members of common interest developments.

Complimentary parking at the Pleasanton Marriott. You will definitely not want to miss this presentation. Register today!

WHEN Friday, November 18, 201111:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Pacific Time

WHERE Pleasanton Marriott
11950 Dublin Canyon Road, Pleasanton, CA 94588

FEE
CAI – Member Registration
CAI – Member Registration $45.00 for a limited time ($55.00 original price)

Non-Member Registration
Non-Member Registration $55.00 for a limited time ($65.00 original price)

Event Sponsorship – Member
Event Sponsorship $300.00

Event Sponsorship – Non-Member
Sponsor Table $400.00

Program sponsors include Black Diamond Paving and Sky Security Services.

CAI Cautions FHA on Transfer Fees, Calls for Waiver
As part of a series of training sessions on the revised, Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) condominium mortgage guidelines, FHA informally announced that it would be issuing new regulatory guidance to address the issue of deed-based transfer fees. FHA indicated that it would likely disqualify any condominium association with deed-based transfer fees from access to FHA-insured mortgages.

This news comes as condominium associations across America are still reeling from the July 2011 FHA Guidance which imposed new and confusing underwriting guidelines that conflict with condominium business practices, state law and common sense. In response to this sudden announcement by FHA, CAI has dispatched a letter warning FHA of the dire consequences to the condominium market if it follows through on its announcement.
In our letter, CAI noted that the issue of deed-based transfer fees had already been addressed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). FHFA determined, based on the feedback from thousands of stakeholders through a public comment process, that deed-based transfer fees levied by community associations, called community transfer fees, add value to the properties upon which they are charged and have been an important funding mechanism for communities for more than 40 years. CAI expressed concern that unilateral action by FHA would cut off close to half of all condominium associations from FHA-backed mortgages. Worse, FHA would be taking action contrary to other federal agencies who, unlike FHA, researched the impact of such fees and determined they were beneficial to home owners and condominium associations. CAI noted that FHA should engage in due diligence before taking any action. We’ve linked to CAI’s letter Ms. Carol Galante, Acting Assistant Secretary for Housing – Federal Housing Commissioner.

Glennon Gray honored for dedication service receiving award from Jill Van Zeebroeck

Glennon Gray, PCAM, President of Euclid Management in Upland, CA, was honored on Friday for his dedication and service to the industry while working with CAIs California Legislative Action Committee advocates on Assembly Bill 771.  AB 771 was recently signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown and will become effective on January 1, 2012.

When initially introduced, AB 771 shook the community association industry, as it would have severely limited a management company’s ability to charge the appropriate parties for the services they were providing.  Glennon worked hard to help the sponsor and author of AB 771 understand the true ramifications of the bill, and helped it to become what it is today: an additional disclosure requirement that provides greater transparency for members of common interest developments (community associations).

It is members like Glennon, who is a member of the CAI – Greater Inland Empire Chapter, who help to keep the community association industry functioning smoothly with his dedication to education and responsible legislation, and the California Legislative Action Committee was honored to have the opportunity to recognize his generous contributions to our industry.

 (Image from Library of Congress)

Join CAI-GRIE for a Billiards Tournament on October 14, 2011 at Stix in Rancho Cucamonga.  You can register online for the Billiards Tournament, or as a sponsor, until 3 pm on October 11.

Sponsors include:

Game Ball Sponsor
Rodent Pest Technologies

Table Sponsors
Andre Landscape
Animal Pest Management Services, Inc.
MC Painting & Construction
California West Patrol
Nelson Paving/Goldstar Asphalt
New Way Landscape & Tree Services, Inc.
Pacific Western Bank
The Termite Guy