April 13, 2011
Pursuant to legislation passed in the closing hours of this year’s session of the Maryland General Assembly, four (4) months of unpaid assessments due to condominiums and homeowner associations, up to a maximum of $1,200, will now receive priority over mortgages, but only those recorded after October 1, 2011. As reported in my post of March 18, legislation [...]
April 11, 2011
Condominiums have previously been disqualified from FHA financing as a result of leasing restrictions contained in the community’s governing documents. FHA regulations have provided that a mortgatge is not eligible for FHA insurance if the mortgaged property is subject to legal restrictions on conveyance, which includes a restrtiction on leasing found in many condominium declarations or by-laws. 24 CFR [...]
February 16, 2011
When a lender fails to move forward with foreclosure on a delinquint unit, the association can be left with both a vacant property and no means to collect its assessements. However, the law may give condominiums and homeowner associations a way to fight back against lenders that have liens on delinquent properties in their communities, but refuse to take title and assume responsibility for [...]
February 15, 2011
Section 11-131 of the Maryland Condominium Act provides significant warranty protections to the purchasers for new condominium units. Section 11-131 (a) codified the ruling in Starfish, and established that new home warranties under Section 10-203 “apply to all sales by developers” of condominiums, and that “a newly constructed private dwelling unit means a newly constructed [...]
December 23, 2010
I recently tried a construction defect case in which I was able to secure a significant jury award on behalf of the owners of a townhome in Montgomery County in a claim involving faulty construction and unfair and deceptive trade practices under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act. I represented Subhash and Rita Dhawan in a suit against [...]
August 10, 2010
Pursuant to Md. Real Prop. Code Title 10, certain implied warranties are applicable to the sale of every newly constructed home in Maryland. These warranties are applicable to all “improvements,” which are defined as “every newly constructed private dwelling unit, and fixture and structure which is made part of a newly constructed private dwelling unit [...]
August 4, 2010
For most individuals, the purchase of a new house or condominium unit is the largest investment that they will have ever made. Moreover, that investment is also a home and place of refuge and relaxation that they share with family and friends. Few things, therefore, have the potential to be more disturbing than the [...]
June 29, 2010
Like the FHA, the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) have specific requirements when providing financing for condominium sales or refinancing. Fannie Mae involves the FHA, because it was established for the purpose of purchasing FHA loans from loan originators to provide liquidity for government-insured loans. [...]
May 25, 2010
Like all housing, the sales of condominiums have been significantly impacted by the state of the housing market. Also effecting sales are new rules and regulations applicable to government backed loans, as well as those adopted by conventional lenders. In particular, new requirements for FHA financing directly concern condominium sales. As of February 1, [...]
April 30, 2010
The Maryland General Assembly passed House Bill 620, which, if signed into law by the Governor, will take effect on October 1, 2010. The newly enacted law will expand common element and common area warranty protections in condominiums and homeowners associations beyond the period of a developer’s control. It extends the implied condominium [...]
Marylandcondolaw.com is written by Raymond D. Burke, a principal in Ober|Kaler’s Construction Group. One of the region's top construction and real estate development lawyers, Ray has more than 25 years of experience in matters relating to condominium and other multi-use development matters.