Tag Archives: HOA

Democrats & Tea Party In Virginia???? Whoa!!!

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Will wonders never cease!

A hellaciously ugly anti-homeowner bill is about to end up in Virginia law books. It essentially does away with ALL Constitutional rights of people in Homeowners Associations. And I’ve warned people all over the country to quit thinking about HOAs as Democrat, Republican, Tea Party, liberal or conservative. HOAs are about communes (communism), flavored with a healthy splash of fascism (the lawn Nazis).

Well, Glory be! Virginia lawmakers from the Tea Party wing of the Republicans are joining Democrats in trying to wake their fellow-legislators up. This bill is beyond bad. This link to the Virginia bureau Watchdog.org is worth reading! 

(link to watchdog.org)

 

The Virginia HOA Power Grab

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There was an interesting column from a blogger a couple of weeks ago about the bizarre proposed legislation in Virginia that would allow HOAs to fine ANY homeowner for ANYTHING as long as the CC&Rs didn’t specifically ban such fines. It has to be one of the biggest proposed power grabs in history. The column is fascinating and worth reading, in that it was written by an HOA president who opposed this fascist piece of legislative work.

But what really caught my attention is this columnist’s belief that this piece of legal outrage is supported by Republicans who traditionally oppose big government.

I’ve raged on in my own blog and my book that opposition to HOA dictatorships is not a Republican/Democrat/Left/Right issue. It’s about the rights of American homeowners to be left alone. It’s about the First Amendment, the Second Amendment, the Third, the Fourth, Fifth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth… the whole danged Constitution.

If Republicans in Virginia are pushing this bill then shame on them. If Democrats don’t have the guts to stand up to this then shame on them. If the brainless center-aisle legislators don’t have the stomach look with suspicion at the bill’s content, then shame. If this bill makes its way to the Governor’s desk, then the whole stenchy lot of these politicians should be frog-walked into the U.S. Supreme Court. I wonder what the court split on the constitutionality of this law would be?

Actually, that’s a little scary to think about.

(link to Virginia blogger)

 

Another Black Eye For Colorado

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Colorado’s got another embarassment to swallow. Christa Ann McClure is the current director of Colorado’s Health Exchange. She’s the Colorado face of the new national health care changes.

But she was indicted (and pleaded not guilty) to charges of theft and fraud from a nonprofit housing agency she previously worked for in Montana.

What is it about being in charge of housing projects or community organizations that makes people think their hands belong in any cookie jars that are within reach.

It’s a puzzle.

(link to Denver Post story on McClure’s indictment)

 

Structural Engineers Wail Warnings About HOA And Condo Design Projects

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guest blog by Nila Ridings

In the same way homeowners are getting wiser and wiser to the nightmares of HOAs and condo associations so are the engineering professionals who get caught in the very early stages of this insanity. The HOA attorneys are wiping them out, too.

I love it when “insiders” open the can of worms on corruption.  This time it’s the structural engineers and their insurers sounding the alarm about working with architects and developers on condominium projects. And their insurance agents are giving them a “heads up” on how to protect themselves against the inevitable HOA lawsuit.

Reading between the lines it seems they’re saying, “Run from condo projects! HOAs and condos are a pain in the neck to deal with even in hard times when work is scarce! Don’t let the pockets of your engineering firm be the deepest ones in the courtroom” is the message I’m hearing.

It’s disgusting to see the vast numbers of people who are being harmed by this entire HOA and condo association mess. I think we should invite the structural engineers to join our activism. They can relate to the pain and suffering that homeowners are going through… and the fear of the inevitable legal battles with the HOA attorneys.

(the legal risk of working on a condo design)

(And another good link:)

 

Yet Another Clueless Columnist

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The link below is to a story in the Chicago area’s Daily Herald. The question it poses is innocent enough. “Should condo owners press their boards to seek FHA approval?” But the writer misses some terribly important points.

1. 70% of all HOAs in the country have underfunded reserves.

2. With all the fines, lawsuits, liens and foreclosures across the country, any kind of HOA is an investor’s worst nightmare.

3. People are getting educated about HOA Amerika, and Realtors everywhere are hearing, “Only show me listings that are NOT in HOAs.”

4. Fifteen to thirty year old neighborhoods are falling apart, making disaster properties impossible to sell at any price.

5. Financial experts say there’s a housing bubble coming that will look more like a nuclear bomb than a bubble. This one will be a doozie.

It would be very interesting to see if the FHA has approved any Homeowners Associations in the past decade. My guess is that you’d be hard-pressed to find a single one. Freddie and Fanny have financed some recent HOA projects but these two federal agencies are already on life support.

If anyone knows this Illinois journalist, drop him a line. Tell him to do some real reporting.

“The times, they are a-changin’.” -Bob Dylan

(link to column on FHA approval)