Tag Archives: HOA Hell

Absolutely Hilarious!

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I have no idea if what’s linked below is the real deal. It’s posted by the Smithsonian Magazine which tends to give it some credibility. I’d feel more comfortable if this had been posted on an April Fools Day. But it’s a hilarious look at what life might have been like in a Homeowners Association in Britain in 1365.

(link to ancient HOA rules)

 

From Robert Racansky

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from Ward Lucas:

This poor guy has been battling what appears to be a brain-dead HOA bent on no other goal than destroying a homeowner who stood up to them and won. Here’s his latest letter to me:

 

from Robert Racansky:

What is revealing is the account ledger and how much
they spent on Hindman Sanchez (law firm). Buckingham (atty) told me in person that he was being paid by the insurance company.

Per the account ledger I received yesterday, the total amount of
attorney fees paid to Hindman Sanchez P.C. was $19,184.35.

Obviously I’m biased here, but crap like this a perfect example of the
underlying fundamental problems with H.O.A. corporations — the lies,
the unaccountability, the imbalance of power, the perverse incentives
and moral hazards, etc. The problem is that it’s not as “sexy” as a
story about American flags being banned or an H.O.A. board being dicks
to a dying 6 year old girl, so it’s hard to make our policy makers and
pundits understand what needs to be done. Instead, we get a law
saying “H.O.A.s must have a written collection policy”. However, for
those of us who go through this — as I have been for six years — it
is an INCREDIBLY frustrating experience for so many reasons. 6 years
is more than 10% of my life, and more than 20% of my adult life.

Something else occurred to me last night:

People can — and do — lose their homes over trivial amounts,
sometimes a few pennies, sometimes a few dollars, etc. Sometimes
those amounts are nothing more than arbitrary and artificial
accounting artifacts. But our legislators and courts treat those
amounts as “damage” done to the H.O.A. corporation, which must be
permitted to exercise incredibly draconian powers because….well, I’m
not sure why.

But if an H.O.A. corporation f***s up in the amount of, say, nearly
$7,000, nobody will ever be held accountable. The home owner is
expected to just grin and bear it, because our legislators and courts
don’t treat that as a “damage” that the home owner is entitled to
collect.

“Equality before the law” is a sick lie we’re told as children to make
us accept any injustice in our lives.

 

The Loss of Childhood Innocence

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Today, while driving to the Post Office in my old Denver neighborhood, I passed a little girl’s lemonade stand. She couldn’t have been more than eight years old but she was shouting at motorists like a professional carnival barker. Had I not been in traffic I would have pulled over and bought a cup. In fact, I may even go back tomorrow to see if she’s still there.

It brought back childhood memories of life at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, where our home was located immediately across the street from a ball field where Army soldiers played softball every weekend. Mom taught us how to make and sell something she called ‘duros.’ It might have been a totally made-up name. I never knew. But a duro was Kool-Aid in a Dixie cup, a Popsicle stick in the center, frozen hard in our big basement freezer. In the hot Texas sun the softball teams lined up to buy duros from my little brother and me.

The coincidence of seeing today’s news story linked below was remarkable. An Overton, Texas cop has put a little girl’s lemonade stand out of business because she didn’t have a permit.

I’m glad I grew up in a more innocent age when political correctness wasn’t used to beat up little kids.

(link to East Texas Popsicle scandal)

 

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)

 

Florida Appeals Court Decides CC&Rs Trump State Law

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guest blog by Deborah Goonan

Florida HOA industry proponents are all abuzz about a recent District Court ruling. The Fourth District Court of Appeals (DCA) has clarified in its decision that if HOA Covenants, Conditions, & Restrictions (CC&Rs) specifically state that a third-party buyer need not be responsible for paying past due assessments, that provision overrides FL state law.

Florida statute currently requires that third-party buyers at foreclosure must pay all past due assessment liens accumulated by prior owners. However, as written, its intent is not to impair contract rights that were in effect prior to the 2007 statute.

In this article (HOA COLLECTIONS…Fourth DCA Decision Slams HOAs In Florida) the owner of an HOA collections business does not appear to be happy with the appellate court’s decision to defer to HOA governing documents in lieu of state law.

Note the double standard at play here. When it comes to CC&R violations, HOA-proponents want the “contract” to prevail. But when it comes to collection of past-due assessments from third party owners, the same folks want state law to override the CC&Rs, thereby impairing the HOA “contract.” In fact, the lower court decided the case in favor of the HOA, citing state law.

In this article written by a FL Attorney, blame and shame is cast upon lenders for “mooching” off of homeowners, and state legislators for creating laws that protect mortgage holders’ financial interest at the expense of homeowners and taxpayers.
But didn’t HOA proponents favor “mooching” off of homeowners when they gloated about NV and DC appeals courts decisions that third-party buyers at HOA foreclosure sales could wipe out mortgage liens? After all, what happens to property values when an $800,000 home sells at auction for little more than $6,000 owed one the HOA lien?

Lots of angles here.

For instance, what exactly are your HOA assessments paying for? Most of it may be for essential infrastructure – roads, storm water systems, private utilities, security, and the like. These are traditional government services, making HOA assessments akin to property taxes. So why is the HOA a corporation and not an official “mini-government” subject to prevailing Constitutional law instead of contract law?

Portions of assessment funds may also be for non-essential amenities. But our current laws treat all of these funds as absolutely essential, and as mandatory obligations. Assessments must be paid No Matter What, or risk lien and foreclosure by your HOA. If HOA fees were truly “contractual” obligations, homeowners would have the power to withhold payment for non-delivery of services, and the HOA would not have the power to foreclose to collect liens.

On the other hand, if HOAs were truly “mini-governments,” then why wouldn’t HOA assessment liens – at least the portion payable for essential services – hold an equal or higher priority than property tax liens?

So many contradictions and double standards, none of which benefit the homeowner.

(link to brief summary of new case law)