Tag Archives: HOA corruption

Outright Bald-Faced Theft From Florida HOAs!

      1 Comment on Outright Bald-Faced Theft From Florida HOAs!

An astonishing blog was just published by our friend in Florida, Jan Bergemann. He points out that the trust fund, which was created to help members of Homeowners and Condo Associations, is being looted annually by the Florida State Legislature.

This money was not meant to be transferred to the Legislature’s general fund. It’s paid by HOA members and should be held in trust for HOA members.

It’s just another in a thousand ways that HOA members are getting ripped off. How many other states are seeing such theft?

(link to Jan Bergemann’s story on plundering of the HOA Trust Fund)

 

More Money Down The Drain

      No Comments on More Money Down The Drain
guest blog by Deborah Goonan

Yet another case of shoddy construction, this time a failing storm drain and a sinking retention pond in Michigan. Over several years, homeowners of Windridge Estates HOA have experienced cracked foundations and basement windows, shifting soil in their back yards, and movement of retention walls, as the shoreline of the nearby pond crumbles into the water.

The HOA lacks the means to make the needed repairs, so the City of New Baltimore has agreed to “help” by setting up a special assessment district, in order to collect $1.45 million from homeowners over the next 10 years. Each lot will ultimately be taxed roughly $6500.

That’s in addition to any regular HOA assessments and property taxes they have paid all these years the problem has gone unaddressed.

The HOA Attorney argues that the City should pay at least 18.5% of the cost, since City roads drain into the pond when it rains. In this particular HOA, the City maintains the roads and easements, but not storm drainage. This illogical arrangement is amazingly common in HOAs.

Several questions come to mind.

First, how did this storm water system get approved by the City Inspector? Second, why isn’t the developer on the hook to pay for these repairs? Third, how much will this end up costing City taxpayers who do NOT live in Windridge Estates?

Local governments have been abdicating responsibility for maintenance of major infrastructure for decades. But retention ponds and underground stormwater pipes are notoriously difficult and expensive to maintain and repair, even when they are constructed properly. Repairs almost always involve precise engineering design, heavy equipment, and moving around large amounts of soil. How do local governments justify dumping this responsibility on a volunteer Board and the disproportionate expense on unsuspecting homeowners?

In the meantime, one unfortunate recent buyer just got a fine welcome to the community. The seller hadn’t disclosed problems with the pond, and now the buyer is on the hook for his share of the cost. Just goes to show how affordability of your home in an HOA can be wildly unpredictable.

Oh, and as I’ve mentioned before, but it bears repeating: a lot adjacent to a retention pond is NOT a “lake view” or “water view” for which a buyer should pay a premium.

(read the story, check out the photos, here)

 

HOAs often pit Investors vs. Homeowners, and homeowners usually lose

      3 Comments on HOAs often pit Investors vs. Homeowners, and homeowners usually lose
guest blog by Deborah Goonan
Even in the nation’s Heartland, homeowners’ and condo associations are subject to considerable consumer risk. The Des Moines Register story highlights just one example of what happens when investors take over an Association, a common occurrence across the country.

Here’s the blatant truth. The corporate structure of HOAs — allocating voting rights to the Property instead of allocating those rights to People based upon residency — leads to the inevitable consequence of pitting investors against homestead property owners.

Because an HOA property owner gains voting rights for EACH property owned, it creates the incentive for investors or developers to buy up – or retain – as many “shares” of the HOA corporation as possible. And everyone knows that a majority shareholder controls a corporation.

But not everyone realizes that nearly all HOAs are corporations. Share this story with everyone you know, especially if they are considering buying a home.

We need to decide in this country: are homes a place to live and gradually accumulate stable personal wealth over time, or are they merely investment commodities subject to the whims of a volatile real estate market – where a few people profit at the expense of everyone else?

(link to warning in Des Moines Register)

 

Another Military Family Ordered To Remove Flag

      No Comments on Another Military Family Ordered To Remove Flag

One often thinks of the people of Utah as being more patriotic than those in many other states. But Homeowners Associations in Utah can be just as ugly as elsewhere.

The Spring Creek Ranch HOA in Lehi, Utah, is ordering the wife of an active duty Navy man to remove the U.S. Navy flag from her home. Lucia Sandoval is being threatened with a fine and lawsuit because she had the temerity to put up her patriotic display. She says she intends to fight, but that probably means massive legal expenses for her and her family.

Patriotism is a no-win situation for people who buy into the HOA movement.

(link to KUTV, Salt Lake City)

 

Disbanding an HOA

      21 Comments on Disbanding an HOA

I think I’ve written about this before, so forgive me if this is repetitive. But a friend of mine lives in a tiny HOA of about a dozen houses. Last year he bought a dozen copies of my book and lobbied every member of the association to read it. The neighbors voted unanimously to disband their corporation.

Now, my friend says, there are sounds of kids laughing and playing. Several basketball hoops have gone up. Neighbors are now talking over the back fence and inviting each other over for dinner. He says the difference in the neighborhood is incredible.

Plus, insurance liability costs have gone down.

Life is amazing, isn’t it?