Tag Archives: Federal investigators

Swing Set Stupidity

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Some things in life are just common sense. But some of life’s biggest losers specialize in perfecting the cruel art of having no common sense. In Los Altos, California, the Toyon Farm Homeowners Association is showing the world the finely honed cruelty it can inflict on a dying child.

Five year old Weston was diagnosed with terminal lymphoma. But the little guy was determined to fight back against the disease and live. His dad told Weston if he could just get well, he would give Weston whatever he wanted as a coming home present. Young Weston said he’d really like a swing set. Weston’s dad had it installed and waiting for the child’s miracle homecoming.

But the geezers who run the Toyon Farm Owners Association decided in their infinite wisdom that no accommodations could be made for a child, even one with a terminal disease. They told Weston’s dad the swing set was illegal and had to be removed immediately. Otherwise they would assess fines, lawsuits, a foreclosure and seizure of the boy’s home.

Nice work.

Classy.

The lawn Nazis at the Toyon Farm Owners Association were unrelenting. They wouldn’t even give the family a hearing. There was no middle ground, no court of last appeal. Get rid of the swingset or join the ranks of the homeless.

What do these geezers talk about during dinner after the board meeting? “Well, Honey, I kept another gimp out of the neighborhood today.”

Those of you keeping track, add one more HOA to your DO NOT BUY list. The Toyon Farm Owners Association.

It’s just market forces at work.

(click here for ABC story on the family)

 

South Bend Sucker Punch

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The developer always urges homeowners to be the first to buy into a brand new Homeowners Association. “If you delay, the price will only go up,” he’ll say. And sure enough, you throw your money down.

But new home buyers across the country are learning they’ve been victimized by one of the least prosecuted scams in America.

The latest one involves Lafayette Falls near South Bend, Indiana. Years have gone by. The developer is still collecting the dues, but homeowners are just now beginning to ‘get it’. The nice waterfall at the front entrance is now just green puddle with a broken pump. The streets are badly in need of repair.

On one street is a half finished home that hasn’t been touched for a year.
Neighborhood meetings are nasty affairs where the homeowners demand some kind of action be taken.

All the employees of Lafayette Falls? They’ve closed down the old office and they’re now working for another developer called ‘Turning Point’.

 http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/article_fbadcffb-4a45-5f02-a396-12564717d108.html

 

Privacy Invasion By Drones Under Fire

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Seems that Texas lawmakers are a little concerned about the abusive use of spy drones by civilians. They’ve passed a law to restrict their use.

And here I thought that Harris County, Texas, one of the most abusive clusters of HOAs in the country, would be able to use drone cameras to peek inside the property and homes of HOA members to see if there were any covenant violations!

Six other states have passed anti-drone laws, but according to Fox News NY Texas legislators were especially concerned about private citizens and public entities who could use drones to eyeball what was going on in private bedrooms. 

Still, as we’ve learned over the past year’s worth of federal spying scandals, privacy is a thing of the past. Despite privacy laws, they’re listening, they’re peeking, they’re photographing, they’re going through your trash. Ah, and HOA board members are doing it, too.

It only makes sense.

(click here for FoxNY story on drones)

 

Will That Be Cash, Check, or Foreclosure?

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guest blog by Nila Ridings
 
$70,000 to $90,000 per condo owner is what’s needed to repair major structural problems since the reserve account is bone dry.
 
Victor Salcana and his wife saved to purchase in Colina Condominium Complex in South San Francisco. She’s joined the board hoping to become a miracle worker and keep all 144 unit owners from having to write these checks…or go into foreclosure, if they don’t.
 
Richard Munson, President of the California Association of Homeowners Associations says, “Mismanagement of HOAs is widespread.”  And since boards are generally lay people and property managers aren’t required to be licensed it’s the blind leading the blind.  Who couldn’t have guessed that?  
 
Once again, listen to the adage…the best day in an HOA is the day you move out!
 

Another Good One by CalHomeLaw.org

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CalHomeLaw is a subscription-paid site only, and that’s a shame. But I’ll send as many people their direction as I can.

Their latest offering is about SLAPP lawsuits, or Strategic Lawsuits to Stop Public Participation. Thousands, even tens of thousands of these lawsuits are filed each year to intimidate people from exercising their First Amendment rights. People in Homeowners Associations are primary targets.

If you ask to see the HOA’s financial budgets, you’re liable to get SLAPPED.
If you question the legality of a board or management company’s actions, believe me, you’ll get SLAPPED.

If you say, “Hey, that’s not fair!” You’ll get SLAPPED. You’ve got to hire a lawyer and go to court. 

There’s a California law against SLAPP suits. The law should be federal. And it should have huge sanctions against lawyers who take part. 

There’s zero chance of that happening, since most people in Congress are lawyers who benefit from filing SLAPP suits.

Still, there is a God. And we can pray for such a miracle.