Not So Neighborly Associations Foreclosing On Homes by WADE GOODWYN

Listen to this remarkable story of how a soldier serving our country in Iraq had his $300,000.00 home foreclosed because he didn't pay $3500 -- enough to cover outstanding HOA dues and legal costs.

From NPR

R L Wilson Law Firm-Sponsored Bobcats Win McAllister Park Softball Championship

Congratulations, Girls!

June Foreclosure Auction -- Bexar County Courthouse

Several San Antonio Area Hotels Sold at Auction

This has been a busy week for hotel sales in San Antonio.

First, the Comfort Suites at 8021 Alamo Downs Parkway was foreclosed by its lender on Tuesday at the June monthly foreclosure auction. That property was acquired for $3.8 million -- a disappointing figure for the lender, who had hoped the property would fetch $5.7 million. Three other hotels listed for June foreclosure at the Bexar County Courthouse failed to sell at the monthly auction.

On Thursday, the Quality Inn and Suites hotel at 10950 Laureate Drive was sold in an online auction that was conducted on Auction.com. According to news reports, that property sold for $1.7 million.

The Hampton Inn at 11010 Interstate 10 West already has been listed for the next auction on July 5, and it is expected that the hotels that didn't sell -- the Quality Inn Medical Center hotel located at 4 Piano Place, America's Best Value Inn located at 3645 North Panam Expressway and America's Best Value Inn in Seguin -- will likely be auctioned again at a yet-to-be-determined date.

New Changes to TREC Contract Forms

The Texas Real Estate Commission took emergency action at the February 14, 2011 commission meeting to adopt revisions to standard contract forms including the Unimproved Property Contract, the One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), the New Home Contract (Incomplete Construction); the New Home Contract (Completed Construction); the Farm and Ranch Contract; and the Residential Condominium Contract. The effective date for the emergency action is March 1, 2011.

This action was taken based on a recommendation from the Broker Lawyer Committee. The Broker Lawyer Committee is a committee appointed by the Commission to draft and revise contract forms that are capable of being standardized to expedite real estate transactions and minimize controversy.

With this action the forms were amended to remove new sub-paragraph 15B, which was recently added to the contract forms to require a seller or buyer to file an action for specific performance within 45 days of the Closing Date of the contract. The Commission took emergency action to remove sub-paragraph 15B with an effective date of March 1, 2011. The updated contract forms are available for immediate use on the TREC website with a date of February 14, 2011 on the right-hand corner.

New Chair and Commissioners Appointed to Texas Real Estate Commission

Governor Rick Perry has made four appointments to the Texas Real Estate Commission: Broker member Avis Wukasch, currently serving as a broker member of the commission with a term to expire January 31, 2013, was appointed to serve as the Chair. Governor Perry also newly appointed broker member Bill L. Jones and public member Weston Martinez, and reappointed broker member Troy Alley, all three with terms to expire January 31, 2017.

Texas Cops Shoot to Kill - Two Young Men in Beeville, Austin Die From Cop's Guns This Week

If you are pondering stealing something in Texas - and in this bad economy, crime is on the rise - you may be risking more than getting busted and serving some time.

You may be risking your life. (Heck, you may be doing that if you are just roaming along a city street anywhere in Texas.)

Deadly force (also known as excessive force) may be a viable legal claim -- but it's better to be alive than to have your grieving loved ones pursuing a lawsuit based on excessive force by a cop with a gun.

Beeville Shooting of Albert Ponce, 29, Yesterday

Yesterday morning, before sunrise, Anthony Albert Ponce of Three Rivers, was pulled over by Beeville police officers after they decided Ponce matched the description of a man who had ripped off a convenience store.

The Beeville cops say that Ponce got out of his car holding a pistol and waving his hands around in a threatening way. When Ponce refused to drop his gun, one of the cops shot him. That officer is on paid leave while his actions are being investigated.

Meanwhile, Ponce died at Spohn Hospital in Beeville later that day: Ponce was only 29 years old.

Austin Shooting of Byron Carter, 20, on Monday

On Monday, two bicycle cops were wheeling around downtown Austin when they spotted a car that they suspected held two car thieves - so they rode over to check things out, according to the Austin Police Chief in his statement to the press.

Apparently, the car started moving toward one of the bikes, hitting one of the cops, and the other officer fired on the occupants. The car drove off only to be found nearby with the passenger dead in the front seat. The driver was tracked down, he had a gunshot wound to his arm and was taken to Austin's Brackenridge Hospital.

Byron Carter, 20, was the passenger that died in that gunplay and a minor (16 yrs; name not released) is the wounded driver.

As for the cop that got hit by the car, he was treated and released by Brackenridge doctors for a ruptured Achilles' tendon. The cop who used his pistol to take those shots is also on a paid leave while things are investigated.

Shoot Now, Check for Guilt Later

Notice that in both events, neither decedent was proven to be a criminal - neither cop knew at the time if this target was guilty of stealing anything.

Texas Legislature Passes 18 HOA Reform Bills in the Waning Moments of 82nd Legislative Session

Last night the fat lady sang, and we're "done" for 2011. Even if the Governor calls a Special Session, POA laws won't be on the agenda again (assuming no horrorific gut-wrenching headlines) until the 83rd Legislature meets in January 2013. That gives us a year and a half to figure out the many new POA laws that are going into effect between now and year end, and identify any fixes that may be needed.

WHAT PASSED?

18 POA Reform Bills have been sent to Governor Perry for the last step in the law-making process.

The 18 bills, together, constitute 30 independent law changes (by my count). If you have been watching specific POA Bills by number, here are the statewide POA-specific bills that passed: HB 8, HB 362, HB 1127, HB 1228, HB 1278, HB 1737, HB 1821, HB 2761, HB 2779, HB 3391, SB 101, SB 472, SB 498. These are the "bracketed" POA-specific bills that passed: HB 232, HB 364, HB 1071, HB 2702, HB 2869.

Whether you like the law changes or not, they are game-changers. A new day is dawning.

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GOVERNOR'S ROLE

After the Legislature finishes with a bill, it goes to Governor Perry, who has three options. He can sign the bill. He can veto the bill (all or nothing - no line item veto). Or, he can ignore the bill in which case it becomes law by its own terms. The Guv's options expire on June 19th.

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EFFECTIVE DATES

Most of the POA bills have specific dates on which they become effective - either September 1, 2011, or January 1, 2012. A few bills were written to become effective "immediately". When is that? If the Governor signs the bill, the date he signs is the date it becomes effective. If the Governor doesn't sign or veto, it becomes effective at the end of the veto period - on June 20th.

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GETTING OUT THE WORD

"THE MEDIA" in Texas (and some of the anti-HOA blogs) has been duped into thinking that no meaningful HOA reforms were passed this Session. You've seen the headlines. We've got to correct that false impression, else the word will not filter down to the thousands of Texas POAs that are not connected to each other or to a reliable source of information about law changes.

Many of the POAs in Texas are small and self-managed. They plod along decade after decade in reliance on their POA documents and "the way we've always done it." Same is true of POA managers and POA lawyers who work with only one or a few POAs ~ they may be clueless about what's happening in Austin. They mean no harm, they just don't know any better. Hopefully the managers and lawyers who handle large numbers of POAs are in-the-know.

In order for the new reforms to work, everyone connected with Texas POAs needs to know about the law changes. For that, we need THE MEDIA. The same MEDIA that pummels POAs when they act badly now needs to beat the drum for the law changes so POAs can get on the right page. It's not fair for THE MEDIA to hide behind a log waiting to catch a POA violating a new law, when THE MEDIA doesn't do its part to reach the POAs with news of these sweeping law changes.

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WHERE TO FIND THE NEW LAWS

It may take months (many months) for publications of the Texas Property Code to be "amended and restated" with the Session changes. The State's own website announces that its online statutes and codes won't be updated until 2012. And it may be Fall 2011 before West Publishing produces its paper versions of the updated statutes and codes. CAUTION. If you put your hands on a paper version of the Texas Property Code, you can be pretty sure it's out of date regarding POA laws.

What to do in the interim? From the Legislature's FAQs . . ."Before the statutes are updated, use Texas Legislature Online to search, by subject, for enrolled bills and read summaries of the enrolled bills. Use the Index to Sections Affected tool to determine whether statute sections of interest to you were amended by any bills passed."

My recommendation, go to Texas Legislature Online, click on "Legislation", then on "Bill Look-Up." Enter the Bill Number ) from the attached chart, making sure the website is set for the 82(R) Legislature - 82nd Regular Session. (That's the default now, but may change if Gov. Perry calls a Special Session.) For "Information Type" select "Text." On the Text page, select the "Enrolled" version . . . the one at the bottom. You'll have a choice of Adobe, Word, and HTML versions.

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HOW TO LEARN ABOUT THE NEW LAWS

It's going to be a scramble. Texas attorneys need time to get up to speed on the law changes so we can discuss the changes with our clients. Although some POA managers and directors are very knowledgeable about the new laws (and the old laws), attorneys licensed in Texas are the go-to resource for the effect of law changes. That's our job.

POAs with the wherewithal would be wise to schedule meetings with their lawyers, whose calendars may fill quickly during the transition period. Some large management companies may sponsor educational programs for their members. Some large management companies may do the same for their clients. Be on the lookout for programs and attend as many as you can. There may be more than one way to interpret and implement the new laws.

This post courtesy of Sharon Reuler.