Category Archives: Government

Solar Screams

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For some odd reason, Homeowners Associations hate solar panels. The hate the idea of solar energy. They hate people who don’t hate solar energy and they’re willing to sue into oblivion any homeowner who dares put solar panels on his house.

In Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal signed an act permitting solar panels anywhere in the state. But the Azalea Gardens Homeowners Association in Shreveport apparently feels the law doesn’t affect them. They may be right, since they’re considered a private non-profit corporation. HOAs traditionally think that they’re above the law.

In any event, the link below from KTBS TV tells the story and shows video of the TV station being thrown out of the HOA meeting, even though it was an invited guest of homeowner Brian Salvatore.

http://www.ktbs.com/news/Man-Catches-Heat-Over-Solar-Panels/-/144844/17322526/-/dqcmx9z/-/index.html

Wow! Great Article!

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There are thousands, possibly tens of thousands, of news articles about people who’ve been royally shafted in the American HOA system. There’s a very good article in today’s Fort Worth Weekly entitled “Hostage, Sweet Hostage.” It tells the story of a family who moved into a Texas HOA looking for security and safety. But an argument over a vehicle led to harrassment, fines, lawsuits and has cost this family their peace of mind.

This gated HOA has used a weapon against the family: locking the gate so they can’t reach their home, their guests can’t visit, the babysitter can’t enter to care for the kids. And when the family protests, HOA officials just flatly refuse to talk to them. Ah, but the HOA president finally talked to them. But only after joining hands with the family and praying before lowering the hammer.

What a world!

http://www.fwweekly.com/2012/11/07/home-sweet-hostage/

Do HOA Embezzlement Stories Bore You?

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The Good Lord knows I don’t want to bore readers of my blog posts! But my feeling is that there are so many HOAs being victimized by embezzlers, that the name of every HOA crook ought to be publicized far and wide. These crooks are not only rotten people for stealing, but they’re stealing from neighbors who put them into positions of incredible trust. In many cases, they’re stealing from elderly retired people who just can’t afford to pay special assessments to cover the HOA’s losses.

Well, bore you or not, the latest embezzler to be sentenced to prison is 63 year old Nancy Walker. She managed the treasury of the Ballenger Creek Meadows HOA in Frederick County, Maryland. She stole more than 137,000 bucks. She claims she gave the money to an internet acquaintance she’d never met; a man who alternately claimed he was in a South African hospital, and later in a South African jail. It’s a great sob-story, but it doesn’t change the fact that Walker stole from neighbors who had trusted her.

She got a sentence of 18 months in prison and restitution. Why HOA thieves never get more than 18 months is a mystery to this blogger. But the restitution is no mystery. She’ll never pay it.

You’re STOOPID To Buy An HOA Home In Nevada!

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The Bank of America lawsuit against dozens of Nevada Homeowners Associations chugs onward. Earlier this Fall, B of A filed a federal lawsuit claiming that HOAs were illegally charging excessive collection fees and arbitrary fines against homeowners who committed minor infractions of HOA rules and covenants.

In one such case, a family in North Las Vegas moved out of their home and attempted to short sell it through the Bank of America. But the HOA in question decided the home in question had too many pine needles and weeds on the property, and they filed a lien against the home. Although the initial fine was only a few hundred dollars, the HOA dramatically escalated its fines and costs to more than $16,500. That made the home virtually unsaleable.

In another case (reported by Darcy Spears, KTNV-TV in Las Vegas), homeowner Char Vanderveen had her home seized by the Mountain’s Edge Homeowners Association. The HOA sold her $700,000 home for $7000, less than one percent of its true value.

There are hundreds, if not thousands or even tens of thousands of similar cases.

Bank of America says that kind of thing is happening all over Nevada and they want a federal judge to intervene. Any kind of major judgment against Nevada HOAs could cost them millions of dollars. HOA board members and their attorneys are now whining that if they lose the case, the costs will have to be assessed against all other homeowners.

To refer back to the headline of this story, would you buy a home in an HOA that’s potentially facing multi-million dollar judgments, legal fees and huge special assessments against all homeowners? Wouldn’t you be stupid to do so?

http://www.ktnv.com/news/local/174865911.html

Isn’t It Sweet When The Media Start Paying Attention?

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More and more noise is being made around the country from the smallest media to the highest…about abuses by Homeowners Associations. And it’s about time. There’s no more fundamentally corrupt American institution than the HOA down the street. Don’t believe me? There’s an easy test. Just Google “HOA embezzle” and look at the results. Then multiply your results by 1000, since less than one out of a thousand HOAs involved in embezzling ever get any kind of news coverage.

Shocking? Well, that still doesn’t cover even a fraction of the abuses by HOA boards. With more than 300,000 Homeowners Associations in the country, a massive number have complaints about the excesses of power-mongering board members. Don’t believe that? There’s an easy test. Just choose any one of those HOAs in the country and attend the annual meeting. Odds are you’ll see a vicious slugfest.

Enough said.

Ah! No, not quite enough. This blog below from San Fran is really worth reading.

http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2010/09/02/what-happens-when-your-hoa-becomes-hostile/

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