We would like to thank everyone for all the donations and gifts provided for the Lowcountry Orphan Relief. Also, a special thank you goes to Vickie for incorporating this charity as part of our 30 Days of Giving this year. As a company we pulled together all fifty stockings we were given which will be a wonderful Christmas surprise to the children in need.
This year we are sponsoring a new charity for Christmas, Lowcountry Orphan Relief. Lowcountry Orphan Relief, Inc. (LOR) is a non-profit organization that provides goods and services to children who have been abused or neglected. To learn more about this organization, please visit Lowcountry Orphan Relief.
In the lobby of the 960 Morrison office, we will be posting the “stockings” for 50 boys and girls ranging from 3 to 9 years old. The stocking states what size clothes and shoes they need. All donations are due in the downtown office by December 9th.
For every stocking sponsored, Ravenel Associates will donate $50 to One80 Place, another wonderful local organization, working to end homelessness in our community.
Again this year, we will be collecting non-perishable food for the Lowcountry Food Bank . The most needed items are canned tuna and meats, low-sugar cereals, baby food, peanut butter, whole grain rice, pasta and oats, 100% fruit juice, low-sodium soups and stews, canned fruits and vegetables. Collection boxes will be in place this week in the lobby of both offices.
To learn more about the programs we’ve chosen, please click on their link. Please visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ravenel-associates-... to make a donation to the Lowcountry Orphan Relief.
| Condominium/Cooperative Safety, Soundness, and Structural Integrity Announcement |
| The tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers in Florida has forced lenders and other industry stakeholders to look for clear and standardized guidance on how to analyze ongoing risk in residential buildings with aging infrastructure and significant deferred maintenance. This concern is expected to grow in the future as most of the nation’s stock of condominium and cooperative projects was built more than 20 years ago. Fannie Mae has already taken the lead in this matter and has established temporary guidelines for all whole loan and MBS pool purchases taking effect on January 1, 2022 which will continue until further notice. Loans secured by units in condo and cooperative projects with significant deferred maintenance or in projects that have received a directive from a regulatory authority or inspection agency to make repairs due to unsafe conditions are not eligible for purchase. In addition, condominium or cooperative projects that do not pass local regulatory inspections or recertifications are not eligible for Fannie Mae financing. Waivers of this policy will not be granted by Fannie Mae. Not only are projects with deferred maintenance conditions ineligible, Fannie Mae makes it clear that the project is also ineligible simply if a lender can’t make a determination if deferred maintenance or unsafe conditions exist. This is where the real estate community stakeholders must come together to provide information so lenders can make safety and soundness determinations. Obviously, lack of financing options for older condominium and cooperative projects will have a negative effect on marketability and, ultimately, valuations. Fortunately, Fannie Mae is suggesting a variety of ways for lenders to make project safety and soundness determinations and has not made this a burden for community management companies alone. Fannie Mae is suggesting that detailed reviews of monthly financial documents, budgets, reserve studies, board meeting minutes and special assessments will be critical in their policy. For those management companies that are unwilling, unable or uncomfortable in providing this type of information, Fannie Mae has issued guidance on how lenders may be able to obtain it from other sources. HomeWiseDocs.com (HWD) is currently reviewing Fannie Mae’s policy regarding project safety and soundness. On October 25th, the following questions that major lenders are now requiring on their forms will be added to the Condominium and Cooperative Lender Questionnaire templates in the Eligibility Questions section for your associations: |
| Is the HOA and/or management company aware of any conditions or project-wide deferred maintenance within the project that may negatively impact the safety, structural soundness, habitability, or functional use of the project as a whole or any individual units? If yes, describe and provide supporting documentation, e.g., architect’s and/or engineer’s reports, insurance inspections, notices of pending or active building code violations, fines or liens from local building authority, special assessments levied for repairs related to these issues, reserve study prepared by an independent third party. |
| Initially, responses to these new questions will be optional. This will give you time to gather and enter this new information without delaying the processing of questionnaire orders. We plan to make the responses required in December 2021. If you need assistance with a default response for these questions, please contact our Level 2 support team. |
| Additionally, you might want to review and update the following association documents so lenders have all the information they need:
We appreciate the privilege of working with you as your “Proven Partner” in all matters of community management success. |
HomeWiseDocs
Dear valued clients and friends of Ravenel Associates,
As we continue to monitor Coronavirus (COVID-19) developments closely, the health and well-being of our clients and employees is of utmost importance to us. We would like to share an update on how Ravenel is responding to the rapidly changing environment caused by the continued spreading of coronavirus (COVID-19) - Delta Variant.
Our firm is devoted to the health and safety of our people, clients, and communities we serve. With safety as our primary concern, Ravenel is taking all necessary precautions with each decision oriented around our people and our clients..
As a precautionary measure, Ravenel Associates has implemented the following control measures designed to minimize the risk of impact to our services:
We will continue to monitor this fluid situation and will work to ensure essential services remain operable. For decades, Ravenel Associates has demonstrated unwavering support to our clients in past emergency situations, and in dealing with the present circumstances, we will continue to use every effort to deliver uninterrupted essential services to all our clients.
Thank you,
Jules Deas
President
It’s almost Back to School time!
For some children, the standard supplies needed for a successful school year are hard to come by. We have collected supplies to fill bookbags for 14 HALO children who are in court ordered protective custody due to abuse or neglect. HALOS is a program that helps children in kinship care. Please visit www.charlestonhalos.org to learn more about this wonderful program. We’ve “adopted” 7 elementary and 7 middle school aged children.
