You just can’t imagine how much these 5-star reviews on Amazon lead to increased book sales. Thank you so much! It really does help get the word out. I appreciate the support more than you know. And I’ve promised that for every six books I sell, I can ‘bomb’ a legislator of your choice with a book and a handwritten note saying, “Your Constituent, ______ ______, insisted that I send this book to you.” So far, I’ve kept to that promise!
Now, keep a promise to me. After you read Neighbors At War! don’t put it on the bookshelf. Make someone else in the neighborhood read it. That’s not a profitable thing for an author to say, but at least you know it comes from the heart of someone who wants to make in impact.
The Georgetown Commons Townhome complex is a cheesy little place. You can buy in for, say, 100,000 or so. But lots of neighbors there are spitting mad at each other during this nice Yuletide Season.
Seems there’s a new rule about decorating for Christmas. Just don’t. Whatever you do, you’re bound to fun afoul of a fascist group of HOA leaders who have some strict new rules about decorations.You can only have one free-standing decoration on a porch or sidewalk. NOTHING in the yard! No Christmas wreath, nothing at all attached in any way to the building itself.
Now, Christmas lights are permitted indoors. But absolutely every decorative light that’s likely to be seen through a window MUST be white. And no decoration of any kind can be placed two weeks before or two weeks after Christmas.
Oh yes, and did I mention the fines? Yup, there’ll be fines. The Eric Rehak family has already rung up more than $500 bucks in fines and the season’s not even half over.
Now, wouldn’t it be fun to have a cheesy little Christmas in cheesy Georgetown Commons?
“Honey, let’s go look at a new townhome in Georgetown Commons in Murrysville, Pennsylvania. Betcha property values will be in the toilet soon. You know we could get a real deal. Honey?”
Yes, Virginia, there really IS a Santa Claus. Except that she lives in Prescott, Arizona, and she’s been heavily ‘gifting’ herself with wads of cash. HOA cash. At last count, the total was $33,000. She’s being asked a few questions by the local gendarme, but heck, it’s Christmas. And surely homeowners in the Beaver Creek Village POA would have given her that money anyway. Get ready, Suckers, for the special assessments.
http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_northern_az/prescott/kala-pearson-accused-of-embezzling-from-n-arizona-homeowners-association
I really shouldn’t take space on this HOA Hell Blog to comment on the horrific mass murders of small children in Connecticut. But since HOA board meetings have also experienced some mass shootings by deranged homeowners, I do have some observations about the current anti-gun hysteria. I am a supporter of the Second Amendment and the reasoning behind it. And yes, I support any law that would take guns out of the hands of criminals, drug gangs, children, untrained gun owners and the mentally ill.
But consider this: not a single one of the current gun-ban proposals will work. Just last week, an Illinois judge ruled that a gun ban in that state was unconstitutional.
And there is the rub. The U.S. Constitution. If firearms are to be banned the only appropriate way to do so is to change the Constitution. I’m not advocating it. I’m just saying it.
I’m also linking to a related news story that most of America probably missed.
Yes, folks, it’s another million dollar embezzlement from trusting homeowners in California. At least the Feds are finally taking action. A Federal Grand Jury has indicted Chris Barna for stealing $950,000 from Homeowners Associations that once trusted him. Although he hasn’t been convicted yet, I have no problem calling him a dirtbag. Prosecutors say he misappropriated 342 checks, spent the money on nice things for himself, and manipulated the records for M&C Association Management.
He’s currently free on $200,000 bond, which is a crime all by itself. But heck, California is so broke they can’t pay to feed one extra prisoner. And with state finances in such bad shape, does anyone really think Barna will get any kind of prison term? Ah yes, it’ll be a federal prison, not a California prison. But then again, aren’t the Feds about to “go over the financial cliff” in the current parlance?
Mark my words, Barna will get to keep the 950,000 bucks, he’ll get little or no prison time, the court will order restitution, and Barna won’t pay back a dime. The homeowners will be on the hook, though. Each homeowner who lives in a Barna-swindled association will be hit with a special assessment to make up the stolen money. Ain’t California great?
Oh, and I almost forgot. The owner of Barna’s company is Associa. Who or what is Associa? Well, Associa is owned by Texas Senator John Carona. Ask anyone from Texas.
Or better yet, let me link you to Jan Bergemann’s website where he discusses Associa in detail. And God bless you, Jan Bergemann!
