Questions about Housing Association Laws

What is a homeowners association?

A homeowners association is a corporation of real estate developer for marketing, managing and selling homes, lots and residential subdivisions such as apartments, or condos. There are many responsibilities when becoming a homeowner association, and many questions my pop up, and some misunderstandings. Don’t keep going without knowledge, read below where five commonly asked questions have been answered by Experts on JustAnswer.

What can a condo association do in order to collect past due payments?

In order to collect past due payments the condo association can hire an attorney to sue the owner for the past due fees. They can state by sending collection letters to try and collect the fees; they can also have the attorney do this as well. If the owner fails to respond or pay the fees they can hire a collection agency to hire an attorney to sue them. Some attorneys act as if they are collectors in order to try and collect the past due amount, and when they cannot collect the amount then they will file for a lawsuit.

In New York what is the difference between homeowners association and a condo?

A condo is a unit that a larger building normally for multi-tenant building. A townhouse is a separate structure but shared by the same walls. A townhouse normally owns the land or has a specific property. A condo owner doesn’t own the land.

Can someone sue a condo association if they have not met our needs?

In most situations the tenant can sue the condo association for not meeting specific living needs. If the tenant has asked multiple times for things to be fixed to make the condo livable, and the condo owner fails to comply then the tenant may have a lawsuit.

If the IRS hasn’t made a demand on not filing an 1120H form for homeowners association, should they go ahead and file?

Filing an 1120H is a provision to take advantage of the homeowners’ tax breaks. If someone has failed to file by the due date then the HOA must file a tax return. Filing the returns at this time will have no effect on them.