Katz to Speak at CAI New Jersey Regional Council Legal & Legislative Update in Cherry Hill

Posted by on Sep 6, 2018 in CAI, Legal Decisions, Speaking Engagements, Uncategorized

Jonathan H. Katz, Esq., a partner in Hill Wallack’s Community Associations Practice Group, will be speaking at this year’s CAI-PA/Del Val – New Jersey Regional Council 2018 Legal & Legislative Update.

Join CAI as we review legislation and regulations that became law in the past year and will provide an update on legislation pending in the current legislative session in Trenton. We will also review relevant case law decided in the past year, including cases involving transition, dispute resolution, and collection issues. Then join us for a Happy Hour immediately following the program.

Thursday, September 13, 2018
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm – Program
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm – Happy Hour

P.J. Whelihan’s Pub + Restaurant 
1854 Marlton Pike East
Cherry Hill, NJ  08034

This Course is approved by the Community Association Managers International Certification Board (CAMICB) to fulfill continuing education requirements for the CMCA® certification. This course will earn managers two (2) continuing education credits, which also help satisfy the requirements to apply for the PCAM designation.

Happy hour is included with your registration! Enjoy appetizers and drink tickets following the program.

For more information or to register, click here.

 

Read More

Appellate Court Upholds Requirement that Condominium Associations Must Offer Alternate Dispute Resolution for Collection of Delinquent Assessments

Posted by on May 12, 2015 in Alternative Dispute Resolution, Collections, Legal Decisions

By Jonathan H. Katz, Esq.

In an unpublished Appellate Court decision – The Glens at Pompton Plains Condo. Ass’n, Inc. v. Van Kleeff – the New Jersey Appellate Division made it abundantly clear that condominium associations must offer alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) for any “housing-related dispute,” including the non-payment of assessments/maintenance fees, prior to filing any non-emergent legal action against a unit owner.

The New Jersey Condominium Act, N.J.S.A. 46:8B-14(k), requires condominium associations to “provide a fair and efficient procedure for the resolution of housing-related disputes between individual unit owners and the association, and between unit owners, which shall be readily available as an alternative to litigation.” Although, the Condominium Act does not specifically define the term “housing-related disputes,” that issue was squarely addressed in by the Appellate Division in Bell Tower Condo. Ass’n v. Haffert, which was decided in January 2012.

Read More

Join Us at the 2015 New Jersey Cooperator’s Condo, HOA and Co-op Expo on Saturday, May 9, 2015!

Posted by on Apr 26, 2015 in Alternative Dispute Resolution, Architectural Controls, Assessments, Board Meetings, Books and Records, Collections, Contracts, DCA, Disability Accommodations, Fair Housing, FDCPA, FHA, First Amendment Rights, Foreclosure, Municipal Services Act, New Jersey Cooperator

Hill Wallack LLP‘s Community Association Practice Group will be exhibiting at the 2015 New Jersey Cooperator’s Condo, HOA and Co-op Expo on Saturday, May 9, 2015, 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Join board members, property managers, building owners and real estate professionals and meet building service companies, attend educational seminars and get your questions answered by a member of our team at Booth 600.

For more information or to register to attend, click here!

Read More

Join Us at the 2014 New Jersey Cooperator’s Condo, HOA and Co-op Expo on Wednesday, May 7th

Posted by on May 6, 2014 in Alternative Dispute Resolution, Architectural Controls, Board Meetings, Books and Records, Collections, Contracts, DCA, Disability Accommodations, Fair Housing, FHA, First Amendment Rights, Foreclosure, Insurance, Lease/Rental Restrictions, Legal Decisions, Legislation, Municipal Services Act, New Jersey Cooperator, Speaking Engagements

BoothLogo (03361700)Hill Wallack LLP‘s Community Association Practice Group will be exhibiting at the 2014 New Jersey Cooperator’s Condo, HOA and Co-op Expo on Wednesday, May 7, 2013, 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, New Jersey. Join board members, property managers, building owners and real estate professionals and meet building service companies, attend educational seminars and get your questions answered by a member of our team.

Hill Wallack LLP Partner Caroline Record, Esq. is among the featured panelists of experts at the Educational Seminar titled “Breaking Bad – The Insiders Guide to By-Laws & Rules.” This seminar will discuss how by-laws and rules are the keys to maintaining a harmonious community, provided that they are reasonable and properly enforced. The panel will discuss the keys to drafting, enacting and enforcing by-laws and house rules. Topics to be explored include when to change by-laws/rules; the proper and legal method of changing them; the role of your association’s attorney; how your governing documents affect by-laws/rules, and much more.

For more information or to register to attend, click here!

Read More

The Dirty Truth about Rent Receivers: Woodlake at King’s Grant Condominium Association, Inc. v. Coudriet

Posted by on Apr 7, 2014 in Collections, FDCPA, Foreclosure, Legal Decisions

By Jonathan H. Katz, Esq.

In Jerry Maguire, Tom Cruise plays a sports agent who writes a mission statement about perceived dishonesty in the sports management business – “The Things We Think and Do Not Say: The Future of Our Business.” This is my mission statement, Bob Sugar.

Since the mortgage crisis began in the late 2000s, some community associations were (and still are) dealing with the fallout of extraordinary delinquencies, mortgage lenders who either cannot or refuse to pursue foreclosure actions, and, in some cases, units that are so “under water” that owners have literally walked away and abandoned their units. In response to these delinquencies, law firms that represent community associations, including Hill Wallack LLP, have attempted to find creative solutions to collect these past due common expense assessments. One such solution is to request that the Court appoint a rent receiver to take over control of an abandoned unit, rent it out, and use the proceeds to pay down the outstanding arrears due to the Association.

That seems like a workable solution to a problem, right? Why should a unit sit vacant for months or even years waiting for the mortgage lender to complete a foreclosure when the unit can be used to satisfy the outstanding and ongoing common expeense assessments for that unit?

We are going to let you in on a dirty secret: rent receivers in community associations are a work of judicial fiction.

What does that mean, you ask? Put simply, unlike most traditional mortgage instruments, which specifically allow for the appointment of a rent receiver, the vast majority of community associations are granted no such authority and no such right.

So to the extent that your association is currently benefiting from rental payments as the result of a rent receiver application granted by the Court, as many of Hill Wallack’s association clients are, that is due solely to the discretion of a Judge and, most likely, the persuasive argument of community association counsel.

The Appellate Division makes that fact abundantly clear in a recent case denying the appointment of a rent receiver. In Woodlake at King’s Grant Condominium Association, Inc. v. Coudriet, the Association’s request to appoint a rent receiver was denied by the Trial Court. The Association appealed, and the Appellate Division agreed with the Trial Court that the Association failed to demonstrate any entitlement to the appointment of a rent receiver. Moreover, both the Trial Court and the Appellate Division were quick to point out that the Association’s counsel neglected to put the mortgage lender on notice of the rent receiver application, which would have afforded the lender the opportunity to be heard.

The truth is that the appointment of a rent receiver is and has always been a discretionary decision to be made by the Court subject to certain equitable considerations, even in the unlikely event that there is a contractual provision allowing the assignment of rents to the Association. And generally, a receiver will only be appointed when it appears necessary for the protection of the requesting party, such as when there is an inability of the owner to pay the debt and the owner fails to make repairs, resulting in waste of the property.

So what is the moral of this story? The answer is simple. Rent receivers may still be a viable avenue for associations to collect delinquent assessments, but these applications must be prosecuted correctly, on notice to the mortgage lender, and clearly address the equitable considerations of concern to the Court. In addition, since the appointment of a rent receiver is a discretionary, whether the Court will grant an association’s request depends on several factors, most important of which is what Judge is deciding the request, which will be based on the location of your association. However, there is more than one way to skin a cat, and rent receiver applications are not the only way to collect from delinquent unit owners.

The attorneys in Hill Wallack’s Community Association’s group are recognized for providing insight and innovation in the collection of delinquent assessments. Our experience spans more than 30 years, and we aggressively represents associations in assessment collection matters (including bankruptcies and foreclosures). And most importantly, we can assist your association in collecting delinquent assessments the correct way, the right way. If you have questions about assessment collection, rent receivers or what Hill Wallack can do to assist your association, please reach out to one of our Community Associations attorneys.

You can read the Appellate Division’s decision in Woodlake at King’s Grant here.

For breaking news or updates on new blog posts, follow us on Twitter at: @njcondolaw.

Read More
Facebook