Several weeks ago, I told you about a pending legal dispute between Plantation Resort 2 HOA vs. City House, a non-profit organization that assists homeless youths. Several months ago, City House purchased and remodeled a 5-bedroom home in PR2 HOA, for use as transitional living for young adults in need of a home. Shortly after the purchase, PR2 notified City House that it would not be permitted to use the home as intended, citing violation of its Restrictive Covenants.
Earlier this week, WFAA Channel 8 was notified that a confidential, out-of-court settlement has been reached. The video and transcript is linked below.
Last week the Orlando Sentinel published an excellent but concise article about the decrease in homeownership rates in Central Florida. The Sentinel reports that homeownership rates have slipped from 77% a decade ago to 66% in 2014, and at only 59% in newer neighborhoods built in the past decade.
Followers of this blog and anyone that follows real estate news will quickly notice that reality stands in stark contrast to Community Association Institute (CAI) rhetoric.
For readers who are unaware, “community association” is CAI’s official terminology for what the rest of America knows a Homeowners’ Association (HOA).
Time to debunk some proclamations made in CAI’s 2013 Statistical Review (link below), and repeated annually in their publications that tout “How and Why Community Associations Work.”
In the festive spirit of the season, I thought it was time for a little HOA Humor. Here’s my list of how to have a little fun, stir up a bit of conflict, and make yourself infamous in the eyes of your HOA Board. Warning: could be hazardous to your health and your bank account. In the comments section, feel free to add suggestions of your own!
Paint your front door purple, without getting approval from the architectural control committee.
Leave your garbage can out on the curb more than 24 hours after trash pick up.
Here’s more positive news for homeowners, just in time for the holiday season.
Residents of homes in Pleasant Ridge, Charlestown, Indiana, have good reason to celebrate this year. They fought City Hall, and won! A few months ago I blogged about the Mayor of Charlestown declaring the modest neighborhood of 345 homes “blighted” and planning to sell the land to a private developer. That would have meant all the existing homes would be razed to make way for new development of multifamily homes.
