As the Nevada Legislature wraps up its 2015 regular session, state lawmakers will be addressing several issues important to homeowners and the local housing market.
One of the most crucial, and perhaps most complex, issues deals with foreclosures by homeowner associations.
Groups representing HOAs are fighting any legislation that could threaten or eliminate the so-called super priority lien that allows HOAs to collect up to nine months of unpaid HOA assessments when a bank forecloses on a home in an HOA. Super priority liens also give HOAs the authority to foreclose on delinquent homeowners and give associations first shot at collecting proceeds from the sale of a foreclosed home, ahead of the traditional first-lien position held by the mortgage lender.
This has been a contentious legal issue in recent years that has reached as far as the Nevada Supreme Court, pitting HOAs and companies that manage them against lenders and real estate investors.
The Nevada Association of Realtors is working with state lawmakers to clarify these issues and balance the needs of homeowners, HOAs, lenders and others. Like state Sen. Scott Hammond, R-Las Vegas, we support legislation that protects the interests of Nevada homeowners living in associations without wiping out the legal interests of federal entities that help homeowners secure mortgage loans. Read more: