Category Archives: pets

PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Dear Friends,

Please, please consider signing the petition to restore Constitutional law to our private neighborhoods, HOAs, CIDs, POAs. This is not a radical petition. It’s only a request that our federal government allow homeowners access to Constitutional rights that they inadvertantly signed away while signing their mortgage papers.

As stated before in the blog, George Staropoli’s petition is not radical, it’s only common sense. Protect your rights. Restore your rights. Please read George’s letter COPIED below.

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From George Staropoli:

To the national advocate leadership:

Thanks for your efforts, now and in the past. This petition is for all of us!

We need only 150 signatures in order to have the petition appear on the We the People website for all to see. The turnout is dismal. Once we get on the site we can then expect a large response from those truly concerned about the state of our Constitution.

I need your help to get to those 150 petitions. Please urge the people on your lists to get busy and sign the petition. Tell them in your own words why we must get the FEDS’ attention. This is not democrat/republican or conservative/liberal! This our American system of constitutional government created by the Founding Fathers without reference to any political party! This support from Washington is a legitimate function of our Federal government, especially since the long history of state legislative failures to uphold the Constitution demands federal intervention.

We only have 30 days to get to 25,000 petitions, otherwise we have lost a very important inroad to Washington and the national scene. And CAI will be laughing its ass off if we fail. It is extremely important that you, the national leadership, urge support for the petition.

Please pass this on to others.

Book Is Selling!!!

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BTW, most of you know, but my new book, “Neighbors At War,” has been out for two weeks and sales have already started! I duplicate this blog over on my website, NeighborsAtWar.com Just click on the HOA HELL button to reach all these same blog posts. You can purchase my book from the webpage, or buy it on Amazon. Just run “Ward Lucas” in the book section and it should pop up.

Lots of good comments, so far. Ah! And BTW, most authors would never in a million years think of offering a money-back guarantee. But I will! Buy the book directly from me (NeighborsAtWar@hotmail.com) and here’s my promise: If you aren’t entertained, if you didn’t learn something new, if you can’t find some tragic HOA member to give your copy to, then return the undamaged book to me. I will write you a personal check to reimburse you for the book! My word is my bond!

Ward Lucas

151 Summer St #463

Morrison, CO 80465

Sign The Petition, Dummy!

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LOL! Forgive me, but I’m corrupt enough to use any kind of inflammatory headline to get you to read deeper. And no, of course you are not dummies…UNLESS you refuse to consider signing the petition to the White House composed by George Staropoli, a man who is a giant in the world of HOA reason and Constitutionalism.

The left is all abuzz about a few on the right who are proposing seceeding from the Republic because of the results of the last election. First, those well-meaning people have an absolute right to propose secession to express their opinion. Second, secession won’t work, that’s what national elections are all about. If you don’t like it, vote for someone new in the next election. Just change it.

But the third point is a whopper! And it took someone of Staropoli’s clear-headed thinking to come up with it.

Homeowners Associations, as private non-profit corporations, preside over traditional neighborhoods, acting exactly like traditional governments. They impose taxes, create laws that govern private behavior, exert police power or police-like power, levy fines, and often seize and auction the homes of tragic ‘miscreants’ who don’t understand the de-fact powers possessed by Homeowners Associations.

Folks, whether you accept it or not, Homeowners Associations have already seceeded from the Union. That’s right! They constitute a parallel government that often operates outside the confines of traditional Constitutionally controlled government. And that’s scary.

Across the country there are thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands of cases where HOAs have taken thuggish legal action against homeowners for no other reason than they are black, oriental, hispanic, gay, single, female or handicapped. Federal discrimination laws be damned!

So, to bring this full circle: George Staropoli is circulating a petition to the White House to try to show the growing movement of homeowners who’ve educated themselves and become concerned about this “Shadow Government.” It is definitely a matter of concern. 20% of our populace now lives in neighborhoods where a member cannot rely on traditional Constitutional protections.

So, Dummy! Click on the link below, and SIGN THE PETITION!

http://pvtgov.wordpress.com/2012/11/21/white-house-petititon-to-defend-us-citizenship-of-people-in-hoas/

Dumb and Dumber on Marco Island, Florida

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Homeowners in the South Seas Condominium on Marco Island, Florida, may soon have to pay a hefty special assessment because of a particularly boneheaded decision by their HOA.

The Feds have consistently said that service dogs are covered under the ADA. An HOA doesn’t get to claim they are pets, if the dog is actually performing services for a disabled person. But this particular HOA obviously doesn’t ‘get it.’ They will.

The South Seas Condominium has been harassing 56 year old resident Larry McKay over his 80-pound boxer. In 2008, McKay contracted MRSA, a mostly fatal staph infection that’s hit a number of people in the Southeast. McKay is confined to a wheelchair, and he says the service dog does a number of things for him, such as turning on the lights, and helping him get out of bed.

McKay’s dog helps him with other activities like getting on and off airplanes. The airlines recognize it’s a service dog. This HOA board is apparently too stupid to do the same.

In other parts of the country, such as California, Homeower Associations have been hit with huge fines by the ADA because they insist that all service dogs are merely ‘pets,’ prohibited by the HOA.

McKay has lots of supporters in his condominium. Doesn’t matter. When the FDA slams this condo with a massive fine, each and every condo owner is going to have to fork up some bucks to pay for the idiotic decisions by their HOA board.

A dumb waste of other peoples’ money. But it’s typical. So typical.

By Ward Lucas, author of Neigbors At War! The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association

http://www.nbc-2.com/story/19728171/man-in-dispute-with-hoa-over-service-dog?clienttype=printable

Fraud? In An HOA? G’wan!!!!!!!!!

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As I’ve said before, once in a while you’ll find a lawyer who may actually be given a spot in Heaven. Is this another one?

Fraud in community associations. by: Bill Raphan September 13th, 2012 | 2:41 PM

Unfortunately, there is fraud being committed in community associations throughout the State of Florida every day.

I spent 5 years working with the Economic Crimes unit of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in their Condominium Anti Fraud program.

The good news is that the majority of the complaints that were submitted turned out not to be fraud but were only mismanagement or misappropriation of funds.

Usually, it was unintentional and just from a lack of knowledge.

However, there were times when there were red flags that caused the need for further investigation and sometimes arrests and prosecution.

What should you as an owner look for if you suspect fraud in your association?

These are some of the most common fraudulent activities that were found:

Kickbacks – Vendors paying off board members “under the table”

Including over inflating contracts and “kicking back” the difference

Schemes concerning credit cards

Altering or falsifying financial records

Forged signatures

Paying for work not done

Paying nonexistent employees

Submitting false expense vouchers

Want to learn more about fraud, contracts, dealing with vendors, and much more?

Next Wednesday, September 19, 2012, we are conducting our free “Board Member Basics” board certification class.

The class will be held at our Katzman Garfinkel and Berger Law and Learning Center

5297 West Copans Road from 10 AM – 12PM

To register call 954 315-0372

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/condoblog/2012/09/fraud-in-community-associations.html

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