Tag Archives: HOA Embezzlement

“The Right Side Of History”

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Last night while watching PBS I heard an incredible quote: “If you’re on the right side of history you can make incredible things happen.”

Whew! That goes right to the heart of what those of us in this movement are trying to accomplish. And I think we really are on the right side of history. Homeowners are finally waking up. They’re discovering the fundamental corruption that infests Homeowners Associations, Condo Associations and Property Owners Associations. They’re contacting the news media. And reporters are beginning to dig deeply into the national Homeowners Association scam.

The story linked below is so bizarre that I don’t want to spoil it by trying to condense it. As you read it just tell yourself, “This kind of thing is going on everywhere!”

(link to San Diego Reader story on HOA tricks, lies and deceit)

 

Madness In HOA Arizona

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guest blog by Jill Schweitzer

I’ve been taking HOA classes put on by the City for the last few years. I used to attend to learn, now I attend to see what I missed the first time around, what the HOA industry omits in the discussions, what blunders I am able to witness.

Recently I attended a class where the HOA attorney was discussing how he is representing an HOA which is suing an owner because he put an extra block on his block wall. He told us how the lawsuit has been a pending for a couple years and his fees are now up to approximately 22k.

The attorney then went on to say how he was basically looking forward to winning the lawsuit, putting a lien on the house and then taking the house.

I do not understand how Boards allow homeowners to be treated this way. That attorney’s attitude is horrible. No one should lose their home because they made their fence a little too high. No one should arrogantly state they are going to take someone’s home. There is too much power in HOAs, and in the actions of those in the industry.

This behavior simply wouldn’t happen if Boards smarten up…and if the laws were changed to protect owners. I highly doubt that an extra row of block impacted property values in that community.

One more note, attendees in class fill out a survey and make suggestions for future classes. The person who coordinates the classes then sends an email to all attendees with the results. I made two suggestions that were omitted from the email:

1. Have a class taught by an attorney who is not a part of the industry lobby groups.
2. Have a class taught by a particular attorney in Scottsdale who is offering arbitration at a much lower cost to owners. He is not a part of the industry lobby groups.

The powers-that-be must have decided those two suggestions were too outrageous. Or quite possibly there is some control over the content provided to homeowners and board members who attend classes. My goal is to have a class taught by non-lobby group attorneys in the near future regardless of whether the City sponsors the class.

It Just Never Goes Away

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I was watching a grandson’s football game this afternoon here in the Denver area. A familiar looking lady walked up to me and grabbed my arm. She said, “Remember me?”

Ugh! At age 66 I hate that question. So she reacted to my blank stare: “I was at your house several months ago and brought you a big box of records on your former Homeowners Association.”

Ah, yes, I got the connection. This lady and her husband were foster parents and they loved the neighborhood. Not knowing a thing about the national HOA scam, they blithely bought a house and moved in with three foster kids. Knowing how anti-minority, anti-Semitic and anti-queer this neighborhood is I wasn’t surprised she’d have trouble. She was in tears and I just didn’t have any good advice for her except to move out.

She says she was told by more than one HOA official “your kind isn’t appreciated in this neighborhood.” All her attempts to improve the exterior of her home were rejected. She and her husband were doing some interior improvements and she was told by a notorious lawyer who takes every opportunity to get on the board and stay there, that if even one nail is out of place he’ll force her to tear everything down.

Well, this HOA succeeded in driving her out of the neighborhood. She moved. And she said her new non-HOA home is a wonderful place where all the neighbors talk and get along. She did say she still loved this area and said she was going to inquire about whether some adjoining HOAs were any better.

“No!” I told her. I gave her the same old advice I give everyone. “THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A GOOD HOA. EVERY ‘GOOD’ HOA IS JUST ONE VOTE AWAY FROM DISASTER!”

It’s true. It’s very sad, but it’s true.

HOA Scam Lawyer Dies In Prison

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Barry Levinson, a disbarred attorney who was one of the top figures in the massive Las Vegas HOA scam, has died while in federal custody. Now his lawyer is planning to sue the prison system for medical negligence.

The federal HOA investigation was the first of its kind in the country. Forty-two people were convicted, but most were given very light sentences. Officially, about 20 million dollars was stolen from residents in Las Vegas HOAs. But because of the collapse in value of all Las Vegas real estate the impact of the HOA scam rises well above 100 million in losses.

(link to Las Vegas Review Journal story on Levinson’s death)

By the way, reporter Jeff German deserves every journalism award in the book for his ongoing and thorough reporting of the Vegas HOA scam.