What gives an HOA the right to boot cars on public streets? Nothing. But that didn’t stop the HOA Nazis in an Albuquerque HOA from booting a work trailer in the middle of a resident’s work day. And these over-the-top idiots were busy booting cars parked in the residents’ own driveways.
Why do they think they can flout the law? Because homeowners are afraid to protest.
But one activist in Ventana Ranch HOA is making some waves. And the City Council is thinking about passing some laws to reign in abusive Homeowners Associations.
(link to New Mexico TV story on booting controversy)
http://krqe.com/2014/12/10/homeowners-association-boots-residents-on-city-streets/
Illegally booting cars in a neighborhood has an amazing capacity for massive damage suits. If someone had an emergency and needed to race a child to the hospital but discovered his vehicle improperly booted? The emotional damage factor alone could result in multi-million dollar verdicts. The sad thing is that the costs of paying such a judgment would be passed off to innocent homeowners. Management companies just seem to be above the law….and that’s a problem.
We hear it over and over again – owners are fearful of protesting. What is happening at Ventana Ranch is nothing more than thuggery.
Why isn’t there a single University studying the social psychology of HOA governance, and the socio-political impacts of common interest communities?
This is the kind of research that is sorely needed. None of the impacts, that we see anecdotally all around the country — and the world — are formally tracked and reported. If this kind of behavior were conducted by a city or county government, it would quickly be documented, the media would be all over the story, there would be public outcry, criminal charges would be filed, and ultimately, there would be accountability.
Residents outside of HOA-Land need not fear losing their homes, or abuse of being sued by their HOA, with the purposed of draining their bank accounts. In city, owners are not made to feel ashamed of their neighborhood, or to feel the wrath of their neighbors for daring to challenge the tyranny of the Board or Management company.
We must ask ourselves, why do we continue to allow our governments to shove HOAs down the throats of homebuyers, as the only choice for new or more recent construction?
Deborah,
The plain and simple answer is: Lack Of Education
Those who know better do not buy in HOAs or condos. Those that do not know better do.
If the media would step up and report every HOA story out there instead of focusing attention on who’s burning the town down, what celebrities are drugging and raping beautiful women, and following the every more of some silly family that has figured out a way to make money off of their insanity, these HOA stories would actually educate the ignorant. The more educated people become about HOAs the sooner this insanity will stop.
From experience, I can say the best time spent educating others starts with the college age and just-out-of-college potential HOA victims.
Latest update here: http://krqe.com/2014/12/10/homeowners-association-boots-residents-on-city-streets/
The city will sue the HOA if it continues to boot cars on city streets!