I’ve said it before: If you live in an HOA keep your religion to yourself. The mindless, self-absorbed bullies who rise to the top in a typical Homeowners Association think it’s OK to harass people for their Jewishness, their Christianity, their sexual orientation, their race or age.
Keep in mind that HOA board members and management companies always know exactly how much equity is in your home. The more equity you have, the bigger a target you are.
Here’s a Christian family in Senoia, Georgia, who use their garage to collect Christmas presents and furniture for people living in poverty. They don’t have garage sales, the collected goods are never visible to others, there’s nothing stored on the driveway. But Barbara Walton, the property manager for the Summerfield Homeowners Association, has decided this Christian family is operating an illegal home business. She’s given the family ten days to shut their charity down or else face fines, liens, lawsuits and possible loss of their home.
I’m guessing this family has some equity in their home. And equity attracts sharks like blood in the water.
There’s a reason the phrase ‘lawn Nazis’ came about.
For shame!
(link to story on family ministry & the Summerfield HOA)
Ward, you said: “The mindless, self-absorbed bullies who rise to the top in a typical Homeowners Association think it’s OK to harass people for their Jewishness, their Christianity, their sexual orientation, their race or age.” May I please include the list of those they believe it is ok to harass to include, the horrific treatment and harassment of the disabled, children, disabled children and in some locales women, too. God forbid, it is a single Christian woman, or a single female Christian parent! It is absolutely unthinkable to most but in some areas of the USA the powers that be, and the courts believe women have no rights, no right to justice, “unless they (the woman) can pay for it” and they “have known since 1962,” said one former county commissioner. It is despicable and among the reasons they target women in this locale, I fear, for the fraudulent and criminal legal abuses and property thefts by some HOA boards, attorneys and possibly other accomplices The judges, or former judges, they just allow these crimes to take place and the illegal, criminal and fraudulent takings of innocent HOA homeowners homes. They could care less about the laws, due process, legal ethics, oaths of office, or position. If they target you, your life as you know it is essentially over and as one victim was also told, when targeted for this criminality and property theft, “when these guys (or they) do something like this to you, it’s best for you to lie under oath, don’t you think?” If you can believe it, there is more and it is worse than the comments I have already posted.
Thank you for addressing this subject Ward. It is long overdue.
Cynthia, I think you covered it all. If, on this Neighbor At War website we convince a single homebuyer to back out of his HOA purchase then we have done the best possible good deed for a fellow man.
Agreed, Ward. Aside from you other accomplishments, Ward, thank you for being such a gifted and truthful author and for providing this blog so others will know the truth about the complexity and the range of HOA homeowner abuses; the legal abuses, discrimination, the criminality, and especially financial abuses and theft, and inexcusable and fraudulent property thefts in housing in privatized America. The secrecy surrounding all of the HOA abuses and criminality needs to end and HOA homeowners, prospective home buyers and all other homeowners in America need to take their heads out of the sand. Thank you, Ward, for providing this blog so the truth surrounding all the HOA issues, abuses, legislative shortcomings, and legal and judicial abuses, and all related can be and communicated.
FYI – I just became aware of this decision. I am happy the HOA homeowners and the children prevailed!
http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/williamson/franklin/2015/05/26/franklin-hoa-settles-suit-denying-room-disabled-kids/27988057/
Tennessee – 05.27.15 – Franklin HOA settles suit after denying room for disabled kids
The Tennessean
“The homeowners association and the property management company that works with the subdivision’s board have denied wrongdoing. And the …”
Excerpt from the article:
“A Franklin homeowners association has agreed to pay $156,000 to parents who said they were unfairly barred from building a therapeutic space for their two children with Down syndrome.
The specially designed sun room would have been a place for Charles and Melanie Hollis’ young kids to play and receive physical therapy, but the Chestnut Bend Homeowners Association denied their request to construct it based on concerns about the way the addition would look, a 2012 federal lawsuit alleged.
That, the lawsuit said, constituted discrimination and a violation of the Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal for agencies to turn down what are called “reasonable modifications” that make it possible for residents with disabilities to more fully enjoy their homes.”
Remainder of the article:
http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/williamson/franklin/2015/05/26/franklin-hoa-settles-suit-denying-room-disabled-kids/27988057/
In addition to the recent event in Nashville, TN, involving discriminating against the disabled children in the HOA, please see this article that was passed along to me this morning. http://archive.tennessean.com/article/20131007/NEWS0202/310070041/Nashville-wants-renters-homebuyers-able-spot-subtle-discrimination
Oct. 07, 2013 – “Nashville wants renters, homebuyers to be able to spot subtle discrimination
Advocates want to make sure customers know their rights”