One of Illinois’ Finest
Ever wonder who helped write HOA and Condo law? Here’s one of them. Just a fine, fine man.
(link to Illinois condo king, Dr. Donnie Rudd)
(more on Rudd’s HOA background)
Category Archives: firearms
Christians are Considered ‘Icky’ to HOAs?
Christmas. What a wonderful holiday. I love it as much as I love Hanukkah and the Seder and all the other religious holidays. In fact, I love any religious person’s special days. It’s just what we do in America.
But why, oh why, are Homeowners Associations coming down so hard on holiday lights? I get it that some light displays are over the top. I get it that gorgeous light displays bring more traffic into a neighborhood. But the greater spirit I see during the holidays satisfies an inner part of my soul. Homeowners Associations, as far as I know, are the only entity in America where expressing your religious beliefs is verboten.
(link to another story about HOA Christmas hatred)
Another Goofy HOA Court Decision
The Illinois Supreme Court has handed down some pretty goofy decisions on behalf of Homeowners Associations. I loved the one last year, the ruling that gave untrained, private HOA security guards police powers, the ability to pull over motorists and hand out tickets.
This latest one is a humdinger. It makes any new buyer of a condo responsible for all unpaid assessments, fines and legal costs run up by the previous owner IF it fails to pay the first monthly assessment on time. Once again, ask yourself what financial organization in its right corporate mind would invest in an HOA? And if you can’t find lenders, what does that do to property values?
(link to story on Illinois court decision)
I blogged about the Cobblestone Community Homeowners Association a few days ago, but the update linked below is worth reading. While I can refute this reporter’s claim that “Most homeowners’ associations work and work well….” Hmmm, this leads me to believe this reporter is a novice. In truth, every Homeowners Association is one vote away from disaster. They don’t protect property values, they don’t ensure personal security, they don’t protect you from embezzlers on the board or in the management company.
The lawyer quoted in the story says he’s frustrated. Of course he is. He knows how dangerous HOAs can be!
(link to Fox5-Atlanta story on Cobblestone HOA)
HOA Racism
Deborah Goonan, one of the nation’s most articulate homeowners rights advocates, has posted on her website an important story about racial discrimination by a Homeowners Association. It’s blatant. It’s actionable. And it’s a story that should be read by everyone who respects all races, ethnicities and religions.
by Deborah Goonan (IndependentAmericanCommunities.com)
According to DNAInfo (article linked below), after ending a relationship with her fiance (a white man and a Wall Street executive), Hanying Liu says the cooperative board refused to transfer her fiance’s shares to Liu.
Liu is the only non-white resident of Spice Lofthouse, and alleges cooperative members have made disparaging and discriminatory statements related to her race. She says that the board has not provided a valid reason for denying her full ownership. Liu also alleges that Chinese friends and family have been interrogated by cooperative members, and her daughter, who resides with her, has been mistreated.
NY State Division of Human Rights has investigated Liu’s complaints, and recently filed a discrimination lawsuit against the 15-unit, multi-million dollar cooperative association.
TriBeCa Co-Op Board Discriminates Against Chinese Resident, State Says
(link to article on discrimination lawsuit)
Quote from Ms. Liu, in reference to her cooperative association:
“They are trying to push me and my daughter from our home,” she said.
“They only want you here if you are white — they only tolerated me before because my fiance was white and he worked on Wall Street.
“They are worse than the communists in China — they police me and my friends.”
