In Case You Missed It...

The New York Times is noting that Utah's economy is also beginning to feel the nation's economic woes. In this article, the Times reports that Utah's home price drops were the sixth worst in the nation for the fourth quarter of last year.

And the article notes that although we're feeling the recession, we are likely not to see it to the same extent as many other communities, for a number of reasons, including the LDS Church's City Creek project.

Another Owner You Should Be Happy Not to Have...

Many months ago, I posted an entry about why you wouldn't want Courtney Love in your association; now I suppose you can add Paris Hilton to that list.

Ms. Hilton, it seems, has gotten herself into trouble (yeah, I know you say; "what else is new"). This time, however, its because of her animals, and not her conduct.

The Los Angeles Department of Animal Services is investigating Ms. Hilton, because she apparently boasted to Ellen DeGeneres about her 17 dogs. An animal protection organization called the authorities, and the authorities paid a visit to Ms. Hilton's home. According to my source my source, (Ireland Online), neither Ms. Hilton nor her dogs were home when the authorities arrived.

This story serves as a good reminder of my regular advice to associations that the local authorities (animal authorities, boards of health, environmental agencies) are often helpful in dealing with problem owners and tenants.

A List of Available Books

I received a call today from a client who wanted to know what books that Hobbs & Olson had donated to area libraries; I referred him to the Foundation for Community Association Research's web site on the subject, but then thought that it might help the readership of this blog to have a list. So, here you go.

The following books should now be on the shelves a the Salt Lake City Library Main Branch, the Summit County Kimball Junction Branch, and the Salt Lake County Sandy Branch:

Accounting for Managers
Before Disaster Strikes
Be Reasonable!
Boomer Shock: Preparing Communities for the Retirement Generation
Building Community
Community Association Leadership: A Guide for Volunteers
Community Associations & the Environment
Community Association Finances
Community First!
Community Matters
Complete Book of Home Inspection
Conducting Meetings
Decision Making in Communities
Everyday Governance in Community Associations
Homeowners Association: A How to Guide for Leadership
Increase Income, Not Assessments
Motivating the “What’s In It For Me?” Generation
Neighborhood Watch (brochure)
Playgrounds for Young Children
Plumbing Instant Answers
Pursuit of Parking
Questions & Answers about Community Associations
Reinventing the Rules
Road Repair Handbook
Self Management: A Guide for the Small Community Association
So Now You're on the Board-Audio Tape
Special Assessment, A Novel
Surveys: A Guide for Community Associations
The A-B-C's of Parliamentary Procedure
The Homeowner & the Community Association
The Homeowners Association Manual
The Ultimate Pool Maintenance Manual
Tips for Community Association Insurance
Tips for Protecting Association Finances
True Stories of Survival
What Every Homeowner Needs to Know About Mold

Guides for Association Practitioners
Assessment Collection: Legal Remedies
Bids and Contracts
Communications for Community Associations
Community Association Legal Counsel: How to Select & Use an Attorney
Conflicts of Interest
Conflict Resolution
Design Review
Developer Transition
Disaster Management for Community Associations
Drafting Rules
Enhancing Outdoor Spaces for Community Associations
Insurance: How Community Associations Protect Themselves
Meetings & Elections
Member Dues
On-site Managers
Pet Policies
Property Taxes & Homeowners Associations
Reserve Funds
Risk Management
Selecting the Landscape Maintenance Contractor
Successful Leasing in a Community Association
The Board President
The Board Secretary
The Board Treasurer
Trees, Turf & Shrubs
Volunteers

Suing the Smoker Next Door

Some New York condo owners are suing their smoking neighbors. (We all knew these lawsuits were coming.) The lawsuit, reported in this article in the New York Times, has some amusing background about the dispute between the neighbors and among other residents in this appartently litigious community.

The surprising thing is that the residents are not suing the association. The association has been sued before, by other tenants, who have complained of a "plague of roaches".

Why aren't these tenants suing the association? Because, according to the plaintiff, [the association] has been cooperative, even paying to seal off ducts in Ms. Huff’s apartment that could have been spreading the smoke. (Sealing off those ducts may also have had the secondary benefit of limiting cockroach migration.)

Mark Your Calendars for March 1. . .

at 10 a.m.

That is the scheduled time for UtahCondolaw's Las Vegas / New Orleans update, which will be a 90 to 120 minute summary of what Julie Ladle and I learned in our trip recent trip to Las Vegas (for the College of Community Association Lawyer's Community Association Law Conference), and my trip to New Orleans (for the ALI-ABA "Drafting Documents for Residential...Communities Conference).

There will be a $15 charge for the seminar, but that will be waived for clients, and most likely, (depending upon demand) for those who ask nicely. We'll have light refreshments and beverages.

I am confident that the update will be time well spent, and there are very few seats available, so if you are interested, give Linda or I a call at 519-2555 (leave a message if you miss us).

And for those of you who may be too late, we hope (subject to technological abilities) to podcast the event, or even to have it available here on video. Updates on this will be posted on this blog (of course).