3-Hour Program

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Overview

 

Why You Should Attend
Though created by state and local governments, homeowner associations are not regulated by either entity once the developer turns control of the subdivision over to the homeowner board.  Nor does a single regulatory agency enforce the consumer rights of buyers who purchase association homes.  Enforcement of consumer rights – to the extent they even exist – is achieved almost solely through private action.

About 14 million Californians now live in the state’s 52,000 townhomes, co-ops, condos, and planned subdivisions managed by associations.  The majority are homeowners of modest means.  When disputes arise – over assessment collection, for example – the association corporation typically has an attorney, while the modest means homeowner does not.  Representing modest means homeowners in association disputes is a field with enormous demand but few practitioners.

What You Will Learn
This training will introduce the new practitioner to statutes governing consumer rights in three key areas: assessment collection, transparency in association financial operations, and election statutes (used not only to elect board directors, but to set certain assessments.)  The training will also benefit practitioners, who have represented homeowners in the past, but want to deepen their understanding of the complex statutes governing associations.  The goal of the training is to provide participants with tools for representing modest means homeowners.

Who Should Attend
Consumer protection and real estate attorneys interested in expanding their practice to include modest means homeowners; lawyers who would like to extend their practices into the growing field of homeowner association law; elder law attorneys, who want to learn how to assist senior clients with homeowner association issues, particularly foreclosure by the association; pro bono attorneys, legal services attorneys, self-help attorneys, limited scope representation attorneys, small claims advisors; lawyers who want to test their aptitude for association law by first expanding their practice into small claims assistance.1


1 Existing California law lets homeowners bring specific homeowner association disputes into small claims court.  However, given the complexity of the law, homeowners need guidance in preparing the pleadings correctly.

Credit Details