ATC partner Amy Bray was quoted extensively in the recent article “Hanging Up the Gloves” by Anna Stolley Persky in the Community Association Institute’s May/June 2012 issue of Common Ground magazine. The article analyzes and shares information for homeowners and condominium association boards to consider in approaching and resolving disputes.  Ms. Bray was consulted not just [...]

To be honest, I’m not really going to tell you everything about how to form a Homeowners Association (an “HOA”) in Georgia.  Much like everything else in the land of things legal, it is both simple and complicated at the same time.  To tell you that would be to write a book. . . but [...]

 The Georgia Supreme Court will hopefully look at this issue soon. The 2005 so-called “Tort Reform” has caused more problems than it has solved. Many Plaintiff’s lawyers feel forced to sue everyone who could ever conceivably be held at fault, rather than focusing the claim on the primary culprit(s). I’m defending a case now where [...]

For a time, there was a lot of furor over transfer fees in the community association context it seems.  From Federal to state, there were proposals to do *something* about transfer fees. . . In some states, such bills have passed, but elsewhere the issue seems to have gone to a back burner. Here in [...]

Last year the State Bar of Georgia issued a non-binding advisory opinion, providing that a non-lawyer who files a garnishment answer on behalf of a corporate entity in a court of record (State or Superior Court) engages in the unauthorized practice of law.[1] Based upon the relevant provisions in the Official Code of Georgia, the [...]

Georgia may soon be the newest state to adopt legislation regarding transfer fees that are payable to third parties (such as developers, community associations, and nonprofit foundations).  HB 129 has been adopted by the Georgia House of Representatives and has crossed over to the Georgia Senate for consideration.  This particular iteration, as approved by the [...]

On February 1, 2011, the FHFA announced that it had sent a new, revised rule to the Federal Register regarding transfer fees.  The new proposed rule addresses comments received in the proposed rule making from this past fall (see previous posts).  Judging from the press release itself it appears that FHFA took a serious look [...]

By: Amy H. Bray There are a number of things a Georgia community association needs to do each year, regardless of whether it is a condominium association, a homeowners’ association, or even a commercial owners’ association.  However, one of the more important tasks is commonly overlooked. Each year a community association, as a nonprofit corporation, must [...]

On September 29, 2010, Rep. Maxine Waters sponsored H.R. 6260 in the U.S. House of Representatives entitled “To amend the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 to prohibit certain transfer fees and covenants in connection with the sale of real property. “ H.R. 6260 is intended to address the current concerns over the use [...]

              There is currently a major battle being fought over the use of real estate transfer fees. These fees are also often called resale fees, initiation fees, and community enhancement fees.  In essence, these are payments that are required upon the transfer of property.               These transfer fees have actually been around for years, [...]