The four board members of the Twin Creek South Estate Homeowners Association may be among the stupidest people on Planet Earth. These knuckle dragging hominids in San Ramon, California might even qualify for the infamous annual “Darwin Award.” Their collective IQ points could easily be totaled up on one hand.
California is in the midst of a drought so bad that smaller communities are now running completely out of water. Many Californians are paying big sums of money for water brought in by truck from other states. Reservoirs are bone dry. Aquifers are drying up or becoming too saline to use. The collective weight of trillions of gallons of missing water has actually caused land along the San Andreas Fault to rise significantly triggering swarms of thousands of mini-earthquakes. The Legislature and Governor have had to enact a law forbidding Homeowners Associations from fining residents who don’t keep their lawns green. More food crops are grown in California than in any other state, but those crops are no longer being shipped to the nation’s grocery stores. That’s why you’re seeing record prices on store shelves across the country.
Yet the Twin Creek South HOA board members have the unmitigated gall to assess monthly fines against a homeowner who tried to create a drought resistant lawn.
When a KGO-ABC news crew tried to talk to these board members they refused to comment.
Of course they did. They’re too stupid to put three words together in a coherent sentence.
“Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.” -Robert A. Heinlein
There’s nothing that angers an HOA board or management company more than the discovery that a homeowner believes in Jesus or the Virgin Mary. Well, I take it back, any expression of belief in Judaism also pops their gaskets.
Enock and Ines Berluche, a couple in the Shingle Creek Reserve in Kissimmee, Florida have been battling their HOA over the past year because the HOA says it doesn’t allow yard statuary. You couldn’t tell that by driving through the neighborhood, of course. Lots of homeowners violate the “no yard art” rule with garden frogs, cherubs and statues of Greek goddesses showing (can I say it?) bare boobs. There was even an ‘illegal’ fountain on the lawn of the HOA president.
But when a new homeowner requested permission to put up small statues of The Virgin Mary and Jesus they were denied.
After media publicity and threats of discrimination lawsuits the Shingle Creek Reserve board finally got religion. They reversed themselves and allowed Mary and Jesus to stay. The only tragic part of the story is that the couple had to spend thousands of dollars in legal fees just to assert their rights. But that’s the story with most HOAs. It’s not about the rules or rights. It’s all about harrassment and humiliation of homeowners who don’t toe the line.
Well, at least one Florida lawyer is warning all Homeowners Association residents that they’d better start buying bear-proof trash cans. Seems that if a homeowner fails to buy one of these $140 trash cans a person mauled by a bear can start filing negligence lawsuits against every homeowner for miles around. Dang! I wish I’d gone to law school.
Colorado has its own bear problems. Aspen is especially famous for the dozens of bears that roam the downtown area each night. Bear maulings, of course, are a bad deal for the victims.
But my evil mind is running some quick calculations. 64 million HOA homeowners, each needing at least two bear-proof trash cans. That’s 128 million cans times $140 apiece. My mind doesn’t even calculate that high, but wouldn’t you like to buy stock in a trash can company? Heck, I’d be satisfied with just getting a dollar per can.
People in Nevada know the name, “Vistana.” The Vistana Homeowners Association was ground zero for the massive FBI investigation of HOA corruption, rigged elections, racketeering, bribery, extortion, and maybe even a murder or two. Actually, they’re officially classified as suicides, but one of the lawyers who committed ‘suicide’ had his knees bashed in by ‘persons unknown’ inside his gated community. The kneecapping happened just a few months before his ‘suicide’. Ah, I forgot to add, this profoundly disabled lawyer was able to hang himself from the rafters of a barn. Suspicious? Hmmmm.
With the HOA scandal occupying all the headlines you’d think the current board and management of Vistana would be especially sensitive about obeying the letter of the law. But remember, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
Yes, it seems the Vistana board needed to tow about 70 cars because of a paving project. Nevada has strict laws governing the towing of cars. But did the board follow the laws? Any of them? I’ll let KTNV reporter Darcy Spears answer that question in her HOA Hall Of Shame, linked below.
The State of Nevada has actually filed criminal charges against those responsible for the Vistana towing atrocity. Strange to think of a Nevada crime prosecuting body actually doing some prosecuting!
What if your condominium leaks like a sieve? What if the streets flood every time it rains? What if your condo building develops foundation cracks and unexplained build up of mold?
Owners may assume that reporting serious problems to the Board will result in sincere concern and earnest investigation of possible construction defects. They might expect the Board to insist that responsible parties pay for damages and repairs. But what if one of the association Board members is affiliated with the Developer?
Residents of Boathouse Condominiums, Bay City, Michigan, have complained of numerous defects but have run into resistance. Their Board has denied their request to seek defect claims against the developer of their 37-unit high-end boathouse conversion, Marina Place LLC. The Agent of the Developer’s corporation just so happens to be a member of the Board at Boathouse Condominiums.
So nineteen residents have filed their own lawsuit against the Developer and construction company, alleging numerous defects that allow water intrusion into the units, and a faulty foundation. But the lawsuit also lists the HOA as a defendant, for failure to address their concerns.
The Developer denies knowledge of defects, and seeks proof of damages.
Attorneys for both sides are already engaged. This battle could get expensive.
