October 16, 2008
9:30 am to 11:30 am
Long Beach, California

Presiding:
Susan Tilling, Chair
Gwynne Hodge, Vice Chair
Mike Riley, Vice Chair
Malcolm Bennett, Committee Liaison

C.A.R. Staff:
Dave Milton

I. Opening Comments

II. Introduction of 2009 Committee Leadership
Chair- Mike Riley
Vice Chair- Vicki Carpenter
Vice Chair- Gary Macrides
Committee Liaison- Bill Jansen

III. Solano Association of REALTORS® CID Workshop - A Presentation by Eileen Stern, SAOR Board Member Solano Association of Realtors is the only AOR that sponsors a DRE credit-approved class on Common Interest Developments. This class covers the major requirements and issues involved in the transfer of property located in condo and PUD developments. Items discussed include: documentation, management, lending issues, the Davis-Stirling Act and insurance. Attendees also receive a presentation on the latest legal issues involving CIDs.

Eileen Stern is the Chairperson of the SAOR CID committee. She has been selling property in Solano County for 20 years and is associated with RE/MAX Gold in Benicia. Eileen lived in a PUD for 15 years and was on the Board of Directors of her HOA.

IV. State Legislation

A. C.A.R.-Sponsored Bill

AB 2259 (Mullin) Preservation of Right-to-Rent in CIDs- C.A.R.'s "right-to-rent" measure will ensure that an owner of a separate interest in a CID enjoys the right to rent his or her separate interest as long as he or she owns it, if that right existed when the unit was purchased. C.A.R. successfully moved this measure through the Legislature and it was approved overwhelmingly by both the Assembly and the Senate. Only one "No" vote was given to the bill, in the Senate, and it is on its way to the Governor. Status: Enrollment

B. 2008 Bills of Interest

AB 567 (Saldana) Common Interest Development Bureau- AB 567 would establish the CID Bureau under the Department of Consumer Affairs which would maintain a toll-free telephone number, a web site and offer training materials and courses to CID directors, officers, and owners. The bureau would provide assistance in resolving CID disputes and be funded with a biennial fee that would equal the number of separate interests in a CID multiplied by $10. The bureau would sunset January 1, 2014.
Position: Not Favor
Status: Enrollment

AB 952 (Mullin) Assessment Installment Payment Plans in CIDs- This measure was initially opposed by C.A.R. because it proposed to create a bifurcated assessment voting process in CIDs containing subsidized units, giving owners of subsidized units veto power over assessments a majority of market-rate unit owners had approved. The bill was completely re-written in the Senate with C.A.R.'s assistance, at the request of Assemblyman Mullin. C.A.R. moved to a "support if amended" position until the amendments prepared for the Author by C.A.R. were amended into the bill. In its "gutted and amended" final form, it refines the CID assessments installment payment process currently in the Davis-Stiriling Act by clarifying the process by which an owner can request an installment payment plan, and including a 3-year limitation on any such plan as well as authorization for HOAs administering the plan to assess reasonable administrative fees on the homeowner.
Position: Support
Status: Enrollment

AB 1921 (Saldana) Davis-Stirling Recodification and Simplification by CA Law Revision Commission(CLRC)- After more than two years of public hearings, the Law Revision Commission introduced AB 1921 to "clarify and simplify" the Davis-Stirling Act. Unfortunately for this effort, it was introduced in the second half of the two-year session of the Legislature and the CLRC was unable to resolve all concerns and issues raised by various CID and attorney groups. The bill was dropped before it had a hearing in the Senate. It is believed that the CLRC will re-introduce it in 2009.
Position- Favor
Status- Died in Senate Judiciary Committee

AB 2806 (Karnette) Education of CID Board Members- Sponsored by the Community Associations Institute (CAI), AB 2806 initially attempted to indirectly force home owner association (HOA) board candidates to "voluntarily" take an industry-created course or be shamed out of the ability to run or serve on the board - regardless of other qualifications that an individual might posses. The bill also proposed to require the Department of Real Estate (DRE) to create a course outline and to enforce a $25 price cap on the course. C.A.R. opposed the bill until it was amended to remove the additional responsibilities placed on DRE and to give even-handed treatment to all Board of Directors candidates by recognizing all relevant qualifications.
Position: Watch
Status: Enrollment

AB 2846 (Feuer) Common Interest Development Assessment Dispute Resolution- This bill provides that if a dispute exists between the homeowner and the association regarding any disputed charge or sum, and the amount does not exceed the jurisdictional limit for small claims court, the homeowner may, in addition to pursuing dispute resolution, pay the disputed amount under protest and commence an action in small claims court.
Position: Watch
Status: Enrollment

SB 1511 (Ducheny) Successor in Interest Obligations in CID Unit Foreclosures- This bill allows an association, with respect to separate interests governed by the association, to record a request that a mortgagee, trustee, or other person that recorded a notice of default regarding a separate interest in the association to mail to the association a copy of any trustee's deed upon sale of the separate interest. The bill requires the mortgagee or trustee to mail this information to the association within 15 business days following the date the trustee's deed is recorded.
Position: Watch
Status: Enrollment

V. Other Business

A. HOA Document Processing Fees- A State Issue? (A Discussion)

B. Resources for CID Information (C.A.R. and DRE Links):

C.A.R. LINKS

C.A.R. Basic Guide to Owning a Home in, and the Administration of, a Common Interest Development
http://www.car.org/governmentalaffairs/policybriefings/cid/

Q&A: Condominium or Other Common Interest Development Disclosures
http://www.car.org/legal/2006articles/condo-disclosures/

Q&A: Homeowners’ Associations: A Guide for REALTORS®
http://www.car.org/legal/2007articles/homeowners-associations/


DRE LINKS

Living in a California Common Interest Development
http://www.dre.ca.gov/pdf_docs/cid.pdf

Reserve Study Guidelines for Homeowner Association Budgets
http://www.dre.ca.gov/pdf_docs/re25.pdf

FAQs: Common Interest Developments
http://www.dre.ca.gov/sub_faq_cid.html

Operating Cost Manual for Homeowner Associations
http://www.dre.ca.gov/pdf_docs/OCM_final_2007.pdf

Approved DRE Course Listing
http://secure.dre.ca.gov/publicasp/CEContinue.asp

C. Other

VI. Adjournment