Yup! After a long struggle our friend in Las Vegas, Jonathan Friedrich, has won his lawsuit against a Homeowners Association that tried to claim Jonathan was a member and not only demanded he pay dues, they tried to foreclose on his house.
KTNV’s Darcy Spears has now done a story on Jonathan’s victory. And now Rancho Bel Air is now officially in the Nevada HOA Hall of Shame.
(link to story on Friedrich on KTNV)
I’m not sure how successful this class-action lawsuit will be, but it sure looks interesting. Home and condo owners in Hawaii have long been tortured by abusive HOA boards which have discovered the extreme profitability of seizing and auctioning off homes with no independent court oversight. It’s guaranteed full-time employment for lawyers, and guaranteed future abuse of homeowners, many of them elderly.
(link to story about wrongful foreclosure claims)
I’m not much of a fan of the Huffington Post, but they’re the latest media outlet to try to warn prospective homeowners about the dictatorial power of HOAs. They don’t go deep enough, but at least they touch on a number of the kinds of abuses that all homeowners should be thoroughly educated about.
The main message they don’t hit hard enough is NEVER BUY INTO AN HOA!!! They also don’t warn you how much your property values can collapse in a poorly run association. Ah, well, I guess that’s what the rest of us are for.
(link to HuffPo warning about Homeowners Associations)
Strange how violently some Homeowners Associations react to any display of patriotism. But it happens over and over against across the country. Display the flag and risk verbal abuse, neighborhood shaming, fines, liens and foreclosures.
But it’s all about following the money. Give your HOA an excuse, let them believe you’ve got some equity in your home and you’ll be targeted by a rogue board for any reason, even the display of an American flag.
(link to story on a Michigan woman who could lose her home over a flag)
I’ve long predicted a huge implosion of the housing market. But that’s more based on instinct than in long, hard study. But it takes an investigator like Deborah Goonan to really gather the facts and offer conclusions. Her blog, today, an an excellent look at what’s coming and what may be behind a pending crisis.
Easing FHA condo certifications and the Collapsing Housing Market
