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.
I promise you, I absolutely promise you I have tried to avoid writing about this story. It first popped up about three years ago, and is so far outside the realm of common sense that I haven’t wanted to damage my own credibility by retelling it.
Still, more and more HOAs around the country are turning to DNA analysis to find out whose dog is pooping on whose lawn.
No, really.
There’s nothing that drives an HOA board member nuttier than seeing someone else’s dog squat on an unapproved lawn. And technology has made it cheaper for an HOA to actually trace a dog dump.
It’s pretty amazing to see the way some neighborhoods tear themselves apart.
The latest goofball story comes from Lake Asbury, Florida. The HOA is threatening to foreclose on the homes of 26 families because they don’t want to pay a dues increase of $50. The HOA needs the money to help maintain docks and boat ramps on the lake. Fifty bucks seems pretty trivial, but the homeowners are taking it to court.
In the meantime, the anger, the frustration, the hatred has made Lake Asbury a pretty attractive place to live, right?
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It’s long been the opinion of this blogger, that the American Homeowners Association Movement is destined to collapse under the weight of its own corruption, deceit and abuse of power. That day is still in the future. In the meantime, an amazing lawsuit against illegal activity among that state’s HOAs has been filed in court. What a relief! There may be some lawyers admitted into Heaven after all! The law firm’s press release is below:
The Law Offices of J. Roger Wood, PLLC 1628 East Southern Avenue, Suite 9-310 – Tempe, Arizona 85282, (602) 324-7126 –
For Immediate Release:
