Tag Archives: HOA Abuse

Interesting Sentence for ‘Depressed’ Embezzler

      8 Comments on Interesting Sentence for ‘Depressed’ Embezzler

Question: If you knew you could steal $40,000 and only get a 60 day jail sentence, would you do it? $20,000 tax free dollars a month is pretty tempting, isn’t it?

Well, that’s the sentence given a 72 year old Idaho woman when she embezzled that amount from her seniors-only community, the Florida Estates HOA. She said she stole the money because she was depressed.

The sentence gets even more interesting. After her two month jail sentence she’s required to make $40,000 restitution at the rate of $200 a month. I’m not very good at math but it looks like that’s about 17 years. And she’ll be 89 when she’s finished paying. I suspect most of the neighbors she ripped off will be dead or institutionalized by that time.

Crime really does pay.

And the crooks know it.

(link to Idaho Press story about woman sentenced for grand theft)

 

Stupid, Stupid Aspen

      2 Comments on Stupid, Stupid Aspen

No, not everyone in Aspen is stupid. But this kind of a story is a national embarrassment and every rich person in this glittery ski town should be down the necks of the idiots who are allowing this to continue.

I’ve written about this service dog dispute before. The board of the Aspen View Condominiums on Midland Avenue has spent months harassing the owner of a condo because he rented it to a woman who has a service dog to help her deal with her epilepsy. After months of the most incredible nastiness toward this woman, she moved out.

But Aspen View bullies wouldn’t quit. They began assessing fines against the condo owner and have liened his home.

If you want to sleep tonight, do not read the Aspen Times story linked below. If, however, you want to see how low and morally degraded some HOAs get, then have at it. And think about sending a note to this disgraceful board.

(The Aspen Times makes you answer a question before the text appears. Just click a box and you’ll be able to read it.)

(link to story on service dog flap)

 

 

Condo or Hotel?

      2 Comments on Condo or Hotel?
guest blog by Deborah Goonan

AirBnB, VRBO, and online vacation rental sites have taken on a life of their own. Now condo owners can arrange to rent their units by the week, with the click of a few buttons. But some Florida condo owners are upset that their condo building has been overrun with tourists from all over the world, making their homes feel more like a hotel.

In the video report linked below, Michele Gillen, CBS4, Miami Beach, features Octagon Towers, just steps from South Beach. One condo owner laments that she no longer knows her neighbors, because they change every week. The problem has been ongoing.

The City of Miami Beach is threatening to shut off utilities to Octagon Towers, if owners do not cease and desist short-term rentals. That’s against city fire code. And Miami Beach already has dozens of hotels and Condo Hotels specifically permitted for vacation lodging.

But that doesn’t stop Condo Board member Sigmund Esposito from breaking condo restrictions and city codes all day long. Check out the interview of his vacation tenants, who were apparently unaware of the City’s ordinance restricting short-term rentals in residential condominiums.

Here’s my take on this. Octagon Towers is but one example of why condo owners frequently disagree about how their Association should be governed and managed. There is almost aways a conflict between the owners who actually live in their units and the owners who rarely stay in their units, but want to collect maximum rent.

So, here’s a suggested solution. If we are going to create RESIDENTIAL condominiums such as Octagon Towers (where long term leases may be allowed), then let’s not run the Association like a corporation! Don’t hand all the power to the Board, and don’t allow corporations to own individual units as if they were actual “persons.” (Searching public records for Octagon Towers, I noticed quite a few LLCs as owners.) Treat residents as actual citizens of their community, albeit a small community. Pre-screen buyers and long-term tenants to be certain they are looking for a place to live in peace and quiet, and not a money-making revolving door for vacationers.

Steer those hoping to make a killing on vacation rentals to what should be called INVESTMENT communities, such as condo hotels. Perhaps this is the kind of Association CAI had in mind when it decided years ago that “Community Associations” are businesses.

Some may be. But most aren’t — or shouldn’t be

(Miami Beach Condominium Reportedly Being Used As A Hotel « CBS Miami)

(Just in case you want to know what a condo hotel is:)

More Segregation In This Economy

      3 Comments on More Segregation In This Economy

There’s a fascinating article in the Washington Post about how the foreclosure crisis is leading to increased segregation in American neighborhoods. The article is worth reading, even though it doesn’t directly target Homeowners Associations.

 

There are interesting implications, though. The big irony is that the modern homeowner association movement started in 1964 shortly after the Civil Rights Act was passed. White homeowners and developers recoiled at the thought of minorities moving into white neighborhoods and made sure subtle racial controls were woven into the HOA system.

 

The recent mortgage crisis hit HOAs especially hard with foreclosures being done both by mortgage companies and HOA boards. And there’s no question that many ‘private governments’ have used their ‘secret rules and powers’ to come down harshly on minorities. Keep that in mind as you read the Washington Post story, linked below.

 

(link to story on increased segregation)

 

Timberlake Management, aka “The Condo Crime Family”

      2 Comments on Timberlake Management, aka “The Condo Crime Family”
guest blog by Deborah Goonan

Former FL Representative Julio Robaina calls the Timberlake management company run by the Duggers the “Condo Crime Family,” in this special News 10 report by Bob Norman. Take a look at the video of some of these communities that the Duggers manage – clogged storm drains, flooded streets every time it rains, trash all over the place. Exactly all of the blight that HOAs are supposed to prevent, right? Have these HOA property values been enhanced over the years? Not on your life!

Supposedly, Florida has the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) to oversee condominiums, timeshares, and mobile home parks, to protect homeowners from financial misconduct and abuse. But how many complaints must be filed before Timberlake is shut down for good, and the Dugger family is held accountable? Apparently more than 30! Florida’s DBPR, a state level agency, does very little to protect condo owners.

That may explain why, for two years in a row, the FL Legislature has not even considered a bill that would extend DBPR authority to include oversight of Homeowners Associations. Meanwhile, the state has taken nearly half of the revenue paid by condo owners ($4 per condo unit across FL) and spent it on other services. Another slap in the face to condo owners.

Anyone who owns or resides in Association-governed property in Florida should be outraged. In fact, even if you are lucky enough not to have to live under HOA rule, as a taxpayer, you should still be very concerned about obvious incompetence and corruption that affects the lives of millions of your family members, friends, and neighbors.