Project Review Committee Meeting - Jan. 25, 2016

I attended the Jan. 25 Project Review Committee meeting.  Thanks to the two co-chairs, Kevin and Gerald, it was one of the best run GLA meetings I have been to, including board meetings.  Landowners attending were permitted to speak freely and for as long as was necessary to make their points known. A suggestion, however:  All speakers still need to respect the one who is speaking and not interrupt them.  Raise your hand and wait till you have been recognized and given the floor to speak.

One of the points brought up was how can the GLA assist Realtors, Title Companies and Buyers in making sure past due assessments and liens are settled when any Glastonbury properties are sold or transferred.  I offered the following to the committee as a suggestion today after thinking about this overnight:

The GLA should find a way to hold the selling landowner responsible for disclosing to the buyer that there are unpaid assessments or liens on the property. The board policy on the web site states something to the effect that landowners should report any property sales or transfers of ownership to the board. How about adding a clause to the effect "and if there are any unpaid assessments or liens on the property, it is the selling landowners' legal responsibility to disclose this information to the buyer prior to closing." Also include this language when you provide guidance to Realtors and title companies, and in welcome packets. Consider writing up a guide for prospective Glastonbury buyers that could be posted on line and available as a hand out from the GLA. Explain that Glastonbury has governing documents that all landowners are subject to. Explain where to find those documents and urge prospective buyers to read them completely before signing a purchase agreement. Explain that all properties in Glastonbury are subject to annual assessments by the GLA, that some landowners have been remiss in paying and may owe back assessments, and that there may be a lien on the property. Explain that if the buyer does not rectify these discrepancies with the seller prior to closing, the buyer will be held accountable for those unpaid assessments. Give them a contact within the GLA where they can have questions answered and obtain further information.  Share this information too with Realtors and title companies.

One way to help Realtors and title companies make sure this is covered before closing is to have them ask themselves a few simple questions via a checklist: The checklist could also be provided to landowners and prospective buyers, and posted on the GLA web site.

Is this property in Emigrant, MT? If yes, then ask:
Is this property in the community of North or South Glastonbury? If yes, then:
All Glastonbury properties are subject to annual assessments. Are there any unpaid assessments or liens? If yes, then:
Have buyer and seller negotiated and agreed upon a settlement of those unpaid assessments? If no, then:
There can be no closing and transfer of ownership until this agreement is reached and included in the contract of sale.
NOTE: If the seller does not disclose to the buyer any discrepancies in unpaid assessments, although the seller is legally responsible for these debts, the buyer will inherit the debt and be held responsible for it, unless they are paid in full or an agreement is reached prior to closing.  The buyer would then have to legally pursue collecting these funds from the seller, "after the fact," which may prove difficult if not impossible. BUYER BEWARE.