Welcome to Ungated

CAI recently completed a nation-wide survey of community association residents to assess their satisfaction with their communities.  This survey demonstrated, once again, that the vast majority of Americans living in condominiums, homeowners associations, and co-ops are satisfied with their communities, are confident that their boards serve them well, and believe that expanded government regulation of associations is not needed.

Perhaps most strikingly, 71% of residents had positive opinions of their associations, while only 10% had negative perceptions.  The remaining 19% were ambivalent, neither positive or negative.

Conducted for CAI by Zogby International, the survey sampled homeowners from across the country and has a confidence interval of +- 3.5%.  You can see a more detailed abstract of the survey results at:  http://www.caionline.org/about/survey.cfm

National Community Leadership Forum - We are back in the office from another successful Leadership Forum, this year in Altanta, Georgia.  Special thanks to the Georgia Chapter for being such wonderful and generous hosts and to all of our members who attended.  Not surprisingly, much of the talk around the meeting was related to the horrendous hurricane season experienced on the Gulf Coast this year and how communities plan for and deal with such mega-challenges.

Future Conferences - Last fall, the CAI Board of Trustees approved changing from two national conferences per year to a single event.  I am pleased to announce that we have been able to expedite the implementation of this process and beginning in 2006 will host a single national conference.

For 2006, the CAI National Conference will convene in Palm Springs, California on May 4 - 6.  The primary conference hotel will be the Westin Mission Hills.  More information is available at  http://www.caionline.org/events/conference/index.cfm

I hope to see many of you there.

Since the 2003 hurricane season, CAI has been working to change a number of FEMA regulations regarding disaster recovery.  Perhaps most importantly, we have been working to change the rule that prevents FEMA reimbursement to community associations for removal of debris on roads and public areas in their communities. 

Under the current rules, FEMA provides reimbursement for roads maintained by governments, but not for clearing roads maintained by associations, even if they are public thoroughfares and necessary for the provision of emergency services.  Practically, this impacts public safety, and philosophically it is another example of community association taxpayers receiving a lower level of service from government.

Happily for those on the Gulf Coast, FEMA has suspended its rules on reimbursement for debris removal due to Katrina and Rita.  Community associations will be able to apply for reimbursement to clear their roads.  While that doesn't help all the victims of previous disasters, we hope that it indicates FEMA's direction on assisting community assocations and all citizens recover from disasters. 

CAI is continuing to work on legislation that will make these rule changes permanent.  You can read more about it at: http://www.caionline.org/news/detail.cfm?PRNumber=99100605

I continue to get emails from across the country as CAI members organize responses to the Hurricane Katrina victims. I am constantly amazed by the generosity of our members and their willingness to step up and offer help to those in need.

In Texas, Houston Community Management Services and Greatwood HOA collected 12 truckloads of supplies to support the relief efforts and provide for gulf coast residents being housed in the Houston area.

In Nevada, Excellence Community Management organized a Hurricane Katrina Victim Relief Benefit last Sunday.  Working with numerous other organizations, they raised over $50,000 for the American Red Cross.

In California, Action Community Management is collecting and matching employee donations to "Giving Children Hope".

Update: Thursday September 15

CAI members across the country continue to demonstrate their generosity.

In Maryland, The Brickman Group, a national landscape firm has pledged to match all employee contributions to the Red Cross 2 for 1 and has made an initial contribution of $250,000 from Brickman family members.

In Georgia, Metlock Bridge, has welcomed several families from the Gulf Coast.  In addition to hosting familes in their homes, one family has been given a vacant home for their use which has been fully furnished and equipped by the community.

In Texas, Magnolia Property Management is working with Jobworkz to help find new jobs for workers displaced by the storm. 

In Texas again, SCM Real Estate Services is providing several facilities to the relief efforts including a 30,000 square foot warehouse that is being used to store and distribute donations of food, clothing, and other items and a 15,000 square foot commercial building for temporary shelter and business relocation services.

In Arizona, residents of the Ocotillo Community Association have arranged for a new apartment, food, clothing, furniture, and job opportunities for a New Orleans family.

In Virgina, the Wellesley Whitecaps, the youth swim team in the Wellesley Homeowners Association, held a car wash and bake sale to raise over $3,000 for the Red Cross.

In Georgia, AtHomeNet, a community web services company, will make a contribution to the Red Cross on behalf of every new community they bring online.

Just amazing everyone.  This is what we mean when we all talk about building community. 

As the situation continues to worsen along the Gulf Coast, CAI members are stepping up to help  from across the country. 

Just this morning I heard from John Lawton, CEO of HRW, Inc. a management company in Raleigh, NC.  John is collecting contributions from his employees to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund and HRW will match all of their individual contributions.  He also informed me that one of his communities, Southern Village, has transformed their Labor Day community picnic into a fundraiser for hurricane relief.

This is what community is about.  I am so proud of these individuals and organizations who not only talk the talk about community, but walk the walk as well. 

If you or your organization are helping raise funds for the victims of Hurricane Katrina I would like to hear about it.  Just click on the "Send us comments" link at the right and send me an email.

UPDATE:  We have been getting a number of calls from members who are working to adapt their rules to enable their communities to assist in the relief efforts for victims of Katrina, including housing those displaced by the storm.  We urge all of our members to be flexible and reasonable in assessing how to apply their rules under these unprecedented circumstances.  For more information, take a look at our statement at: http://www.caionline.org/news/detail.cfm?PRNumber=98091305

We at CAI may understand community, but we can’t begin to imagine the sense of loss, frustration and desperation created by Katrina along the Gulf Coast.  I found myself mesmerized by the pictures on the news last night and this morning, and wondering how well I could manage the stress that the citizens of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama are facing.

Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost the most important parts of their lives—family, neighbors and friends.  The loss of homes and other property is beyond the comprehension of those not living this tragic reality, especially on such a horrific and widespread scale, but this is when people can and should come together, not only those directly affected, but also the millions of others who can contribute, financially and otherwise, to the recovery.

The recuperative powers of mutual support, community, volunteerism, sharing, and giving can be truly astounding and powerful.  We only need to consider the hurricanes in Florida , the tsunami in Asia, and the fires in California all within the past year.  The critical lesson is that as individuals and communities we find a way to survive, rebuild, and most importantly help one another.

Whether in a formal homeowner or condominium association or not, there is no better way to build a sustainable sense of community than by working together – with public and private partners – when everything seems to have fallen apart.  We’ve written about recovery from natural disasters in our magazine, Common Ground, and the stories are uplifting and reassuring—a sense or normalcy does eventually return.  Such stories may be unfathomable right now in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, but they will be written.

For those in need of help you can contact the Federal Emergency Management Agency at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or by going to www.fema.gov.

If you want to help, you can make a donation to help disaster victims through the American Red Cross at 1-800-HELP NOW (435-7669).  Many other charities are also collecting funds to assist victims of this massive storm.

It is somewhat rare that I find myself in personal agreement with the conservative element of the Supreme Court, but this is one of those times.  Recently, the Court upheld a Connecticut court decision (Kelo et al v. City of New London, 04-108) over the taking of a number of private residences to amass the land necessary for a new commercial development. 

Traditionally, governments have only been empowered to exercise eminent domain under the Fifth Amendment in support of some "public use" such as a road, bridge, school, etc.  This decision extends the definition of "public use" to anyone and anything that might provide a greater economic benefit - and the definition of the economic benefit is in the hands of the government and the acquirer of the property, not the current owners.  I guess that this means that no one really owns property, they just have a limited license to use it until someone decides they can find a better use for it and can convince a city or county government that they are right.

Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, in her dissent, noted that this decision abandoned the traditional definitions and principles of individual property rights and enhanced the influence and power of the wealthy and well-connected at the expense of the individual land-owner.  I am sure going to miss her voice of reason and moderation on the Court.

In our industry, we frequently deal with similar claims that community associations deprive owners of their property rights.  I, however, see a big difference in the circumstances. 

 Individuals buying a home in a community association enter into a contract which spells out the specific relationships, requirements, and limitations they are agreeing to.  They are, or certainly have the opportunity to be, informed before they buy.  An eminent domain taking on the other hand can occur at any time, for any purpose, based on this Supreme Court decision.  The individual owner has no expectations, limited warning, and now, apparently, very little recourse.  Perhaps this was the correct legal decision, but I am not sure it was the equitable one.

Of course that is just my opinion.

Over the coming holiday weekend, CAI will be implementing a new technology platform to serve our members.  With over a year of planning and preparation (and a little luck) we will be up and running on July 5th.  For most members, you won't see much of a change immediately, as the initial roll-out will primarily support our administrative operations. 

But in the coming months we will be implementing a wide variety of new members-only web services supported by the system.  Eventually, members will be able to update their contact information online, access enhanced members-only areas of the web site, and utilize expanded and enhanced information exchange tools.

Our goal, as always, is to provide even better tools, information, and service to our members.

I can't resist a brief entry on the revelation that FBI agent Mark Felt has been identified as Woodward and Bernstein's inside source throughout the Watergate scandal.  Handicapping who Deep Throat was has been a popular parlor game, at least for those of us who live in Washington, DC, and follow politics, for many years. 

I guess that I had always assumed that it would turn out to be a political type who had a political agenda regarding Nixon White House policies.  It was surprising to have it be someone from law enforcement after all. 

So what does this have to do with community associations?  Well, one of the great lessons of Watergate was the notion that no matter how high your position, we are all bound by the same set of laws, rules, and ethics.  I think that is an important concept to keep in mind in the governance of community associations. 

The fair, consistent, and equitable application of the rules makes for a better run community.  Many of the horror stories that we hear about in the press have come about because a community's leaders have lost sight of this simple truth. 

CAI's 54th National Conference in Tucson was a fantastic success.  More than 750 attendees participated in a wide variety of education programs, were inspired by two fantastic general session speakers, and enjoyed the amenities of the wonderful Westin La Paloma Resort.  The conference was the most well attended in many years.

Education, insight, and understanding are critical components of any successful conference.  The conference featured more than 30 sessions on such wide ranging topics as risk management, flag issues, and using technology in your community.  We even held a 2 part session on foreclosure issues and invited representatives from outside groups that support seniors and others to participate in a town hall meeting.  The dialogue was certainly lively, but I believe that it was critical to expressing and understanding a wide variety of points of view on this challenging issue.

Just as important, though, are the networks and connections people make at conference and the friendships that are made and reinvigorated there.  Conference is the chance for many of our members to connect with others in the industry, get together with old friends or make some new ones, and have some fun in the process.  I hope that everyone enjoyed the events as much as I did and I hope to see many of you at our next national event, the Community Association Leadership Forum in October in Alanta, GA.

CAI's 54th National Conference and Exibition is scheduled to begin next week in Tucson, Arizona.  Based on advance registrations, sponsor and vendor interest, and the wide variety of educational sessions, this conference looks to be one of our best ever. 

The conference will feature general session speakers on exceptional performance and professionalism, along with over 30 education, shop talk, and networking sessions in four distinct professional tracks, including governance, management, operations, and trends.

While our conference hotel, the Westin La Paloma, is currently fully booked, we have made arrangements with several nearby hotels to handle additional attendees.  The attached file contains information on other hotels near the Westin or you can call a CAIDirect customer service representative at 1-888-224-4321 or check our web site at www.caionline.org for additional information and to register.

I am looking forward to seeing all of our regular conference attendees again and also meeting many of the more that 75 first-time attendees that have already registered.

For those who may live in the Tucson area and are not attending the full conference, we are also making the conference exhibit hall in the Canyon Ballroom available at no cost to local residents (Lunch is not included - But available at an additonal cost).  So if you would like to stop by either Thursday or Friday from 12 to 3:15 pm and see what our more than 60 sponsors and vendors have to offer to your company or community association, please feel free to do so.

And for the golf-dependent among you, we still have a few spots left in Wednesday afternoon's golf outing to benefit the Issues Advancement Fund.  Contact Lula Fekadu at CAI at 703-797-6270 if you are interested in joining us on the Westin's nationally recognized Jack Nicklaus designed course.

One amazing fact that we learned during our trip relates to how new homes are constructed and sold in China.  Most of the new contstruction is what we would consider high-rise condominiums here in the States, although there are some townhouse or cluster home developments in process. 

Over the past several years, most developments have been fully sold prior to construction being started.  In addition, we were told that many transactions did not involve a mortgage at all and were effectively cash deals.  This is fascinating in a country that has had little or no private economy for many years. 

Finally, and most unusually, a builder generally is responsible for turning over a bare unit to the buyer.  It was described to us as basically the 4 walls and utilities.  The buyer then contracts with the appropriate vendors to provide appliances, kitchen cabinets, plumbing fixtures, floor coverings, etc. 

Well, I am back from China and finally seem to be back on east coast time.  A 12 hour time change certainly wreaks havoc on your body rhythms. 

China was an amazing experience.  In 1999 the Chinese government effectively privatized all individual home ownership in China.  If you were living in a government apartment it became yours, as did almost all housing units in the country.  This has paved the way for a boom in construction of new units across the country.  In fact, it appears that the new national bird of China is the Construction Crane.  New projects, both commercial and residential, are going up on almost every block.

Our group had the opportunity to participate in 2 different seminars on real estate law, construction, and management.  The seminars focused on emerging issues related to private home ownership in China and some of them will sound quite familiar to practitioners here in the US.  We heard about:

• Construction defects
• Dispute resolution
• Management company contracts
• Transition from developer control

Most interesting, I thought, were some of the unique aspects of homeownership that have been brought on by the rapid changes in China and the continuing evolution of their legal system.  In China, there is no structured non-profit law.  As a result, most associations are not incorporated in any formal way and most boards (which they call owners committees) are not empowered to legally represent the association and bind them contractually.  One of the impacts of this is that the owners committee doesn’t have the power to terminate the management company’s contract and hire another.  As a result, most communities continue to be managed by the company selected by (and frequently owned by) the developer.

Also, after almost 60 years of government ownership and maintenance of the housing stock, it appears that there is little collective sense of equity ownership among unit owners.  As a result, many buildings are poorly maintained.  A 5 year old high rise condominium in China might look like a 40 year old building in a US city.

Finally, there is an enormous emphasis on the new in China.  Every family that can afford it is looking for a new home.  In most cases, they are not selling the old one, but retaining it for rental.  This has two critical impacts.  First, private ownership and investment is beginning to be instilled at the family level.  Long term, I expect that this will have significant effects on Chinese society and their place in the world economy.  Second, there is a very limited resale market in Chinese housing.  At the same time prices for new units continue to expand at a rate even faster than here in the Washington, D.C. area.  In the Shanghai area, new housing prices have been rising at more than 50% per year in some communities.  Some observers believe that this bubble will burst once the resale market matures and more units, both new and resale, are available.

Other random observations after 10 days in China:

• The air pollution is horrendous.  The typical day in Beijing makes a smoggy summer day in Los Angeles or New York look pretty good by comparison.
• The traffic is worse.  Imagine the worst traffic in your area, the Capital Beltway here in DC., the Long Island Expressway in NY, the “5” in Southern California.  Now add as many pedestrians, bicycles, and scooters as there are cars and eliminate most rules of the road.  That is traffic in China.
• The people we met were wonderful.  They could not have been nicer and more hospitable, interested in the US, and excited to be showing us their country and the many changes that are taking place.
• The differences between the urban areas and the rural ones are much more dramatic than here in the US.  In the cities, everyone has a cell phone, a computer, and a digital camera.  In the most rural areas there are still many without plumbing, power, and other critical infrastructure.

There are a couple of pictures from our trip in the photo gallery for those who are interested.  I am also going to ask the rest of the team to send me their observations to post here.

In the past several years, the Chinese government has begun to allow private home ownership in mainland China.  Most of these homes have been high-rise condomimiums in urban areas.  In many cases, they have been built to help cope with the massive influx of population from rural areas to the major cities.  The populations of greater Beijing, for example, has grown to over 19 million.

This Saturday, I will be traveling to China along with past-presidents Dave Ramsey and Mitch Frumkin and management company owner Mark Jones to represent CAI and speak at a conference on emerging real estate issues in China.  Jointly sponsored by Peking University's Center for Real Estate Law, the Zhejiang Lawyers Association, the Shanghai Lawyers Assocation, and the ABA's Asia Law Initiative, the conference will deal with such topics as structuring associations, building relationships between owners, boards, and managers, maintaining properties effectively, and dispute resolution alternatives. 

I will report back in more detail when we return.

April is National Donate Life Month, designed to raise awareness of organ and tissue donation programs.  I know that this has nothing to do with the community association industry, but it is a topic that I feel very strongly about and wanted to share with you. 

Two weeks ago, a family I know was the recipient of the greatest gift they could ask for.  Their 5 year old son received a new heart to replace the one that was failing him.  They still have a long way to go, but now this young child has a chance at a normal, healthy life.  What could be a greater act of kindness and a greater legacy for our time here on earth. 

Almost everyone can become an organ donor and give blood.  You can learn more about organ donation at www.organdonor.gov  and more about giving blood at www.givelife.org .

+++ Updated May 23, 2005 +++

Two quick updates to my post on donation.  First, the young boy that I mentioned is doing well.  Despite some setbacks in April, he is home and on the mend. 

Also, I received the following email Randy Curtis, a member of a CAI community in California, regarding blood drives.