After retiring from the National Institute of Health (NIH), where she worked as a Scientist and Administrator, Jeanne N. Ketley, PhD, joined Maryland Homeowners' Association in August 2004. She served as president of the MHA for the past five years. MHA is a consumer advocacy group dedicated to promoting the rights of unit owners and homeowner associations. She has been chairperson of the MHA Legislative Action Committee and editor of the MHA E-Communicator.
Jan: What
inspired you to write Happy Homes?
Jeanne: The
need for such a book became apparent to me from my volunteer work with the
Maryland Homeowners’ Association (MHA.) After I retired from NIH, I joined MHA
when I realized that MHA was the only group in Maryland that provided answers
to both Condo and HOA owners and board member questions and complaints. As Vice-President and then President of MHA,
I answered telephoned and e-mail questions from both homeowners and boards and
I came to realize that many in both groups had no idea of what it means to live
in a common ownership community.
Jan: Some of
the terms used in the laws of MD and most states are rather daunting to read
and understand. For example what is an HOA and a Condo Association?
Jeanne: Although
both are common ownership communities, your ownership of your home is very
different in an HOA (homeowners association) versus a Condo (condominium
association). In an HOA you own your lot and home and the HOA association owns
common property such as green space or a shared swimming pool. In a Condo, you
as a unit owner, own and have use of the space within the walls of your unit, and the condominium association owns the building itself.
Jan: What percentage
of MD residents live in these shared communities?
Jeanne: Since
most HOAs and Condos are not registered with Maryland, it is hard to get an
exact answer to this question but it is estimated that approximately 20% of
Marylanders live in these communities. Estimates from Community Associations Institute (CAI) data from January 2011 suggested that more than a million Marylanders are owners in Common Ownership Communities.
Jan: How did
your volunteer work with MHA and your earlier career as an NIH scientist, researcher
and administrator prepare you to write this book?
Jeanne: My
work with MHA gave me an idea of the problems that can arise when one doesn’t
understand both the nature of shared communities and the laws that regulate
these communities. My background as a scientist gave me the patience for doing
tedious research into Maryland law.
Jan: Who would
benefit from buying and reading Happy Homes?
Jeanne: Anyone
who owns or rents property in a Maryland HOA or Condo should read Happy Homes.
For most of us, our home is our most important investment. We all need to make
sure that association managers, lawyers and boards are dealing straight with
us. Certainly, since the legal responsibility for the management of an
association falls on the Board of Directors, every board member should read and
refer to it.
Jan: How can
people in other states benefit from reading Happy Homes?
Jeanne: Many
state laws in this area are the same and certainly the “best practices” for
living in a shared ownership community are identical. The topic headings
address problems commonly encountered by people living in these communities and
most often cause misunderstandings. I believe Happy Homes can help HOA and
Condo owners in other states understand how to best navigate their state laws.
Jan: What did
you discover during the process of writing Happy Homes?
Jeanne: I
discovered it’s really hard to write a book. And I learned what writers mean
when they talk about writers block. For
example: I must know dozens of examples of each issue mentioned in the book
from people writing into MHA, and yet I spent endless hours staring at my
computer unable dredge one up. My solution? I would go on to another section
and then remember a case that proved a suitable example. Also since I am
scientist by training, I tended to approach my writing like a scientist and put
the evidence first and then identify problem and solutions, but that gets in
the way of writing a readable, user-friendly book. So I had to rethink my writing approach. I also arranged for very fine editorial help,
secure in the knowledge that while I don't think of myself as a natural writer,
my editors would polish the glitches.
Jan: I would
have thought people serving on boards would know all of this. Why do you think
there is such a gap between what people know and what they need to know?
Jeanne: Board
members are volunteers with real lives and they don’t have the time to take
courses on how to be a board member. However, because board members are
responsible for millions of dollars worth of property, I believe most of them
want to help their communities and do a good job. And I’m hopeful that an easy to read book like
Happy Homes will make their job easier.
Jan: And yet,
the laws of most states continue to change. Will regular updates be available
and how can people find out about changes in Maryland laws?
Jeanne: I plan
to put yearly legislative updates up on my web site, www.jeanneketley.com as well as update
the book every few years. I’m very excited the Kindle version of Happy Homes is
now available at a bargain price of $4.99 and is accessible to more people. ((http://www.amazon.com/Happy-Homes-Consumers-Practices-Homeowners-ebook/dp/B00LR37PZ2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1405348791&sr=1-1&keywords=Happy+Homes)
The neat thing is that the e-book version has live
links in the Contents page to each section, and if you are connected to the Internet,
live links to the web sites of the organizations referred to in the Resources
section.
Jan: Thanks
for taking the time for this interview. Full disclosure - you are my spouse. But I must say, The Resources section, as
well as the Best Practices Appendices for Hiring a Management Company and Hiring
an Attorney give essential information to Maryland HOA and Condo Boards. Please
provide links and information for readers who need to buy a copy of Happy
Homes, either for themselves or their boards.
Here’s the link to the print version http://www.amazon.com/Happy-Homes-Consumers-Practices-Homeowners/dp/1497520622/#reader_1497520622
=============================
About Jan Bowman
Winner of the 2011 Roanoke Review Fiction Award, Jan's stories have been nominated
for Pushcart Prizes, Best American Short
Stories, and a Pen/O’Henry award. Glimmer Train named a recent
story as Honorable Mention in the November 2012 Short Story Awards for New
Writers.
A recent story was a
finalist for the 2013 Broad
River Review RASH Award for Fiction,
another story was a 2013 finalist in the Phoebe Fiction Contest; another was a 2012 finalist in
the “So
To Speak” Fiction Contest. Jan’s fiction has appeared in numerous publications including, Roanoke Review,
Big Muddy, The Broadkill Review, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97),
Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes and others. She is working on
two collections of short stories while shopping for a publisher for a completed
story collection, Mermaids & Other
Stories. She has nonfiction publications in Atticus Review, Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts
regular interviews with writers and publishers.
Learn more at: www.janbowmanwriter.com (note: homepage under revision right now) so visit
blog: http://janbowmanwriter.blogspot.com
Facebook: janbowman.77@facebook.com
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