Tag Archives: HOA Hell

Last Call…Who Gets Stuck With The Condo?

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guest blog by Nila Ridings

Occasionally I talk with a condo or HOA homeowner who tells me they are working to pay off their mortgage so they can leave the property to their kids debt-free when they die.  None of us knows when we are going to take our final flight, but we all know the risks of owning in a condo association or HOA.  For those who don’t, I’d suggest spending time on this website and reading Ward’s book, Neighbors At War!
 
I’ve watched the results of this plan play out over the past few years.  When heirs live out of state they sell for whatever they can get or turn their new property into rentals.  Rarely, do they move into the unit.  And they have no clue what is going on inside of the HOA , who is running for the board, how many lawsuits are pending, or if the HOA has taken out a million dollar loan.  They’re clueless and have absolutely no interest in knowing more.
 
If they can’t get the property sold and don’t want a rental, they are stuck paying monthly dues to the HOA. While there is no water, sewer, or trash usage during that time the HOA bill continues, along with taxes and insurance.  If at some point the HOA slaps a lien on the property there is an amount to be paid that nobody knows about. Or, the lien was satisfied but the HOA never released it.  Possibly the deceased wasn’t aware of it, but it’s there and it has to be paid before the place can be sold.  Or an assessment pops up and heirs are on the hook to pay that, too.  Suddenly, this inherited real estate becomes a pain in the neck and/or a financial burden to someone who can’t afford the extra expense or deal with all the added stress.
 
We learned in Neighbors At War that mortgage-free HOA properties also become targets for non-judicial foreclosure.  Since corruption never misses an opportunity the dead are not exempt from HOA abuse either.
 
During a recent conversation with an HOA property owner I learned something that I expected was coming.  This individual wanted a reverse mortgage only to learn that isn’t possible because the HOA is not FHA approved.  The advice given was to take out the maximum amount in a mortgage, enjoy life with the money, and when the money runs out or the final breath is taken, the kids can let the property go back to the mortgage company and walk away.  If the HOA opts to foreclose, so be it. (Who needs a good credit rating to get into the cemetery?)
 
Bottom line is: hundreds of thousands of dollars tied up in a covenant controlled and often times corrupt HOA is not a way to leave your heirs feeling loved.  It could bring them a financial burden that could drastically change their lives and leave them feeling angry with you for leaving them in such a financial mess.
 
No one lives without dying.  Careful thought should be given to how we wish to be remembered.  Hopefully it won’t be that generations to come are left sitting around holiday decorated dining room tables discussing Mom and Dad or Aunt Matilda’s HOA nightmare that was “supposed” to be an inheritance!

Jack English Is Loving Life Until The End

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guest blog by Nila Ridings 

93 years old, living in the wilderness, splitting wood, and making violin bows.  Will that be you?  Or me?  Jack English has loved the wild areas of California since he was a young boy.  And his wife’s dying words and his sentimental heart led him back there with plans to stay until the end.
 
Jack mades me think of Dorothy.  She lived in my HOA.  When it was discovered the audits had not been done, and  $10,000,000.00 was unaccounted for, and the bills weren’t paid, and the houses were rotting before our eyes, Dorothy invited me in for a talk.  She was 93, frail, but with fight in her eyes.  In my mind’s eye, I can still see her sitting there in the power blue velveteen chair with her walker at arm’s length.  Her eyes were locked with mine.  As the tears ran down her cheeks she said, “Nila, if I was younger I would be fighting as hard as you are to get to the bottom of this, but I’m too old and too weak.  Something sinister is going on here; you know it and I know it.  If you don’t get this mess straightened out, I am going to figure out a way out of here!  I don’t want to spend another day of my life in this horrible nightmare of a homeowners association.”  Sadly, Dorothy ended up in a nursing home and not long ago I read her obituary.  It still makes me sad to think that Dorothy, at nearly a century old knew she was being ripped off, but she was helpless.  She could be nothing more than a victim and hand over her money every month.
 
It’s really refreshing to see Jack English’s story.  Knowing he was one elderly person who didn’t get caught in some HOA maintenance-provided propaganda sales pitch like so many other 80 and 90 year olds.  And, it’s a reminder that when we fight these HOA battles it is not just for ourselves.  It’s for all the Dorothy’s across this country who have no clue that when they bought into an HOA they signed away their twilight years into a hellish nightmare like they have never known in the decades they’ve lived before.  We must never forget that their silence doesn’t mean they are not fully aware of the corruption.  Father Time has just weakened them enough to make them easy prey for the HOA monster.
 
Now, take a look at what life at 93 and HOA-free can be!
 
 
http://solarburrito.com/blog/93-year-old-man-lives-in-wilderness-cabin/
 

Tinney And The Teenagers

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guest blog by Nila Ridings

It’s refreshing to see this video and how 84 year old Tinney Davidson is impacting the teenagers on their way to school. She’s a widow now, but she and her husband started this daily routine together.
 
In the world of HOAs we see story after story about the restrictions that prohibit children from feeling welcome in their neighborhoods.  Perhaps if HOA Amerika took on a new attitude towards children, we just might see a few more videos like this someday?
 
These teenagers surprised Tinney so much on Valentine’s day it made her cry…happy tears!
 
 
http://myfox8.com/2014/02/27/elderly-woman-waves-at-students-every-day-gets-a-big-surprise/
 

OMG! Is Jill Schweitzer Trying To Kill The Phoenix Cash Cow?

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guest blog by Nila Ridings
 
She’s a real estate broker on a mission and armed with a new website (www.hoasavers.com).  She sat on her HOA board and got her eyes opened to all the waste by property managers.  But her board was able to save her HOA $40,000 by getting their own bids, minus the “guidance” of any property manager.   
 
HOLY COW!  Michael Latz of Golden Valley Property Management says Jill needs to get away from the HOA herd.  He’s runnin’ this ranch and got this biddin’ business under control! (Wink, wink.)
 
Come to think of it, wouldn’t Jill make a stellar replacement in the Legislature for The Bimbo? State Representative Michelle Ugenti has made a mockery out of the legislative process in Arizona. Can we talk Jill Schweitzer into running?
 
That would actually be a legislative race that would be fun to watch!
 
 
 

Getting Screwed for Putting Up Posties

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Whew! Put up any kind of lawn sign in an HOA neighborhood and you’re going to get “rode hard and put away wet.”

These poor folks in North Carolina put up a small sign on their porch to tell burglars that they believed in the Second Amendment. No sooner did the sign go up than they were they smacked up alongside the face.

“Illegal sign!  One hundred bucks a day!” This is one HOA that knows how to play cards and lay down a phony flush. “We own your butt, Big Boy! And you’re goin’ down hard.”

If you’ve EVER considered living in an HOA neighborhood, wander over to Amazon.com and buy my book, Neighbors At War! Or borrow a freebie from your next-door neighbor. And definitely….read the link posted below!

(link to story on illegal security sign)