we've talked a lot on this show about homeowners associations.o give the impression that they're all bad. but you really need to know what you're signing in to before you buy. the single most important and often overlooked issue is how much they have in reserves. how much money do they have? if it's not enough, guess who will be footing the bill down the line? you and i as the homeowner. now, before you buy into an hoa community, ask that they provide you with the last 12 months of meeting minutes. if at all possible, try to attend an hoa meeting before you purchase. and talk to some of the neighbors. get an idea. how is the board? are they cooperative? are they trying to help homeowners? or is there a lot of politics involved? we all know that can happen. don't just look at the maintenance fees or the monthly dues before deciding to sign on. look at things like what is the condition of the community you're buying into? have they been skimping on maintenance and not making capital improvements? those things are not likely to suddenly get better.

. >> homeowners association. >> mm-hmm.eowners association. >> remember, home ownership's costs are much more than just your mortgage. >> you've got also your operational cost. >> the prices of water and -- and gas and, um, all those additional things that sometimes are packed into a rental agreement. >> even putting aside hoa dues and insurance, there's property taxes, landscaping bills, water, sewer, and utility costs. >> if it's a home that, uh, is not energy efficient, you know, that could be a really large amount that you're paying monthly. >> what if an appliance breaks? what if, um, you know something needs to be fixed? you do need to have that money kind of set aside for an emergency situation. >> so all of that needs to be factored in the actual operation of the home. >> could you qualify for a mortgage even if you want one? well, sometimes first-time buyers have trouble because they've only rented before. they might not even have any credit established. >> there are programs that allow for a nontraditional credit.

as representing the homeowners association, we're certainly very much in favor of designating this -- the safety wall. it was very startling to see the pictures that you saw -- showed earlier, the one from when the wall was first built, where there were no trees, and its current status. i'd only like to point out that those trees, not only with the are -- are they growing into the wall in certain places, they're growing into the street. they're certainly going to have to be trimmed back because they're big branchs that are going to fall into clipper seemingly at a moment's notice. that's all i wish to add, and our support from the 396 members of the diamond heights village association. thank you very much. >> supervisor tang: thank you. next speaker, please. >> carl arnsen. i live right below the wall. i'm at 44 amber, so the wall is above my property and 48 amber. so i came here, i take mostly the answered questions. i've lived there since 1980. the wall is extremely sturdy. you can see all the concrete at the bottom, and the redwood. and it hasn't moved any or any damage. the proble

to a san jose man who was due money from his homeowners association. but, he couldn )t get it until our "responds" team stepped in. consumer investigator chris chmura is here with the story. olympic sweet heart adam rippon stole america )s hearts n the winter olympics in south korea.. but now he may be finding romance here at home. rippon made history as the first openly gay athlete on the u-s winter olympic team. and he caught the attention of actress sally field. her attempt to set rippon up with her son went viral on twitter. and it looks like the matchmaking was a success. field )s son tweeted out this picture with rippon this weekend. his caption said )thanks mom ). coming up on today in the bay vianey tease mike tease plus-- healing after the shooting at a veterans home. the new details we )re learning about the gunman and his possible motives. breaking news out of oakland. lanes of 880 shut down after power lines went down on the freeway. a live look at the backup from our traffic camera. good morning and thank you for joining us. i )m laura gar

man who was due money from his homeowners association but he couldn't get it until our response teampped in. chris is here with the story. he had his monthly hoa dues deducted from his bank account automatically. he sold his condo in november of 2016. but in december, $374 were deducted from his account. he contacted the hoa and couldn't get a refund. this won't for months. he finally contacted us for help. we contacted the hoa and they directed us to their bookkeeper. well, that company refunded him his $374. the bookkeeping service said it issued a refund in april of last year but had mailed it to the wrong address. the owner sent us a statement that said, as a business owner, i firmly believe that no one should have to wait such a long time receive a refund and for that, i sincerely apologize. he also said he's made some internal changes so something like the doesn't happen again. we have fixed several cases where auto deductionsing wrong. 5 consumer complaint, please call us or logon to nbcbayarea.com/respond. >> right now we're looking at the weather and we'll have to get used t

my name is gina carriaga, and i'm the president of the homeowners association for sf blue, and i brought today a statement signed by myself, as well as three other hoa presidents. our buildings are compromised of over 500 housing units were not blocks of the development proposed. we support the midrise alternate enter as the 2013 plan draft as it is described in this video, and we oppose the current stratsoma plan. it really is an unwelcome expansion of downtown into our neighborhood. now, switching gears, i'm a little discombaobyodiscombobul. i'd like to introduce you to doug cermak, who's stepping in for rich today, and i will send this to you through the secretary this afternoon. >> good afternoon, commissioners. again, my name is doug cermak. i'm representing central soma neighbors and sf blue, and in addition as gina just mentioned, there's three additional homeowner associations that have supported our comments. 300 third street, 350 bryant street, 77 dow. so as this presentation would show, central soma has enjoyed a renaissance in recent years to become one of the most economical

♪ money from his homeowners association. >>> nbc bay area responds to a san jose man who is due moneysociation. >> but he says he couldn't get it until our responds team stepped in. consumer investigator chris chmura is here with the story. >> mashi had his monthly hoa dues deducted from his bank account automatically. he sold his condo in november of 2016, but in december of that year $374 in hoa dues were dee dungted from his account. he contacted the hoa but couldn't get a refund. this went on for months. he finally reached out to us for help. we contacted the hoa and it directed us to its bookkeeper na shade and associates. that company refunded him his $374. the bookkeeping service said it issued a refund in april of last year but had mailed it to the wrong address. the owner of na shade and associates sent us a statement that said as a business owner i firmly believe that no one should have to wait such a long time to receive a refund and for he alsoúÑ!- said he has made so internal changes so something happen again. we have helped fix several cases wheririÑ deductions;ñ wrong.

to a san jose man who was money from his homeowners association.. >>> he help people get money back. area respond to a man, due money from homeowners. >> couldn't get it until a response team stepped in. >> he had his monthly hoa dues deducted from his bank account. that should have stopped when he sold his condo back in november. of 2016. but, in december of that year, 374 dollars deducted. for hoa dues from his bank account. contacted hoa. couldn't get a refund. he tried for months. we contacted them. they directed us to, to a book keeping firm. and now, automatically. and issued a refund in april. sent it to the wrong address. the owner sent a statement. saying as of business, owner, i firmly believe that no one should have to wait such a long time to receive a refund. and for that i sincerely apologize. he also said he has the made internal changes. something look this doesn't happen again. we have helped fix several cases where auto deductions went wrong. best advice is to request confirmation in writing. specifically when you are, ending a service. if you have a consumer come pl

. >>> jennifer asks, my homeowner's association plans to cut down a palm tree in front of my home, canrom cutting it down? >> it's probably too late. generally these types of decisions are made at meetings you could have attended. that's why it's a good idea to always read the minutes of upcoming hoa meetings. that said, it never hurts to call the hoa board members and ask for the tree's reprieve, who knows? if it's not that important to someone else and important to you, who knows. >>> it is national puppy day and all morning long, abc7 studio was overrun with cute lit puppies. >> you know what's even better than a friday? national puppy day, and boy, are we thick with them at abc7 news today. it's all part of our adoption event with our perfect pet partners. >> look at this little one that we have, this is casper, and he is quite friendly. >> our abc7 puppy cam shows you the excitement. >> we picked some of the wigleyest ones this sunday. and oh, my gosh, these puppies are so sweet. >> we even spotted this one with his paws in the water bowl. all these dogs are from animal shelters t

also, ask if there is an owners club or some type of an association, almost like a homeowners associationdoes, it lends credibility and protects you as a time-share owner. by the way, don't get hustled by a slick salesperson -- i mean no disrespect -- because when you're buying this, make sure they explain to you exactly what you're buying and explain to you all the costs. make sure there's no hidden agenda. and, finally, make sure you understand what cancellation terms are of the contract. most states have a cooling-off period because when we buy a time-share, we're excited. usually, there's a cooling-off period. if you're a creature of habit, well, time-shares will probably work for you. they're meant for people who like to travel, take vacations, and plan out. so, if you take a vacation every year, i think it makes sense for you. you should look into it. that's it for today, but we have much more on our website... foxnews.com/propertyman. and be sure to send me your questions or property stories at propertyman@foxnews.com. i'm bob massi. i'll see you next week. [ woman vocalizing ] >>

running all the different names associated with the orangevale address. >> reporter: the homeowner tellsy before. police get his name. >> our detectives had a name and that name was matt muller. >> reporter: matthew muller on the surface, he's an unlikely suspect. >> mr. muller had some great success in life. >> reporter: he attended this sacramento area high school. played trumpet in jazz band and joined the computer club. a teacher says a, "high achiever." >> he came from a good home. he had two parents that were educators. they're good people. >> reporter: muller joined the marines, stationed in okinawa japan, eventually returning to california, enrolling at pomona college. muller gets married, goes to harvard law, then joins this san francisco firm practicing immigration law fighting for clients in court and on tv. >> no, we will not even let you have your day in court. >> this is a guy by all accounts should've been doing really well in life. a well educated individual. but he had troubles. >> reporter: the shooting star was about to flame out. his lawyer says inside that handsome h

association says it complains, vehicles are tagged, sometimes cited, and that's it. >> the contractor tow company for our area refused to take an ba abandoned motor home because they don't have room. >> reporter: homeowners say that's not their problem. the vehicles are. >> get the vehicles out of here, instead of essentially allowing blight to fester in our neighborhoods. it's just not right. >> reporter: homeowners say the longer the vehicles are there, public danger escalates. >> drug use, prostitution, whatever. >> reporter: have you seen some of that activity happening? >> yes, i have. >> reporter: neighbors are in a tough spot. i'm told the rv situation is a tricky one because it's partially on vta property. city officials say under a new agreement, city tow truck companies can delay a tow if there's not enough storage space. but technically they can't refuse a tow. so even though neighbors remain skeptical, city officials say these unsightly vehicles should be towed away eventually. live in san jose, robert handa, nbc bay area news. >> thank you. >>> first, a reward. now, a decoy. the effort to catch the people targeting buses is increasing. the chp is using decoy buses in an effort to snag the su