Category Archives: Government

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)

 

HOAs and Marijuana

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A friend of mine called about this week’s story in the Denver Post. Now that Colorado has legalized marijuana for recreational use, can Homeowners Associations ban the drug from being used in private homes?

While I disagree with some of the conclusions in the story linked below, my feeling after observing the extremes of HOA Amerika is that HOAs can pretty much do as they dang well please. Tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of times across the country, HOAs pass ‘laws’ and hand out blatantly illegal fines, liens and assessments. They get away with it, because it’s just too expensive for the average homeowner to challenge. I’d be stunned if HOAs would ever lose a marijuana ban.

(click here for Denver Post story)

 

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)

 

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?