HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION HARMONY
Does it seems as if the people running your homeowners association are a little too involved in your day-to-day life? Do they dictate when, where and how your kids may play; what kind of vehicle you may drive (or where you may park it); and even what kind of flowers you may grown? It might be worth it to buy them a copy of a new book published by the Community Associations Institute, Be Reasonable: How Community Associations Can Enforce Rules Without Antogonizing Residents, Going to Court, or Starting World War III.
Volunteer officers and professional management companies have typically stressed that all rules must be enforced uniformly, lest the association lose its right to enforce them. And one the rules are irrelevant, the theory goes, the community will go to seed--dragging property values down in the process.
The book offers recommendations from more than 30 lawyers, association managers and directors on ways to make sure rules are up to date, flexible and fair. Copies are $9.95 for Community Associations Institute members (your management company may qualify), $14.95 for nonmember. Call 703-548-8600, or order on the Internet at www.caionline.org.
BEWARE NEW BROKER FEES
Before you sing a listing contract--or a contract with a buyer's broker--check for a new "transaction fee" that some real estate brokerages are adding to their preprinted forms.
Transaction fees of $110 to $150, ostensibly to cover paperwork, are still the exception rather than the rule. But some of the biggest brokerages in the country have introduced then recently--and their smaller competitors are watching to see how well they work. The fees, payable at closing, are charged to buyers and sellers alike--whoever signs a contract for the broker's services. By law, the agent is supposed to disclose any fees before you sign a listing or buyer-broker contract.
Brokers argue that the fees cover the costs of government paperwork, some of which must be kept on file for five years or more. But David Fountain, spokesman for the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which regulates agents in Florida, is skeptical. "It's simply another way for brokers to try to increase their income. The more up-front route would be to increase their commission." If you don't want to pay the fees, ask the broker to strike it from contract--or find another company. | 