Tag Archives: HOA Abuse

‘Charlie Chairs’ Placed By Neighbors Who Care

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guest blog by Nila Ridings

North Houston Texas has a street named Azalea Lane. This street not only has a beautiful name, but it is lined with houses filled with beautiful people. They understand what being a good neighbor is all about and Charlie their neighbor with leukemia and his wife are the recipients of their kindness and neighborly love.

Reading this story warmed my heart and made my eyes tear up. And the comments made by thousands of people after reading this story (now spreading around the internet) clearly shows that others miss the neighborhoods of yesteryear that resembled Charlie’s neighborhood.

HOAs have destroyed today’s neighborhoods. For every 1 story like Charlie’s, I hear 1,000 stories of HOA neighborhoods that are war zones! Neighbors targeting neighbors and board members bullying those they dislike is what neighborhoods have become with HOAs.

“Chairs For Charlie” would bring fines, liens, and foreclosures to neighbors in many modern day HOAs. The legal bills would run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and the Charlie Chairs would be confiscated for evidence of neighbors violating those precious CC&Rs.

As I watched the video I loved the difference of chairs with the welcoming signs on them for Charlie. The other things that caught my attention were the baby swing in the tree, the address sign at the street, and the iron bridge over the drainage ditch. And that told me this neighborhood was not part of the 350,000 “matchy matchy” HOAs now poisoning American home ownership. After living in an HOA for a decade I have such an appreciation for those little things that give the homeowners the pleasure of living in their homes as they wish. Not one of them looked trashy to me. I see them more as priceless homes where families live free and have big hearts and express love for their neighbors.

Do any of our readers know if Charlie’s cancer is in remission? I sure hope so.

 

 

Wild Corruption In Nevada!!!

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OK folks! I’ve been an investigative reporter for forty years. And during that time thousands upon thousands of documents have been released to me. Oh, there’ve been two or three that were held back, but always because of some extraneous circumstance usually relating to a name a prosecutor or a judge wanted held back for personal or political reasons. And we usually found a higher judge who ordered the documents released.

But Damn it! Political reasons don’t apply here! Personal reasons don’t apply.  Nevada homeowners lost hundreds of millions of dollars when this organized crime ring crashed Homeowners Associations all over Nevada. Property values there still haven’t recovered. It wasn’t just a few dozen homeowners who were hurt in this monstrous scam. Millions were hurt. Taxpayers paid for this years-long investigation. Families went broke. Many lost their homes. Lives were lost. People killed themselves.

Who are you trying to protect by illegally keeping these files secret? A scummy judge who was able to escape indictment? Perhaps a scummy bigtime politician who, with his son, have become multi-millionaires investing in phony land deals based on illegal insider knowledge about housing trends in Nevada?

You found 100 “people of interest” in this case, but didn’t prosecute them because you thought it would be too expensive? Isn’t that a sneaky way of letting your friends and political boosters off the hook? Wouldn’t a thorough vetting of this whole slimy affair be a way for you to crawl out this greasy morass?

Federal Judge Mahan, there’s a lot you ought to be ashamed of including the awesome lack of meaningful prison time you handed out to these mobsters.

Now, you should be ashamed of letting your political cronies talk you into not releasing documents that you feel might shame your pathetic state and your miserable bench even further. I’ve learned over the years that when something doesn’t smell right, you start looking for the source. Something real close to where you’re standing, Judge Mahan, doesn’t smell just right.

(crooked lawyer gets ten years for swindling homeowners)

 

 

Disparate Impact Now The Law

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As predicted here many months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court was in a position to issue a ruling that could have a massive impact on Homeowners Associations. It has now ruled that ‘disparate impact’ in discrimination IS discrimination. In other words, even if a neighborhood didn’t know it was actually discriminating against protected classes, if the impact’s outcome meant the protected person felt he was a victim of discrimination he probably was. It’s a hammer blow to the brains of lenders, insurers and Homeowner Associations that felt they could discriminate at random just by trying to prove they weren’t really trying to discriminate.

What that means for you, the homeowner? Well, since the mistakes of managers always mean you have to pay the bucks, guess whose pockets the money comes from to pay the lawyers and the discrimination judgments? Why, on you of course. Remember, you’re not a homeowner. You’re a shareholder in the corporation that pretends it’s your HOA. But as a shareholder you have to pay increased assessments while one of your spokespeople (board officer, office manager, property manager), was doing all the stupid stuff that got you sued.

Yes, it’s dangerous to live in a Homeowners Association.

(link to article on widened Supreme Court decision)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/25/us-usa-court-discrimination-idUSKBN0P51UO20150625

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Intriguing Massachusetts Court Decision

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I’m not smart enough to figure out all the implications of this decision. It has to do with collections of HOA and Condo fees by law firms and how they may violate the letter of federal law governing Fair Debt Collection.

If you’re as attention deficit disordered as I am, you can quickly skip down to the section entitled “Implications of the McDermott decision to get a general sense of what this decision could mean nationally.

If this decision spreads to other states, it might be a ticklish time for HOA lawyers to get into the collection business. They just might find themselves hit with massive damage suits.

Two for the Price of One? The First Circuit Holds that a Violation of the FDCPA is a Per Se Violation of the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Statute | JD Supra

 

 

Lemons And Float Away Living

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guest blog by Nila Ridings

It’s been awhile since we took a break from HOAs and let our thoughts float out to Tiny House living. If living in a Tiny House is not your dream the tremendous energy those who are putting it in the spotlight should be motivation to keep going as an HOA Warrior. It hasn’t been all that long ago only a handful of people knew anything about Tiny Houses. But the promoters of their movement have waved their magic wands and today it’s rare to meet someone that has never heard of them. Proof positive that perseverance produces exposure for options on housing sources!

A few months ago, I talked to a man involved with Lemon Cove Village in California. We had a nice visit. Of course, after the friendly ‘howdy and how are yous’ I asked if his Tiny House village had an HOA? He chuckled and asked if I didn’t like HOAs? His first clue to my answer was probably the fire that shot out the speaker on his phone! I told him I despise them!!! He was delighted to tell me there is no HOA at Lemon Cove Village. If this location is successful will there be others around the country, I asked? Indeed there will be if all goes well.

So, if you’re looking for a place to land when you’re HOA-Free you might want to check-out Lemon Cove Village where you could be sipping on sweet lemonade and laughing like a prisoner escapee

If you’re looking for some Tiny House floating and boating this uniquely designed waterworthy hotel just might suit your taste. I’m envisioning the perfect setting for this concept on the Ruedi Reservoir. That would be nothing short of amazing.

With wheels or floats there are ways to live maintenance-free, escape the HOAs, and maintain your money and your sanity.Check out Lemon Cove Village.

(link to Lemon Cove Village)

(link to Floating Hotel)