Tag Archives: HOA Embezzlement

H2O: The New Moneymaker In The HOA

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guest blog by Nila Ridings

I just read where some HOAs that provide for water in the dues are now going to start charging homeowners by the number of people living in the unit.

This topic is being discussed in a CAI attorney’s newsletter that I subscribe to. Sometimes I find the information they share of interest and other times it makes me want to barf my Sunday breakfast.

I live in an HOA where our water is factored into our monthly dues. If they tried to bill us for usage based on the number of people living in each unit that would be a joke to say the least. Why? Because we’ve had people with hair salons in their basements, in-home childcare, carpet cleaning companies, dog groomers, and probably a laundry service or two operating out of the view range of their binoculars. We had one former homeowner who managed to get the HOA to install a completely new lawn all around her unit which she watered multiple hours per day. So much so her attached neighbor declared all the watering was destroying the soil under their shared driveway and causing it to have problems. When the hose mysteriously ended up with a slash the HOA ran right out and bought a replacement so the watering could continue.

On the other hand in the decade I’ve lived in this hellhole, I have worked out of state a total of about 12 months. When I leave for more than 24 hours, I always shut the water off and drain the pipes. (It’s a ritual taught to me by my dad to prevent me from coming home to a busted washing machine, dishwasher, or icemaker hose that could do massive damage if left to flow water for days.) By these new water billing rules, I would then be entitled to a refund for having no water or sewer usage during my absence, correct? No way would my HOA ever refund a nickel to somebody they despised, even if not a drop of water was used in a year!

And then there is the other situation where nobody is living in a unit: FORECLOSURE. I’m handling the foreclosure for a neighbor who finally had enough and decided after sixteen years to just walk away. The bank sent a company to completely winterize the pipes and shut off the water. Not a drop of water has been used for months.

At one time my attached neighbor had family circumstances that left her with fifteen additional family members living with her. They used a lot of water, probably more than what she paid in monthly dues. They were there for a few years and were great neighbors. We are still friends.

I’ve had some neighbors tell me about pipes breaking in attached units and they came home to a flood. Only to be unable to locate the neighbor or bank that owned the unit where the pipe broke. One guy walked to the back of the units and could see water clear up to the top of the patio door with everything floating inside. He said it looked like a gigantic fish bowl. He was able to reach the owner who was out of town. When he told him what was happening the guy said, “Thanks for calling, I’m never coming back!” And he didn’t! He let the bank foreclose on the moldy stinking mess.

My point of presenting all these examples is that one person can use more water than another for varying reasons. So how is the HOA going to collect the exact usage from the homeowners? They can’t. It’s impossible. The only way for each unit to pay for the amount of water and sewer they use is to have their own meter. And THAT is where the cheaper way to build these crappy places has come home to roost. It was a way to save a few bucks on the construction costs only to create a nightmare down the line for the homeowners and the HOA.

I’m taking a wild calculated guess at how this is going to come out. The board or property manager will charge an outrageous water usage amount to the members they do not like. If the unit owner doesn’t pay, they will lien and foreclose on the unit. Or figure out some way to shut off the water just to that owner.

And the battles rage on in the HOAs of America!

Oh yes, and my other reason for sharing…it is just one more reason to never buy a condo or a townhouse!

A Dark Cloud Over St. Cloud, Florida

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guest blog by Nila Ridings

First a little back story about the connections we are making in our fight for justice in HOAs. This time our focus is on a boy in the ESPRIT HOA near Orlando, Florida.

A few weeks ago I was reading a story that was posted on Facebook about an HOA issue. Many comments were made but one stood out for me. It was a man stating his son had special needs and the HOA was refusing to allow a fence around their back yard. I responded to his comment by mentioning he should talk to Dave Russell. Shortly thereafter, Dave Russell came across my comment and took the time to send his personal phone number to the gentleman.

Once Dave talked with Shawn Seekings and learned his son has Asperger’s Syndrome, ADHA, and Epilepsy and his wife, Kristin is pregnant, he took action. As we all know, Dave Russell is a property manager in Arizona and understands the laws pertaining to fair housing and he has connections to the media. Shawn knows the fair housing laws as well. He had already contacted the government agency that he hoped would give him some assistance. But time is of the essence because Kristin is not able to chase the child since he moves much faster than her these days.

The HOA will only allow an open-spaced wrought iron fence. Shawn knows his son will scale that fence and be at risk with the alligators in the water directly behind their house. He has a letter from his son’s doctor outlining his conditions and the need for a vinyl fence. The vinyl would be a surface his son could not climb up and over. On the other side of the HOA the homeowners have vinyl fences, but next to the alligator pit they only allow wrought iron.

I know. I know. It makes no sense to me either! After seeing a video of an alligator that took one bite and removed the plastic bumper from a truck I would want an eighteen inch thick concrete wall around my yard!

In an HOA the rules are the rules and the dictators on the board always follow them except when it applies to them or one of their cronies. They fail to recognize HOAs cannot legally override or violate a federal law. According to attorney S. David Cooper this HOA is violating the Fair Housing Act. The attorney for the HOA will not return phone calls. And, now another child that just needs to go outside and play remains in the middle of an HOA battle!

A special thank you to Louis Bolden of WKMG6 for reporting this story. Long ago we learned the only way to solve HOA issues without nasty expensive litigation is to turn the cameras on and have the reporters take control. I laughed when the property manager decided she should give the reporter some advice to which he responded he didn’t need any advice!

HOAs…they are a guaranteed headache!

(link to Orlando Sentinel article on autistic child’s treatment by HOA)

 

Ultimate Bad Neighbors

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Zillionare FaceBook founder Mark Zuckerberg is trying to start his own HOA in Palo Alto, California. He just doesn’t want anyone else to live there except him.

Understandably, when Zuckerberg built his own mansion he wanted some privacy and bought up all the homes around him. He can afford to toss around 38 million bucks. But he’s being sued by a couple who claim they were conned into selling their property at too low a price to a ‘mystery’ corporation that turned out to be Zuckerberg.

I sympathize with this billionaire wanting some privacy and security. He’s probably got more stalkers and paparazzi than George Clooney. But with his wealth why would you subject yourself to the incredible invasion of privacy that happens during depositions and court testimony? To Zuckerberg, 1.7 million dollars is pocket change. Pay these reptilians off and get on with life!

(link to Bloomberg article on Zuckerberg neighbor fight)

 

Hard To Get A Mortgage???

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Some folks thought I was crazy when I claimed a Nevada Supreme Court decision could make it impossible for many people to get a mortgage. The court ruled that a 6000 dollar HOA lien could extinguish an 800 thousand dollar mortgage.

How is that possible?

How is that fair?

What mortgage company official in his or her right mind make loans in such an area? Is it any wonder that thousands upon thousands of Nevada homes are for sale and there are no buyers?

(link to industry news column on super-priority liens)

 

Durham NC Mayor Admits Risk In Buying Into An HOA

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guest blog by Deborah Goonan 

Last fall I blogged about several unfinished housing developments, and effects on HOA members. One of these subdivisions, Stone Hill Estates, has been involved in litigation over unfinished roads and stormwater systems for almost a decade. Last year, a Judge ordered the City of Durham, NC, to contribute to completion costs.

(link to previous blog here)

Fast forward about 7 months later, and Stone Hills Estates HOA and neighboring Ravenstone HOA residents are still living with unfinished roads and stormwater systems. The city of Durham’s latest proposal is to contribute a mere 10% of construction costs to complete infrastructure in the two subdivisions, and then assess 750 lot owners approximately $5000 each over the next eight years. While a 10% contribution might technically fulfill the court’s order, it hardly seems reasonable and fair given the estimated $1.6 million price tag.

Homeowners, supported by Public Works Director Robert Joyner, point out that the City of Durham erred with inadequate controls over the inspection process and the release of securities prior to completion of the subdivisions. It was the City that issued certificates of occupancy. Joyner also points out that ten years ago, the city could have added a 1-inch coat of blacktop paving to prevent degradation of roads that has resulted after a decade of neglect of the unfinished project. Therefore, homeowners argue, it is unfair to expect them to bear 90% of the total cost of completion.

But the Mayor’s response, as reported in the Herald Sun:

After the public comment period Mayor Bill Bell said the city needs to rethink the proposal.

“I can’t support what’s being presented to us from the staff … We need to find another way to deal with this,” Bell said.

However, Bell also said homeowners took a risk when they bought property in the area.

“I think property owners there bear a certain amount of responsibility, I think the city bears a certain amount of responsibility,” Bell said. “The question is how do we share that?”

No decision has been made on the assessments as the City Council referred it back to the administration and the City Manager’s office.

Aha! Finally, a local government leader goes on record admitting that, when buying into an HOA, the consumer is taking on substantial financial risk. When a developer walks away from the subdivision, the cost of completion of common areas is either dumped on the homeowners (or lot owners), or the corresponding loss in property values is deducted from their equity. Either way, consumers lose.

Even though HOA homeowners pay essentially equivalent property taxes, they cannot expect to receive equivalent services to non-HOA homeowners. The local government expects HOA owners to bear the brunt of the cost of constructing and maintaining infrastructure.

Now, ask yourself why these critical facts are not fully disclosed prior to transfer of title to a new owner.

And consider this: Does it truly make sense to divide up our roads and storm water systems into hundreds of thousands of private communities? After all, in reality, roads are necessary to provide public access to these communities, and storm water drainage diverts water many miles downstream, affecting neighboring public and private communities along the way.

How can we realistically parse financial responsibilities for major infrastructure to each individual HOA, especially when, through economies of scale, those costs can be spread out over all residents of a municipality or county?

Why should property owners in HOAs have to risk their financial security, simply to own a home? Our government leaders seem to have lost sight of the fact that Developers and fellow investors are supposed to bear those risk — not consumers.

(link to article about irate homeowners in Durham NC)