Until HOAs get massive financial fines for screwing over on-duty service members, this kind of crime will never stop. The federal law is incredibly clear…you can’t foreclose on a member of the U.S. Armed Services if he is on active duty and cannot appear in court.
Yet the Monte Viejo Community Association in San Antonio, Texas felt they were above the law. In 2011, they simply reached out and snatched the home of U.S. Navy Petty Officer Richard Miller. He was stationed in Japan at the time. In a case eerily similar to the confiscation of another Texas serviceman’s home, Miller’s wife kept all of his mail for him to read when he was home for the holidays. Miller says he never got any mail from his HOA, and thus didn’t know his dues were not being paid.
Here is a prime example of why State Legislatures cannot always be trusted to serve the best interests of its constituents when it comes to regulation of common interest communities, including homeowners’ associations and condominiums.Take a look at this excerpt from the attached Tampa Bay Times news article (see link below):
“Rep. Chris Sprowls and Sen. Jack Latvala, both Pinellas County Republicans, have filed identical bills requiring that owners who object to termination be compensated for 110 percent of the purchase price or the fair market value, whichever is greater.
It’s been years coming, but the final four HOA thieves in Las Vegas have been convicted. They helped steal millions of dollars from more than a dozen Las Vegas and Henderson homeowners. This organized crime/racketeering ring put fake board members in HOAs up and down the valley and steered HOA dues into the pockets of lawyers, politicians, police officers, public figures and others. The homeowners will never get their stolen money back. A federal judge has already predicted that.
Would you be comfortable living in a condo where the Manager, arrested for theft and forgery, remains employed and in charge of your condo association’s $1.2 million budget? What would you think if you discovered your Association’s payroll includes at least two other unlicensed professional staff members that have been convicted of crimes, including stealing $400,000 from another condominium association?
Would you be spooked if you returned home one day to discover your new stainless steel kitchen appliances have mysteriously disappeared, and, in their place, someone installed old beat-up appliances?
