The Opinion Blog

That Pesky $10

Thursday’s editorial suggests lawmakers revamp the mechanism to pay for low-level dispute mediation within homeowners’ associations.

Not all the ire against the S.C. Homeowners' Association Act is warranted, but lawmakers who support it could do us all a favor by removing the component that seems to draw the most heat: a $10 fee added to every unit or lot across the state.

S.C. legislature to reload on HOA reform in 2009

Today's editorial, which includes a bit of original reporting, tells association homeowners why they needn't worry about the dreaded annual $10 fee to be collected by the state:

Across the Grand Strand, members of the associations that oversee many single-family and condominium communities are furious about Senate Bill 1283. The legislation, an attempt to bring the law governing such organizations into the 21st century, would have required every householder in every S.C. homeowners' association to pay the state a $10 annual fee.