Category Archives: firearms

United Breaks Guitars

Eventually, all of us in this fight for homeowners rights get discouraged. The goal of educating other homeowners is frustrating. Often it seems impossible. We wonder how we can make even a little dent in the massive corruption that infests and characterizes the Homeowners Association movement.

But don’t ever doubt your power as a individual human being to change the world.

Back in 2009, Dave Carroll, a musician from Nova Scotia, was frustrated when his expensive Taylor guitar was severely damaged through the negligence of United Airlines. He was even more frustrated by the callous handling of his damage claim. He couldn’t fight back. But as a musician, he could write a song.

Now, Carroll is a star on the international speakers circuit. He’s making a fortune with his CDs, his books, his concerts and his personal appearances.

Dave Carroll is just one voice out of seven billion. Yet since 2009 his song and his story have been viewed and have impacted more than 150 million people. And United Airlines has spent a fortune trying to repair its damaged image.

The new paradigm is social media. And you and I, my friends, are squarely in the middle of the revolution.

Here’s link to Carroll’s TEDx talk, along with his song, United Breaks Guitars:

A Fiscal Tidal Wave Coming To America?

For several years I’ve warned readers of this website that this country is facing a massive fiscal crisis because of too many years of profligate spending. It’s not just the U.S. government, either. It’s China, Russia, Japan, Greece, Brazil, Portugal, Ireland and many others. Because these countries don’t back up their currencies with cold, hard assets, the value of these fiat currencies is whatever the respective government says it is. If a government overspends, then it just devalues its currency and uses inflation to lessen the pressure of its federal debt.

That’s a ponzi scheme, and ever since Charles Ponzi’s stamp selling scam in Boston in the 1920s, the world has known that even legitimate businesses (or governments) that continually spend more than they take in…eventually collapse.

On this website I’ve occasionally warned you that a fiscal calamity could ripple across the nation’s Homeowners Associations and because of a history of mismanagement by HOA bullies, mortgage companies will be increasingly reluctant to lend money where neighborhood associations are mired in a pattern of litigation. If a home buyer can’t get a mortgage to buy your house, what is your house really worth? Did the HOA really fulfill its promise to protect your property values?

Now, going one step further, pay very close attention to news events of this next week. A fiscal disaster that could profoundly affect the U.S. housing market could happen as early as next weekend. Oil prices across the world have collapsed to under thirty dollars a barrel. Some on Wall Street say the price could eventually go as low as sixteen dollars a barrel.

Saudi Arabia, one of America’s staunchest allies, is panicking. Oil sales amount to 75% of that country’s income. For years, the Saudis have pegged the value of the riyal to the U.S. Dollar. If they pull that peg and the riyal is devalued against the dollar, then Katy bar the doors. There’s no one who can predict how this will impact the world economy.

Massive inflation might help the individual who holds a large fixed interest mortgage. For many decades homeowners have been able to inflate their mortgages away. But a frightened financial industry doesn’t like to offer reasonably priced mortgages in risky neighborhoods.

I’m not an economist so I’m open to criticism. But these are interesting times, aren’t they?

Confiscating Your Condo

The first part of the story linked below is interesting, but not earth-shaking. It’s about apartments that are converted to privately owned condos, and then back to apartments. It happens all the time. But what happens next should shake you to your boots!

If 75% of the condo owners want to sell to a developer who’s converting condos back to apartments, then screw the remaining 25%. They pretty much have to take whatever the developer offers, which is sometimes a fraction of what those condos were worth.

In Florida, if a developer controls 90% of the units, the remaining residents may as well go live in a park someplace. They’ll get next to nothing as the developer seizes their homes.

Again, when a Realtor says HOAs protect property values, tell them they are pathetic liars. Then just walk out.

(link to article on how they seize your home)

 

Way To Go, Indiana!!!

Yes, there’s good news here and there on the HOA front. Is Indiana the first state to take any intensive steps toward ending the HOA madness?  It’s beyond imagination to think that all fifty states aren’t considering cracking down on bully boards and lawn Nazis. Abuse of power is a vicious thing to have to endure. You wouldn’t believe the numbers of people who log onto this website and send me personal emails describing their own torment.

But look at some of the legislation either proposed or passed in Indiana. Maybe those Indy 500 rednecks aren’t going to take this HOA nonsense sitting down!

(link to sweeping changes of HOA law)

(HOAs boards must be transparent. Imagine that!)

(link to protection for families against HOAs)

 

 

More & More Lawyers on the Homeowners’ Side!

Homeowners are gradually finding more lawyers willing to represent them against bully HOA boards. That’s great news. Along that line, a Florida law firm is aggressively advertising that it will take up cases of wronged homeowners. Their online ad is pretty good. We need at least one law firm like this in every state.

(link to Denmon & Denmon HOA ad)