Category Archives: lawsuit

Seniors Squeezed in DC

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Many retirees and people about to retire in the nation’s capitol are learning that all the money they’d set aside for their golden years is at risk. What’s the conventional wisdom for people preparing to transition from a paycheck to a Social Security payment? Pay off your mortgage. Reduce your debts and expenses.

But when seniors buy a piece of managed housing, a condo, townhome or apartment unit their neighbors now have access to every dime those older folks own. Rising HOA or condo fees and special assessments aren’t things that homeowners can decide not to pay. And the elderly who get behind in their dues are promptly foreclosed upon, their property turned over to association lawyers and auctioned off to pay massive legal and collection costs. 

The story linked below is worth reading, understanding, and passing on to others. If you have equity in your home, and if you’re elderly you have a huge target on your back.

Believe it.

(link to story in Washington Post)

 

 

They Sure Wish They Could Shut Schutt’s Mouth

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guest blog by Nila Ridings
 
Bad actors in HOAs never want to be exposed.  They’re like termites, living in dark places, scurrying and hiding when light hits them.  The big difference is: Exterminators can get termites out of your life.  Board members and property managers…well, they’re not so easy.
 
With eighty-one years of life experiences, Jim Schutt feels he’s a pretty good judge of character.  And he has a keen sense of smell for all things rotten. When he openly expressed his concerns about his own HOA, the Fiddlers Creek Homeowners Association in Naples, Florida, he was hit with a SLAPP lawsuit. SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. And some HOA officers are learning to use them against any homeowner who criticizes them.
 
Theoretically, Americans have the right of free expression and free speech. Yet, some HOAs and property managers use lawsuits to keep critics silent as if their mouths were wired shut and their tongues cut out.  Why not criticize your HOA, if your criticism is 100% true and provable in court? Being dragged through court should not cost you your life savings. 
 
81 year old Jim Schutt took that risk and got hit with a SLAPP lawsuit. So even if he wins the suit, he will lose. In Jim’s case, the HOA Developer is using neighborhood dues to shut Schutt up. 
 
If I were the judge and the law allowed me, I would level the playing field.  If Jim Schutt is found to be telling the truth I would reimburse him 100% of his legal fees plus double that amount for his pain and suffering.  And for his bravery.
 
And that my friends, could possibly put an end to HOA SLAPP lawsuits. Just one case with a ruling like that could set the precedent, at least in Florida. Maybe Jim Schutt’s case is the one?
 
 
 

HOA Humor From A Realtor

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guest blog by Nila Ridings

Rarely, do we find someone selling real estate who admits that HOAs are insane. Thankfully, this one broke the mold.
 
While these Top 10 items are true, it’s just a start.  I can think of at least 90 more.  How about you?
 
For those who say, “There’s nothing to laugh about in an HOA!”  I agree.  But looking for some humor in your HOA insanity is about the only way to stay sane.
 
 
 

Beating Up The Handicapped!

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When, oh when, will these low IQ HOA boards ever learn? Federal law DOES NOT PERMIT a Homeowners Association to discriminate against handicapped residents!

But the High Meadows (low IQ) Homeowners Association in St. Charles County, Missouri decided that the family of two handicapped girls will not be allowed to purchase a wheelchair-accessible van large enough to carry two wheelchairs.

How many times have we heard of this kind of idiocy by HOA boards and management companies? It’s a slam dunk for a federal discrimation lawsuit.

The sad thing is, when the damages from such a lawsuit are assessed, the ones who’ll have to reach deep into their pockets to pay for legal fees and judgments are High Meadows homeowners who probably never even knew their board was making such stupid rulings.

If anyone knows the names, phone numbers, addresses (email or otherwise) of these board members please share them with me. Since these board members became public figures when they decided to run for office, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind hearing from disabled people across the country.

(click here for KSDK-TV story)

 

Outrage in Minnesota

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I wrote about this subject in my book, Neighbors At War, but now that the court cases are before the Minnesota Court of Appeals, it’s worth discussing again.

At issue is an ordinance in the college town of Winona, Minnesota, which prohibits some property owners from renting out their properties. Landlords have to register their properties with the city. But once a ratio of renters to homeowners is approached, property owners are prohibited from leasing their properties to others. That means that in some neighborhoods, owners are prohibited from leasing their properties, while people on the adjacent block are allowed to lease. It’s apparently the first case in the nation where property owners are prohibited from exercising their historic rights. 

If this law is ruled constitutional, the implications are enormous.

(click here for FoxNews story on rental property rights in Minnesota)