This one comes to us from Miamisburg, Ohio. A handicapped woman who’s fitted with a prosthetic leg, was given a handicap parking spot in front of her house.
That angered at least one neighbor who began parking in her spot after leaving the nastiest note! The story has already gone viral on Facebook. After reading the note linked below, see if you think this story should go even more viral.
(link to story about 26-year-old handicapped woman)
Owners of roughly 30-year old, 48-unit, Tropicana Condominium in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, decided they’d like to take advantage of the hot real estate market, and offer their condo for sale to the highest bidder.Back in 2013, a majority of Voting Members of the Association approved an amendment to the declaration, allowing for termination with 80% approval, bringing their documents in line with FL Statute 718.117, which became law in 2007.
Several Florida attorneys have gone on record touting the potential benefits of the Optional Termination provisions — later dubbed by many critics as “eminent domain for condos” — as a means for owners of older condo buildings located on high-value land parcels to “cash out” by terminating the association and selling to a willing developer. (see link to a blog below that appeared in the Sun Sentinel a few years ago)
Reportedly, the Association received one offer of $100 million. With the attractive offer on the table, the Association was easily able to obtain more than 80% of the vote. However, five units had recently been sold to new owners representing 10% of the condominium association. These five owners objected to the termination and filed suit against Tropicana Condo Association to block the termination. As you may recall from previous blogs, Florida statute maintains that 10% of members of an Association can challenge a termination approved by at least 80% of members.
So who are the “hold out” owners of these five condos? Tropicana Board members allege (in a $120 million counter suit) that they are straw buyers with ties to Manuel Grosskopf and Edgardo Defortuna, wealthy real estate moguls currently developing a 52-story Ritz-Carlton condo tower directly adjacent to the Tropicana. The Tropicana is only 9 stories, but if sold to another developer, the building would be razed and another new high-rise condo would be constructed in its place, effectively blocking ocean views for many of the Ritz-Carlton’s multi-million dollar units.
In this case, instead of wealthy investors staging a hostile takeover and kicking out owners at a substantial financial loss, we have what appears to be a small band of rogue buyers thwarting a termination to prevent a condominium sale to a rival developer!
How is that for the irony of unintended consequences?
If you live in an HOA, remember you don’t actually own your own home. It’s owned jointly by every member of the neighborhood. That means when your HOA gets sued the damage judgments are shared equally by every member of the neighborhood. If your board does something outrageous enough to precipitate a lawsuit you could face an outrageous special assessment to pay the damage award.
With that in mind, read this next link. An HOA cuts off the water to a disabled resident. A lawsuit? Get ready to shell out big bucks.
(link to story on Atlanta surgery patient who lost her access to water)
Sometimes, this blog will stray far afield. But this one is still about human conflict.
American kids are not taught about Gallipoli. It was one of the most disastrous battles in the history of the world. A half million men were killed or maimed during the WWI attempted invasion, sort of like an Omaha Beach that lasted for eight bloody months. It was Winston Churchill’s biggest defeat.
As a war-baby in an American family that lost one dad in WWII and had another dad who was wounded and taken POW, I’ve always been sensitive to stories of war. And this video absolutely blew me away.
(the link to “The Band Played Waltzing Matilda”)
