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Written by Alexa Jackson

Category: What We're Thinking About Lately...

Created: 10 September 2019

This Saturday, September 14th, Haus Financial Services Owner, Lauren Peddinghaus, is co-presenting a seminar for condo owners and prospective owners. 

If you own a condo, or are interested in purchasing one, attend this seminar to learn:

• How unpaid assessments and owner foreclosures, bankruptcies and tax liens may affect your association.
• Get an overview of the various options for addressing these issues in your association.
• Discover strategies for determining the best action plan to protect your investment without breaking the bank.

To learn more, click here. 

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Written by Alexa Jackson

Category: What We're Thinking About Lately...

Created: 31 August 2019

A recent news story investigated how Chicago businessman, Michael Lazarus, is buying up several units in a Lakeview condo building. This has created major upset among long-time owners who may now have to sell their homes for less.

In 2017, this association’s Board of Directors got ride of a rule limiting the ownership of units by a single person, or company, to two. Lazarus now owns 17 units, which is almost 30% of the building.

In an ABC 7 interview about the situation, Haus Financial Services’ owner, Lauren Peddinghaus, explained how the situation affects the value of other units.

She said it is very risky for so many units to be owned by one person or entity. If that entity goes under, the whole building could be compromised.

According to a 2018 report, the share of home sales bought by investors has reached its highest level in 20 years. Community associations are facing an imminent threat of legislation impacting their ability to adopt and enforce rental restrictions on real estate investment companies buying up homes.

As a results, community associations should start having conversations now about adopting rental restrictions.

To learn more, click here.

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Written by Alexa Jackson

Category: What We're Thinking About Lately...

Created: 26 August 2019

Under a recently proposed ordinance, condo owners in Chicago would have to persuade more of their neighbors to sell all building units to a developer.

For the past five years, developers have been buying up entire condo buildings in bulk in neighborhoods like Lakeview, Lincoln Park, and Gold Coast, with the intent of switching them to apartments. In that time, owners who are opposed to selling have complained about a “tyranny of the majority” in which everyone is required to sell if three-quarters of a building votes in favor.

Under this newly proposed ordinance, the percentage of association owners who would have to vote in favor for a bulk sale to go through will increase to 85%.

According to attorney, Craig Capilla, raising the bar for a vote to approve a sale might reduce the number of condo associations that try to sell in bulk.

The ordinance will not go anywhere until the next Chicago City Council meeting on September 18.

To learn more, click here.

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Written by Alexa Jackson

Category: What We're Thinking About Lately...

Created: 20 August 2019

 The US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) has made changes to streamline the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) condominium project approval process.

These changes will allow the expansion of homeownership for many Americans, benefitting millions of homebuyers.

Important elements of this approval process include:

1. FHA will insure up to 10% of mortgages in condominiums without FHA approval if the condo is financially stable.
2. FHA approvals for condominium projects are extended to three years.
3. Condo projects seeking recertification are only required to update new information, as opposed to resubmitting all information.
4. Mixed-use condo projects with as much as 45% commercial space are eligible to apply for approval.
5. Condo projects with owner occupancy rates of 35% or higher will be eligible for FHA approval.
6. The FHA will insure up to 75% of condo unit mortgages.
7. The FHA will provide a 30-day commercial period before implementing future changes to the approval process.

To learn more, click here.

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Written by Alexa Jackson

Category: What We're Thinking About Lately...

Created: 13 August 2019

Because a community association is bound by a variety of documents, confusion often arises when provisions or requirements across different documents conflict.

However, there is a hierarchy of governing documents that can help clear up some of the confusion. The hierarchy is:

1. The Illinois Condominium Property Act (IL Condo Act) and The Common Interest Community Association Act (CICAA)
2. Declaration
3. By-laws
4. Rules and Regulations

When there is a conflict between a provision of the Condo Act or CICAA and any other governing document, the Condo Act or CICAA will always prevail.

To ensure consistency and continuity with the Condo Act and CICAA, an association’s  governing documents should be regularly reviewed and updated to avoid conflicting provisions and confusion.

To learn more, click here.