Green Real Estate Appraiser

HOA Governing documents – Learn it, know it, live it

Posted on March 13, 2019 | Leave a comment

CC&Rs — The CC&Rs document is recorded (amendments also must be recorded), and therefore is also a public document. Associations often use unrecorded, unofficial copies, but official copies can be retrieved from the County Recorder.

CC&Rs (Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions) are a long contract automatically binding all owners, and the law holds each to have read, understood, and agreed to its contents… regardless of whether the owner actually did so.

CC&Rs cover how the property is used, maintained and repaired, and very much affects living in that association. There usually will be a section called “Use Restrictions,” listing a number of prohibited activities, although restrictions can also be located elsewhere in the document. Restrictions can range from pet limits to parking to rental restrictions. In multi-story condominium buildings, they may (and hopefully do) prohibit certain flooring surfaces. CC&Rs will also usually address what the HOA maintains and repairs and what is homeowner responsibility.

CC&Rs are amendable through a vote of the membership. However, the stated percentage of votes required for amendments is usually high, making amendment more difficult.

FYI: thinking of buying a condo with a VA loan? The complex must be VA approved.

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California’s new solar mandate

Posted on March 11, 2019 | Leave a comment

Starting next year, every new home built in California will have something extra on top.

Recently, California became the first state in the nation to make solar mandatory for new houses. Beginning in 2020, newly constructed homes must have solar panels, which could be costly for homeowners: According to California’s Energy Commission (CEC), that mandate will add between $8,000 and $10,000 to the cost of a new home.

CEC estimates suggest that the solar addition will increase the average monthly mortgage payment by $40, but new homeowners will save an average of $80 a month on their heating, cooling and lighting bills.

Still, the requirement does add a costly additional expense to already pricey new homes in one of the richest real estate markets in the country.

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Slowest in nation: San Diego home price gains stall

Posted on February 27, 2019 | Leave a comment

Resale home prices in the San Diego metro area increased the slowest in the nation in December, 2.3 percent in a year, said the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices released Tuesday.

While prices are still going up, slightly beating inflation, it is a major reversal of fortunes in the 20-city index considering San Diego prices were among the top four in the nation 13 months earlier.

The last time San Diego metro was in the bottom spot in the index was in October 1996, back when the index was 19 cities. It had never been in the bottom spot since it expanded to 20 cities in 2000.

The last time San Diego metro’s annual price increases were so slow was August 2012.

Annual nationwide price increases were 4.7 percent in December with the biggest price gains in Las Vegas (11.4 percent), Phoenix (8 percent) and Atlanta (5.9 percent).

Experts say rising mortgage interest rates are much of the cause of the slowdown in high-priced markets. David Blitzer, managing director of the index, said a major factor could also be wage growth not keeping up with housing costs. He said wage gains were around 3.5 to 4 percent last year, still below the nationwide home price increase.

“There have been a few places with very sharp reversals,” Blitzer said. “I think a lot of times prices are just outpacing people’s ability to pay in a lot of places.”

disclaimer: for information and entertainment purposes only

HOA Governing documents – Learn it, know it, live it

California’s new solar mandate

Slowest in nation: San Diego home price gains stall

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