Tag Archives: HOA corruption

Homeowner Association Beaten by a Pig!

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Wilbur the Pig’s family had to spend thousands of dollars defending their pet pig. So did the Harris County, Texas HOA, which did everything it could to have Wilbur thrown to the wolves. Wilbur is a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig, an extremely intelligent species which has been bred as housepets. Tens of thousands of pig owners say they make marvelous companions.

But The Thicket at Cypresswood Community Improvement Association thought otherwise. Just the thought that the Alex Sardo family was keeping a non-traditional pet in their home threw the HOA into histrionics. Threats to sue, threats to poison, threats of vandalism, threats to seize the Sardo home and sell it at auction.

Wilbur finally got his day in court, and for once a District Court Judge was not friendly to an HOA. He ruled that the evidence was clear that this breed of pig is definitely considered a household pet. But Judge Mike Engelhart went further. He warned that Homeowners Associations have a responsibility not to infringe too much on homeowners’ use of their land. He said it’s time to set a precedent: that Homeowners Associations cannot micromanage their residents behavior.

There was obvious pissing and moaning on the HOA side of the room. There’s no word on whether the Sardo family will be awarded legal fees. It will be a tragedy if they don’t get back every dime in this stupid dispute. It would also be true justice if a special assessment had to be levied against the whole neighborhood to pay for the wasted legal expenses.

Sadly, this won’t be the end of the story. Beware the “neighborhood nazi.” The Sardo family is going to be made just as miserable as this HOA dares.

Outrage in Florida HOA

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There’s no question that Florida Homeowner Associations have suffered in the housing downturn. There’s no question it has impacted just about everyone. But some HOAs have found ways to take the most outrageous actions against a few homeowners to siphon off money and ownership rights of the few to help pay the expenses of the majority. Welcome to the kind of “democracy” practiced by the Bridgewater Community Association in Wesley Chapel, Florida.

Joanne McCarn says she missed an annual dues payment of $225 when her mother died. She was willing to make that up, but then she discovered the amount the HOA wanted was more than ten times the amount owed. She balked. She moved out, and put in a tenant to help make the mortgage payments.

The Bridgewater HOA told her she had to pay a $500 fee to the HOA before they would give her permission to rent. But the dispute escalated. The HOA didn’t foreclose on the home, but it evicted McCarn’s tenant and then moved in a tenant of their choice.

McCarn says it’s impossibly wrong. The HOA doesn’t own the house, McCarn does. But without going to court the HOA has essentially seized the home. They’ve appropriated the income stream from their replacement tenant. And they’ve done the same kind of thing to six other homeowners at Bridgewater.

Even lawyers who customarily support HOA actions against homeowners who get behind on their dues, says this kind of action is without precedent and is not something the law allows.

Perhaps so. But as growing numbers of these stories emerge, it builds the feeling among many people that the basic structure of the American HOA is fundamentally corrupt and totally outside the U.S. Constitution. They’re beyong the law.

http://www2.tbo.com/news/real-estate-news/2012/apr/29/namaino1-homeowners-association-rents-home-it-does-ar-397871/

Ward Lucas
Author of
Neighbors At War: The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association

Houston Homeowner is “Robbed” by her HOA

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A woman in Houston, Texas has learned what thousands of other homeowners have learned: the HOA has incredible powers to seize and auction off your home for a tiny infraction.

Ann Izzat is 67 years old. Her home of 32 years was owned free and clear. At least that’s what she thought. She acknowledges she might not have paid her dues of $1200, but she says she never got notice of the overdue bill, and was never personally served any papers. But the sheriff’s office showed up on her doorstep, ordered her to completely empty her home of all her belongings within 30 minutes, and then took all of her possessions to the curb.

Her Kingwood Homeowner’s Association then auctioned her home off. A California company bought the home at auction for $7000.

Izzat has lots of company. Harris County HOAs seize and auction about 6000 homes a year.

Randy Wallace, a reporter for FOX TV in Houston, brought us this story.
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/120420-67-year-old-kingwood-woman-loses-home-for-not-paying-hoa-dues#ixzz1srXOrJ00

Ward Lucas
Author of
Neighbors At War: The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association

Another Day, Another Embezzlement Arrest

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The cops probably arrest one out of every 10,000 HOA embezzlers. It’s a crime that’s very hard to catch in the typical HOA structure. But here’s the latest suspect to be arrested.

41 year old David Russell Nero was treasurer of the Ashley Farms Property Owners Assocation in Dover Township, Pennsylvania. He’s now charged with stealing more than $60,000 from his neighbors in 2010 and 2011.

WPMT television reports that Nero is accused of forging 76 checks. He’s also charged with cashing out a CD that was bought by the Association.

Thanks, WPMT, for reporting on this story. Too few news outlets around the country even consider these arrests to be important news.

http://www.fox43.com/news/wpmt-dover-home-owner-rip-off,0,981157,print.story

Ward Lucas
Author of
Neighbors At War: The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association

HOAs Have Incredible Foreclosure Powers

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The power of an HOA to foreclose is greater than that of any bank or lending institution. Homeowners move into HOA neighborhoods never realizing how unforgiving Homeowners Associations can be.
Luisa Casas, an immigrant from Colombia, moved to Atlanta, Geogia and became a U.S. citizen. But she is now learning what tens of thousands of other Americans have discovered: an HOA has the power to arbitrarily take your house and sell it at auction, even if you’re just a few cents or a few dollars behind on your dues.

Luisa admits she’s late on her HOA dues. She went through a recent bankruptcy in the current economic collapse and is trying to recover. She admits she’s $2000 behind on her dues and wants to pay it. But it’s not the late dues that are jeopardizing her position as a homeowner. It’s the fact that HOA attorneys are tacking massive legal fees onto her overdue bill. Her $2000 past-due bill has ballooned to $13,000. The HOA has refused her attempts to pay the $2000 bill. It wants the entire $13,000 or it’ll take her house. And legal fees are increasing daily. The HOA lawyers are even tacking on expenses to pay for monitoring her bankruptcy case.

Her HOA is the Cosmopolitan On Lindbergh Condominiums. HOA officials have deactivated her entry card. They’ve also towed her car away on multiple occasions. Luisa says, “It just doesn’t seem fair to me.” Luisa, welcome to America, the land of the free.

HOA officials have refused to comment.

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/story/17520457/attorney-home-owners-associations-abuse-power?clienttype=printable

Ward Lucas
Author of
Neighbors At War: The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association