Category Archives: Foreclosures

Board Members Sell Out And Get Out!

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guest blog by Nila Ridings
  
What do Walt, C.J., Bill, Molly, Pat, Porter, Vern, and Tom have in common? They were all HOA board members. Shortly after serving on the board or while on the board they sold and got out!  Could that be because they had access to records and information about lawsuits that the ordinary HOA “pariah” didn’t?  Could it be because they saw the “light” on this dilapidated HOA and all of it’s failed plans and programs?  Or is it because of the million dollar debt?
 
Whatever the reason, it does make a difference when you have access to “insider” information.
 
When a “pariah” wants to see HOA records they must make the request and pay by the hour to examine them.  A “pariah” has to pay additional copying fees for each page.  They don’t know how many lawsuits the HOA has filed or how many have been filed against the HOA.  They don’t have a say in whether the board borrows $1,000,000 on a line of credit… and then agrees to pay the property manager 10% of it as some sort of “finder’s fee” or “management fee” on top of the hundreds of thousands per year he’s already collecting.
 
What seems to have been “brushed under the rug” in a majority of HOAs is the fiduciary duty that a board member has to the homeowners.  What happened to that?  Is it just some unheard of and forgotten obligation that board members routinely ignore?
 
And how have these board members managed to get thousands of dollars worth of work done on their units before selling them?  While the neighborhood “pariahs” have work orders that collect dust for years.
 
I’m going to offer up this piece of advice for whatever it’s worth to our readers. If your board members are heading out the exit…you should, too.  Pay close attention to the real estate listings in your HOA.  Check the addresses against your county records for owners’ names.  Board members’ properties listed for sale could be a sure sign something is rotten in the HOA!!!
 
“Pariah” was used in an HOA newsletter by the HOA president to describe homeowners who insisted the dues be used to repair their wood rotted houses as opposed to having the clubhouse completely redone.  Since the clubhouse is rarely rented anyway, that project made no sense when the exterior of the houses was rotted so severely there is frame damage.  But the board president decided to self-deal the clubhouse redo through her personal “decorating” company. And the HOA newsletter (it was learned in court) is printed by her “publishing” company!  Which was how she justified pocketing all the advertising dollars from the ads that paid for the newsletter…and the profits became hers, too.  Another one of her self-dealings!  Her “pariah” newsletter was presented in front of a judge and jury…it most definitely helped the homeowner win all counts of the lawsuit.  Hooray!  Just another reminder you just can’t fix stupid!
 
Oh yes, and imagine this…the state has NO RECORD of her owning a decorating or publishing company. How many 80 year olds do you know who have the energy to own and manage two flourishing businesses that “cater” to the HOA while being president of the HOA? Since she’s been exposed she uses her middle finger to express her displeasure to her neighbors.  Nope, she’s not even a classy old lady!

What a Hoot! WARD LUCAS IS HATED IN ILLINOIS!

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Ya know something? God has a sense of humor!

I just got an email that in a contentious HOA meeting in Westmont, Illinois, a CAI attorney was giving a seminar on Homeowners Association law. If I understand her story correctly, she and another homeowner stood up and waved copies of my book, Neighbors At War! at the CAI lawyer and the crowd. She says the lawyer turned away in disgust.

There’s no question I’ve been very critical of both the CAI and the Illinois Supreme Court which has made some really bizarre rulings this past year. The latest ruling is that your contract with your HOA isn’t really a contract. Well, sometimes it’s a contract. Sometimes it’s not. If you withhold your dues because they won’t repair the roof, then it’s not a contract. If your unit leaks on the HOA president’s unit, then it’s a contract. {HEAVY SIGH}

Anyway, hearing that angry homeowners are waving my book in the faces of members of the HOA industry just gives me a warm feeling in my belly. It’s a movement, folks! It’s a movement! It starts off with little protests like this, and then grows into a small roar. Suddenly we’re a force of nature not to be trifled with.

Keep it going!

 

Guts in California, No Guts in Florida

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If an award could ever be given to the most irresponsible organization in America, top consideration would have to go to CAI, the Community Associations Institute. The institute has essentially clawed its way to the top of the political food chain, deceiving thousands of Legislators and millions of homeowners into believing it’s a benign organization meant to benefit homeowners. In reality, it’s a massively wealthy parasitic lobbying industry which is sucking the lifeblood out of 335,000 American neighborhoods. CAI is no friend of homeowners. But it, along with other huge lawyer referral agencies like Senator John Carona’s Associa, are throwing billions of dollars into the fight to keep legal control of the HOA racket.

In California, a state which is facing an epic drought and the stark reality of looming food shortages, the simians at CAI have tried to argue that the Legislature has no business ordering homeowners to obey emergency drought restrictions. No, those HOA homes have lush green lawns while the state’s Central Valley is no longer able to supply the food needs of the nation.

Thank God that there’s a God. Because the California Assembly has overwhelmingly voted to ignore the ranting of the CAI primates.

Things are much more difficult in Florida, where it appears the attempt to reign in the horrible abuses of homeowners has again been quashed in the Legislature.

On second thought, maybe critics like me should begin to admire the sledgehammer lobbying tactics of the HOA industry. After all, it takes some talent to disembowel and skin an animal after a deer hunt. Those chops aren’t learned easily.

(link to Associated Press story on drought)

(link to death of Florida legislation)

 

Nasty, Nasty Duck Dynasty!

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A&E’s TV series, Duck Dynasty, is truly one of the most remarkable shows on television. Yes, it’s been controversial at times, but members of this West Monroe, Louisiana family appear fearless as they deal with personality differences, and walk viewers through the intricacies of their lives.

I also know, after a lifetime of working in television, that almost all of these ‘reality’ shows are heavily choreographed and orchestrated. Sorry if that pops your bubble, but those are the facts of life.

Still, there are some things that can’t be faked. Many of us saw a Duck Dynasty episode a year ago when the Robertson family showed up at their HOA board meeting after being dinged for owning chickens and for burning leaves. The faces in the room are priceless. The vacant far-away, shell-shocked expressions among homeowners should be given some kind of acting award. The matriarch’s repeated statement that she brought a casserole to the HOA meeting had me rolling in laughter. Faked or not, this episode was hilarious.

If anyone among our readership has contact with the Robertson family, or their producers, or the many actors and technicians who work on their set, please let me know. I want to send them some copies of Neighbors At War!

(link to Robertson family’s HOA appearance)

 

Maybe the Problem ISN’T Guns!!!

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Glory me! Yes, HOA board members and managers are all jittery in Illinois because the courts have upheld the validity of the Second Amendment. Somehow, in their warped way of thinking the CAI (Community Association of Idiots) have figured out that by having a strong Second Amendment and conceal/carry laws, there might be more assaults and threats against HOA board members!

In fact, the CAI recently commissioned a study which ‘proved’ that 13% of board members, managers or homeowners had been physically assaulted and that 52% had been threatened with assault. It’s linked below for those of you curious enough, or bored enough, to want to read further.

Now folks, please understand that I’m a lifelong investigative reporter. I’ve traipsed through slums and I’ve plunked myself down on sofas in Governors’ mansions. I’ve shaken hands with murderers in jail cells and the highest officials in the White House. And you’ll just have to believe me when I say these numbers (13% and 52%) are as crooked as a dog’s hind leg. I could walk into any inner city neighborhood and not find that 52% of the population has been threatened with bodily harm. Unless the CAI produces their survey, I call “fake!”

If such a huge huge number of people are being assaulted or threatened, then it cannot be the people…it has to be the atmosphere. Create a village where all members are supposed to spy on and report the ‘illegal’ activities of neighbors and I might believe a large percentage of people are willing to use physical violence against the Village Idiots.

In the meantime, DO NOT believe the lies perpetrated by the Homeowners Association industry.

Just don’t.

(link to Chicago Tribune story)