Tag Archives: HOA Nightmare Stories

Whew! Some Crooks do it Right!

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We get word from Chicago that an Arizona man has been sent to prison for stealing 2 million dollars from three condo associations. Jay Strauss, of Scottsdale, Arizona, had been mixing the money from the three associations for at least the past three years. Then he’d siphon off money to pay for his own real estate investments.  He might never have been caught except that his own company went broke, and suddenly the condo associations discovered their own accounts had been depleted.

But what a way to go!  Always let the U.S. Attorney prosecute your case! Strauss pleaded guilty and got three years in prison. Well, that’s kind of an exaggeration.  His first 18 months will be spent at a hospital. Seems the poor fellow is suffering health problems and is in a wheelchair.  Restitution has been ordered, but if you believe that’ll ever be paid then you still believe in tooth fairies and Easter bunnies.

A special note to potential thieves: don’t ever rob a bank or a 7/11. The take is too small. Rob a Homeowners Association. Most of them are too dumb to know they’ve even been robbed, and your prison sentence will be miniscule.

Finally, a special note to all Homeowner Associations: do a forensic audit of your HOA books.  The chances are extraordinarily high that you’ve already been robbed. It’s too easy, it’s too untraceable, and it’s too difficult to prosecute. And mind the old wisdom that half of all people will steal if they don’t think they’ll get caught.  If you’re honest, your board member is not. 50/50. Tragic, but true.

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

Free Speech in an HOA? Forget About It

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A fundamental right most Americans think they have is Free Speech. It’s a bedrock of the U.S. Constitution. The First Amendment is so ingrained in the minds of Americans that most would swear that their freedom of speech and religion cannot be compromised.

Welcome to the world of the HOA, where Free Speech and Freedom of Religion is trashed every day. There are high court decisions which are often quoted as giving the typical HOA the right to deny your First Amendment freedoms. Google “Twin Rivers decision” to find a significant State Supreme Court decision which essentially says you don’t have the right to inform your neighbors about your political beliefs.

Or Google “HOA Mezuzah” to find out what many HOAs think of Jews.

I could go a hundred directions with this. But the bottom line is that when you join an HOA, you are essentially sacrificing a number of your Constitutional rights in favor of “the collective.”

The HOA collective has the right to restrict your expression of religion, your political beliefs, your right to assembly, your right to due process, your right to bear arms. And that’s the nail point upon which many homeowners have crucified themselves, their families and their personal wealth.

Do you have the right to “be black and live in a white HOA?” Not necessarily, especially if there’s no federally backed mortgage involved in a home purchase.

Unbelievable? Google “HOA discrimination” to see a sample of cases where being black, disabled, gay, or a single mom have been targeted, stigmatized, sued and foreclosed upon.

There’ve been a few cases here and there where HOAs have been fined because of discriminatory practices. But those cases are rare. It’s much more common to see homeowners lose their homes when they happen to be black, gay, single, disabled or have young children.

Still don’t believe it? There’s a book coming out this summer which might open your eyes.

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

HOA Embezzlement Suspect Did it for Lotto Tickets?

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Writing Checks

Writing Checks Another reported HOA Embezzlement (one of tens of thousounds of such cases) and this one is almost amusing. Police in West Melbourne, Florida arrested 67 year old Sandra Blumberg. She was the treasurer for Hunter’s Creek Homeowner Association in West Melbourne.

Police say Mrs. Blumberg wrote checks to herself from neighborhood HOA funds in an effort to recover money she had lost on Lotto Scratch-Off tickets.

Lovely, isn’t it?

Mrs. Blumberg must have thought she deserved the extra money for all the hard work she did for her neighbors. HOA officials, in case you don’t know, are routinely instructed by HOA officials never to talk to the media. Makes you wonder why.

It Can Be Tough Being A Victimized HOA Member

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OK, so you were incautious enough to buy a house in an HOA neighborhood. Now you realize you’re about to get sued for some offense against a member, or even non-member.

Concerned owners, of course, need to communicate with their neighbors about how much they’re going to lose in this lawsuit.  Those HOA do-gooders have just handed out some brochures to get all the lawsuit victims on board.

Oops! Those HOA do-gooders have just lost their attorney-client privilege. All privileged documents now have to be turned over to the suing attorney, all legal strategies, all incredibly personal information that might have used to defend the HOA against the suit.

Isn’t it just wonderful how the legal system is designed to reward the tricky, and punish the honest?

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/condoblog/2012/04/lawyer-client-privilege-can-be-unintentionally-waived-voluntary-associations-hoas-and-condos-take-note.html

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

Creating Daily Disharmony in HOA Neighborhoods

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Across the country each day, thousands of homeowners are discovering that their neighbors have almost complete power over how they live their private lives. And tens of thousands of homeowners are having second thoughts about their HOA “investments.”

One out of many disputes is typical and involves homeowners Chris and Lavina Marmo of the Glenmont Commons Homeowners Association in Parsippany, NJ. The HOA warned its residents about a series of smash and grab robberies in the neighborhoods townhomes. Chris and Lavina purchased some wrought iron doors to install on their back patio where all the breakins are occuring.
Wrong choice. Glenmont Commons said the security gates were illegal and the couple was going to face daily fines and possible lawsuit. The HOA won’t even compromise or try to find reasonable common ground.

Is it just a power trip by board members who held HOA offices for too long? Or do HOA officials really believe that their properties are better protected by stark sameness on street after street? Who knows?

But a pretty good reminder to Chris and Lavina is “Don’t fight. Just lie back and take it.” You cannot and will not win. Reasonableness is not at play in the HOA system.

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