Prince George's County, Md. Water Emergency Alert for CIC's

If you have not already heard Prince George County Maryland is facing a water emergency.

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. (WUSA9) -- We have learned mandatory water restrictions will begin at 9 p.m. Tuesday in Prince George's County areas affected by a failing water main.

Officials say a significant portion of Prince George's County will be left without water for several days. The issue is due to a 54 inch water main that is beginning to fail and must be replaced.

 Issues of concern will be updated here as this develops.

1. Fire, there are loads of issues on this alone and should be number one concern see below.
2. Cooling stations where are they and how can CIC establish them.
3. Cooking how to without water and eventual food distribution
4. Emergency Preparedness what are other issues especially with elder or disabled residents
5. Businesses what is the impact, does lack of water stop CIC’s contractors from working
6. What is the role and responsibility of Community Managers and Insurance companies. co
   
   

   
   

   1. Fire.  Hot water heaters - LIMIT USE OF THIS WATER AS DAMAGE TO THE HEATER AND POTENTIAL FIRE HAZARD EXIST. Gas or Charcoal Grills outside should not be used at all. Residents and Community Manager need to discuss a Fire Safety Plan and how to manage communications.

   
   

   
   

   This is a developing story please check back for updates as they are come in. 
   
   
   
   
   
   

Attn Condo & HOA's managed by Columbia property manager Legacy Investment closes its doors

Something we started hearing about Monday night is now making it's way into the media and we believe there's a huge pile of rot that will be uncovered once investigators are able to dig into this situation.

According to Legacy’s website, which has been removed, the company launched in 2006 and managed more than 100 homeowner associations, 100 housing units and vacation properties. Baltimore Biz Journel 

This number 100 homeowner associations is the one that caught our eye.  If you think about the size and scope of this disaster with just the bank accounts alone the State of Maryland, these Common Interest Communities CIC, their members, banks and insurance companies are going to need a lot of help to sort this whole thing out.

The 1st thing we can say to CIC involved is to contact your Insurance underwriter.  As well we recommend that you contact the State of Maryland, (coming soon)

Please check back to see updates on this developing situation.

There is no reason that your community should be on Social Media ~Right?

Since part of our chairman's Nelson Jacobsen, background involves a life time in emergency management and a new area called CrisisData he has been at the forefront of the social media citizen movement.

Specifically, This tread of using social media to communicate during a disaster is changing the whole world of emergency management.  Recently Nelson was part of a team of volunteers that assisted at the National Emergency Managers Association special workshop called SMEMCamp



This event allowed emergency managers "EM" to have access to social media practitioners who shared their experiences and knowledge in social media to help the EMs understand something that is completely overtaking their world.

More important to understand is that social media is 100 percent cloud based and this is really the forest behind the trees of twitter, facebook etc.  So yes what is popular is going to change and board's will have to learn to use new communications technology or skills and there is nothing else to do~  save to adapt.  

It should not be lost on boards and managers of Common Interest Communities that they need to adopt a social media strategy!  Not only because most of their members are already there; we know from recently disasters that citizens are going to turn to social media to communicate during them.

We have to wonder if the property management company in Georgetown, DC been on twitter would they would have seen the alerts that the DC government has posted. We saw them and changed our plans for the day.  They didn't and the outcome is a disaster

When your on social media it is interlinked and your emergency managers and national defense use these open system to look for what we call noise on the wire.

• For more information about CrisisData visit here. 
• To establish your community Twitter visit here

If you do one thing after reading this! We would advise that each CIC establish a twitter feed not only communicate with your membership -- it needs to be connected to you local government, utilities companies and emergency responders and you need to share this account with a couple of board members so what they can monitor and respond with it matters most in your community.

Here is a simple example of how to use Twitter during an emergency.

If your community is interested in Community Emergency Plans or how to establish a social media presence please contact. Hastatus, LLC follow @hastausllc or @intercommassoc

Why has the main stream media done everything possible to not cover this?

So I have been talking about Condo & Hoa issues since the first time I heard about one.

It was surprising to me as someone that worked in both Community Associations,( CPWI CEO 5yrs BOD 22) and politics my first campaign job was to make signs for a judges race when I was in 10th grade (1980) the fact that the needs of Tens of Millions of American  homeowners are being harmed by the elected officials on the local state and federal level, now world wide since most new communities build world wide are Common Interest Communities should be one of these stories that a reporter dreams of covering.

Now the shock is that during this time I have not been able to get any reporter other then two local reporters or any media outlet.  My wife worked in NPR for years and NOT ONE reporter has ever returned a phone call.
We did have for a short time have one producer from 60 Minutes, he died, and so has this story plus the Condos, Coops, and Hoa that are now 80 percent of all homes built

Yet we still have no one coving this story.

Maryland's Governor candiates are ducking CIC issues.

Today on Twitter there was a debate between the Governor Omalley and Former Governor Bob Ehrlch about their vision for Maryland.  During this debate the candidates were also on twitter and were following the #mddebate for twitter folk.

We decided to chim in and see if the respective leaders where aware or even cared about the issues facing Maryland Common Interest Communities. So we asked the some direct questions and some general ones. So far neither of them have bothered to do more then claim some piric victory in a debate that didn't even touch on the fact that 3/4 of Maryland's homes are in jeopardy of going broke and bankrupt.

We have to ask--Who will emerge from Maryland leaders, either party, to start to take on a task that most of them been ducking or denying for years

Let's take foreclosure.........Sure the easy thing to do is say stop them, if you don't know that most of those are in Condo's Single Family & Townhouse Associations.  Now how are you going to help them keeps the lights on or the gas going when their master utility bills cannot be paid because past due assessments are at the all time high, let alone any other bills or budgeted obligations. 

BTW Fannie/Feddy/Hud/Va and your underwriters. If you own guideline say that no more then 10 percent of owners can be past due in assessments and we know that many communities are 30-50 percent of owners not paying INCLUDING YA"LL how can you then allow the resale of these property when your the owners of them.

 Is that even legal, let alone moral.  We know the answer do they.   BTW If your a resident of a common interest community and one of these campaigns calls, knocks or tweets to you ~ask them what's their plan for your community. 

Here is  r time line for this debate......

intercommassoc Inter Comm Assoc ICA

@

@Ehrlich4MD We asked you what your plan is for the millions of owners in #md #hoa regarding assessments/forclosures. U do know about #HOA ?

from American University Park, Washington

39 minutes ago Favorite Reply Delete

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intercommassoc Inter Comm Assoc ICA

#cic #condo #hoa have not 4 some reason? been given relief under the #staffordact they often cannot afford 2 rebuild roads, centers, roofs

from American University Park, Washington

7 hours ago Favorite Reply Delete

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intercommassoc Inter Comm Assoc ICA

BTW most #cic #condo #hoa are denied funding under the #staffordact emergency relief act. A road lost in storm if owned by CIC not covered

from American University Park, Washington

7 hours ago Favorite Reply Delete

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intercommassoc Inter Comm Assoc ICA

#mddebate #Condo #hoa owners lose because no one cares? knows? Golly how did 3/4 of #MD homes since 80s become a #cic Where's a plan 4 them

from American University Park, Washington

8 hours ago Favorite Reply Delete

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intercommassoc Inter Comm Assoc ICA

#mddebate Millions of #MD homes are in #CIC that r going broke cuz #banks #fannie #freddy #deadbeatowners #investors dont pay dues + no help

from American University Park, Washington

8 hours ago Favorite Reply Delete

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intercommassoc Inter Comm Assoc ICA

#mddebate Now even #HUD knows that there are BIG problems in ... http://t.co/MNReXuT From 2002 #mdsenator #condo #hoa #assessment FEDs NOPAY

8 hours ago Favorite Reply Delete

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intercommassoc Inter Comm Assoc ICA

#mddebate What you are not being told about the housing problem Sept 5 2007 http://t.co/zzxygEs #condo #hoa #dues #assessments #broke #fail

8 hours ago Favorite Reply Delete

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intercommassoc Inter Comm Assoc ICA

#mddebate @epa is suing #md for failure to meet CleanWatAct ie Stormwater ponds test/clean numbers = #fail #md cant find them cuz -charter

from American University Park, Washington

8 hours ago Favorite Reply Delete

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intercommassoc Inter Comm Assoc ICA

#mddebate after 6 years #MD expunges list of forfeited charters, now #md does not have list of all the #condo #hoa that existed = lost taxes

from American University Park, Washington

8 hours ago Favorite Reply Delete

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intercommassoc Inter Comm Assoc ICA

#mddebate when a #CIC cannot get #dues & #reserves a budget #fail starts. Soon they cant pay MDProperty Tax, lose charter, MD loses taxes +

from American University Park, Washington

8 hours ago Favorite Reply Delete

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intercommassoc Inter Comm Assoc ICA

#mddebte many of those illegals owned homes in #condo #hoa So 1st time ya'll yell ((((ICE))) ? % of #MD #hoa stoped getting #dues #reserves

from American University Park, Washington

8 hours ago Favorite Reply Delete

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intercommassoc Inter Comm Assoc ICA

#mdvote if some1 is running for office and they dont have a plan for the 3/4 of #MD #CIC homes then tell them to get one. #condo #hoa #coop

Maryland's Elected officals bend over backwards to kill your condo or hoa.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Maryland's governor and congressional delegation are asking the state's chief judge to halt all foreclosures in the state for at least 60 days.
In a letter to Chief Judge Robert Bell on Saturday, Gov. Martin O'Malley and all 10 members of Maryland's congressional delegation say immediate action is necessary to avoid miscarriages of justice.  Reported on WTOP

So Governor O'malley it appears that you are aware of the fact that 3 out of 4 of these homes are in a Common Interest Community and if you stop the process of foreclosure and dont help the community then there will be nothing left for the owner to be assoicated with since these homes are bound by convents and bylaws that say they are part and parcel of an over all community.

If your one of these communities I would be scared to death right now because this very same government is going to be after their property taxes and since so many of your neighbors went into default on their mortgage your budget has been balanced since the save button was hit drafing it and your community doesn't have these funds.

Let alone the master utilities, for street lights common area lighting, gas, water, security, repairs maintenance and these politicians have the nerve to cry over some auto signed documents.  Either, the Maryland elected officials hate your condo's coop's and homeowner association or they are clueless as to the effect decision like this one have on these communities. It's only 3 out of 4 homes in Maryland.

Considering that our Chairman Nelson Jacobsen called in and ask one



Maryland Condominiums, Cooperatives and Homeowner/Townhouse Associations are not just worried about the foreclosure. The process he talks about does nothing to help the Communities in fact it delays the amount of time and cost to the community.

What is the hardship on the HOA's How are you going to make these communities whole if you dont address the problem.

WHAT THE PROBLEM Well if they aint paying their mortgage then they're not paying these assessmens, reserve contributions and specail assessment for the homeowners they took the property from in the first place.

It gets better........Maryland HOA's there is a totallack of Financial Disclosure under the MD HOA ACT. When these banks do sell these homes which they are not paying assessment on they are not telling the new owners that the HOA is broke because deadbeats like the banks and FANNIE, FREDDY and HUD. Heck they dont have to even give the budget.

Now if that were't enough some of the biggest dead Beads see BOA-BLOG - FANNIE FREDDY & HUD aren't even giving them the required Documents -Article of Inc,

BTW Many of these CIC are not incorporated because they dont have the money to pay the MD filings.

Declarations, by-laws and any amendments. These are required under the Maryland HOA ACT Disclosure requirments and most of these banks, fannie/freddy and HUD are guilty of wholesale dereliction of responsibility or they are once again -- clueless.

Now considering that so many of Maryland homes are in CIC it find it very hard to believe that didn't notice them popping up in all over the place Considering that any development over 3 unit in Maryland has to form a water association.

So we are going to follow up with Craig Rice in Maryland and introduce him to a number of HOA owners and board directors and see if he's with CIC or against them.

Just stopping foreclosures will do one thing KILL CONDOS & HOAS IN Maryland

BOA just stuck a knife in every Condo HOA in America

As we expected when we reported that the Delaware AG got into the foreclosure fray (Delaware not being a judicial state), it was only a matter of time before foreclosures would be halted in all 50 states. Sure enough, Diana Olick has just reported that BofA has just expanded its foreclosure halt from the 23 judicial states, to all 50 states. And so, the pendulum swings from populist anger to adulation. The only question is when will Tarp 2 be enacted now that banks are facing tens of billions in losses. Full article

According to ZeroHedge  Bank of America just announced that any home that they have a mortgage in that falls inside a Common Interest Community, that said CIC, will not be getting any relief on unpaid assessments.

Clearly this is a move by Band of American to stab CIC's in the financial heart.   If there are no foreclosures then there is very little hope what so ever that past due let alone ongoing assessments to be paid.

In the same article they talk about Tarp 2 for banks.  Mean while the CIC's are still asking where is Community Reinvestment 1.

BTW Elected leaders there are 100 Million US citizen in CIC and we are going to help them paint a target on every one of you that does not stand up and deal with the development laws and situations that Congress and the FEDs have brought about by deliberate design.  

To CIC this is a fatal design and unless your a banker there is no way to justify that we continue to turn a blind eye to over 1 Million communities and to any community that has funds in a Band of American  branch you better pull your money out and put it in a community bank because dealing with BOA will bankrupt your community.  

BTW if you didn't notice they owe a load of back assessments, reserve fund contributions and ongoing assessments and special assessments -- because deadbeats like them don't pay the assessments.  Then Congress/FEDs their pets are letting them off the hook PLUS giving them billions and at the same time raising underwriting requirements that now make it harder for us suckers, err ......community association members,  to sell our homes let lone keeping the whole community from losing utilities, services and general ability to survive.

If there was an actually analysis of how CIC are going to survive this toxic GOV/BANKSTERS could any one with a straight face or without a guilty conscience say that CIC have the ability to survive.

So your elected leaders really hate CIC's dont they.

If you have been reading the news or even talking to your neighbor or just have a pulse it's pretty clear we have an 8 mile train wreak unfolding in housing.    Now the thing about such big wreaks is that they take a while to figure out in scope and intensity. Some things that seem to be little along the way are often missed and to those impacted by the wreak  do need the same help as anyone else involved.  Who those that elected leaders are paying no heed to what so ever. Condominums, Cooperatives Townhouse/Singlefamily Homeowners Associations which represent 80% of all new development.

So you would figure that National, State and local leaders would want to help the residents that live in CIC's, however that is not the case at all.

 Right now there are 100 MILLION living in Common Interest Communities and your elected leaders are doing NOTHING to help us. offical 

In fact the Federal agencies: Fannie Mae, Freddy Mac, HUD,  are actually not just ignoring your community~ they are undermining it.    How you ask.  When these agencies take over a condo, coop, hoa unit they like all owners are required to notify the BOD and Management co that they are the newnowners and they are to start paying Assessments* ((((((((Wait)))))))) to you see what they really are doing. They are required, more often then not, to clear up past due assessment and reserve contributions.  Are they?

Across the board the Federal government when in ownership of a foreclosed unit is not paying their bills -they are dead beat owners and go out of their way to help banks not pay a dime.  

 Some of their contractors are telling communities that while owned by the FED they don't have to pay.   While years ago one US Senator started to peek into this pretty and I guess stopped. It seems that every sitting US Senator & Congressperson cares about banks more then they care about communities.  WOW cares about banks, Really....Yes really

"Major lenders have halted foreclosure proceedings in 23 states after revelations that in many cases, paperwork was signed by people who didn't so much as read what they were signing, much less do the research to verify that all the details were accurate."  chicagotribune.com

What does it mean in a CIC when foreclosure are stopped.  It means the dead beat owners (SEE BANKS AND FEDs) don't have to take possession of the unit and they surely don't have to pay the assessments. There is now reader of this blog living in a CIC that doesn't know what happens when people don't pay assessments.  The budget goes in the hole and then what.

The State that U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings represents-  Maryland has almost 3 out of 4 homes in a common Interest Community.  Which seems to me to be just another  nail in the financial coffin for them.  The coffin was outline by these same "leaders" when they made sure that no financial disclosure is required for Single Family/Townhouse Homeowner Association home sells in Maryland.  

So you could be moving into a MD community right now that is completely bankrupt and there is no law to give you the budget, or even tell you the community is  away with reselling to the public these unit they own.

So, right now in community after community the budgets are negative, bills go unpaid, services are lost. That right the master utilities are being cut off because the communities don't have the money to pay the bills and the elected leaders in Washington have not done 1 thing to help.

Actually they're doing everything to hurt.    Again, They (Fannie Freddy HUD) don't pay bills and they stop communities colds (like this legislation) in getting paid and that is before the Courts weight in which is a whole-nother-blog post.

I have to ask?   How many communities does Congress get to kill before we wake up and smell the burning flames from the carnage that Congress and the Federal Government have directly inflicted and continue to ensure that BANKS congresses best friend can just ignore law after law with regards to document and financial disclosure and the simple act of paying your bill.

To the communities in U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings district when are you going to demand that he do something to benefit the greater public good.   If we're to apply the Marginal Utility of Public Good "MUPG" to this the curve wouldn't even bend up it's all down and so are your elected leaders on CIC's.

PS We do want to note that we just say that Obama did veto the foreclosure bill, however we are along way from even seeing the light on this issue as not one major news outlets has covered any of this story.

Did you know your Condo Coop & HOA has to issue 1099s

That right under the recently passed HealthCare act they snuch in a little tiny provision what states in plan languge that every transaction over 600 dollars has to have 1099's at the end of the year.  So when your Common Interest Community "CIC" (Condo, Coop, Single/Townhome Assoc.)

So every vendor that comes into your CIC that receives  $600 or more for services rendered the CIC will give them a 1099.  And, for every time you get a check for 600 or more then you have to remit a 1099 to other party.  So guess what tax time is going to be like.  

It is not clear from the language if this would apply to fines. 

So Condominims, Cooperatives, Single Family & Townhouse Associations need to attend the International Community Associations Webinar on the ramifications of this legislations and what CIC's can do to make sure if they have to repel it and send a message to every member of congress that they need to take into consideration the State of Communities.

Webinar TBA 

MD Court of Appeals limits CIC's ability to use court to collect delinquent fees.

Ask Nancy

IN what is a pretty shocking decision for the State of Communities.  The Maryland Ct of appeals has recently ruled that private communities aka condos coops hoas cannot come to the court with leins on properties for small amounts of money.  What the courts decision leave unsettled is who's responsibility is it to establish communities that need the fee to meet agreed to budgets as state in every Resale package other then places like DC that don't require a package because they have not for some reason enacted the Uniform homeowner association provisions which mirror the Condominium Act ones they seems to think are important.   #just saying. 

We are going to be posting a link to more in-depth coverage of this from minds over at AskNancy.Info. 

 

Socializing Associations without worrying about the rest. in VA

In this recent article on the Washington Post website I was taken back by over all lack of understanding of how Common Interest Communities, CIC, work within the local markets. Take this....

"...recently gave rise to a proposal for a targeted rental inspection program. The plan would give county agents unprecedented access inside homes to ensure they are safe and well-maintained. County officials said an inspection program could protect property values by pressuring renters to keep up their dwellings.

Michelle Casciato, chief of the Neighborhood Services Division, recommended that the board consider creating an inspection program after noticing that as owner-occupied rates fell, building maintenance cases and code enforcement calls from residential tenants increased.

"In our experience, when you have higher rates of renter occupancies, community maintenance standards start to slide," Casciato said. "It's fairly well-documented that rental property is not maintained at the same rate."
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State law allows counties to establish residential inspection districts, giving owners 60 days to register all rental property within those boundaries. Once the inventory list is created, agents can inspect homes to ensure they are up to code and safe. Inspectors would have access once every four years, unless a complaint is registered."

Housing Bust Spurs Rental Fears - washingtonpost.com

Funny thing I figured since this and many of the properties that are part of private communities the local government does not have this right since a communities document's would govern this as provided by the VA HOA ACt. unless they have changed the laws in Virginia.

The communities documents all have, or should, provisions for renters.Existing architectural guidelines covenants and bylaws of a community would already provide procedures for dealing with non conforming properties.

What we really have here is the this government's failure to buttress these private communities rights with legislation that would put teeth into roles of boards, overall supervision and collection of delinquent assessments.

So now local government is going to illegally go around the inherent rights of CIC's to government their own private communities and take over one function all the while doing nothing about the other issues like disclosure, assessments, board transparency, and most importantly financial viability all of which most are missing and Virginia is considered a model in CIC's.

Now take the District of Columbia, they have no HOA Act. That is right, surprise, there are no rules about Homeowner Associations. So boards, renters, contractors, the government just does what they want to do. I wonder how long before a responsible public office steps up to the plate to make this happen.

btw. here is a hint about a big problem that this story did not address. Every underwriter of loans that involve a CICs, including Fannie, Freddy, VA, HUD, FHA, all have owner to renter ratio limits. The most important one is that no more then 49 percent of the owners can be renters. It's the 51% Letter. The reality is that those number are really much higher in many cases like 75-85 percent.

So how is your State of Communities?



I guess we'll call it "Socializing Associations" without worrying about the rest.

Town allows Gore to install solar panels - Yahoo! News

Tue Apr 17, 11:14 PM ET

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Former Vice President
Al Gore's upscale neighborhood granted the environmental activist approval Tuesday to install 33 solar panels on the roof of his mansion.
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Belle Meade had blocked his application until new rules were approved unanimously late Tuesday, said Gore spokesman Chris Song. The city located within metropolitan Nashville said the panels must be placed in areas where they can't be seen by neighbors.

Gore, who starred in the documentary film "An Inconvenient Truth" about global warming, already buys enough energy from renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and methane gas to balance 100 percent of his electricity costs.

He is also upgrading the furnace,

Hello this is not a City it is a Homeowner Association..................Please do not confuses the two.......

Technorati Tags: Al Gore, Solar Panels, Approval, ARC Review,

State of Communities

Elected officials on every level have not began to deal with this impact this type of development bring on to the residents. As well existing federal laws are putting CIC into potential insolvency; Let alone, the double taxation that residents of CIC face today.

Many of the issues that CIC encounter are covered here, but until our elected officials understand and take CIC's in to account when they make policy decisions these problems will only grow.

If the economy of the US is largely based on home ownership, we have the potential for some huge problems in our homes and financial markets because there is a clear lack of planning and educational opportunities for the owners of homes in CICs.

This blog is going to blog the CIC wide open and force everyone to deal with this issue which are many and effect so many people already and just about ever new home buyer.

Technorati Tags: Condo, HOA, Coop, Association, Homeowner, Townhouse, CIC