In complaining the other night about health problems, age problems and computer problems, I completely forgot the main point of bringing all of this up in the same post. It was a way of directing you to one of the funniest commentaries on old age that I’ve ever seen. It was a speech to the Conference on Aging done by a well known California weatherman.
You may end up with some laughter-related medical problems of your own.
Because of my family’s long association with the military, I will occasionally do non-HOA stories and links on this website. I hope you’ll forgive me for taking the occasional side road. Just remember that intentionally taking side roads is the key to happiness and fulfillment in this life we lead.
Don Brookins was one of my longtime photo-journalists while I was working in the TV news business. During long stakeouts in my undercover van he used to tell me stories about his dad and his connection with the Battle of the Bulge in WWII. I was moved by his story and hope you will be moved, as well.
(link to story about the American Saint Nick)
Folks, you’ve helped us blow right through another milestone. The 12 month running average shows that as of last night there’ve been 500,000 logins to this website, and those people have read 4.1 million pages of material. Those are fabulous numbers. So keep telling everyone you know about this site, and let’s get the word out to even more people.
If you have a friend who’s thinking of buying a new house or condo, tell them to read my book, Neighbors At War!
If your friend or relative already lives in a nightmare HOA, buy him or her a copy of Neighbors at War! And (hint, hint) Christmas is coming.
I keep hearing of libraries that are carrying or re-ordering copies of Neighbors At War. I can probably thank our frequent guest blogger Nila Ridings for a lot of that. She makes regular visits to her library in the Kansas City area to find out how many people are checking the book out.
Speaking of guest bloggers, some of the country’s top thinkers are submitting guest blogs here. You won’t find a better treasure chest of must-read material dissecting the nightmare of living in a covenant controlled community.
Living in an HOA makes me think of an experience I had many years ago when my parents took my two brothers and me to see the cliff divers in Acapulco. These young men and women stand on this amazingly high cliff and inspect the waves as they noisily crash against the rocks below. They hook their toes on the edge, looking down, watching for the highest wave. Their timing has to be perfect. Diving into a trough means a chance of breaking your neck on the bottom. Hitting a crest might provide the diver two or three feet of deeper water and thus a safer dive.
“Only the experts can do that,” my dad said. “Only the experts and crazy people would risk it.”
I won’t state the obvious. That’s your conclusion to make.
North Carolina is certainly a state where the HOA system has gotten way out of control. Fortunately, outspoken advocates like Ole Madsen (HEAR4NC.org) are articulating the insanity that’s disrupting the lives of so many homeowners around the country.
When you buy into an HOA, you’re essentially pledging all your personal assets to a group of partners, most of whom you’ve never met. Your assets become the de facto assets of a non-profit corporation which is potentially subject to liability lawsuits, damage from natural disasters, poor workmanship by developers, frivolous legal actions by overreaching board members, embezzlement by board officers and management companies. That’s a crazy kind of partnership, but it’s one that tens of millions of Americans have blindly accepted. And it’s one where HOA law firms are bathing in the mythical pot-of-gold.
In many HOAs homeowners are beginning to realize that they’ve entered a vortex that is spinning downwards, threatening property values and life savings.
The TV story linked below is worth watching. But as you do so, just be aware this isn’t an isolated incident. The HOA system in America is so badly broken it can never be fixed. It’s built to reward criminal behavior and those who bully their way to the top. When there’s a record of bad behavior by HOA officials and management companies, how do you persuade a potential buyer to take over your mortgage?
(link to WWAY TV story on missing HOA money)
To further challenge the misguided notion that buyers, owners, and residents in HOAs need no federal legislative policy, we will now examine what NAHB is doing on the Congressional level. Although NAHB’s scope and mission is more broadly defined, and encompasses the multi-family rental sector, a significant portion of new residential construction designed for home ownership will undoubtedly be governed by HOAs. Therefore, this analysis has relevance to HOA Reform efforts.
In March 2014, NAHB conducted its “Bringing Housing Home” campaign. Regional conferences were held for the purposes of allowing NAHB members to meet with their respective Congressional leaders to discuss important federal issues for home builders.
NAHB addressed four Priority Issues:
1) Housing Finance Reform:
On this issue, “NAHB has made recommendations to Congress outlining a plan by which Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be gradually phased into a private-sector- oriented system, where the federal government’s role is clear, but its exposure is limited.”
NOTE: While CAI appears to oppose expanded privatization of mortgage financing, for fear that such a system would result in unfavorable lending standards for HOAs, NAHB appears to more fully embrace it.
While both NAHB and CAI insist upon a federal role in housing finance, they fail to support a federal role in oversight of governance and management standards for those communities.
2) Immigration reform:
NAHB states that “foreign-born workers account for 22% of the construction labor force nationally,” and NAHB contends there is a current labor shortage. Therefore, NAHB favors an immigration policy that will remove the current cap of 15,000 immigrants for construction industry. They further urge Congress to enact legislation “… preventing state and local governments from creating their own versions of verification requirements for employers. This is essential for any business that operates in multiple states.”
If NAHB is successful in convincing Congress to relax E-Verify standards for immigrant construction workers, what might this mean for HOA buyers? NAHB seems to be making the argument that labor shortages are driving up construction costs, but does not state that increasing the labor supply will result in lower sale prices for buyers. At this point, there does not appear to be a shortage of available homes for sale. The main purpose of NAHB lobbying appears to be aimed at reducing labor costs for home builders.
Yet there are no legislative efforts by either CAI or NAHB to reduce operating costs for HOAs. Indeed, Developers and CAI-backed HOA Boards want to maintain carte blanche on their ability to generate revenue from homeowners the form of regular and special assessments. It is up to owners in HOAs to press Congress for reasonable limitations upon the HOA’s ability to demand ever more money, with nothing to show for it.
3) Tax Reform
NAHB favors maintaining the Mortgage Interest Deduction on first and second homes, and maintaining Low Income Housing Tax Credits for construction of multi-family rental housing.
So why not extend a comparable tax deduction to homeowners in HOAs for assessments – at least the portion that pays for services that would otherwise be provided by local governments? After all, to some extent, HOA homeowners are subject to double taxation. Why should non-HOA taxpayers of similar size homes have a tax advantage over HOA homeowners?
4) Flood Insurance Reform
NAHB successfully lobbied Congress to pass legislation that keeps flood insurance rates affordable in the short term, while buying more time to reevaluate flood maps.
On the surface, that appears to be a good thing for some homeowners in high-risk flood zones. But at the same time, this new legislation has not provided any mandate or disincentive that would prevent Developers from continuing to build in flood prone areas. In the future, inevitable increases in rates will hit HOA owners hard. If FEMA continues to remain underfunded, all taxpayers will feel the pinch.
In conclusion, for every major federal legislative issue that CAI and NAHB pursue, there are related or competing federal issues for HOA owners and residents that have been largely ignored for decades.
Isn’t it high time we change that trend?
(link to NAHB assessment of 2014 election)
(link to NAHB Federal Lobbying Campaign)
