TownhomePros.com
Market updates, HOA guidance, and expert advice from Courtney and Tony Self and the team that lives and breathes South Bay townhome communities.
AB 1684 passed the Assembly 74-0 and the Senate 38-0. It was enrolled and presented to the Governor on August 27. Zero opposition. When signed, every HOA in California with a cooling restriction on the books is out of compliance. Here is what boards, managers, and owners need to know.
Read moreSeven bills moving through Sacramento touch cooling systems, board texts, management fees, ADU impact fees, AI-altered listing photos, common area utility failures and mobilehome termination notices. Two have cleared the Legislature. None of them are law yet.
Read moreAB 956 would widen the rule that voids ADU restrictions in governing documents, and it would let owners build two detached units instead of one. If your association is a planned development, part of this has been law for years and your CC&Rs may already be unenforceable.
Read moreAB 1684 would void any governing document, architectural guideline or policy that blocks a cooling system meeting code, and it attaches a two thousand dollar civil penalty plus attorney fees to a willful violation. The exposure sits with the board, not the association's lawyer.
Read moreIf your association's reserve study has one number in it and no plan behind it, a bill moving through Sacramento would eventually turn that gap into a special assessment, on a schedule you do not get to pick.
Read moreIf your condo or townhome association budgets 10% toward replacement reserves, that number is about to be too low. Fannie Mae's new minimum is 15% of the annual budget, and loan applications dated on or after January 4, 2027 must comply.
Read moreStarting January 4, 2027, Fannie Mae requires HOAs to allocate at least 15% of their annual budget to reserves, up from 10%. Communities that miss the mark could lose warrantable status and see property values drop 5-30%.
Read moreAbout half the homes we sell in the South Bay sit in a common interest development. The avoidable mistakes happen when buyers study the unit but never study the association. Here is the checklist we use.
Read moreThe single most important question about a California HOA is whether it is financially honest with itself. Here is how to read the financials in ten minutes.
Read morePlenty of California HOAs run themselves, and most leave the same handful of gaps. Here is a plain-language check of the items the law actually requires.
Read moreIf your home is part of a California HOA, the Davis-Stirling Act controls how the association operates, how the board behaves, and what sellers owe buyers. Here is the plain-English version.
Read moreWhen a self-managed association calls, something broke. These five questions map directly to the most common California compliance gaps, and most boards cannot answer all of them.
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