Tag Archives: HOA Embezzlement

Deck Collapses At Wolf Lake Homeowners Association In Indiana

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guest blog by Nila Ridings


Homeowners Associations, beware! The Wilt Family Christmas gathering, on December 22nd suddenly ended with the family photo gathering on the clubhouse deck.  Their lives were changed forever in a matter of seconds when the deck collapsed out from under them.  3 of the family members are still not able to walk.  

The deck had no center supports.  No bolts.  Just nails to support it and the weight of all who walked out onto it.  A family member has taken the time to post a video on YouTube revealing these undeniable facts.  The builder of the deck says it’s been ten years since it was constructed and he has no liability.  The president of the HOA, John Karaffa has not returned calls to the television reporter…don’t hold your breath, he never will.  But, very soon everybody will be talking under oath in the courtroom! 

If you live in an HOA with a clubhouse and balcony, I strongly encourage you to watch the video.  And then watch the videos included in the context of the article.  Insist on an inspection of your clubhouse deck.  As a homeowner in an HOA you hold liability for injuries or deaths.  The risks are too great not to demand an inspection by a professional.
 
 


 

Hogtied & Hammered By Transfer Fee!

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I knew it was coming. I just didn’t realize how massive the damage would be. It’s huge.

Some close friends just sold their HOA home in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. Before they could sell their house they had to come up with $10,000 at closing, much of that for a Transfer Fee. The Realtor didn’t warn them (they rarely do). Despite me writing Neighbors At War, and doing this blog nightly, these friends just didn’t understand what was coming. It’s hard for younger folks to listen to the ‘old man.’ I’m embarrassed to say that at their age I never listened to my own ‘old man’, either.

But these friends had counted on that $10,000 to help with the down payment for a new house (again, in an HOA!). In their position I would be seething with bitterness.

Dear Readers, Colorado Realtors stood silent when Homeowners Rights advocates tried to convince State Legislators that Transfer Fees are fundamentally unjust and illegal. Just three years ago the state passed a law which actually declared transfer fees to be illegal (except in Homeowners Associations). Why the exception for HOAs? Well, just a single HOA lobbying group takes in 55 billion dollars a year. How in Hell does an insider industry group NOT use that kind of money to ‘buy’ legislation?

Shame on the corrupt HOA lobby. Shame on the greedy legislators. Shame on the Realtors who stood silent when they could have made a difference.

I really think our rising movement should take aim at Realtors. They make 7% on a home sale. On a $400,000 house that’s $28,000.  All homeowners should begin demanding that Realtors agree IN WRITING that they will pay the cost of all transfer fees. You don’t agree? You don’t get the listing.

Maybe those Realtors will join us at the Legislature next year.

Blind Man Crushed To Death In Willow Creek Condos Trash Compactor

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guest blog by Nila Ridings
 
Roger Mirro of Palantine, Illinois thought he might have accidentally thrown his cell phone in the garbage bag he dropped down the trash chute in his four story condo building.  He was given the key to access the compactor by Larry Boni, a board member.  Since Boni was waiting on a phone call he allowed Roger to take on the task of searching the trash unsupervised. But he failed to mention the equipment was activated by an electronic eye which had no emergency safety shut-off mechanism.
 
Roger fell into the compactor, tripping the automatic mechanism for compaction and died.  He was blind.  Regardless of that, there were no signs or warnings posted around this dangerous piece of equipment.
 
Did Roger know this was an electronic crushing device?  Or did he think he was going to be searching through a standard trash receptacle?  I suppose these questions will be answered in the wrongful death, pain and suffering lawsuit that has now been filed in Cook County by his wife, Donna Mirro.
 
I wonder?  Do the condo owners in this association realize the massive liability they could be facing simply because a board member handed over the key to the compactor?  This widow deserves compensation for the needless loss of her husband and the attorneys will dig deep into everybody’s pockets to get it.
 
This tragedy should raise the awareness that something as simple as handing over a key can change the lives of everyone when you live in an HOA or condo association.
 
 
 

Virginia HOAs Fighting For Unlimited Power

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Just about every time you think it can’t get worse, it does.

The Virginia Legislature is considering a bill that would essentially allow Homeowners Associations to fine homeowners for almost anything, even if those ‘violations’ are not mentioned in the original deed restrictions or CC&Rs.

Wanna fine a homeowner who’s too fat? No problem under this law.

Wanna fine a homeowner with a handicapped kid? No problem. Just guise the fine as one being levied against an ugly resident. Handicapped kids have federal protection. Ugly kids do not.

Of course it all sounds outrageous. But this bill has already passed the Virginia House and is probably headed for further successes in the Senate and Governor’s Mansion.

And what’s a victim of an out-of-control HOA supposed to do? He or she has to hire a legal team and file a lawsuit. They’ll win in court, of course, but only after spending several hundred thousand dollars in legal fees. It’s guaranteed employment for lawyers.

Dear Lord God, where are we headed?

(link to Washington Post story)

 

Taxpayers Screwed By The HOA Movement!

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This story, from NBC News and The Consumerist, really ought to get you steamed. Homeowners Associations on prime beachfront properties have figured out a way to make the taxpayers pay for their huge cost of flood insurance. It sounds like fiction, but it’s not.

Zillionaires who own oceanfront properties that get destroyed by hurricanes every couple of years theoretically should be paying a fortune for federal flood insurance. That’s the law.

But guess who figured out a way to make YOU pay for their flood insurance?

Yep. The zillionaires. They got the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to declare their constantly flooded properties as Low Risk/No Flood Zones. That means about a 95% reduction in their flood insurance costs.

So, every time you see on the news that a ritzy beachfront condo development has been destroyed by a hurricane, just remember that last check you wrote to the IRS. A good portion of it is paying for the reconstruction of the homes of zillionaires.

Now, do you feel like a sucker?

(link to story on The Consumerist)