Tag Archives: Realtor

Celebrity Joan Rivers, Condo Board President, And A Courtroom Showdown Coming Soon!

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guest blog by Nila Ridings 

Elizabeth Hazan, how do we thank you?  Ordinary people have been fighting, feuding, suing, and slugging it out in courtrooms across America because of HOA and Condo Association problems and bullies on the board.  You have now raised it to the celebrity level where more exposure will be given to the nightmares that exist in HOAs.
 
The accusations: Ripped wires and glued door locks.  Denied access to Ms. Hazan.  A claim that she hasn’t paid her condo dues.  Could this be a breach of contract on the part of the condo association?  Or is it a cat fight between two women with plenty of money who have chosen to beat each other up in the courtroom?
 
A court date in November.  A courtroom in New York City.  How I wish I could be there to watch this one!
 
 
 
 

Trash Can Craziness Crosses State Lines

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guest blog by Nila Ridings

Bent Creek HOA in Nolensville, Tennessee is keeping a close watch on the outcome of the Turnberry Reserve trash can saga in Orlando. Remember that story? Where the board president may soon be sleeping and running the HOA business from a jail cell? Plus paying a hefty fine for ordering the theft of homeowners’ trash containers?

Up to this point, Bent Creek board members have chosen to use the legal system to fight their battle, but their covenants do not address the storage issue.  Andrea Barnes says, “Bent Creek residents are anxiously awaiting the decision by the Orange-Osceola State attorney’s office.” 

I have hoped these blogs would provide not only a resource for “who” “when” and “where” but also insight on “what” destroys an HOA.  It seems Bent Creek may have learned something here and taken a “wait and see” position.
 
The HOA where I live has this same trash container issue.  One day out of nowhere our driveways looked like the trash container stork made a massive green and yellow delivery: One for trash and one for recycling.  Combined, they take half the square footage of a compact car! Garages were not built to accommodate vehicles and trash containers at the same time.  It’s obvious this is one of those “not-so-well” thought out plans.  
 
There are many reasons these containers have become nightmares…and for the HOAs an eyesore.  And in my case, our city codes do not allow trash cans to be visible from the street.
 
Somebody, please do something to stop this insanity over trash cans before people start throwing their bags of trash in the ditches to avoid all this hassle! 
 
How do we solve this nationwide problem?  Perhaps somebody could start a “trash can home addition” that can be constructed on a Saturday afternoon and installed next to the garage? Be sure to paint it the basic HOA beige or make it look like an overgrown rose bush. Sounds like a “biz op” for some creative carpenters, doesn’t it?  Maybe they could generate some marketing by promoting it on “Shark Tank.”  
 
A special thank you to Mike Holfeld, the investigative reporter at Local 6 in Orlando for keeping us updated!
 
 
BTW, in accordance with our recent policy about re-posting public figure contact info, here’s a a list of all this HOA’s email and phone info which they’ve already published on the web:
 
Bent Creek Homeowners Association 
Board of Directors 
 
President: Bill Kottas 
Cates-Kottas Development, LLC 
 
Homeowner Representative: 
Jimmy W. Reaves 
E-Mail: JimmyReaves@Comcast.net 
 
Homeowner Representative: 
Steve Cody 
E-Mail: stevecody81@gmail.com 
 
Developer Representative: 
Cynthia Smith 
Email: cynthia_smith@rocketmail.com 
 
Elecia Lewis, CMCA 
Community 
Association Manager: 
elecia.lewis@ghertner.com 
 
Homeowner Service Center: 
615-277-0358 
 
Bent Creek Website: www.BentCreekHOA.org
 
 

Common Sense in Arizona?

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Well, just a couple of weeks ago, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that a family’s right to post a ‘for sale’ sign had more support from the law than an HOA’s right to pull them down.

Some tyrannical HOAs forbid sales signs altogether. Some say ‘for sale’ signs are OK, just as long as they’re brown and tan and are not easily seen by potential buyers. Egads, the warped minds of these control freaks! 

At least there’s hope for the future. A rogue HOA in Northern Virginia told a couple their Obama sign was four inches too big and the HOA thugs destroyed it for them. But the last laugh was with the couple. They sued the HOA, the judge ordered the HOA to pay the couples’ legal costs which forced the whole neighborhood to declare bankruptcy.

It’s so nice to stroll through a peaceful neighborhood where the lawns are all cared for and no pink, polka-dotted homes. I just came from visiting someone in such a nice and caring neighborhood, and not surprisingly, there was no HOA. They were just neighbors who respected each other and worked together to keep the place nice. 

And of course, no annual meeting where people are screaming at each other.

(click here for AZ Supreme Court Decision) 

http://azdailysun.com/news/local/state-and-regional/pine-canyon-hoa-must-allow-for-sale-signs/article_43f97a0a-1521-11e3-9975-0019bb2963f4.html

Smiling Face In A Non-HOA Place!

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guest blog by Nila Ridings
 
Happy, laughing, and smiling is the best way to describe Mary Kromrey. She and her husband, Mike, are raising their son, Eli, in the home they purchased in Rountree; they’re repeat buyers in that neighborhood. 
 
Springfield might be best known for a couple of its famous sons with roots there, Brad Pitt, the actor, and Johnny Morris, the owner of Bass Pro Shops. But I hope it becomes more famous for this Non-HOA neighborhood!
 
The Kromreys’ house doesn’t look at all like the neighbors’ houses.  Each house looks different with its own unique “personality.”  Mary has adorned her front porch with hanging baskets of flowers, a porch swing, an umbrella-covered table, and a bright red mailbox!  What?  A BRIGHT RED MAILBOX?  Not only that but she has a rain barrel so she can use the water for her flowers!  HOA-Free living means home owners can be creative and use their own common sense.  As long as they follow the city codes, they are not hassled.  Neighbors aren’t looking for ways to sue or foreclose on each others’ properties like we hear about every day across America’s HOAs.  Heck, even paying dues once a year is done voluntarily. 
 
Rountree’s focus is on socialization.  No, it’s not a joke.  They REALLY DO focus on looking out for each others’ kids and homes.  “Our neighbors have become a stand-in family” Mary says. 
 
This sounds so foreign to me.  I’ve been living in an HOA so long this seems like a completely different world and another lifetime.  I’m having flashbacks of my childhood neighborhood.  I’m so envious of Mary and how she bubbles over with joy talking about where she lives! 
 
Just before we said good-bye she said, “And we have chickens, too!”  No doubt, they are probably free-range and cage-free enjoying their freedom, too. 
 
Sure looks like Rountree dispels the myth that you must have an HOA to maintain property values, doesn’t it?  Who wants to bet the Kromreys’ property value is going up?
 
 
 

Immunity for HOA President!

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This story has been batted about for a few months but It’s a fascinating look at abuse of homeowners by their Associations. It took place in Celina, Texas.

Dozens of homeowners had to replace their roofs after last year’s big hailstorm. But four or five homeowners are being fined up to $500 per day because their roof tiles are a slightly different shade from the rest of the neighborhood. The Carter Ranch Homeowners Association demands that all roofs be “weathered wood.” But there’s no single shade that goes by such a name. There are multiple colors of weathered wood. So the HOA is threatening to lien and foreclose on the homes that the HOA board deemed were the wrong shade.

The kicker to the story, though, is video of a home whose owner painted his driveway and the sidewalks past his home bright white. It’s an obvious violation of the Carter Ranch covenants. But this homeowner doesn’t get fined, liened or foreclosed.

He’s the HOA president.

(click here for WFAA story)

http://www.khou.com/news/texas-news?fId=223692861&fPath=/news/local/&fDomain=10247