Tag Archives: HOA Neighborhood

A New Sign of Discontent

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I’m not smart enough to know if anti-HOA activist Jonathan Friedrich will win his HOA lawsuit in Nevada. He claims he bought the house before the developer included it in an adjacent HOA. Friedrich says his home and several others were missed, and the paperwork was only recently filed. But more than anyone else I know in the country, Jonathan has chutzpah.

GetAttachmentIf your picture is a little grainy, it’s a 50 foot long banner that says, “Rancho Bel Air is Stealing from us and Breaking The Law!

Reminds me of the old advertising saying that goes:

“He who has a thing to sell and goes and whispers in a well is not so apt to get the dollars as he who climbs a tree and hollers.” Keep hollering, Jonathan. We hear you!

 

Another Nomination for America’s Worst Neighbor!

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LOL! These actually are getting pretty funny. There’s nothing that works better than a camera to reign in stupid neighbors. But this is a case of a couple who put up so many cameras, they were eventually charged with stalking.

(bad neighbors in New York)

 

PR2 HOA reaches confidential settlement w/City House, Frisco, TX

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guest blog by Deborah Goonan

Several weeks ago, I told you about a pending legal dispute between Plantation Resort 2 HOA vs. City House, a non-profit organization that assists homeless youths. Several months ago, City House purchased and remodeled a 5-bedroom home in PR2 HOA, for use as transitional living for young adults in need of a home. Shortly after the purchase, PR2 notified City House that it would not be permitted to use the home as intended, citing violation of its Restrictive Covenants.

Earlier this week, WFAA Channel 8 was notified that a confidential, out-of-court settlement has been reached. The video and transcript is linked below.

The dispute centered on PR2 HOA’s restrictions. The attorney for the HOA, Chad Robinson, had argued that the proposed use of the residence City House now owns – as transitional living for up to 8 young women that would otherwise be homeless – does not fall within their definition of “single family use.”  Monica Velazquez, attorney for City House, has maintained that “single family use” pertains to how the property is used, not the people who live there. City House planned to use the residence to meet basic housing needs of its residents, all of whom work and attend school, but share expenses for rent, utilities and meals.  The dispute was headed for court, where a judge would decide the matter.

But, in typical HOA fashion, a legal settlement has been reached, complete with a sealed file and a gag order. Rob Scichili of City House states that they have decided not to pursue the expense of litigation and to instead move away from PR2 HOA, where they are clearly unwelcome anyway.

Sound familiar? Ah, yes, the old HOA playbook: “We have rules here, and if you don’t like them, MOVE.” The HOA gets its way once again. Of course, with a confidential settlement, the public will never know the details of what was discussed by the parties involved. And that’s just the way the HOA likes it. I certainly hope that City House was at least able to recover its closing costs, remodeling costs, and relocation expenses.

Watching the video report made my blood boil. The arrogance of the two neighbors interviewed, with their not-in-my-back-yard attitude, was nothing short of outrageous, in my opinion.

Do all PR2 residents share these NIMBY views? Probably not, but they will all have to pay for the attorney fees and the legal settlement. They will all have to live with negative publicity for their HOA. Hard to say what effect that might have on their property values.

It seems like we publish at least one blog on NAW each week, featuring yet another story of HOA discrimination, harassment, or bullying. Talk about a huge deterrent for a buyer (or tenant) to living under the HOA regime. Anyone who cares about social justice, fair play, kindness, or compassion will be sorely disappointed under corporate governance by CC&Rs.

(link to WFAA Channel 8 news report on legal settlement)

The previous blogs can be found

Here http://neighborsatwar.com/2014/10/texas-judge-decide-meaning-family-hoa/

and here http://neighborsatwar.com/2014/11/judge-rules-frisco-city-house-can-stay-hoa-civil-case-pending/

HOA Embezzling Comes to Bakersfield

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Because it’s Christmastime, we usually expect a little more embezzling by employees of Homeowners Associations. Michelle Haughton, the accounts receivable employee for the Bear Valley Springs HOA apparently took the word ‘receivable’ a little more literally than her job description intended. The cops won’t say how much money was missing, but it’s greater than $2000. She’s now charged with embezzlement and grand theft.

It won’t matter much to homeowners. They’ll just see a special assessment come along and no one on the board will tell them them what it’s for.

(HOA embezzlement arrest in Bakersfield)

 

Laughably Unconstitutional

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Lots of HOAs have tried to ban expressions of Free Speech. Some have discovered, to their chagrin, how expensive it is to flout the Constitution by forbidding campaign signs, religious symbols in windows or Mezuzahs on door jambs. In one famous case an elderly gentleman who stopped on his lawn to talk to two elderly women was cited for holding an unlawful assembly. Cases like that go to the Supreme Court where the lawyers make hundreds of thousands of dollars.

All that being said, you have to wonder at the idiocy of city leaders in South Pittsburg, Tennessee who decided to forbid all city employees from making negative comments on social media about other city employees, or about the city itself. Criticize your government? Go to jail!

Last night I was repeatedly brought to tears by a movie called American Violet. I would recommend it to every American of every race and religion. As a TV reporter I’ve been on many police raids and I’ve (not often) but occasionally seen physical abuse of suspects that troubled me. I’ve been in courtrooms and have seen plea bargains that greatly troubled me. This movie showed me why I had reason to be troubled.

An attorney friend of mine once told me, “A right not exerted is a right soon lost.” He wasn’t the originator of the quote. But we all should claim that quote as the guiding principle of our lives. We live in a great country. Memorize your rights. Get it clear in your mind who grants you those rights. And shout your rights from the mountaintops.

(link to story about banning Free Speech in Pittsburg, Tennessee)