Tag Archives: HOA Neighborhood

How D’ya Like Your HOA Re-sale Value Now, Bunky?

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Washington State is such a pretty place to live. They call it “The Evergreen State.”

And a boat-load of Homeowners Associations were all going to help protect and preserve property values for all those new owners. Well, it’s not working out so well for folks in the Hazel Dell Townhomes, part of the Timbers at Town Center HOA in Vancouver. About six years ago, crowds of real estate agents dragged their clients in to buy some of those ritzy new townhomes. Now, HOA dues are going unpaid, a lot of personal wealth has been shredded, common areas are uncommonly unkempt. At this point, a townhouse owner probably couldn’t unload his property in a bad poker game.

It’s an old, sad story. The developer went broke in 2006, leaving a bunch of homes unsold. He transferred his bankrupt company along with the CC&Rs to the neighborhood. One of those rules is that it takes a quorum of 50% of the community to elect a board, to hold a meeting or even to petition the courts for help.

Now the homeowners are whining to the State Legislature that it’s “just not fair.” Maybe the Legislature will help out, and maybe not. The problem isn’t the developer. The problem is that investing in covenant-controlled housing is a big fat “P.S.I.” (pretty stupid investment). It’s just another case of “the big lie” being told over and over again by every real estate agent in Kingdom Come.

They’ll call me a fibber for saying it, but the real truth is that, “No, the HOA does NOT protect your property values.

In the meantime, many homeowners in The Evergreen State could reasonably call it “The Ever-Broke State.”

Ward Lucas
Author of
Neighbors At War: The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association

If it’s Tuesday, it must be another HOA Embezzlement

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Millions of people move into Homeowner Associations, thinking they’re protecting the value of their home. They sign covenants promising to abide by a byzantine set of covenants that amount to a surrender of all Constitutional rights. They reason, “At least I’m protecting my investment.”

But in a massive number of Homeowner Associations, someone on the inside is embezzling staggering sums of money, all of which have to repaid by the homeowners. If the crook is caught, the judge generally orders restitution, but that’s just pro forma. It rarely happens. When homeowners are forced to make up for the stolen money, for all intents and purposes it’s a direct devaluation of every home in the neighborhood.

Ah, I shouldn’t close out this blog without giving credit to the latest embezzler.

Theresa Tierney.

Strickland Farms Homeowners Association, New Jersey.

600,000 dollars.

You go, girl!

http://www.ahherald.com/newsbrief-mainmenu-2/law-and-order/12260-oakhurst-woman-admits-embezzling-400000-from-homeowners-association?tmpl=component&print=1&page=

Ward Lucas
Author of
Neighbors At War: The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association

Jesus Christ, What Happened To Us?

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One of the saddest stories out of Washington this Christmas is that Congressmen are forbidden from wishing their constituents “Merry Christmas” if they’re using Congressional franking privileges. In fact, the newest rules accept “Have a happy new year,” but do not permit “Happy New Year!”

It seems the PC crowd doesn’t want tax dollars used for anything that even hints at any connection to religion. The First Amendment doesn’t mandate that life in America be absolutely secular, it simply says that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” But 200 years of Supreme Court rulings have decided that the First Amendment doesn’t say what our common sense tells us it does.

Jesus warned his followers that “all men will hate you because of me.” But who knew that such hatred would be so virulent?

And yes, the PC movement has also hog-tied the Homeowner Association movement. Even though HOAs claim they are not government agencies, across the country they are falling in line, banning Christmas lights, religious displays, Mezuzahs, crosses, figurines of Mary.

Most Christians are not offended at Hannukah greetings from Jewish friends, Jews are generally not emotionally shattered if someone wishes them, “Merry Christmas.” Presumably, as other religions are more widely recognized, greetings connected to their own holidays, celebrations and customs will gain additional traction.

But it’s a sad, sad world that doesn’t acknowledge the mysteries and majesty of God.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

No offense.

Ward Lucas
Author of
Neighbors At War: The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association

Is There Such a Thing as an Honest Lawyer?

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I would bet dollars to donuts that not a single reader of this blog knows from this headline what I’m about to say!

Want to think about it for a second?

Remember, I have a large number of lawyers and law firms following this blog. Any guesses?

OK, here goes this intrepid reporter barefoot into the coals. But first, let’s inject a second hypothetical question.

In a pending court case in which not a single detail has been discussed or released, in a case where all a prospective attorney knows is that the potential client is pitted against a Homeowners Association, wouldn’t it be logical to assume that most lawyers would be willing to represent either side?

Certainly, an honest and ethical attorney is going to acknowledge up front that he may have a conflict of interest, right? Of course. And rare is the lawyer who overlooks this fundamental act of decency and ethics.

But what if an anxious homeowner looking for a lawyer to represent him against a Homeowner Association has to make ten or twenty calls to find an attorney who is not affiliated in some way with the HOA industry? Might it appear that the odds are heavily stacked against the homeowner regardless of the merits of the case?

Finally, let’s toss one final ingredient into the stew. There is a massively powerful private organization that each year funnels billions of dollars into litigation and legal representation of Homeowners Associations. Billions and billions and billions of dollars.

Now let’s revise our original headline:

Does the Average Homeowner Believe There’s an Honest Lawyer?

Ward Lucas
Author of
Neighbors At War: The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association

HOA Embezzler Gets 90 Days

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Yet another HOA embezzler got a tap on the wrist this week, after pleading guilty to forty counts of stealing from his neighbors.

Robert Dwyane Wood stole an undetermined amount of money from the treasury of the Cabbagetown Initiative Community Development Corporation, a homeowners association in Atlanta. Much of the stolen money came from funds raised to help victims of the 2008 Atlanta tornado. Victims of the tornado never received the money that was donated on their behalf.

Wood was formerly the president of the Homeowner Association.

In addition to 90 days in jail, Wood was ordered to make restitution in the amount of 78,000 dollars.  That’s the amount of money that could be documented as being stolen. But other HOA leaders say they suspect that far more money was taken, but they couldn’t prove Wood stole additional funds.

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/former-cabbagetown-president-sentenced-1248434.html

Ward Lucas
Author of
Neighbors At War: The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association