How would you like to get a fine for a hot chocolate stain on your driveway? How about if you own a vintage Harley Davidson and just found out you can bring it on the grounds of your new condo? What about if your new fiance has a great truck but you just found out he cannot park it inside the HOA gates while he visits you because open bed trucks are not allowed to be in side the gates?

What is you found yourself behind on your HOA fee and the HOA turned off your water because of their interpretation of a law?

What if HOA boards have so many negative actions the local news station creates an HOA Hall of Shame?

We are not exactly there right now in Sacramento but you never know.

Here are a few great links to HOA resource sites or even homeowner sites that highlight some of the abuses or crazy HOA rules and enforcements in Nevada to give you an idea of things that could happen:

Nevada Homeowner Association Watch

http://nevada.ahrc.com/

Nevada Homeowner Association Issues

http://www.nevadahomeowners.org/

How about this Fox News article on a Nevada senator who received a fine from her HOA for a hot chocolate stain on her driveway?

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/02/22/homeowners-fed-excessive-fines-homeowners-associations/

One of my favorites, The HOA Advocate:

http://www.hoa1234.com/

HOAs can be a selling point in communities BUT the wrong HOA board members can also be a bad selling point and a reason some complexes are not selling. Passing measures like No Investors or rental restrictions are preventing some complexes from becoming healthy in their reserves and getting units occupied. Be wary of who is guarding the hen house when it comes to HOAs

1. Rental restrictions
Many people purchase condos in hopes that they can rent them out later when they move up and keep it as an investment property. Many complexes now have rental restrictions or prevent rentals from the beginning. This can be an issue also in a negative equity market where it creates only an option to sell their units versus renting them out.

2. Vehicle restrictions
Yes an HOA can restrict which type of vehicles are allowed in the complex. There is one complex that will not allow motorcycles or open bed trucks (and it includes a truck with a camper shell).

3. Pet restrictions
If you have a large dog this would be the #1 question I would ask about when thinking of buying in an HOA.

4. Age restrictions
In retirement complexes which have age restrictions, there can be limits placed on extended visits or having someone live with you under the complexes age limit usually somewhere are 65, it is always important to ask about these questions well before you close an escrow in this type of an HOA.

SacramentoCondos.com is here for your condominium information in the Sacramento region and always welcomes your comments and feedback and even recaps of your experiences in your condo or complex as others may find this helpful. Feel free to emailus at info@SacramentoCondos.com

A. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have new rules that apply to anyone who is buying a condominium. It requires additional coverage over what associations commonly provide.

The insurance agent looks to the CC&Rs for guidance as that tells what coverage the association will provide. This is not always true but commonly the insurance policy may just cover the exterior structural components, walls and roof. This is “bare walls” coverage. In the event of a total loss of your home due to fire, the association’s policy would rebuild the structure but leave you with an empty shell.
It would be up to you to pay for the plumbing fixtures, all the cabinets, interior doors, kitchen appliances, furnace, light fixtures, wall coverings, and carpet or wood or stone flooring, and everything in the bathrooms.

In addition, there may have been improvements beyond what the developer provided when your unit was built. These are known as “improvements and betterments” that are additions, remodel improvements and other things that people have done to their units to make them nicer.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have finally realized this gap in coverage and have moved to close it. The new requirement is that if the HOA’s master policy doesn’t provide sufficient coverage, the borrower must provide what is known as an HO-6 policy.

That’s OK because you would want that coverage too. Note that there are two levels of coverage. The first would just include rebuilding to “original specifications,” that is the way the builder built it. Coverage for the “improvements and betterments” has to be included too.
Here’s the stupid part. Fannie and Freddie require coverage equal to 20% of the appraised value of the home. It should have been written to include 20% of the value of the above-ground improvements. You have to pay for insuring 20% of the value of the land that is included in the total appraised value. Even worse, the cost of adding interior structure coverage to your personal property policy is very expensive, as you found out.

The best solution is almost surely to have the HOA increase its coverage to meet the new requirement. That will likely require a change to your CC&Rs, something you cannot initiate until you are an owner. In the meantime, they gave you the CC&Rs so see what it says. Then get your HOA’s master insurance policy and find out exactly what it covers. It will probably not be spelled out so you will probably have to call the HOA’s insurance agent to find out the specific coverage.
Then sit down with your insurance agent to make sure your personal property assures that you are adequately insured and that you meet this new requirement.

“Every time Mary Baker tries to take her cat out, there’s drama.

“This is impossible,” said Baker, as her leashed cat runs inside through a dog door. “She’s crying too.”

Despite her cat’s typical defiant behavior, a leash is a requirement at her condo — strange as it may seem to some.

“Cannot be outside without a leash,” said Mary.

“They wanted us to put the cat on the leash, and that’s what I’m thinking you gotta be kidding me,” said Tom Tiedje, Mary’s Landlord.

This week the condo association in this Stockton community listened to several complaints about stray dogs and cats. They decided Baker’s cat must obey the same rules as dogs.

“I’m frustrated because she’s a cat a cat, come on. She’s gonna do what she wants,” said Mary.

Baker says the doggie door is the problem. Her cat, Nefer, follows her dog outside.

“Her and the dog chase each other out here. They play,” said Mary.

Some may see this fight as catty human behavior, but neighbors are fed up with Nefer’s constant visits to the community’s open space, and stepping in droppings is no fun, so putting the cat on the leash doesn’t seem so ridiculous.

“If it bothered everyone around me and aggravated all my neighbors, I’d probably do it or I’d get rid of the damn cat,” said Doug Durham, a neighbor.

“They wanna come out and not have to worry about stepping in leftovers, but I think a cat on a leash idea is impractical. It goes against nature,” said Tom.

The condo rules and regulations contract says dogs must not be on a leash, but there’s no mention anywhere in the guidelines about cats.

A condo association representative says the association is in the process of trapping all stray dogs and cats. They also say the leash rule applies to both dogs and cats.