Tag Archives: HOA Embezzlement

High stakes $120m lawsuit over condo termination blocked by rival

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guest blog by Deborah Goonan
Here is the flip side of the coin in the chaotic world of Florida’s optional condo terminations.

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?

Incredible when an HOA Fines a Handicapped Person

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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)

 

Absolutely Off Topic, But Worthwhile

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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”)

 

Seething Over Solar Seems Senseless In Kehrs Mill Estates

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guest blog by Nila Ridings
Most of our readers can relate to being an activist working towards changes in America’s HOAs. We understand being passionate about sharing our knowledge of the abuses and corruption. We can relate to Frances and Jim Babb in many ways. For one, they live in an HOA. And they are strong supporters of solar energy. They believe it is right for America for many reasons. And it’s the most efficient way for them to provide energy to their upscale Victorian mansion in Clarkson Valley; a posh Saint Louis suburb.The Saint Louis Dispatch stated, “The Babbs’ ordeal has turned Frances Babb into a advocate. She’s lobbied state legislators over the past year for the Senate Bill 579, which bars homeowners associations from prohibiting solar energy.” The bill passed. End of the story…or is it? No, it isn’t.

The Babbs requested approval for the installation of the solar panels from their HOA board at Kehrs Mill Estates. There was no response within the time allowed by their CC&Rs. Next they applied for a permit from the City of Clarkson Valley where they ran into a snag that ultimately had to be resolved with litigation and a great deal of nonsense. The Babbs prevailed. The City of Clarkson Valley appealed the court’s decision but were again ordered to issue the permit. The Babbs installed the solar panels and looked forward to living in peace while setting a trend towards using cleaner energy and doing their part to make America less dependent on Arab oil.

Suddenly, guess who has an issue with their solar panels? I know you guessed it right, THE KEHRS MILL ESTATES HOA! Some neighbors claim the solar panels might cause car accidents or bring rabies into the exclusive community. So, now do they want them removed? The Babbs’ house sits a football field length away from the road surrounded by trees so it’s barely visible to passersby.

Will there be another legal battle or will the Kehrs Mill Estates BOD realize how senseless it would be to file suit when the State of Missouri has passed a law that allows solar panels, the City of Clarkson Valley has lost court battles twice, and they didn’t follow their own CC&Rs? We know how this historically goes….after $100,000 or more is spent in legal bills somebody gets tired or goes broke in the fight.

I’ve spoken with Frances Babb and I am 99.9% sure she isn’t going to take her solar panels off of her roof! I’m cheering her on and I hope you will, too. HOAs expect their members to jump at every command and demand but when they don’t follow their own CC&Rs it can sure come back and bite them. Perhaps this will be a lesson learned?

Oh! And a word of caution to our pilot readers. Please do not mistake the Babbs’ solar panels as the runway lights for Lambert Field. Landing your Boeing 757 on one of the HOA private streets is strictly prohibited!

The three attached links are well worth reading!)

(St Louis Post-Dispatch story on the solar fight)

(followup story on solar fight)

(story in Clean Technica)

Can an HOA Board Keep Homeowners Out?

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These stories just get wilder and harder to believe. The video linked below is beyond shocking. The only good news is that newspapers and TV stations are using HOA horror stories as regular features. Yep, it’s going to be a bad, bad time for these HOA board officers.