Category: State Law
TO FILE, OR NOT TO FILE? FOR AN HOA BOARD, THAT MAY NO LONGER BE THE QUESTION
Life used to be fairly simple. In the old days, when a Long Island Homeowners Association (HOA) amended its Declaration or By-Laws, the common practice was for the Board to file a Certificate of Amendment with the County Clerk.
First of all, when an amendment is filed with that office, all owners and subsequent owners of homes in the community will legally be on notice that such amended rules exist and apply to them. Filing amendments with the County Clerk’s Office is also a good way to make sure those documents can be easily located by future generations of board members and homeowners. Finally, the Declaration of most HOAs requires that amendments be recorded in order to be effective.
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New York Smoke Detector Law
On April 1, 2019, a new law went into effect in New York State changing the type of smoke detectors that will be permitted for sale in the State.
Section 399-ccc of the General Business Law prohibits the sale of smoke detectors that are powered solely by a replaceable, removable battery. All new smoke detectors sold in New York will be required either to be hardwired to the home or powered by a non-removable, non-replaceable battery that powers the device for at least ten years.
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Private Mortgage Insurance (“PMI”) FAQ’s
What is PMI?
PMI is a type of mortgage insurance policy that provides compensation by the insurance company to the Lender in the event a borrower defaults on the mortgage. PMI does not protect the borrower from having to pay the mortgage if they are unable to do so. It is an insurance policy only for the Lender and has no benefit to the borrower other than to allow a borrower who would not normally qualify for a mortgage to be approved for a mortgage. Typically, PMI is a monthly amount paid by the borrower with the mortgage payment or a one-time payment made by the borrower at closing. Sometimes, the bank will pay for the one-time payment option, but this is not common.
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New Conflict of Interest Law
The NYS Legislature recently passed a new law, signed by the Governor in September 2017, which purports to impose conflict-of-interest reporting requirements upon condominiums and cooperative housing corporations.
The law requires, first of all, that at least once each year, each “director” of a condominium or co-op board receive a copy of the Related Party Transactions section from the NYS Not-for-Profit Corporation Law (Section 715) or, for a co-op board, a copy of the Interested Directors section from the Business Corporation Law (Section 713). These provisions are similar to each other and prohibit boards from entering into contracts where a conflict of interest exists, unless the conflict has been disclosed by the interested director. Continue reading “New Conflict of Interest Law”
A Community Association Ombudsman in New York
You may have read the recent article in CAI’s Common Ground magazine entitled “Man in the Middle” about community association ombudsmen in Nevada, Florida, Virginia and Colorado.[i]
An ombudsman is defined as “a public official appointed to investigate citizens’ complaints against local or national government agencies that may be infringing on the rights of individuals.”[ii] In the community association context, an ombudsman is frequently called on to help resolve disputes between irate homeowners and community Boards of Directors/Managers. The Common Ground article depicted the mixed reviews that the ombudsman office has received in these four states. Continue reading “A Community Association Ombudsman in New York”
Fairness in Cooperative Home Ownership
The Suffolk County Legislature recently passed a new Local Law entitled “A Local Law Requiring Fairness in Cooperative Home Ownership” that took effect on September 15, 2009 and was later amended, which amendment became effective on November 10, 2009.
A more appropriate name for the law would have been “Fairness in Purchasing a Cooperative Home” since the law deals with the application process. Most significantly, in the event a co-op Board of Directors denies an application to purchase a unit, the law requires the Board to notify the applicant, in writing, of the specific reason for the denial. Continue reading “Fairness in Cooperative Home Ownership”
