Times they are a changing. Some of you may remember leaving your house or car unlocked, confident in the knowledge that when you returned, everything would be just as you left it. In this wonderful, brave new world of controlled living, barricading your doors, windows and vehicles is no guarantee that you won’t be fleeced, especially if you live in one the nation’s 325,000 HOAs where expenses, charges, assessments, fines, fees and dues just keep rolling in.
One such “expense” is called a transfer fee. A transfer fee is a fee, usually charged by the management company to “transfer” the sellers name out of their computer system and replace it with the buyers name when a house sells in the development. This is the same management company that has been hired by the association to manage the affairs of the association, maintain the books and records and oversee the contracts.
Joining us On The Commons this week is Stan Hrincevich. Stan lives in Colorado in an HOA and when he ran across something called a transfer fee, he did some research and what he discovered did not please him in the least so he decided to do something about it. He spent the last couple of years working on legislation to ban them, or at least cap them in Colorado. He set up a web site, www.coloradohoaforum.com , found some sympathetic legislators to carry his bill, rallied the homeowners in his State and could almost taste the bubbles in his Champaign glass. He was so close to victory – or so he thought. Before you pop the cork on your bottle to help Stan and his fellow Coloradans celebrate, tune to find out what happened.
