HOA Bill Passes Ohio Senate!!!

Great News! In a victory for all of Ohio's homeowner associations and communities, the Ohio Senate voted 29-1 to pass S.B. 187, the Ohio Planned Communities Act. The Bill will now be referred to the Ohio House of Representatives, where it will be assigned to a committee for further consideration and a vote.

If passed by the House, the Ohio Planned Community Act would give Ohio's homeowner associations a statutory foundation, similar to Ohio's condominiums. The Act will provide Ohio homeowners with the consumer protections they deserve by protecting their investment through statutorily organized associations creating strong neighborhoods and communities. This includes the ability to amend a declaration,require annual elections, inspect the association's records, and to handle rule enforcement issues in-house to avoid litigation.

Thank you for your continued support. Stay tuned to www.ohiohoalaw.com for updates on this important legislation for Ohio's communities.

Collection Action Pays Off!

In 2009, Kaman & Cusimano, LLC collected over Three Million, One-Hundred Thousand Dollars ($3,100,000.00) in 2009 for its community association clients! This figure represents all money collected as a result of bankruptcies, foreclosures, and liens for which we handle the payoffs. It does NOT include the money recovered by the associations directly for countless other liens and collection letters.

As part of the effort to weather and manage the economic crisis, Kaman & Cusimano, LLC has consistently recommended that community associations be aggressive with delinquencies. Collection action is a process. A key part of the process is a foreclosure action. A foreclosure sometimes takes time, but it ultimately yields the best financial result of Ohio's condominium and homeowner association. By taking prompt collections action, associations stop the bleeding of bad debt and give delinquent owners a strong reason to pay. After a foreclosure, related actions such as wage garnishments and bank attachments also prove successful when available information shows the individual is employed or has other resources.

Delinquent maintenance fees and assessments have a tremendous, negative impact on the entire community. Our results have proven that if a Board is proactive and takes strong collections action, the best interests of the community and the property will be preserved and protected.