Blog

By Randy Newma
This article first appeared in our Communicator Magazine, Winter 2026 Issue.

If your association has ever had to foreclose on a home for unpaid assessments, you probably know how stressful and complicated the process can be. A recent California Court of Appeal decision, Bird Rock Home Mortgage, LLC v. Breaking Ground, LP (2025) D084138 (filed September 16, 2025) makes it clear that foreclosure sales may take longer to finalize than many expected.

WHAT HAPPENED

The Oceanside Community Association foreclosed on a property after the owners stopped paying their assessments. At the foreclosure sale, a bidder, Bird Rock Home Mortgage, offered $60,000 and thought they had won as the successful bidder at the foreclosure sale. Wisely, instead of handing over the deed, the trustee kept the sale "open" for the mandatory holding period under the recent California law, Civil Code § 2924m. During that time, a qualified nonprofit called Breaking Ground stepped in and submitted a bid ...

By Robert M. DeNichilo, Esq., CCAL
CLAC Legislative Co-Chair, Orange County Regional Chapter Delegate

This article first appeared in The Communicator Magazine, Spring 2025.

CAI’S CALIFORNIA LEGISLATIVE Action Committee (CLAC) hit the ground running in 2025 in pursuit of its legislative agenda, which included allowing emergency assessments to cover the cost of insurance premiums and liability protection for associations and board members who are unable to purchase the level of insurance coverage required by CC&Rs for a reasonable cost, or at all. While the bill introduction deadline passed without CLAC being able to secure an author for its proposed bills, we continue working and are hopeful of getting some cleanup legislation into an omnibus bill.

In addition to pursuing its legislative agenda, CLAC is taking positions on several bills introduced that will significantly impact associations and man- agers. AB-739 (Jackson) would require all managing agents to be licensed real esta...

By Jacqueline Vanacek

This article first appeared in The Communicator Magazine, Spring 2025.

When I moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to the Gulf Coast of Florida, I thought I was done being an HOA board president. Not so! Now I have one HOA foot on each coast.

It is fascinating to see homeowner associations end to end, from a builder board in Florida to an owner board in California. And boy are those board objectives different. In 2024, I attended CAI West Florida Chapter’s “Home On The Range” to learn about Florida’s HOA best practices. As a California board director living in a Florida HOA, I was looking for common ground.

WHERE DID HOAS COME FROM?

California has the largest number of homeowner associations in the country, with approximately 80% of multi-family residences in HOAs. Homeowner associations (HOAs), or common interest developments (CIDs), first appeared in the 1960s when high density housing exploded. Cash-strapped municipalities looked to “associations” to fund...