guest blog by Deborah Goonan (Independent American Communities)
Several states are talking about the need for laws requiring that HOAs be open and provide full disclosure to buyers and current owners alike. Several, such as Florida and California, have already enacted laws meant to prevent corruption and self-dealing.
But it isn’t working, because states choose not to enforce violations of the very laws they created. It is up to the owner to initiate a law suit in civil court, and most owners cannot afford to pay an attorney thousands of dollars to enforce open meetings, full access to records, and consumer disclosure statutes.
Please, please forgive me for this. But tonight’s post has nothing to do with Homeowners Associations. OK, maybe I can stretchhhh to make it fit. It happens inside a home. The star is a dog. Now, many readers know that I occasionally refer to certain lawyers as dogs.
But I love dogs…a lot. And I miss my Irish Setter who I lost a few years ago.
Also…the dog in this video is a heck of a lot smarter and more honest than many HOA lawyers.
Want to know how to crash an entire neighborhood’s property values? Just tell homeowners that absolutely no Christmas lights or decorations are allowed, even inside the windows of a home. Violators will be fined. Then spread the word to all Realtors who might want to list property in that area. Bam! Your home is worth tens of thousands of dollars less.
Muirfield Village Homeowners Association. Mesa, Arizona.
Yep. The board has been threatening action against any fool who puts up Christmas decorations. Most of them have been taken down. We’re not talking Dickens’ Scrooge or Suess’s Grinch, here. We’re talking about board members whose collective brain capacity is that of a pet rock. I take it back. A pet rock is probably a little smarter.
Christmas. What a wonderful holiday. I love it as much as I love Hanukkah and the Seder and all the other religious holidays. In fact, I love any religious person’s special days. It’s just what we do in America.
But why, oh why, are Homeowners Associations coming down so hard on holiday lights? I get it that some light displays are over the top. I get it that gorgeous light displays bring more traffic into a neighborhood. But the greater spirit I see during the holidays satisfies an inner part of my soul. Homeowners Associations, as far as I know, are the only entity in America where expressing your religious beliefs is verboten.
Just amazing! Just in time for Christmas, counties in Florida are offering rewards for turning in criminals. Just look around your HOA and you can find plenty of board members and property managers who are stealing, bribing, defrauding and embezzling from homeowners. There’s your Christmas money.
Just take this advice from a long-time investigative reporter. Whenever the cops ask you to anonymously call an 800 number, the dirty secret is that you’re not anonymous. The Crimestoppers 800 number is a complete and total scam. Call from a phone booth.
