The NC General Assembly in 2020 has made a number of changes to the North Carolina Condominium Act (NCGS 47C). All of the updated statutes have been signed by the Governor and are now law. Here is a PDF of the revised NC Condominium Act. The document also distinguishes between those provisions that are retroactive to all condos and which apply only to condominiums created after October 1, 1986. For more details on the specific 2020 amendments, you may wish to read this article: NC Community Association Legislative Update – June 24, 2020 For any North or South Carolina HOA/condo … Continue reading
2020 CAI-NC Annual Conference Educational Sessions ONLINE
The Annual Conference of the North Carolina Chapter of the Community Associations Institute will be virtual this year. While the Conference is officially next week, July 23-24, there will be many more educational opportunities on issues of concern to HOAs and condos. Registered attendees at this year’s Conference will choose 4 of 12 learning sessions to attend on Conference days (July 23-24). But one of 12 recorded sessions will be opened each day for viewing online Monday-Thursday in the 3 weeks following the Conference. You can attend or re-attend any as part of Conference registration. In addition, presenters will “attend” online the day … Continue reading
New Firm Name & Partners
New Firm Name The law firm of Black, Slaughter & Black, PA will now be doing business as Law Firm Carolinas. The firm, which practices in North and South Carolina, has four offices: Greensboro, Charlotte, Triangle (Garner) and Coastal (Wilmington). New Partners In addition, three attorneys have been named partners in the firm: Jennifer Ruby, who does general civil litigation, business litigation and appeals. Ruby is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2006) and Elon University School of Law (2010) and is based in the Greensboro office. Michael Taliercio, who manages the firm’s HOA/condo assessment … Continue reading
New Law Offers Important Protection to NC Pool Operators
House Bill 902 was signed into law by Governor Cooper on July 2, 2020 and grants some limitations on liability for privately owned swimming pool operators who open their pools during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bill applies to community pools owned by private entities, such as apartment complexes, homeowners associations and condominium associations, and protects those pool operators from liability for injury or death allegedly related to COVID-19 if those pool operators have opened the pools in compliance with the various Executive Orders for pool safety issued by the Governor. Probably the most important Executive Order here is Executive Order … Continue reading
New NC Executive Order Again Allows Electronic Nonprofit Membership Meetings
NC Executive Order #141 issued on May 20 (and still in effect as of July 3) currently limits indoor meeting attendance to 10 and outdoor attendance to 25, which makes it rather hard to hold an in-person association membership meeting. By statute, NC nonprofit association boards have long been allowed to meet by telephone conference or video conference, so long as everyone can simultaneously hear everyone else. However, there has been no such statute for association member meetings. On April 24 the Governor issued Executive Order #136, which allowed for nonprofit membership meetings to be held virtually under certain conditions. … Continue reading
NC Community Association Legislative Update – June 26, 2020
Pool Immunity & Fee Cap on Statement of Unpaid Assessments According to Ferris Bueller: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” At this point in the legislative session, things more pretty fast. And it’s easy to miss things. There have been several significant changes since my NC Community Association Legislative Update – June 24, 2020 two days ago! Summaries follow, and more fuller reviews will be done as a part of our HOA/Condo blogs. House Bill 806: “HOA/Condo Pool Opening Limited Immunity” HB 806 has been amended to … Continue reading
COVID-19 Update: North Carolina to Remain in Phase 2, Additional Restrictions
NC Governor Roy Cooper announced today, June 24, that on Friday, June 26 the State will NOT move to a “Phase 3” with regards to coronavirus restrictions. North Carolina will instead remain in Phase 2 for at least an additional 3 weeks as a result of failing to meet certain key benchmarks. In addition, new face mask requirements have been added. Here are some highlights for North Carolina’s homeowner and condominium associations: Executive Order #147 will take effect on Friday, June 26 at 5 pm. The entire order can be found at Extension of Phase 2 Order and New Measures … Continue reading
NC Community Association Legislative Update – June 24, 2020
Like most everything else in 2020, this year’s legislative session has not been typical. This is the second legislative year of the 2019-2020 Session. Normally, some of the bills that survived “crossover” in 2019 (see NC Community Association Legislative Update – May 10, 2019) would be tweaked and considered, but new significant legislation is not all that common in the second year of a session. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and everything related to that, the financial crisis, and numerous social issues that risen to the forefront, the focus of this year’s legislative session has mostly been on new proposals … Continue reading
Requirements for South Carolina HOA/Condo Pools for Re-Opening After May 18, 2020
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic the community association attorneys at Law Firm Carolinas have been closely monitoring the Executive Orders from the South Carolina Governor, county and city Orders, and the recommendations of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Controls, along with those of the Center for Disease Control. On May 11, 2020 Governor Henry McMaster announced that fitness centers and pools (“Amenities”) may re-open on Monday, May 18, 2020 with certain requirements which are mandated (“Requirements”) and with guidelines that are strongly recommended but not mandated (“Guidelines”). As of the time of this writing there … Continue reading
North Carolina Extends Moratorium on Residential and Commercial Evictions
Governor Cooper and Justice Beasley signed Orders over the weekend which place an additional 21 day moratorium on residential and commercial evictions, effective May 30, 2020. While tenants are still encouraged to timely pay rent as it becomes due, the Orders place restrictions on the steps that landlords may take to remove a tenant from the property, at least from May 30, 2020 through June 20, 2020 (the “Effective Period”). Below is an overview of the Orders as they apply to residential and commercial property. Residential: -All evictions pending in the trial divisions, whether summary ejectment or otherwise, are stayed … Continue reading
Pools in Phase 2: Requirements for Reopening NC HOA/Condo Pools
NC Governor Roy Cooper issued Executive Order 141 (“Easing Restrictions on Travel, Business Operations, and Mass Gatherings: Phase 2”) on May 20, 2020 which will allow homeowner and condominium association pools to re-open on Friday, May 22 at 5:00 p.m. However, certain requirements must be in place. The Order imposes mandated “Requirements” that must be followed as well as “Guidelines” that are strongly recommended (but not mandated). If the directors of an NC community association are discussing opening the association’s pool, the board should, at a minimum, consider the following Steps: STEP 1 – The Governor’s announcement and authorization to … Continue reading
Title Fraud or Deed Theft and Preventative Measures
Recently our office has received inquiries regarding advertisements from companies offering services to protect against home title fraud, also frequently called deed theft. Many do not know what title fraud is, or whether they need to pay a service to guard against it. The concept of title fraud generally involves recording forged or altered documents in a county’s registry that purport to transfer ownership of real estate from one party to another. Once a county’s records have been updated to show the fraudster or their affiliated entity as the property’s owner, the criminal may attempt to sell the property or … Continue reading
Can Your Association Require A Survey as Part of the Architectural Process?
For some property owners, the Coronavirus pandemic has been an opportunity to spend some meaningful time at home working on long neglected projects. This could mean finishing up a landscaping plan, cleaning out a natural area, or finally getting around to building a fence. As owners go about these tasks, it is inevitable that some will ignore or not be aware of the architectural approval process. This may be a good time for boards to- in a friendly way- check in with their neighbors and provide a refresher course on the necessary steps to get an architectural change submitted and … Continue reading
Emergency Video Notarization in North Carolina in the Real Estate Transaction Context during the COVID-19 Crisis
On May 4, 2020, the North Carolina Governor signed into law Senate Bill 704. The Law was drafted specifically to respond to hardships created by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Crisis. One of the key provisions of the Law, in consultation with and at the recommendation of the North Carolina Secretary of State, authorizes all Notaries Public of the State of North Carolina to, “temporarily perform emergency video notarizations so that notarial acts will not impede crucial business transactions, real estate transactions, medical documents, court documents, and most other important document notarizations.” This emergency authorization is a temporary authorization, as … Continue reading
Re-Opening Risks and Liabilities for Businesses in the Era of COVID-19*
As businesses throughout North Carolina begin to plan for and undertake re-opening, concern for the safety of customers and employees is a central focus for many. Prudent businesses of all types or areas including, for example, realtors, management companies, construction companies, retailers, and accountants or other professionals, should also pause to consider and understand their potential liability to those customers, employees and third-parties they serve, utilize and otherwise come into contact with while fulfilling their business functions. A business’ risk, however, isn’t as straightforward or simple as most of us would assume or like, and assessing your potential liability requires … Continue reading
Emergency Video Notarization: What Real Estate Agents Need to Know
This past Monday, May 4, 2020, Governor Cooper signed Senate Bill 704, enacted as Session Law 2020-3, which is designed to aid North Carolinians in response to the Coronavirus disease. Of particular interest to Real Estate Agents is the portion of the bill found in Part IV entitled “Emergency Video Notarization.” Currently, when a real estate document requires notarization, that means the homebuyer must be “physically present” in front of the notary in order for the notarization to take place. Here at Law Firm Carolinaswe are experienced with our attorneys utilizing a variety of methods to close transactions, including video … Continue reading
What Your NC & SC Community Should Consider Before Opening Pools Amid COVID-19 Concerns
Many of our association clients are asking whether the board should open the association’s pool in May as originally scheduled, and if so, what additional rules should the board consider in light of the ongoing COVID-19 health concerns. As an initial step the board of directors must confirm whether there are state, county, city, or other municipal restrictions, including health department restrictions, that may prohibit the association’s pool from being open. If there are, the pool must remain closed. In the event that no executive order or government regulations require the pool to remain closed there are still portions of … Continue reading
Some South Carolina Courts Reopen—Sort Of
Like everyone else in South Carolina, I’ve kept an eye on the latest developments from the court system to see when things can return to normal. On April 30th the Chief Justice for the South Carolina Supreme Court updated the previous March 18th Order relating to foreclosure cases. Among other things, the new April 30th Order provides that “Master-in-Equity courts statewide shall resume foreclosure hearings, foreclosure sales, issuing writs of assistance and writs of ejectments, and proceed in any other manner regarding foreclosures beginning May 15, 2020.” What that means for your homeowners association is that certain collections cases that … Continue reading
How to Leave Money, Assets or an Inheritance to a Minor Child in North Carolina
Until a child reaches the age of eighteen (18), they cannot inherit property outright, or in their own name. It needs to be held for that child in one of several different ways. First, money or property can be left to a minor in a trust. Second, it can be left to a child under a court-supervised guardianship and third, it can be left to a child under the North Carolina uniform Transfer to Minors Act. Trust – A trust can be established during life or through a Will at someone’s death. If money is left to a minor child … Continue reading
WEBINAR: The Next Normal – Lifting COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Orders & The Impact on Community Associations
This week the Community Associations Institute (CAI) hosted a free live webinar on “The Next Normal – Lifting COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Orders & The Impact on Community Associations.” The goal was to provide timely, helpful information on how community associations prepare for the lifting of stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic and the approaches homeowner and condominium associations will need to take to reopen common areas and amenities. Jim Slaughter of Law Firm Carolinas participated as a panelist. If you did not see the program (or did and wish to share it with someone), CAI has made webinar available as a recording … Continue reading