Here’s yet another story of a rotten Homeowners Association, this one is the Tower Oaks HOA in Gainesville, Florida. If you’re in the market for a home, that’s another good one to steer away from. It’s not hard to figure out why property values ARE NOT protected by an HOA. More and more people are getting wise to the scam.
(link to WCJB story about HOA retaliation)
This kind of thing has happened before. HOAs are no big fans of war heroes. It’s hard to imagine. But many HOAs across the country don’t like the American flag being flown. They don’t like displays of patriotism. Actually, it does make sense in a perverse sort of way. HOAs are basically fascist organizations, many of them run by control freaks.
But click on the picture below to see and hear the story of Frank Larison who’s being fined $50 a day because he has Marine decals on his car. Just remember the Woodlands II On The Creek Homeowners Association in Dallas. HOA board president Dorenda Hardy signed the letter. She should be ashamed. And any prospective home buyer in Texas should avoid this neighborhood like the plague.
http://americannews.com/retired-marine-forced-to-remove-is-usmc-decals-while-neighbors-keep-obama-stickers/
Florida attorney and CAI member Donna Berger posted the following question, “Why do you need to listen to the dissenting voices in your community?”, on the Becker & Poliakoff Community Association Law blog. (http://www.communityassociationlawblog.com/2016/05/why-you-need-to-listen-to-dissenting.html).
She wrote, in part, “One of the first things leadership training establishes is that discordant voices in an organization can be extremely beneficial to growth and the ultimate success of that organization.” I commented:
“Good advice.
“I see a reason for the hostile response by many board members, beyond rude and angry behavior of some members, is that HOA directors are not schooled in the requirements to be a representative of the ‘people.’
“Unlike a business, governing representatives must be educated to accept the reality that dissent is part of the job and they must be able to respond in a positive manner. That they are to carry member issues and concerns to the entire board for resolution.
“If they cannot, then the job is not theirs. If the job is beyond their pay grade, they should also not serve.
“So, why is there a failure to educate themselves on what it means to be a representative of the people?”
You all know how I despise HOA corruption. Actually, that’s superfluous. HOA and corruption are pretty much interchangeable. “You got corrupted?” “You got HOA’d?” See what I mean?
But a federal judge has just ruled that sticky-fingered lien-flingers can’t assume a superior position when trying to screw a homeowner and his mortgage company over some tiny violation of CC&Rs. The only problem is that without all those illicit profits, your HOA will just have to raise your dues. Or file lots more lawsuits.
Keep your grass trimmed! Don’t let an overnight guest park his car on your driveway! And by golly, don’t display the American flag!
Retirement can be boring. That’s why I spend so much time on YouTube and other sites. Over a week ago I was researching HOA rules against any and all use of solar energy and came across an amazing device, so amazing I immediately bought one. It’s a solar oven that operates on a vacuum tube principle that concentrates the sun’s rays into a cooking tray.
Every meal I’ve had during the past week has been cooked in this oven. Every meal! It’s tiny, it’s portable, it can get over 500 degrees in the tube but is completely cool to the touch outside. I just started the NutriSystem diet a couple of weeks ago and the NutriSystem meals fit perfectly inside the tray; soup, pizza, veggies, omelettes, all the other good stuff. Yesterday I even made a couple batches of chocolate chip cookies. 26 minutes in the Colorado sunshine and the cookies have an amazing taste and texture. Ugh! Despite my diet, the cookies have mysteriously all vanished.
And despite the oven’s hot temperatures it traps moisture inside the tube. It’s a taste you can’t get in your regular oven. My regular stove and microwave haven’t been used even once! When the national power grid goes down, I’ll be the one down the road eating all the hot meals! And, yes, I’ll leave the door open for you!
I’m so glad my house is outside the ugliness of the two neighboring HOAs. They’d have me thrown in prison, for sure.
Ah yes, a link to the solar oven:
I have absolutely no connection to this company, but I love their product!
BTW, if you buy one let me know. I’ve discovered some unrelated products that work perfectly with this device.
