One of the best and most powerful interviews I’ve heard by someone on the national HOA mess just aired on Shu Bartholomew’s internet radio show. Dr. Karin Huffer is from Colorado, but that’s not why I love her. In fact, I’ve never met her or spoken with her. But she is an articulate advocate for homeowners against HOA scams. If you haven’t heard her interview, it’s your loss.
Shu does a wonderful job interviewing anti-HOA experts. But Shu is a star for discovering Dr. Huffer’s work. Do yourself a favor and listen to Dr. Huffer. Nice to know that our movement is growing!
Houston’s Oak Forest Homeowners Association is discussing hiring off-duty sheriff’s deputies to patrol their neighborhood.
There’s an obvious and historic conflict-of-interest in hiring off-duty cops to perform the exact same duties in the exact same neighborhoods that they patrol during on-duty hours. And over the years there’ve been plenty of scandals involving off-duty police work.
Additionally, hiring police officers will not give the Oak Forest HOA immunity from any lawsuits in lawsuit-happy Texas. In fact, it may even be even more tempting for the litigious to sue for excessive force or other alleged ‘bad cop’ behavior. They get to sue the cop, AND the police department, AND city/county government, AND the HOA. Each entity has insurance to ‘buy off’ the lawsuit. Nice!
That being said, it would sure be comforting to know that someone providing neighborhood security was a real professional and not a private HOA security guard who suddenly finds himself being given police powers. The Illinois Supreme Court ruled recently that private HOA guards have the power to ‘arrest’ motorists. In other parts of the country, private security guards pull over speeding motorists and order them to write a check to the local HOA. How absolutely scary! In one Colorado HOA, security guards even use a police radar gun to ‘arrest’ and ‘fine’ speeders.
Given a choice, I’d sure be tempted to hire the professionals.
Former Playboy Bunny Holly Madison thought it would be a fun idea to build a doghouse perfectly designed to match her own home in Las Vegas. She even hired a contractor to make sure it was perfectly built.
Well, someone in the HOA was upset with the way something was built. And Holly is losing a Ben Franklin each month in HOA fines. Apparently, it wasn’t the doghouse that upset the local HOA. It was just the fact that it’s painted pink.
In any event, Holly is moving and taking her perfectly built doghouse with her. She may have trouble finding another home in Las Vegas, though. The only new housing there is under HOA control. And Las Vegas HOAs have a horrible reputation.
An HOA in Port Orange, Florida, has suddenly decided that yard art or statuary of any kind must be removed. Homeowners who don’t comply face fines, liens, and possible foreclosure of their homes.
Mrs. Freiji is one of many in the Ashton Lakes Homeowners Association. She loves the angel statue in her yard because it reminds her of her recently deceased husband. But she’s been told either the statue goes, or she does.
That’s the decision of the neighborhood lawn Nazi. The angel has to go.
And that basketball hoop at the end of a cul-de-sac? If that’s not taken down, the owner of that home gets fined a hundred bucks a month.
BTW, the neighborhood lawn Nazi is OK with making widows cry while passing out fines. However, an inspection of his own lawn shows just as many violations as the neighbors he’s harassing. He’s exempt, apparently, from his own mandates. Not surprisingly, he’s yet another lawn Nazi who won’t open his door when reporters start asking questions.
Is it any wonder that homeowners across the country are beginning to get angry?
Not too many years ago you couldn’t get any reporter anywhere to take a critical look at the national HOA mess. Even when the U.S. Attorney started getting guilty pleas in the Las Vegas organized crime/HOA scandal, you couldn’t find many news stories outside of Nevada, itself. And there was almost ZERO coverage by the national networks. (BTW, as a long-time reporter I plead guilty of neglecting the subject)
But these days it’s not uncommon to find several probing stories a day. Some in the news media, like the one linked below, are slowly beginning to realize there really is some dirt under these HOA sheets. Someday they might even begin recognizing how deep this dirt really is.
