Category Archives: Duck Dynasty

David Beats Goliath: Eminent Domain Land Grab Squashed!

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guest blog by Deborah Goonan

Here’s more positive news for homeowners, just in time for the holiday season.

Residents of homes in Pleasant Ridge, Charlestown, Indiana, have good reason to celebrate this year. They fought City Hall, and won! A few months ago I blogged about the Mayor of Charlestown declaring the modest neighborhood of 345 homes “blighted” and planning to sell the land to a private developer. That would have meant all the existing homes would be razed to make way for new development of multifamily homes.

Institute for Justice has been working with citizens in a grass roots campaign to defeat the planned sale. It turns out that Indiana was one state that amended its eminent domain laws in 2006, in response to the well-known Kelo v. City of New London “Little Pink House” legal case. Indiana’s law now states that land cannot be taken and handed over to a private developer.

What do we take away from this story, combined with the recent news of the NJ’s Supreme Court’s decision to uphold free speech in common interest communities – a huge victory for HOA homeowners?

Grass roots pressure works, when properly organized. Our State Constitutions matter! States can strengthen their own Constitutional laws to prevent Developers and Real Estate corporate interests from exploiting loopholes and running roughshod over the interests of Ordinary Citizens. In both of these cases, it was legal advocacy – not political advocacy – that resulted in justice being served.

Local politicians in Charlestown fell in line when public pressure reached critical mass, with the help and guidance of advocacy group IJ, possessing legal clout and credibility to get the job done.

A tenacious retired prosecutor was determined to defend his rights. The ACLU in New Jersey stepped up to the plate, and submitted an Amicus Brief that blew CAI’s legal arguments out of the water.

Despite all of the political polarity we have in our country these days, note that positive changes are happening with bipartisan advocacy efforts – the “Conservative” Institute for Justice, and the “Liberal” ACLU.

When concerned Americans unite against injustice, in ways that are constructive, good things happen!

What are your thoughts?

(link to IJ news release: Largest Eminent Domain Land Grab Defeated

 

Beware the Coming Building Craze! Caveat Emptor!

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Canadians often seem much more polite than Americans, but the BBC documentary linked below is one that everyone on this blog should watch. Downtown Toronto has been devastated by defective construction in many of its high-rise condo towers. The U.S. government is following the exact same political path as the governments of Toronto and of Canada have been following over the past seven years.

With the inevitable world financial collapse that’s coming, many building shortcuts are going to be overlooked in the U.S.. Massive construction projects will be seen by our government as an escape valve against the housing market bubble. Thousands of people in rapidly expanding financial markets like China and Dubai will be buying newly built American condos without ever making a personal visit or inspection. And American building inspectors will be ordered by their bosses to overlook common sense building regulations.

This blog is all about protecting you. My guest bloggers put a lot of work into researching and writing about certain subjects to protect you, the homeowner. But believe me, we’re getting pressure from the CAI cacophony and the realty folks and property managers. We make no money on this blog by encouraging our followers to be cautious in their investing.

Caveat emptor.

 

Another Delicious HOA Indictment

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I suppose it’s bad manners to dance on someone else’s grave, but if I had good manners I would never have started this website. But this one is too good not to note.

Another woman has been indicted in the federal racketeering case against a dozen Nevada Homeowners Associations. There’ve been about forty federal indictments already, with most of the suspects pleading guilty in exchange for their testimony in court. Stephanie Liane Markham has the honor of being the latest to be indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice. Seems she’s accused of lying to the feds about the fact she only had a one percent interest in a condo at the time she ran for a seat on the board.

A number of other suspects in the federal case were planted onto boards so defect mitigation money could be siphoned away from homeowners into the pockets of crooked lawyers, police officials, politicians and businessmen. And I’ll never let a story like this slip by without noting that a prominent attorney and three other suspects in this investigation committed ‘suicide.’ At least two of them were highly suspicious deaths, Las Vegas style.

The federal HOA case is going to trial in February. It’s long been my contention that a nearly identical criminal investigation could be launched in 49 other states.

(link to Stephanie story in Las Vegas Review Journal)

 

HOA Booting Anger in Albuquerque

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What gives an HOA the right to boot cars on public streets? Nothing. But that didn’t stop the HOA Nazis in an Albuquerque HOA from booting a work trailer in the middle of a resident’s work day. And these over-the-top idiots were busy booting cars parked in the residents’ own driveways.

Why do they think they can flout the law? Because homeowners are afraid to protest.

But one activist in Ventana Ranch HOA is making some waves. And the City Council is thinking about passing some laws to reign in abusive Homeowners Associations.

(link to New Mexico TV story on booting controversy)

http://krqe.com/2014/12/10/homeowners-association-boots-residents-on-city-streets/

Illegally booting cars in a neighborhood has an amazing capacity for massive damage suits. If someone had an emergency and needed to race a child to the hospital but discovered his vehicle improperly booted? The emotional damage factor alone could result in multi-million dollar verdicts. The sad thing is that the costs of paying such a judgment would be passed off to innocent homeowners. Management companies just seem to be above the law….and that’s a problem.

“That’s One for You, Ten for Me, One for You and Ten for Me.”

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The number of embezzlements by HOA officers is almost laughable. I’d say unbelievable but that’s not the right word. Greed is part of the human condition and has been around since Cain and Able.

Still, you’d think that some embezzlers would feel a little bit guilty.

Enter Elizabeth Mills Wilson, treasurer of the Manor at Harmon Lake Homeowners Association in Forsyth County. Now I’m not saying she’s guilty. That’ll be determined by a jury, or by a guilty plea. Her Sheriff’s booking photo makes her look a little bit arrogant. 

But then, you’d have to be a little arrogant to steal $40,000 from your neighbors. A judge will give her a suspended sentence and maybe a tongue lashing. What this country really needs is some real lashings!