HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION ARTICLES
Homeowner Association Lien Typically Lost By Foreclosure
Question: A homeowner in our Glendale community has not paid the monthly HOA fees for more than a year, and our HOA now has a lien of $8,000 for delinquent monthly HOA fees. The HOA president recently received a notice of foreclosure from the homeowner’s mortgage lender. If there is a foreclosure by the homeowner’s mortgage lender, will the HOA get paid the $8,000? If not, how does our HOA collect the $8,000? Answer: In general, a foreclosure of a first mortgage on the home will “wipe out” the $8,000 HOA lien on the home. If the foreclosure is other…
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New Association Rules Need to Be ‘Reasonable and Foreseeable’
Question: In our Glendale HOA community there have been two recent incidents involving a small child being severely bitten by large dogs. Our HOA has now amended the HOA Rules and Regulations to require that all dogs be muzzled while being walked in our HOA community. We have two Golden Retrievers and we don’t want to walk them with muzzles. We know from reading your column that the Arizona Supreme Court recently said that amendments to CC&Rs have to be “reasonable and foreseeable.” Is that the same standard for Rules and Regulations? Can we be fined for not complying with…
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Enforcement of Covenants, Restrictions Without an Association
Question: The CC&Rs for our Buckeye community of 38 homes were adopted in 1978. There has never been an HOA to enforce the CC&Rs. A provision in our CC&Rs prohibits two-story homes. A recent buyer of a one-story home in our Buckeye community plans to “tear down” the one-story home to build a two-story home. Several owners of one-story homes in our community, whose views of the White Tank Mountains will be affected by two-story homes, want to oppose the construction of this two-story home. If there is no HOA, how do we enforce our CC&Rs to prohibit two-story homes?…
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Condominium Associations Cannot Prohibit ‘For Sale’ Signs
Question: In a recent column you cited an Arizona statute that restricts an HOA from prohibiting “For Sale” signs on a homeowner’s property. We live in a beautiful condominium community in the Arcadia area. The CC&Rs for our HOA community prohibit “For Sale” signs. After we showed your column to our HOA property manager, she said that this Arizona statute only applies to homes and does not apply to condominiums. Is she correct? Answer: No. ARS § 33-1261 specifically restricts condominium HOAs from prohibiting “For Sale” signs. Note: An amendment to the condominium CC&Rs generally requires the consent of at…
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Can Rules Be Amended to Prohibit Short-Term Rentals?
Question: Although your Q& A column has said several times in the past few years that a community can amend HOA covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs) to prohibit short-term rentals, didn’t the Arizona Supreme Court recently rule that an HOA community cannot amend CC&Rs to ban short-term rentals? In other words, can or cannot CC&Rs be amended by an HOA community to prohibit short-term rentals? Answer: An HOA community can amend CC&Rs to prohibit short-term rentals. An amendment to ban short-term rentals can be enforced against future home buyers in that HOA community. The only question is whether or not…
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HOAs Cannot Prohibit ‘For Sale’ Signs in Yard
Question: We purchased a new home in Fountain Hills six years ago. Four years ago, the developer transferred the enforcement of our covenants, conditions, and restrictions to the homeowners. Our HOA then amended our CC&Rs to prohibit ‘for sale’ signs in our subdivision. The HOA said that ‘for sale’ signs destroy property values, and that MLS is already available for the sale of a home. We want to sell our home, and our listing agent says that the law allows her to place a ‘for sale’ sign in our front yard despite the prohibition in our CC&Rs. Is our listing…
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Short-Term Rentals Can Adversely Affect Communities
Question: Last week you discussed the comments of a happy owner of a short-term rental home in Peoria that was rented during the six weeks of the baseball spring training season. We are from South Dakota and are not familiar with short-term rentals. Why is there such a controversy about short-term rentals in Arizona? Answer: Prefatory comment: I am reminded of the great WWF wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper, dressed in his famous kilt, yelling back at an angry, booing crowd, and saying, “Just when you think you know all the answers, I change the questions!” RIP Roddy. Arizona was the…
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CC&Rs Can Be Amended to Prohibit Short-Term Rentals
Question: There is so much information on the Internet about whether the CC&Rs of a community can be amended to prohibit short-term rentals. Just answer “yes” or “no,” please. Answer: Unfortunately, there is no absolute “yes” or “no,” as it depends on the language in the CC&Rs. The CC&Rs of most communities, however, can be amended to prohibit short-term rentals. First, in the beginning paragraphs of most CC&Rs, there is precatory language such as, that the goal of the CC&Rs is to have “peace and tranquility” in the community, “open spaces” in the community, and to “preserve property values” in…
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