I was recently participating in a mediation for a client condominium association. We are pursuing a first party insurance claim for property damage discovered by the client. Due to the amount of repairs necessary for the project, the client triggered certain code upgrades required by the County and fire department. The upgrades were both unexpected and costly at just under $500,000. read more

As reported recently in the CAI Law Reporter, the end of 2017 saw a number of state courts rule on the powers of architectural review committees (or "ARCs" for short). read more

Here it is, the Washington Common Interest Ownership Act that we have been talking about for years. It has finally obtained some momentum and is scheduled for a vote in the House TOMORROW, February 22. Problem is, this version of the bill will do far more harm than good for Washington Homeowners. Feel free to copy and paste any part of this article into an email urging your representatives to vote NO on SSB 6175. read more

A lot has been said about community association rules, but most of these discussions center on the content of the rules as opposed to the overall language used or impression the rules give to owners within the community. Yet, there is another aspect of rules to consider. A good set of rules conveys not only what is permissible in a community, but says something about the character of a community. read more

Under Oregon state law, condominium associations and homeowner associations have an automatic lien against the unit or lot for unpaid assessments. In Washington, a condominium association has a lien on a unit for any unpaid assessments levied against a unit from the time the assessment is due. Unfortunately for Washington homeowner's associations, the state law is silent and does not specifically provide that the homeowner's association has a lien against the lot for unpaid assessments. However, most of the time, the association's specific governing documents will create a lien for the unpaid assessments. For Washington homeowner's associations, you will need to look at your association's governing documents to determine whether your association has a lien for unpaid assessments. read more