Category: General

Categories: Board Duties, Federal Law & Regulations, Financial & Reserves, General Tags: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Reserves

By Richard S. Ekimoto, Esq. On March 18, 2026, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced changes to their lending guidelines in Lender Letter LL-2026-03. There are a number of changes announced in the Lender Letter, some of which will be discussed in later posts. This post focuses on the changes to the reserve requirements for condominium projects. The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac changes to their reserve requirements for condominium associations includes: Hawaii condominium associations [Read More...]

Categories: Board Duties, Community Association Management, Federal Law & Regulations, General Tags: Beneficial Owner Information, Corporate Transparency Act, CTA

By Richard S. Ekimoto, Esq Bloomberg Law has reported a few hours ago that a federal District Court judge in Texas issued a nationwide injunction on the Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”). The injunction means that the CTA is blocked from being enforced. Judge Amos Mazzant III issued the injunction stating: The CTA is likely unconstitutional as outside of Congress’s power. Because the Reporting Rule implements the CTA, it is likely unconstitutional for the same reasons. [Read More...]

Categories: Communications, Community Association Management, Financial & Reserves, General, Hawaii Community Association Statutes, Meetings Tags: Certified Public Accountants, Condominium audits, CPA

By John A. Morris, Esq. Under Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 514B-150, all condominium associations with 20 or more units must annually have an audit and an unannounced cash balance verification.  Condominium associations with fewer than 20 units may waive those requirements by a majority vote at a meeting.  Subject to certain exceptions, an association must make a copy of the audit available to all owners and must provide a copy to those owners who request [Read More...]

Categories: General

In 2022, the legislature made a number of changes to both the condominium law (Chapter 514B) and the planned community associations law (Chapter 421J).  Most but not all of the changes improve association operations.  You can view the text of the acts by clicking on the links below. Act 69 (SB 2685 SD2, HD1, CD1), Signed 6/17/22, effective January 1, 2023 Relating To Planned Community Associations. The legislative history for act 69 indicates that its [Read More...]

Categories: General

SB 2661 seeks to change the balance of power between associations and owners in connection with the collection of charges other than maintenance fees. The current law requires owners to “pay first and dispute later” with respect to charges imposed by the association – i.e., that owners must pay the amounts claim by the association and then have the option of going to Small Claims Court or filing for mediation and arbitration.  This bill proposes to [Read More...]