We discussed this recently: the California bill to forbid Homeowners Associations from fining homeowners who allow their lawns to go brown.
The drought in the Southwest is historic, with water to Southern California all but going dry. The Central Valley is dry, the Colorado River is almost a dry basin. Commercial irrigation in much of the state has evaporated. People in Los Angeles County who suddenly can’t get drinking water from the tap are going to be astonished.
Despite the water disaster, arrogant HOA boards have been fining homeowners who don’t water their lawns enough. It took a state law to forbid HOAs, their management companies and their lawyers from ordering homeowners to ignore drought warnings. And now all those board members are whining that they have a new law they have to obey.
Strange that HOA boards can be so short-sighted. No concience, I guess.
Well, other headline writers got to it first so I just have to settle once again for being a copycat.
But in the town of Peculiar, Missouri there’s a really bizarre thing happening. Actually, it’s quite scary if you consider all the implications.
A homeowner is trying to get a permit for an above ground swimming pool. City officials say such a pool would violate the rules of her Homeowners Association so they won’t grant such a permit. The crazy thing is that there ISN’T a Homeowners Association there.
One was planned by the original developer, but he went bankrupt before an HOA ever came about. So here is a government institution enforcing a ‘rule’ that was never actually imposed by a non-governmental non-existing institution.
Reason finally prevailed once the homeowner hired a lawyer. But it’s hard to find any reasonableness in the city officials quoted in the story linked below.
Since we seem to have tens of thousands of people who log in here regularly, I try to keep a running chart of adjectives and descriptive words that embattled homeowners use for abusive HOA board members and managers. A frequent one that comes up is ‘rattlesnake’, as in “my board president is as dangerous as a rattlesnake.”
Really, that word comes up a lot in your emails and in news stories about out-of-control HOAs.
So I YouTubed the word and came across a funny video that’s been viral several times over the past few years. As you watch this, just remember that sometimes the Good Guy wins!
Homeowners have long known that if a judge makes a horrible decision in a civil case they can appeal, but they can’t sue the judge. It makes sense. That is, until you consider the facts in an ongoing divorce and child support case in Detroit.
Judge Wade McCree is somewhat famous there because of the nude ‘selfies’ he takes of himself to send out to female admirers. The Michigan Supreme Court removed him from the bench. But a current civil case against the former judge is raising eyebrows.
News reports indicate that the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that judge McCree is immune from a civil suit filed by the husband in a divorce case. Seems the judge was not only ‘sexting’ with the husband’s ex-wife, he was also having an affair with her. Ah yes, and at the same time levying heavy child support payments against the husband. This judge is one busy fellow.
As I’ve said before, the biggest avalanche begins with a tiny grain of ice slipping down the hillside. Well, beginning next week we’ll witness another chunk of ice becoming unstable. And the beneficiaries will be homeowners in Idaho.
The Gem State has a new law that will begin to reign in some of HOA abuses of homeowners. No longer can a single board member slam his or her weight around a neighborhood bullying people over minor violations. From now on each violation and fine can’t be levied unless a majority of the board approves.
Also, homeowners must have 30 days notice that the board is going to take such a vote.
Finally, and I love this part, you can’t fine a homeowner who’s making a good faith effort to correct a violation.
CAI hates this new law with a passion.
Of course they do. And it gives the lie to claims of CAI members that their organization represents homeowners.
