Florida HOA Lawyer Blog
The firm’s latest Miami Herald column was authored by shareholder Nicole R. Kurtz and appears in today’s edition of the newspaper. The article, which is titled “Real Estate Counselor: CAI Conducting Advocacy Efforts on Capitol Hill,” focuses on the recent outreach and meetings by the Community Associations Institute’s public affairs and advocacy team with members of the U.S. Congress and their staffs in Washington D.C. It reads:
. . . As my colleagues have written in this column, CAI is backing a bill pending before the House of Representatives that would provide access to government-backed, low-interest loans for condominium building safety and critical repair/reinforcement projects. CAI’s advocacy efforts on condo-safety reforms have been recognized with the 2022 Lobbying Strategy Innovation Award by the Public Affairs Council, which is the leading nonpartisan association for public affairs professionals worldwide.
In response to the increasing costs of property insurance, mortgage underwriting rules, and new ordinances/laws that will result in more condominium building inspections and critical repairs, some South Florida communities have already begun adjusting their budgets and raising their monthly dues. The proposed bills backed by CAI would offer relief for these increasing costs by providing condominium associations, as well as their unit owners, with access to FHA-insured low-interest loans.
CAI has also been lobbying for reforms to Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s condominium and housing cooperative lending guidelines. These government-backed home mortgage institutions adopted emergency underwriting guidelines for mortgages for condominiums and residences in housing cooperatives after the horrific Champlain Towers South tragedy. Their temporary condominium and housing cooperative guidelines have caused significant delays, and some outright lender denials, for prospective buyers nationwide.