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Monday, January 31, 2011

CIC2.0 Open.gov has to come to Condo, Coop & Hoa's

Wow what a giant dark hole we are prying the lid open on when we come to think of Open Gov as it relates to Common Interest Communities (CIC).   This is so far removed from the minds of those enabling, - NO! MANDATING- it that in some US States you don't even have to be told that your home is a combined assets of a nonstock company.  And, as the CIC goes~So does your home.

Eample! Right now in the shadow of Congress and every Agency that is espousing OPEN.data.Gov/.Org new home owners  moving into a Single Family or Townhouse Homeowners Associations (HOA) arn't told about the rules or the finances of the HOA.   That means the biggest financial decision these folks will face in most of their lives~ they will have no information about the investment it rules, finances or even it's existence.   How can our GOV makes disclosure of these things for securities and does not for the homeowner in an associations. How can the Federal Gov back loans in areas that don't offer this basic disclosure to the majority of new home buyers.

Because of this oversight or lack of it the management companies & boards operate in the dark to the membership.  There is no enacted law to ensure this does not happen. Yet there is a uniform law that is being used in VA and partially in MD that would help in the dark homeowners. BTW we can see by resales states that have done so fair better.   I have been to more then one reboot of a HOA after they found the management company or someone with access to the funds stole their money.  It just makes sense a concepts like a Disclosure law;  Yet afters years of seeking one none exist.

In Maryland we get to see the downfall of not enacting the financial disclosure requirements that States like Virginia and Washington  along with the Bylaw, Covenants, rules and regulations (aka CondoHOA Docs) who require financial disclosure for resales in Single Family & Townhouse HOA's.  In Maryland resale buyers when buying their home face a decision about a company/community and they don't get any details in the form of a balance sheet, audited statement or any financial disclosure for that matter . What does the homeowner  have to do to get one leader to step up to the plate this makes no sense.

I am sorry to say that until there is some leadership on the National or State level communities themselves are going to be two steps behind.  However, communities can jump  ahead by making  records available to your members/owners any Gov or Emergency responder that need access to data/info on the cloud.  



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