( CORONA   in sync with   ALTACITIES ) Here at TRILOGY GLEN IVY, the Shea/TWC suit (circa 2010) by TGMA is approaching a 5-year anniversary.  Homeowners were curiously sent an "status report" letter just recently by the lead plaintiff in the suit (our original HOA builder) and we were told that a response to that letter is due soon from the attorney four HOA board. The builder attorney disclosure to homeowners is a rare event. For sure, association boards always consult with legal counsel when a situation does not fall squarely within the mandatory disclosure categories. Failure to disclose may result in liability for the association, but giving too much information can also cause problems for an association.  Are we now getting too much information? ▶ Flip②▶  STORIFY  ♥  FLIPBOARD ★  BLOGGER  ▲ ALTACITIES  ® ▶  TWITTER [ View the story "HOA: Too litigious?" on Storify ]

As a rule, HOAs (homeowner associations) are nothing more than a group of homeowners who live and conduct their lives under a group of CC&Rs, covenants, conditions, and restrictions.  Have you noticed how little news is found in the general press about HOAs?  For the most part, the local, regional, and national press avoids these stories for unknown reasons.  This is true despite the fact that ... The fastest growing form of housing in the United States today is common-interest development (CID), a category that includes planned unit developments of single-family homes, condominiums, and cooperative apartments. Since 1964, HOAs have become increasingly common in the USA. The Community Associations Institute trade association estimated that HOAs governed 24.8 million American homes and 62 million residents in 2010. Flip②▶ STORIFY ♥ FLIPBOARD ★ BLOGGER [ View the story "The H-spot for HOAs" on Storify ] Tweets about HOA homeowners

Back in August 2012, our first experience to attend an HOA open forum when the HOA legal counsel was invited to address homeowners for the Board did not go so well. That is, an attorney representing the long-time counsel for the HOA came to the meeting solely to help put disgruntled homeowners in this place after the board had made a controversial, unpopular decision. Essentially (I paraphrase), the attorney explained: "The HOA is not a democracy and there was nothing that homeowners could do to override the board decision." As it turns out, something was done about 18 months later when, after mediation, the decision was reversed and homeowner democracy prevailed. Another area in which democracy is prevalent in HOAs has to do with committee work. If these volunteer groups did not follow a democratic model, why would a homeowner volunteer for the role? [ View the story "R&RC has pivotal HOA role" on Storify ]

 Flip②▶ STORIFY ▶ I am happy to report that we have no "noisy neighbor" problem at our condo.  Not in our single unit and not in the neighborhood of some 170 condo dwellers.  Trilogy Glen Ivy, south of Corona, CA, may be one of the most peaceful (noise-wise) 55+ communities in all of the USA, certainly in California. But reading the 'social current see' that follows, certainly many other condo communities have problems with noisy neighbors.  While some are sounding off or moving away because of the issue, I am choosing to give kudos to a trusted source, Beth A. Grimm (aka Condo Law Guru), an attorney who serves homeowner associations and homeowners alike. She is a frequent contributor to the Echo Journal and other similar publications in the State of California and on a national level. She provides several publications written in plain English to help people who need information about California law as it relates to homeowner and condominium association...