Tag Archives: HOA Embezzlement

Simple Explanation

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guest blog by Nila Ridings
HOAs! I am 100% convinced that is the answer to the mystery (no mystery to me) of the article linked below.Originally created to make neighbors with commonality friendly and social. But the HOA concept failed when the structure was established for neighbor to rule neighbor. Even to the point of being able to fine, lien, and foreclose on their home. With that being allowed to happen the trust is gone and the fear antenna goes up while the boxing gloves sit waiting by the front door to go on.

In multiple ways HOAs are destroying human life!

 

Repeal of Nevada HOA statute?

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guest blog by Deborah Goonan

From the state that brought us the largest HOA federal fraud investigation EVER, now this:

Ira Hansen, a Nevada Republican Assemblyman, recently filed AB233, a proposal to repeal NV Statute 116, the statute governing homeowners’ associations. The intent, according to Hansen, is to delegate regulation to a lower level state agency, such as a commission on HOAs. Nevada HOAs are currently regulated by the Nevada Real Estate Division (NRED).

The reason for this proposed change? Essentially, according to Hansen, HOA disputes are too much trouble, the issues too “minor” to bother with! If you read the attached news release, the insinuation is that all HOA issues involve rules over flying the flag or other aesthetic concerns.

Really? Tell that to the thousands of members of 37 HOAs affected by a massive construction defect fraud scheme! Ask them if they think HOA election fraud is a “minor” issue that does not deserve the attention of state lawmakers. Ask these owners if dealing with the aftermath of crooked attorneys, property managers, and fraudulent straw buyers are other “minor” issues that continue to plague HOAs. Does NRED lack jurisdiction to handle these serious matters? If so, then what’s the point of having a regulatory agency with limited authority?

Of course, most would agree that HOAs have some rather unrealistic restrictions, oppressive covenants, and crazy rules that often do result in overblown disputes over trivial matters – mainly because they can. Restrictive Covenant “contracts” can say just about anything a Developer’s Attorney can dream up. Let’s face it, a lot of these claims that Hansen finds so time-consuming would qualify as frivolous, because the rules themselves are often petty, vague, and unnecessary.

But, rather than wash their hands of HOAs as inconvenient annoyances (despite the fact that all of the owners pay substantial property and various state taxes), why won’t NV lawmakers take a stand and simply declare such trivial “keeping up appearances” restrictions and rules unconstitutional and therefore invalid? Why not return full control of individual lots or units to individual owners, instead of the Association? Or how about repealing the authority of NV HOAs to fine or otherwise unilaterally penalize owners, without the benefit of due process?

Think about it, if the HOA Board had to initiate a legal suit over the color of window shades or a flag display – before the alleged offender could be fined or otherwise penalized – I suspect there would be very few lawsuits filed, and more effort to work out disagreements amicably. That would be especially true if either party – HOA or homeowner – had to pay stiff penalties for bringing frivolous claims that waste the court’s time.

And, truthfully, if HOAs are really that troublesome, why not just stop creating more of them?
(link to news release about NV AB 233)

(link to Nevada AB 233)

The God of Poop!

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Poop. Feces. Droppings. Excrement. Cow pies. Dung. Guano. Meadow Muffin. Stool.

Do you realize that humans have hundreds and hundreds of different words for this little bit of matter that is so disgusting to us? It’s almost as if we worship it. Who invented such awful substance? God did. It’s the ultimate recylable material. And you would be stunned to know that every speck of this stuff, depending upon which species deposited it, has an entire ecosystem which depends on getting a steady supply.

Next time you visit the Gulf Coast or the Caribbean and you stretch out on those warm white sands just remind yourself that 70 percent of that white sand was once pooped out by parrot fish. Each parrot fish poops out about 200 pounds of white sand a year! Look it up!

On the other side of the coin, at least a thousand Homeowners Associations are now running madly through their neighborhoods collecting DNA samples from every dog in the hood, and sending each harvested dog pile to the lab to be matched to the offending pooch. The owner then gets a fine of say, $500 per pile. Someone more clever than I might come up with a good name for a new TV reality show. “CSI Poopami,” or possibly, “PoopNet-HOA.”

Now, I’m a dog owner. I carry all the appropriate plastic bags and gloves because I want to be a good neighbor. At the same time I find all this poop hysteria to be hysterically stupid.

All it would take to thwart the system is to organize a neighborhood Poop Brigade to collect hundreds of samples and dump them all on the HOA president’s lawn. Let him pay the fines.

BTW, if you do that, definitely send me pictures that I can publish!

(latest poop from the Seattle P.I.)

 

Monsters in Michigan!

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If you want to find out for yourself how monstrous HOA legislation can be, you need look no further than Michigan.

This state has just passed a law the shields non-profit boards of directors from all liability and accountability. Whew! All? Homeowners Associations, Condo Associations, Co-ops are all non-profit corporations. They handle all our money, they casually throw around our home equity and our life savings, and they’re now exempt? What hath God wrought?

Read the link below and weep.

And remember the words of Gideon J. Tucker and Samuel Clemens: “No man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the Legislature is in session.”

(link to news on the most idiotic law in state history)

 

Child Discrimination in HOAs Illegal!

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guest blog by Dave Russell (community association manager)
Last week Minnetonka residents of a condo complex won a massive settlement agreement in a federal lawsuit contending that a ban on playing in the grass illegally discriminated against families with children.The settlement agreement, announced last Friday, by U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger, means that the Greenbrier Village Homeowners’ Association Inc. and Gassen Company Inc. must establish a new nondiscrimination policy and pay a $10,000 penalty to the federal government and $100,000 to six families.  We all know well who is going to foot the bill for this one. Don’t we?
 
Just days after the Minnetonka settlement another HOA in California was making headlines for smacking homeowners with $50 fines for basically the same thing.  It appears that the Agave and Saguaro HOA in Chula Vista , California prohibits a number of kid-friendly activities in their development. This HOA prohibits their resident children from riding skateboards, bicycles, roller-skates or anything with ‘wheels’ on their driveways, common areas, sidewalks or streets. So what gives with these kooky rules?
 
Well the reporters down at ABC 10 News went to Prescott Management (the management company for Agave and Saguaro HOA) to ask that very question. The HOA manager claimed that some of those rules were for the ‘safety of children.’  Are these ‘safety concerns’ really legitimate?
 
While I completely understand the need for kids to be able to play in their communities, what happens if something goes terribly wrong? Hypothetically, let’s say this HOA changes their rules and a child gets mowed down by a car in the driveway. Whose fault is it? Well that’s the question the parents attorneys will be asking.
 
The argument can easily be made that the HOA should have adopted rules restricting children from playing in dangerous areas, such as driveways. One has to remember, attorneys are always searching for the deepest pockets when it comes to lawsuits and settlements. Unfortunately, those deep pockets always belong to the HOA and their insurance carriers.
 
HOAs and community managers seem to be in a real pickle here. If you restrict child-friendly activities, even if they may be dangerous, the HOA could be sued for a fair housing violation. If you don’t have safety rules in place, and a child gets hurt, the HOA still gets sued if something goes ‘terribly wrong.’ When it’s all said and done, and dust settles from the lawsuits,  it’s the homeowners who will foot the bill once again. Well, don’t they always?
 
So what’s the solution to this seemingly new legal issue of Children vs. HOA’s? A large part of this problem was actually created by the developers themselves, who poorly designed these communities, and without children in mind. Very rarely do you see a developer put in a kid-friendly area where kids can just be kids. And for some reason if the developer does build a kid-friendly area, it’s always across a busy road like the development in the Minnesota case.  It’s all about jamming in as many units into one confined space as possible for profit.
 
There’s no doubt we’ll be seeing a magnitude of new lawsuits from homeowners and federal agencies like Fair Housing. These lawsuits are going to cost homeowners billions of dollars and make HOA insurance premiums skyrocket!  In my opinion, the best solution to this newly found problem is to stop building these damn liabilities!
 
If you ever needed another reason not to buy into an HOA……make sure that you add this one to the top of your list!