Author Archives: John Colby Cowherd

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Attorney protecting the rights of Virginia & D.C. property owners. Cowherd PLC (703) 884-2894
Community Associations Litigation

Resolving HOA Enforcement Through Voluntary Compliance

photo of houses during daytime

When a homeowner receives a notice of violation from their HOA or condominium, they must decide if they are going to fight it, comply or file an architectural application to receive formal approval. There are many instances when the homeowner can and ought to keep the installed improvement. However, there are other situations in which […]

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Community Associations Land Use & Zoning Property Inspections

Role of Survey Plats in Resolving Property Disputes

man in yellow and orange jacket and white pants standing beside yellow and black heavy equipment

When landowners purchase real estate, they get the opportunity to obtain a land survey or to save a few hundred dollars by avoiding it. During the home buying process, purchasers’ financial situation is usually stretched to their utmost limit. The owner may not understand the value of paying $200-$600 for a survey plat when there […]

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Construction & Renovation

Delay, Interference, and Acceleration in Construction Contracts

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Certain complaints frequently arise in construction disputes. One is that the contractor inexcusably had delayed in completion of the project. Another is that the owner has interfered with the contractors work. This blog post takes a look at common schedule change and delay related issues in construction contracting.  Generally speaking, courts look to the language […]

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Community Associations

What it Means for Ultra Vires HOA Actions to be Void

multiethnic men students standing with folder and papers outside

Wrongful legal actions by community association boards generally fall into two categories. The first are contracts, resolutions or other actions that the board generally has the authority under the declaration to take, but they failed to properly do so pursuant to the bylaws or applicable law. For example, suppose the HOA has the authority to […]

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Community Associations

When a HOAs Entity Status becomes Inactive by Automatic Termination

man in black suit sitting on chair beside buildings

Under Virginia law, a nonstock corporation must submit annual filings to avoid having its corporate status automatically “terminated” by the State Corporation Commission pursuant to Va. Code § 13.1-914. When people see that a corporation’s status is deemed “inactive” as terminated by a regulatory agency, they wonder if it no longer “exists,” particularly in the […]

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