This is the kind of thing that blackens the eye of the typical Homeowners Association in HOA Amerika. Homeowners Associations seem to have a special fondness for seizing the homes of the elderly. Old people usually don’t have the money or the will to fight back. And a simple misunderstanding of a homeowner’s obligations leads, not to compassion, but to the kind of fascist actions that scare the crap out of American home buyers.
A 74 year old man in the Davis Lake Community Association in Charlotte, North Carolina, tried to get some family members registered at the local clubhouse and pool, and he was refused. He quit paying dues, and ‘sure as shootin’ his house was grabbed.
Yes, he’s going through kidney failure and frequent hospitalizations. But that’s all the more reason for Davis Lake to grab his home. Bam! They can auction it off, re-route huge legal fees to a favored law firm, and toss a few bucks into the neighborhood kitty just in time for the summer picnic.
Ah yes, we need an update on this one. These ‘gal pals’ in Arizona pulled a fast one a number of months back. Governor Jan Brewer signed into law an anti-homeowner law which had been introduced twice in the Legislature, and had failed twice. So Representative Michelle Ugenti (no fan of homeowners rights) introduced it a third time. But the third attempt was as disgusting a move as you could expect from a well-recognized Bimbo.
It was introduced at 12:59 AM just as the Legislature was closing out it’s last day of the session. Even worse, the bill permitted HOA management companies (professionals at appearing in court) to represent Homeowners Associations whenever a homeowner tried to take a dispute into Small Claims Court. It was a maddeningly putrid move against all homeowners.
Longtime homeowners rights advocate George Staropoli filed a lawsuit. He pointed out that Arizona State Constitution law mandates that the contents of a bill must be reflected in its title. The purpose of the law is obvious. It’s to keep corrupt politicians from jamming corrupt legislation down the throats of citizens before anyone knows what’s it’s all about. In this case, the HOA secret was hidden inside a bill that pertained to state elections. Remember the line from a certain leader of Congress: “We have to pass the bill so we can all see what’s in it.”
Well, George Staropoli was right. Most of Bimbo Ugenti’s law was struck down in court and Staropoli was awarded legal expenses.
But Staropoli went further: He asked that Ugenti be officially sanctioned for sneaking in a patently illegal special interest amendment which had failed twice before. His request was denied. So all you Bimbo watchers be forewarned: She’s gonna do it again!
If you live in Arizona, please spread my blogsite far and wide.
Shadowglen Homeowners Association, Austin, Texas. Homeowners are beginning to get hefty fines if any vehicle parks in front of their house. It doesn’t matter if the car belongs to the next door neighbor, a delivery company or just a friend dropping by, homeowners are getting slammed with fines of $500 and more.
Isn’t it strange how all these HOAs start off so benign, yet end up so fascist? All it takes is a couple of new board members who suddenly find themselves in the first position of power they’ve ever possessed.
In my new book Neighbors At War, I explain the chemical reaction that happens in the brains of those who get that first taste of raw power. And in Chapter 15 there’s a discussion of two of the most controversial sociological experiments ever conducted. Each experiment attempted to explore what goes on in the minds of people who suddenly feel the need to damage another human being. In one of the experiments, the scientist pondered why it was so easy to persuade German guards to mindlessly slaughter prisoners of war. What he discovered shocked and outraged the entire psychology community.
There’s a reason that board members and managers in a place like the Shadowglenn Homeowners Association are often referred to as the ‘lawn Nazis’ or the ‘HOA Nazis’. Power is an incredible aphrodisiac!
Oh Florida! What are we going to do with you? Are you having a contest to see which HOA board can act the stupidest?
Eighty homeowners are now without their trash and recycling containers because the board at Turnberry Reserve hired people to steal them right off the homeowners property!
I won’t be surprised if homeowners don’t turn the board member’s yards, porches, trees, landscaping, and cars into their local landfill site. That could include dirty diapers on “Welcome” mats, used tampons hanging like tree ornaments, and smiley-faced partially-eaten peanut butter sandwiches turned upside down on Lexus IS-350 chrome bumpers.
Where is the health department going to stand on this stupidly insane stunt?
Will homeowners take a stand and sue those responsible for stealing their trash containers? From the attorney’s statements it sure sounds like this time the tides have turned and the board members are going to be the biggest losers!
The board members won the battle and lost the war!
CalHomeLaw is a subscription-paid site only, and that’s a shame. But I’ll send as many people their direction as I can.
Their latest offering is about SLAPP lawsuits, or Strategic Lawsuits to Stop Public Participation. Thousands, even tens of thousands of these lawsuits are filed each year to intimidate people from exercising their First Amendment rights. People in Homeowners Associations are primary targets.
If you ask to see the HOA’s financial budgets, you’re liable to get SLAPPED. If you question the legality of a board or management company’s actions, believe me, you’ll get SLAPPED.
If you say, “Hey, that’s not fair!” You’ll get SLAPPED. You’ve got to hire a lawyer and go to court.
There’s a California law against SLAPP suits. The law should be federal. And it should have huge sanctions against lawyers who take part.
There’s zero chance of that happening, since most people in Congress are lawyers who benefit from filing SLAPP suits.
Still, there is a God. And we can pray for such a miracle.
