Tag Archives: HOA

HOA War In North Carolina

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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)

Drone Pic of Naked Grandma Up On Billboard!

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Oh, my Lord! I knew it would happen, and more are coming.

An Australian grandma sunbathing topless in what she thought was her private backyard has ended up on a Real Estate billboard.

The Realty drone was snapping pictures of the house for sale next door. It published them on billboards without a second thought.

The thong-wearing granny is having lots of second thoughts as she realizes that her privacy is a thing of the past.

(peeping tom drone in Australia)

Judge Rules Frisco City House Can Stay in HOA While Civil Case Pending

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guest blog by Deborah Goonan

On October 31, 2014, a District Judge in Texas ruled against a demand by a Homeowners Association that a group home in the neighborhood be shut down. City House has 8 residents, young women who would otherwise be homeless. But the legal battle is not over.

A report from the Dallas News which discusses key arguments in the dispute is linked below.

Chad Robinson, who represents the Plantation Resort 2 Homeowners Association, claims that neighborhood deed restrictions require that homes only be used by single families, people related by blood or by law. He acknowledges there are exceptions for such things as nannies or single renters. But he says eight unrelated women in a transitional living program cannot be considered a single family.

Monica Velazquez, attorney for City House, argued that the non-profit transitional living program operates similar to a single-family unit. “It’s what the home is being used for, not who gets to live inside.”

Darlene Horan, HOA Board member and Real Estate Agent, offered the usual, predictable testimony that if the rules aren’t followed, home values will plummet.

But where is the evidence behind such a claim? And what is the underlying intent of this testimony?

Ms. Horan’s argument is eerily similar to fear-mongering marketing claims of the 1940s-1960s – that families who are ‘different’ from the norm will ruin the neighborhood for everybody. “There goes the neighborhood!” The old fear tactic being used again, albeit in more covert fashion.

Instead of fretting about racial diversity, per se, now some HOAs are fretting about “single family use,” and attempting to conjure up a new definition of family designed to exclude certain types of households from moving into Utopia.

You can be certain that the City House residence will remain a target of this HOA board while a civil case is pending.

(link to Dallas Morning News story on City House)

Tragic Loss Of Personal Rights

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On this blog we rant and rave about the alarming loss of Constitutional rights in our covenant controlled communities. 65 million people have moved into these neighborhoods having no idea how arbitrary and illegal these petty dictatorships can be.

In tonight’s blog and link I’m going to stray way, way over the line and suggest that anyone concerned about the dramatic loss of our 240 year old Constitutional Republic watch a documentary that was published on YouTube a year ago.

As a lifelong journalist, I’m not much of an alarmist. Yes, I watch and read material from the left and the right, the liberal media and the conservative. And I am usually thoughtful as I mull it all over. But I’ve always been more of an observer than an activist.

That being said, somehow I missed the documentary linked below. It pulled material from FOX News, CBS, ABC and various liberal and conservative commentators and sources. It looks at the loss of personal rights over the past ten years. In the name of terrorism a massive bureaucracy has emerged which is doing things that would have been incomprehensible fifteen or twenty years ago. Technology has essentially made privacy and personal rights obsolete.

Be forewarned, if you’re timid this may cost you a few hours of sleep.

(link to documentary on government overreach)

You’re A Brave Man, Greg Chumbley!

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You’d think that a prospective homeowner would be allowed to see the community financials when he’s buying a home, especially if it’s in the neighborhood covenants and ingrained in state law. But as I’ve long said, most HOA boards feel they’re above the law. And usually they’re right. Challenge them and they’ll take you to the cleaners.

That’s what’s happening in a developing story in Florida. The Village Walk of Naples has 850 homes behind its private gates. It employs eight people including the ‘town manager.’

When new homeowner Greg Chumbley asked the board of directors to show him the HOA’s financials they basically told him to take a hike. All Chumbley wanted to know is how much of his dues were going to pay for those eight employees.

The board claims that giving the public any record of its expenses might lower property values in the HOA. Really? That’s the kind of thumb-in-mouth attitude that makes a majority of Americans despise those gated communities. With all the tens of thousands of cases of neighborhood embezzlement, bribery and extortion that goes on in HOA Amerika it also raises a whole lot of understandable suspicion. “Light (truth) is the best disinfectant,” said a famous Supreme Court Justice.

Chumbley has now filed a lawsuit demanding that his HOA obey the law. The first hearing is December 1st.

Chumbley is a brave, brave man for a host of reasons. Not only is he “slapping this mule upside the head,” he’s doing it very publicly by releasing his phone number and ‘share button’ on his website.

Greg, you can’t imagine the number of admiring fans you have across the country. Please let us know how your case turns out.

Contact: Greg Chumbley, 239-300-6169

(link to press release on Chumbley’s lawsuit)

guest blog by Deborah Goonan

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