One of Illinois’ Finest
Ever wonder who helped write HOA and Condo law? Here’s one of them. Just a fine, fine man.
(link to Illinois condo king, Dr. Donnie Rudd)
(more on Rudd’s HOA background)
Tag Archives: Illinois
How’s Your HOA Home Value, Now?
True believers in the HOA system say, “Well, at least it protects my property value.” That statement only comes from the spectacularly stupid.
When you sign those real estate documents, you are essentially becoming a legal partner with every other member of your HOA. As thoroughly documented in my new book, Neighbors At War, when you have all those other homeowners as partners, you’re liable for every single accident, temper tantrum and lawsuit across the landscape. You’ve made yourself a legal financial partner with people you’ve never even met, possibly many people you’ll NEVER EVEN meet.
“OK, I’m just spreading the risk,” you might respond. But with a rogue HOA board, you will probably be sharing the expenses for every single one of the nonsensical actions your board takes. Your deep pocket will be probed by every trial lawyer in every slip-‘n’-fall, and every little outrageous conduct case that comes along. Just shut up, open your checkbook and turn your head. We’ll tell you about the damage and the special assessments later.
In the case linked below, a Homeowners Association in Illinois is going to have to defend itself against a couple who allege that actions by their HOA caused a stream to overflow its banks and ruin their five HOA properties. Surely this HOA has insurance protection, right? Yes, but that comes with a deductible and a limit. Should this couple be awarded ten million dollars, the HOA’s one million dollar insurance policy will be helpless, hopeless, hapless and useless.
It’s the Lake Iroquois Homeowners Association. And you’d better bet homes in that HOA will be impossible to sell.
Sorry, Guys.
You should have listened to me.
Important Post as the 4th of July Approaches
The Homeowners Association movement is rife with hypocrisy. This truth was demonstrated in a recent Illinois Supreme Court case, Spanish Court v. Carlson. The Illinois Supreme Court has made some goofy decisions on HOA issues in the past, but this one was spot-on. It essentially ruled that homeowners can withhold dues if the HOA isn’t fulfilling its contractual obligations to homeowners.
Community Associations Institute (CAI) makes billions of dollars by pretending that Homeowners Associations are exempt from annoying and petty requirements of the U.S. Constitution because they’re not real governments. They’re private non-profit corporations.
On the other hand, CAI argues that it needs the right to break into private homes to force homeowners to pay dues (taxes). And just like government, it needs to collect dues (taxes) to pay for common amenities, even if it fails in its contractual duties to maintain those amenities. Wild, huh?
Arizona’s HOA expert, George Staropoli, has an excellent analysis of this ‘friends of the court’ brief filed by the CAI. It’s a quick read, but important. It potentially means that the CAI’s hypocrisy is finally being recognized.
Please, please, take a few moments to consider George’s post.
Then, tell everyone on your email list to read it as well. It looks like some homeowners are actually beginning to win back some of the Constitutional rights they’ve lost to the national HOA scam.
BTW, be sure to click on the link at the bottom of George’s post. It’s a more in-depth analysis of the Illinois decision.
