Category Archives: lawsuit

Bank Foreclosures Down, HOA Foreclosures Up!

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Regular readers of this blog have long known most of the material in the article linked below. But regular readers also know that I’ve long predicted a second massive housing bubble, this one larger than the one in 2009, this one directed squarely at the 63 million homes controlled by Homeowners Associations.

As you read the article below, keep in mind that most of these 63 million homeowners have loans backed by the now bankrupt Fannie Mae, Freddy Mac along with the FHA and various other agencies connected with the federal government.

You still want to move into a Homeowners Association?

(link to story from Naked Capitalism)

 

Court Rules That Bloggers ARE Journalists

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In my book, Neighbors At War, I encourage homeowners rights activists to keep track of the wrongdoing of HOA board members and shout those wrongs from the rooftops.

HOA board members are public figures because they sought election to a public position. They are therefore public figures and you as a critic have special protections against libel and slander lawsuits.

Now, yet another federal court has ruled the same thing. It’s a long string of court decisions that protect Freedom of Speech in America.

In the Oregon case linked below, a bankruptcy trustee sued a blogger who was critical of the trustee’s activities. Even though this trustee was not a public figure the court still ruled in favor of the blogger. Because the trustee’s activities were of public concern, he could not win his slander lawsuit unless he was able to prove negligence on the part of the blogger.

If you’re trying to correct problems in your corrupt or negligent HOA you have all the Free Speech protections that any journalist in America has. If you’re trying to correct bad behavior by out-of-control, fascist-like actions in your HOA, do it courageously!

(link to Associated Press story)

Homeowners Associations Could Learn From Baboons!

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guest blog by Nila Ridings
 
30 years of studying how baboons were able to change their culture could be the clue to what will change the culture of homeowners associations.  Wouldn’t the results be interesting if Dr. Robert Sapolsky spent three decades studying behaviors in HOAs?
 
Do we have to wait until the selfish, narcissistic, abusive, bullying, self-serving, and power-hungry board members die off?  Can we legislate these people to respectable conduct or do we have to sit back and watch them self-destruct?  Keeping in mind, they only self-destruct when they run out of our money.
 
We’ve learned a lot from animals.  Mostly, that they are more than companions.  They guide those without sight.  They alert those who cannot hear.  They comfort those who have been severely traumatized.  They assist soldiers and law enforcement in doing their jobs.  And now, we learn they know more about co-existing together than we do.
 
As I see it, Sir Michael Marmot is correct when he says, “The conditions in which people live and work are absolutely vital for their health.”  It is no wonder there are so many unhealthy and depressed people living in HOAs.

(click here for video on baboon study)

 

A Lawmaker And Her Drone Incident

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I’ve predicted for several years that Homeowners Associations would eventually start using drones to increase their ability to spy on the tiniest infractions by HOA members.

Because HOAs are generally unrestricted by laws or ethics they get away with some really crude privacy invasions. With incredibly inexpensive flying nightscope cameras that means no outdoor hot tub or upstairs window is off limits to them.

California Senator Diane Feinstein is concerned. She’s involved in hearings on privacy invasion and had a personal experience with a drone peeking into her window during a demonstration outside her home.

Feinstein thinks there have to be some federal regulations governing drone use. She might even be able to get a law passed. But until HOAs have to obey the kinds of laws that all other Americans have to obey, you’re going to see these kinds of privacy invasions skyrocket.

(link to Washington Times story on Feinstein’s drone)

 

Neighbor Complaints Lead To ‘Felony Egg/Drug Bust’ At Justin Beiber’s House

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Justin Beiber apparently hasn’t been the most wonderful neighbor in his ritzy California Homeowners Association. Talk about a neighborhood war. His speeding and loud parties have attracted not only HOA attention, but after eggs were thrown from Beiber’s property onto the home of a next door neighbor police snagged a search warrant and used a battering ram to get through his front door.

Beiber wasn’t arrested, although cops are continuing to search through home security video. Since this is a felony assault charge Beiber could face some time behind bars.

During the raid, though, it appears that at least one of Beiber’s guests could face felony charges. Rapper Lil Za was arrested for possession of cocaine inside the singer’s home.

(click here for TMZ story on egg raid)