David J. Lindner Real Estate Law Blog

There have been many surprising discoveries made by owners after moving into a recently purchased home.  Even with diligent inspections, purchasers can end up with problems they had no knowledge of and no basis to suspect.  Most often, these problems are of the leaky roof or wet basement variety.  But, increasingly, buyers are finding that their new home once... Read More

This past Sunday I spent the afternoon watching my local football team ply its trade.  As a resident of Cleveland, this weekly tradition sometimes brings more pain than pleasure, as the fans wonder what can possibly go wrong with the team next.  Whether it’s the unproductive draft picks, or the never-ending stream of lackluster quarterbacks, there is nearly always something to complain about.  That all changed, at least for a week, when the Cleveland Browns Read More

When a unit owner becomes delinquent or violates the association’s declaration of covenants and restrictions, who is responsible for paying the attorneys’ fees and other costs associated with recovering the delinquent assessments or remedying the violation?  Generally, the “American rule” of law is that each party is responsible for paying its own attorneys’ fees.  In other words, the responsible, rule-abiding owners must pay for an attorney hired by... Read More

Ohio imposes a real estate transfer tax on property transfers that can be up to $4.00 per $1,000 of sale price depending on the county.  This tax is assessed by the county auditor at the time the deed is filed for record, unless the transfer falls within a statutory exemption.  The seller is responsible for paying the conveyance fee to the county auditor.  Although some states do not have any Read More

Pets are wonderful.  They’ll provide a lifetime of loyalty and companionship and never ask for anything in return--except food, love, walks, vet check-ups, training, grooming, and . . . . Well, okay, pets can be a lot of work.  And when pet owners are unwilling to properly care for and clean up after their pets, they can become a real nuisance to a condominium or homeowners’ association.  Does the board have the authority to ban animals from the association... Read More

One of the first questions a new board of directors faces is whether to self-manage their homeowners or condominium association, or hire professional management.  To make this decision, the board needs to take into account the cost of professional management, the time and work involved in self-management, and the management experience and expertise of the board members.  In most larger associations, the scale will tip in favor of hiring professional management.  The time... Read More

If you have read the news at all in the past few years, you have undoubtedly seen articles about America’s foreclosure crisis and its impact on communities.  Cleveland, Ohio has been recognized as one of the hardest-hit cities in the country.  Recently, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland issued a report (pdf) detailing just how bad the crisis is, and what caused it... Read More

If you are a member of your association’s board of directors and one of your association’s members asks you to see the minutes from the most recent board meeting, do you need to provide those minutes to him?  Does your answer change if the topic of the most recent board meeting was whether or not to file a lawsuit against this particular owner, who is delinquent in his assessment payments?  These situations arise frequently, and a board should prepare itself to deal... Read More

The enforcement of HOA restrictions can be a costly matter for an association, particularly when the association goes to court over the issue and loses.  Take the case of the Eagles Master Association in Hillsborough County, Florida, where the Master Association sued an owner who it claimed violated the Master Association’s restrictions by parking his pickup truck in his driveway.  In the Master Association’s interpretation of the restrictions, owners were required to... Read More

Ohio’s new homeowners association act, known as the Planned Community Law (pdf), will go into effect on September 10, 2010.  The Planned Community Law provides homeowners associations with new tools to enforce rules and restrictions, collect assessments, and amend their governing documents.  Additionally, the Planned Community Law sets out new obligations for associations... Read More