On the air!

The collapse of the Champlain Towers South condo building in 2011 made it apparent to people who had been in denial about it for decades that most condo associations are financially fragile. They don't have enough money in their reserves to fund inevitable major repairs. The insurance industry is responding to this situation in their usual fashion: avoiding responsibility. Now they are fleeing the state of Florida to avoid the litigation that will result when associations sue them for coverage. https://www.bankrate.com/insurance/homeowners-insurance/florida-homeowners-insurance-crisis/

The Community Associations Institute is the main trade association for the lawyers, property managers, and other vendors who sell their services to HOAs and condo associations. They are strongly opposed to the new requirements that the GSEs are putting on associations. Fannie Mae won't buy a mortgage on a condo unit unless the association reports that they are financially sound--that's the essence of it. CAI lawyers have been advising their condo association clients not to respond fully. https://advocacy.caionline.org/cai-continues-to-urge-changes-to-fannie-mae-and-freddie-mac-lending-questionnaires/

So in essence the industry that supports condo associations is in opposition to policies that are designed to protect condo unit owners from the consequences of their own tendency to under-fund their reserves, and to protect potential buyers, and of course to protect Fannie Mae from buying and securitizing mortgages on buildings that are falling apart.

Jennifer McCoy’s report should be on the focal point of Democratic Party politics, but they are sleepwalking into disaster. https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/01/18/what-happens-when-democracies-become-perniciously-polarized-pub-86190