A: As part of the process of purchasing a property in a community association, one of the parties, typically the seller, will pay the association a fee to report the status of the regular and special assessments, along with other information about the unit being sold and the community as a whole. This report is called an “estoppel” and is binding on the community. While the property manager usually prepares the estoppel, it is done on behalf of the association.

Because the association account regards the unit more than the seller, the buyer will reimburse the seller for the credit balance at the closing table and will retain the credit balance on their association account.

While you paid the seller, the association does not return the money to you; instead, your unit’s account will have the credit on it.

It is like when you return something to a store, and instead of giving your cash back, they only give you a gift card.

You should ask for a copy of your ledger to ensure the balance is still showing, and only if it is showing, use up the credit by paying less on your following dues payment. However, if the credit is missing from your ledger, you will need to find out why.

Except in a few specific scenarios, community associations have to abide by estoppel reports they issue.

In your case, since the estoppel says there was a credit on your account, the association will need to honor it. Reach out to the property manager again and politely ask to see your ledger to determine what happened to your credit balance.

If the manager blows you off, take the issue up with the board of directors. Be polite, but firm, and you should get the necessary information.

Board-certified real estate lawyer Gary Singer writes about industry legal matters and the housing market. To ask him a question, email him at gary@garysingerlaw.com, or go to SunSentinel.com/askpro. 

A: The reason there are many different types of mortgages is similar to why a mechanic needs an entire toolbox to fix your car: Not every issue can be resolved using the same tool. Reverse mortgages, or any other type, are neither intrinsically good nor bad — what matters is using the best financial tool for your situation.

In a typical reverse mortgage, a homeowner age 62 or older can receive funds to pay off their current mortgage and supplement their retirement. The loan does not need to be repaid as long as the borrower or their spouse is living in the house.

Once the borrowers no longer reside in the home, whether due to moving out or passing away, the loan must be paid in full or face foreclosure.

The proceeds from the loan are not taxable and generally do not affect your Social Security and Medicare benefits.

Reverse mortgages are “non-recourse,” meaning that the lender can only take back the house in repayment and cannot seek the deficiency from you or your probate estate. This means you will no longer have to make a monthly mortgage payment and can live in your home as long as you want to.

Of course, you will still need to pay your property taxes and hazard insurance.

While reverse mortgages have advantages, they are not for everyone because the up-front costs are high, and the interest eats up your home’s equity.

If you only plan to remain in your home for a short time or want to leave your house to your children, a reverse mortgage may not be the best choice.

Regardless of the type of loan you decide on, carefully review the paperwork before signing, asking questions until you get answers that make sense to you.

Board-certified real estate lawyer Gary Singer writes about industry legal matters and the housing market. To ask him a question, email him at gary@garysingerlaw.com, or go to SunSentinel.com/askpro. 

A: The comfort pets you refer to are likely emotional support animals, or ESAs. Associations, including co-ops, must make reasonable accommodations for people who need the assistance of an ESA.

ESAs are not pets — they are companion animals that provide therapeutic benefits to people with verifiable mental or psychiatric disabilities.

Community homeownership can take various forms, including condominiums, homeowners’ associations, and cooperatives. Despite these different forms of common ownership, fair housing rules apply to all of them. The person requiring the ESA must apply to their association, which should make reasonable accommodations necessary to the resident’s well-being.

Because ESAs are not pets, restrictions regarding pets do not apply. Also, the rules for stores and offices differ from those for housing, and the rules for ESAs differ from those for service animals.

However, this does not mean that no rules apply. Your association can require ESAs to behave appropriately, both inside the resident’s unit and on common property.

While it is not a perfect analogy, I find it helpful to think of ESAs like other therapeutics, such as a walker or cane. While your community cannot stop a resident from having a walker, it can require them to use it appropriately, not bang it on the floor at all hours, or hit other residents with it in the elevator.

Similarly, your community can require residents to maintain proper control over their ESA, making sure they do not make too much noise or become aggressive to other residents.

Your association leadership has the difficult task of balancing its members’ needs. It must balance some residents who want a pet-free building, without barks and dander, with the needs of other residents who require the emotional support of these animals. This is no easy task and requires a fair hand by leadership and patience from the residents.

Of course, if someone abuses the ESA rules to get a pet into the pet-free building, your association can and should take appropriate action with the help of the community’s legal counsel.

Board-certified real estate lawyer Gary Singer writes about industry legal matters and the housing market. To ask him a question, email him at gary@garysingerlaw.com, or go to SunSentinel.com/askpro. 

A: This is the type of question that attorneys will disagree about. In my opinion, enacting this rule would overstep the board’s authority and not be enforceable.

Without getting into the politics of firearm ownership, the law is well-settled that people can keep firearms in their homes.

The Supreme Court sees the right to keep a gun in your home for self-defense as a fundamental right. Your association cannot put other restrictions, such as requiring guns to be kept unloaded, since “[t]his makes it impossible for citizens to use them for the core lawful purpose of self-defense and is hence unconstitutional,” as stated by Justice Scalia in the landmark Heller case on the issue. If someone can legally own a firearm, the association cannot restrict them from keeping the gun in their home.

The issue of whether carrying guns in the community’s common areas is more complicated since private owners can restrict others from bringing firearms onto their property. Also, there are certain places where people who can otherwise legally carry firearms are restricted, such as schools and courthouses.

Depending on where you live, there may be restrictions on how a gun may be carried in public, such as making sure the gun is out of view.

Some lawyers believe that a community association can restrict firearms on common property, while others point out that owners have an ownership interest in the common areas.

If your community feels it has a particularly good reason to restrict concealed carry in a common area, it should still proceed cautiously. First, it may open itself to an expensive lawsuit by disagreeing owners. Second, this type of rule can prove challenging to enforce given the hidden nature of carrying a gun concealed.

Finally, it can be argued that by restricting residents’ ability to defend themselves, the association is taking that responsibility onto itself. This can lead to problems if a resident becomes a victim of a crime if the community does not take adequate steps to provide security.

With all the potential problems and pushback with this sort of rule, this is likely an area better left to the governmental authorities.

Board-certified real estate lawyer Gary Singer writes about industry legal matters and the housing market. To ask him a question, email him at gary@garysingerlaw.com, or go to SunSentinel.com/askpro. 

A: You may be able to get out of your deal, but depending on how your contract was drafted, it might cost you.

You should know that you have two contracts to deal with: the sale contract with your buyers and the listing agreement with your real estate agent.

While I rarely see a clause in these contracts concerning your ability to purchase the new home, this can be included in contracts for circumstances like this.  Typically, a buyer will purchase a new home contingent on selling their existing one, but there is no reason a seller cannot include a similar contingency.

If this feature was not included in your contract, your buyer would have the choice of letting you off the hook, demanding to be repaid the costs that were incurred in trying to buy the house, such as inspections and lender fees, or filing a lawsuit seeking “specific performance.”

Because each parcel of real estate is unique and irreplaceable, just receiving money would not fairly compensate your buyer, who asks the court to force the seller to complete the transaction.

However, since suing to force the home’s sale can take months or even years, most buyers will not want to take the time, opting to be reimbursed for the money they laid out.

You should speak with your buyer, explain the situation, and try to negotiate a small but fair payment to your buyer to let you off the hook.

You must also deal with the listing agreement with your real estate agent. With this type of contract, you hire your agent to list your property and find a buyer who is “ready, willing, and able” to purchase your house.

Even though you canceled the purchase, you still owe the commission you agreed to pay your agent. Carefully review the listing agreement to see what is owed and try to negotiate the amount.

Just walking away from the deal without resolving this with your agent will likely get you sued for the commission and the legal costs of bringing the suit. That said, many agents are understanding and will try to work out a fair compromise.

Board-certified real estate lawyer Gary Singer writes about industry legal matters and the housing market. To ask him a question, email him at gary@garysingerlaw.com, or go to SunSentinel.com/askpro. 

A: Most municipalities require that you get a permit when performing certain repairs or improvements on your property, such as roof repairs, installing an air conditioner, putting up a shed or other structure, or even cutting down a tree.

A permit is what it sounds like — permission from your local government. Besides generating revenue, the permitting process, which involves reviewing your plans and inspecting the work to ensure the building code was adhered to, helps ensure your safety and maintain your community’s character.

Many properties, especially those within planned communities, are subject to “setbacks,” which require structures to be set back a certain distance from the property line. Setbacks, especially when combined with easements, such as those for power and water lines, can make finding a spot to put your shed a challenge. You will need to refer to a land survey to figure things out.

Fortunately, you should have gotten a survey when you purchased the property, so look through your closing paperwork to find it. Most cities will allow an older survey for this purpose, but if not, or if you cannot find yours, you will need to complete another one as part of the project.

Even if you are using a contractor for the work, it is your responsibility to follow the rules. Some contractors will tell you to get the work done without a permit to save time and money, but if the authorities get wind of it, you can be fined and even asked to remove the shed. This happens enough that companies specialize in working with your city to resolve issues with unpermitted work.

Board-certified real estate lawyer Gary Singer writes about industry legal matters and the housing market. To ask him a question, email him at gary@garysingerlaw.com, or go to SunSentinel.com/askpro. 

A: One of the best ways to deal with a former friend is to avoid them, but that is impossible when you live on the same block.

My standard advice when someone has an issue is to try to talk to the other party and see if things can be worked out.

If that is impossible or does not work, your next step would be to report the harassing behavior to your homeowners association and ask that they take action. Everyone has a right to enjoy their property; your association should enforce that right when necessary.

Your association can tell her to stop, possibly fine your neighbor if this continues, and may even eventually have to take her to court to get her to respect the rules and your right to live peacefully.

As with all legal issues, document everything that is going on, keeping dates and details and even taking pictures when appropriate.

t is essential to stay on the right side of this and not retaliate or stoop to her level.

If, for some reason, your association is unable or unwilling to correct your neighbor’s behavior, you should speak with an attorney. Your attorney may be able to send her a letter demanding that she stop the bad behavior and warn her of the ramifications.

Depending on what she does, she may be liable to you for causing you harm, or at the very least, your attorney can seek an “injunction,” a court order telling someone to stop wrongful behavior.

Finally, always remember that your safety is paramount. If you ever feel unsafe or a family member may be in danger, you should immediately call the police.

Board-certified real estate lawyer Gary Singer writes about industry legal matters and the housing market. To ask him a question, email him at gary@garysingerlaw.com, or go to SunSentinel.com/askpro. 

A: Questions about views are complicated because of the various facts of each situation.

The general rule is that no one is allowed to block your direct view. Your direct view was of a neighboring golf course that was removed and replaced with houses.

The law often protects particular views like an ocean or mountain view, prohibiting buildings or landscaping from blocking them.

While a golf course view may have been among these particular views, that changed when the developer had the new development approved. That said, while the golf course view may be gone, it does not mean you need to look at untrimmed, out-of-control vegetation.

You should try to work with your condominium association urging them to work with the neighboring community to improve the view. Your association can trim the parts of the trees on your side of the property line as long as doing so does not damage the health of the tree.

It may also be able to beautify your side of the property line.

You can review your municipality’s ordinances to see if they contain rules regulating landscaping and tree trimming.

Even if your municipality lacks specific rules covering your situation, it may still be able to help. Ask code enforcement or the building department to help deal with the problem.

Board-certified real estate lawyer Gary Singer writes about industry legal matters and the housing market. To ask him a question, email him at gary@garysingerlaw.com, or go to SunSentinel.com/askpro. 

A: I usually see arrangements like yours in townhome communities, but there is no reason not to use them for other property types. People often confuse the type of ownership with the type of property. For example, if you said you lived in a condo, most people would think you had an apartment in a high-rise, but there is no reason that single-family houses can not be owned as condominiums. While condominium ownership usually makes the most sense for apartment-style housing, there is no reason it has to be that way. The same variety can be found in how each community is governed, regardless of the form of ownership.

No matter which type of community association you live in, you will need to read your association’s recorded agreements and other documents to learn your rights and responsibilities. This might be called a condominium declaration, CC&Rs, by-laws, rules, or some other name, but a set of restrictive documents governs every association. You may also have to review the laws, called “statutes,” that govern your particular type of community. These laws will cover what must and cannot be, in your community documents, along with how to deal with certain situations not covered in them.

Generally, the entire membership shares the cost when an association covers utilities like water. However, if an extra charge is due to the actions of a particular unit, that owner may have to cover the overage. Repairs, like replacing their power line, will likely have to be paid for by the homeowner whose house it connects to. But these are just general guidelines, and your community rules will decide what to do. This is why I encourage everyone who lives in a community association to become familiar with the rules they agreed to live by.

Board-certified real estate lawyer Gary Singer writes about industry legal matters and the housing market. To ask him a question, email him at gary@garysingerlaw.com, or go to SunSentinel.com/askpro. 

A: Occasionally, a check may fail to clear for reasons not the drafter’s fault. Ask the buyers why their check did not clear, and if they share a good reason, have them immediately make the deposit with certified funds or a wire.

If they can not, or will not, cooperate with your reasonable request, move on and find a new buyer.

However, if they can do it, you can move forward with the deal while looking for other warning signs.

The initial deposit, or “earnest money deposit,” is how purchasers show they are serious about purchasing your property. With most purchase contract forms, a seller is limited to getting the deposit amount if the buyer defaults, so make sure to get a sufficient amount.

It would be best to ask for a minimum of five percent, but more is better, with 20 percent of the purchase price being the goal. A larger deposit keeps the buyer motivated to purchase your home. It is easy for a buyer to walk away from a $1,000 deposit but much harder to walk away from $20,000, so a larger deposit makes your transaction more likely to close.

Remember that nice people are not always good, and these buyers have already shown a warning sign. Carefully review your contract and write down all of the deadlines. These important dates should be strictly enforced.

In my experience, most failed transactions have multiple warning signs, such as issues with the deposit, missed deadlines, or attempts to renegotiate the terms after the ink is dry.

While one of these issues, standing alone, does not mean your transaction will fail, when more issues show up, you should be concerned.

Board-certified real estate lawyer Gary Singer writes about industry legal matters and the housing market. To ask him a question, email him at gary@garysingerlaw.com, or go to SunSentinel.com/askpro.