Category Archives: drones

LOL! Marijuana in Rental Home

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OK. Here’s a confession. I’ve spent a lifetime going on vice raids with local, state, and federal cops. I’ve ridden in a DEA helicopter as it used an infrared camera to spot pot plants growing in the middle of corn fields. I was the first reporter on the scene of a plane crash where drug smugglers dumped their DC-3 on top of a mesa in Southeast Colorado. I’ve probably seen more marijuana in my lifetime than all the readers of this blog combined. But… here comes the big confession… I’ve never even had so much as a single puff. I guess that would disqualify me for running for the White House, right?

As the owner of a few rental homes in Colorado I’m pretty much aware that I probably don’t have the right to stop renters from either smoking or growing the stuff. After all, if I banned it from my properties I’d be banning a legal activity.

All that being said, there’s an amusing story out of Nederland, Colorado about city officials who want to prevent a renter from growing maryjane for commercial purposes.  What’s really funny about this is that the proposal is coming from Nederland. I love Nederland. It’s one of the greatest towns in the whole state. What’s fun about Nederland is that everyone who lives there is stoned! This is the town where a local yokel glued himself to a Home Depot toilet seat and then sued for damages. It’s the town that featured a famous recording studio where every rock star in the world recorded albums. It’s the town that holds the Frozen Dead Guy Days festival each summer. Yes, indeedy. A member of the town honored his grandfather’s wishes to keep his granddaddy’s body in a Tuff Shed covered with dry ice until such time as he could be brought back to life. Now there’s a festival in his honor.

Nederland.

Stoned.

(link to story on Nederland’s proposal to ban pot growing)

 

Tiny Gains in Arizona

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It’s one step at a time, but every milometer of achievements is worth its weight in gold.

In Arizona, one lawyer is trying to get Homeowner Associations to work with homeowners to end the nightmare of lawn Nazis and bully boards. The link below should be an easy way to spend a couple of minutes.

(link to HOA arbitration story on KPHO-TV)

 

 

OK, I Admit It! HOAs Have A Purpose!

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Before you hire an assassin to take me out, please listen to my reasoning.

Next door ‘party houses’ are the bane of the existence of any homeowner. People buy the house, then start renting it out to party-throwing wild people who screw things up for the entire neighborhood. Certainly, Homeowner Associations can take these houses down. They assess fines, file liens and lawsuits and can shut these places down.

Still, if you have a strong zoning department they can shut these houses down much more quickly and without costing HOAs a ton of money in legal fees. And Zoning Departments have to follow Constitutional law. It doesn’t make them slower in enforcing reasonable standards, but it does make them more accountable.

As a property owner in an HOA, wouldn’t you rather deal with Zoning than with a bunch of slander-slinging neighbors? Wouldn’t you rather have your insurance and legal fees remain stable so you don’t get hit with special assessments to pay for legal fees? Wouldn’t you rather be in a position where the HOA insurance company doesn’t cancel the community policy because of an excess of Board lawsuits?

It’s all about peace and quiet enjoyment of property. Wouldn’t you rather have the county cracking the whip than your next-door neighbor, or your Nazi-minded board member?

It’s all about common sense, which apparently isn’t a factor in the national HOA scam.

(link to story on party houses)

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The American Flag is Offensive!

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We’ve seen this over and over again. But keep in mind that when patriotism is banned we’ve reached the beginning of the end. Please, please, don’t think I’m exaggerating.

In North Carolina, a Homeowners Association (a trailer home association) has banned the flying of American flags. They want to ban all flags, which is probably understandable. But the American flag has special protections enacted by Congress and by many state legislatures. Banning American flags is on a par with banning any celebration of the 4th of July.

Multi-culturalism? I get it.

Diversity? I get it.

But any ‘government’ (and believe it, Homeowners Associations are governments) that begins banning displays of patriotism is on the road to destruction. Go back and look at dictators who killed millions and millions of people, Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, Chairman Mao: They all began by burning books, outlawing freedom of expression, and banning displays of religion and patriotism.

Our Constitution is an extremely thin thread that holds our country out of the hands of such monsters.

Our Constitution was written and enacted by some of the greatest heroes in history. If we allow the collapse of our Constitution, we will ultimately be regarded as the greatest cowards in history. When your HOA nibbles away at your Constitutional rights, stand up and show your testosterone! Use it or lose it.

(link to story on banning the American flag)

(link to a list of the 25 most murderous dictators in history)

 

Hiring an HOA Management Company

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guest blog by Jill Schweitzer

As a Realtor in Arizona, I recently went to a class presented by an HOA property management company. The topic was the various ins and outs of HOAs hiring a management company. But as the class progressed, I thought it really would be better taught by an attorney and not somebody within the HOA industry.

Here are my conclusions after going through this class:

1. Absolutely, have an attorney review and make changes to the contract! Have the attorney tell you what items to add in to the contract items that are missing in the laws to protect the both the HOA and the individual homeowners…thereby holding the management accountable and responsible for any misfeasance or malfeasance. Also have the attorney remove the indemnification clause! Why pay to defend a management company for its bad actions?

2. Check court records online and in person to examine lawsuits the company may have been involved in.

3. Recommend that boards either eliminate or lower transfer and disclosure fees!

4. Recommend the board get a website independent of the management company. This would ensure that the HOA’s connection with homeowners survives any future change in management.

5. When hiring a management company, HOA boards should be careful of all the extra junk fees; printing, copies, coupon books, violation letters, etc.

6. Finally, mandate that any management company hired by an HOA certify that it has insurance against all misfeasance and malfeasance by management company owners, executives or employees.