Tag Archives: HOA corruption

Beware the Coming Building Craze! Caveat Emptor!

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Canadians often seem much more polite than Americans, but the BBC documentary linked below is one that everyone on this blog should watch. Downtown Toronto has been devastated by defective construction in many of its high-rise condo towers. The U.S. government is following the exact same political path as the governments of Toronto and of Canada have been following over the past seven years.

With the inevitable world financial collapse that’s coming, many building shortcuts are going to be overlooked in the U.S.. Massive construction projects will be seen by our government as an escape valve against the housing market bubble. Thousands of people in rapidly expanding financial markets like China and Dubai will be buying newly built American condos without ever making a personal visit or inspection. And American building inspectors will be ordered by their bosses to overlook common sense building regulations.

This blog is all about protecting you. My guest bloggers put a lot of work into researching and writing about certain subjects to protect you, the homeowner. But believe me, we’re getting pressure from the CAI cacophony and the realty folks and property managers. We make no money on this blog by encouraging our followers to be cautious in their investing.

Caveat emptor.

 

HOA Booting Anger in Albuquerque

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What gives an HOA the right to boot cars on public streets? Nothing. But that didn’t stop the HOA Nazis in an Albuquerque HOA from booting a work trailer in the middle of a resident’s work day. And these over-the-top idiots were busy booting cars parked in the residents’ own driveways.

Why do they think they can flout the law? Because homeowners are afraid to protest.

But one activist in Ventana Ranch HOA is making some waves. And the City Council is thinking about passing some laws to reign in abusive Homeowners Associations.

(link to New Mexico TV story on booting controversy)

http://krqe.com/2014/12/10/homeowners-association-boots-residents-on-city-streets/

Illegally booting cars in a neighborhood has an amazing capacity for massive damage suits. If someone had an emergency and needed to race a child to the hospital but discovered his vehicle improperly booted? The emotional damage factor alone could result in multi-million dollar verdicts. The sad thing is that the costs of paying such a judgment would be passed off to innocent homeowners. Management companies just seem to be above the law….and that’s a problem.

“That’s One for You, Ten for Me, One for You and Ten for Me.”

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The number of embezzlements by HOA officers is almost laughable. I’d say unbelievable but that’s not the right word. Greed is part of the human condition and has been around since Cain and Able.

Still, you’d think that some embezzlers would feel a little bit guilty.

Enter Elizabeth Mills Wilson, treasurer of the Manor at Harmon Lake Homeowners Association in Forsyth County. Now I’m not saying she’s guilty. That’ll be determined by a jury, or by a guilty plea. Her Sheriff’s booking photo makes her look a little bit arrogant. 

But then, you’d have to be a little arrogant to steal $40,000 from your neighbors. A judge will give her a suspended sentence and maybe a tongue lashing. What this country really needs is some real lashings!

 

Why Does CAI Lie?

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guest blog by George K. Staropoli

“HOA constitutionality will cause the collapse of CAI”‏

Such statements made in court filings are astonishing! It is a complete refutation and about face to CAI’s propaganda material made for public consumption. It repudiates our democratic system of government and the US Constitution!

What would cause CAI to argue such statements without merit before a state supreme court? Maybe because CAI knows that if HOA constitutionality is accepted and HOAs are seen as state actors or made to become state entities, it would no longer control and dominate the industry. All would be lost!

HOAs would not be lost as CAI has argued from time to time. CAI would be lost! It would have to rethink its public policies, its Best Practices, its training seminars, etc. It would need to include such courses, which are not and never have been in the CAI vocabulary, understanding the Constitution and Bill of Rights, good local government, best city management practices, etc.

Crooked Pennsylvania Judges

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All too often among people who frequent this blog, we’ve seen injustice by virtue of actually having been dragged into a court of law to argue one side or another of an HOA case. I get lots of email from homeowners who feel they’ve been looted, not only by an abusive HOA but by judicial rulings as well. And I’ve spoken with attorneys who feel their homeowner clients did not seem to get fair and balanced rulings from the bench. Indeed, only a tiny fraction of HOA court cases ever come down on the side of the homeowner. Logic would tell you that such rulings would favor approximately half of those who stand before the bar. Instead, rumor has it that homeowners have about a one percent chance in court against an HOA.

The massive impact of the CAI (Community Associations Institute) cannot be underestimated. True, the CAI lobbies legislatures on behalf of Homeowners Associations. This is kind of a half truth, since CAI really lobbies on behalf of the vendors of Homeowners Associations, e.g., the lawyers, the property managers, the suppliers of HOA services. And they blatantly lie when they testify, as they often do, that they represent homeowners. But judges, many of whom, are well-connected and live in Homeowners Associations, cannot possibly be ambivalent about their support of the HOA system. Judges are human beings, and human beings are all ‘little walking bundles of bias.’ And many of those same judges are closely linked to law firms where fellow attorneys make a great deal of money from suing homeowners who live in associations.

So, when our friend in Pennsylvania sent us the following link about the spreading scandal among judges in her state, the immensity of the scandal set us back on our heels. Cash for kids, child porn sent from one judge to another, it just takes your breath away. We, as homeowners, want only to have a chance of fairness when we enter a court of law. If we’re forced to stand before the bench, while feeling contempt for the lack of human decency sitting there in judicial robes, well, it just demolishes our faith in the system.

(link to news story of scandals in robes)