Assessments

Deferred Maintenance At Forefront With Revisions To Lender Questionnaires: How The Secondary Mortgage Market Is Responding To Surfside Tragedy

Deferred Maintenance At Forefront With Revisions To Lender Questionnaires: How The Secondary Mortgage Market Is Responding To Surfside Tragedy

On October 13, 2021, the Federal National Mortgage Association issued Lender Letter to take effect January 1, 2022. This Lender Letter temporarily revises the eligibility requirements for lenders issuing loans that may be purchased by Fannie Mae for properties located in condominiums containing five or more attached units.

5 Things Every Board Member Must Know for Effective Long-Term Planning: A Guide to Proactive Decision Making for Your Community Association

5 Things Every Board Member Must Know for Effective Long-Term Planning: A Guide to Proactive Decision Making for Your Community Association

Long-term planning is one of the primary duties an individual undertakes when seated on the board of directors for a community association. There is a constant balance that must be found between a desire to keep assessment levels steady (and low) and ensuring that the items which the association is responsible for repairing, replacing and maintaining are properly handled in the short and long-term.

Can you Foreclose on Just Unpaid Fines? How a Recent Decision from the Michigan Court of Appeals May Impact a Condominium Association’s Ability to Collect Unpaid Fines

Can you Foreclose on Just Unpaid Fines? How a Recent Decision from the Michigan Court of Appeals May Impact a Condominium Association’s Ability to Collect Unpaid Fines

In a unanimous but problematic decision issued on February 25, 2021 in Channel View East Condominium Association, Inc. v Ferguson (Docket No. 351888), a panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals held that a condominium association did not have authority to...

What Every Board Member Should Consider to Reduce Assessments

What Every Board Member Should Consider to Reduce Assessments

A condominium association’s board of directors has a seemingly endless list of responsibilities, but one of the most important – at least in terms of its impact on the membership – is the adoption of an annual budget. In simple terms, adopting a budget requires the...

Rules Your Community Association Should Consider Adopting

Rules Your Community Association Should Consider Adopting

Does our Board have rulemaking authority? In Michigan, a condominium association Board has the implicit authority to enact reasonable rules and regulations regarding the condominium. Generally speaking, this authority is quite broad and unless otherwise specified in...

Two Condominium Bylaw Provisions That Every Board Should Review to Ensure that Assessments are not Unnecessarily Depleted

Two Condominium Bylaw Provisions That Every Board Should Review to Ensure that Assessments are not Unnecessarily Depleted

Assessments are the means by which all associations operate, and assessments provide the necessary income to maintain and enhance a community's assets to protect and maximize unit values. When assessment levels get too high, the very assessments that are essential to...