Category Archives: Foreclosures

Hoo Boy! Let The Lawsuits Begin!

2 Comments

It’s hard to sue the government. In fact, the federal government actually has to give an injured party permission to sue. Some states have imposed a maximum limit on how much an injured litigant can win in a lawsuit against the state. Colorado, for example, passed a law saying no prevailing party can win more than $250,000 in damages.

Well, that’s changing in the most unexpected ways.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that as tax revenue dries up, and police layoffs occur, wealthier neighborhoods are hiring private security companies to replace the lost police officers.

Whammo! Bammo! Here’s a tort lawyer’s wet dream! Private communities (read Homeowners Associations) are private non-profit corporations. And they do not have government immunity from lawsuits. The run-of-the-mill HOA can be successfully sued for millions and millions and millions of dollars.

Just think, twenty-four hours ago, we read that Trayvon Martin’s parents won an out-of-court settlement from the Retreat at Twin Lakes Homeowners Association of more than a million dollars. The future for tort lawyers and their clients against Homeowners Associations is golden. Let the lawsuits fly.

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2013/0405/As-cities-lay-off-police-frustrated-neighborhoods-turn-to-private-cops?nav=87-frontpage-entryInsideMonitor

It’s spreading! There are more Trayvon Martin type confrontations/lawsuits in the works. This doesn’t amount to dipping your toe in the outhouse sludge. It’s a headlong dive! Hold your breath, Sucker!

http://www.khou.com/news/local/Houston-neighborhood-turns-to-private-security-firm-for-protection–201168841.html

Trayvon Martin Lawsuit Settled

3 Comments

No one will say for sure, but the parents of Trayvon Martin have settled their lawsuit against the Retreat at Twin Lakes Homeowners Association, in Sanford, Florida, for more than a million dollars.

Martin was shot to death during a struggle with George Zimmerman who was serving as the neighborhood watch chairman.

It’s unclear whether this HOA was covered by insurance at the time of Martin’s death. It is clear, however, that the Retreat at Twin Lakes board quickly bought a Travelers Casualty insurance policy a few weeks after the incident. But Travelers Casualty has made it clear the insurance company was not a part of this settlement.

So, a big mystery: Was the Retreat at Twin Lakes insured when Trayvon Martin was shot? If so, why did the HOA do such a mad scramble to get insured after-the-fact. If not, then individual homeowners there are going to get hammered with a huge special assessment for legal fees, for the judgment, and for the inevitable hike in their insurance premiums.

Now, for those of you who think a Homeowners Association protects your property values, how do you think that’s working out for the folks who live in the Retreat at Twin Lakes? Home prices there are somewhere at the bottom of the outhouse.

This chart from Zillow.com is fascinating:

http://www.zillow.com/homes/sanford,-fl_rb/#/homes/for_sale/Sanford-FL/33865_rid/28.823696,-81.244841,28.746365,-81.344404_rect/12_zm/1_fr/

Will the last one leaving Sanford please turn out the lights?

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/trayvon-martin/os-trayvon-martin-settlement-20130405%2c0%2c6893976.story

Where Neighbors Are Neighbors

5 Comments

Neighborhoods are supposed to be all about like-minded people working together to strengthen the bonds between each other. There’s a strange aloofness and paranoia among some of the country’s neighborhoods…. approximately one-out-of-five. You ‘in-crowd’ people know what that percentage is referring to.

But in my youth, I really do remember neighbors who’d talk over the fence, and gather for dinner, where the kids would take each others’ sons and daughters to the senior prom. Neighborhoods. Healthy. Old fashioned.

Yes, we’ve lost something in the madness of the modern HOA movement. We’ve learned how to keep those intrusive Negroes, Jews and Orientals from moving into our white ghettos. We’ve learned how to encourage the disabled, the single moms, the elderly, to find other places to live. After all, our exclusionary attitudes keep our property values up, right?

No, I kind of like that ‘old-timey’ feeling where we loved our neighbors with the full knowledge and assurance that they loved us right back.

The link below kind of moved me tonight, as I sat here contemplating where we’ve been, and where we’re going.

http://www.wkrg.com/story/21754502/whats-working-south-lafayette-street-community-association

“One Small Step For A Man, One Giant Leap (still to come)”

1 Comment

Wow! Jan Bergemann, you are somethin’ else! I didn’t think your proposed legislation had a ghost of a chance of even getting out of committee. But Jan, my brother, you have accomplished a miracle. Just remember it’s only a small step, and you’re up against a massive HOA tort industry that will do anything in its power to ruin you, your reputation, your health, your bank account. Remember, you’re threatening the income stream of a very powerful and unscrupulous monster.

But you are among a small handful of pioneers who opened the eyes of many of the rest of us around the country. We all owe you a debt of gratitude. Of course, we know and you know that you’ve got a big red target on your back.

Those of you who’d like to read the progress and the text of Jan’s proposed Florida reform legislation, it’s linked below.

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=99asbrdab&v=001PAHSyKgq2Iq97r8N_9ppO1dwdqJSFmw_AolLy6KxC7oRT38uuDvHhB18C0poQ7wX8fZnNwKErzSWQxtLNTHsRahyAldp-aluI_tbop7rEJp-xT3Hehp-YgI263W39r0hSS3cqzw8jBE%3D

Hilarious! An Anti-HOA Drone Hoodie?

No Comments

As readers of my book and blog already know, I’ve long been predicting that HOA boards would begin buying surplus military drone aircraft to spy on homeowners to ensure nobody in the neighborhood had installed an unauthorized hot tub in the back yard.

LOL! There’s already a prankster out there in the cyber world who occasionally pops up with a phony HOA-drones-for-sale website. His last posting was on April 1st, which might give you a key to his mindset. He even provided his phone number and it must be a hoot to answer calls from HOA board members who are actually serious about buying a drone to cruise for covenant violations.

But the story linked below takes the prize. It’s a company that’s come up with a ‘hoodie’ that can defeat air photography by drones. It’s still so close to April Fool’s Day that I’m not sure what to believe. But for some fun reading pretend that you’re really paranoid of neighborhood spying and figure out how to use this new ‘hoodie technology’ to cover your whole house!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2013/mar/31/anti-drone-hoodie-big-brother

Enjoy this blog? Please spread the word :)