Category Archives: Free Speech

I Have Met The Enemy and He is She!

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It’s been forty years since the last syndicated Pogo comic strip. My headline is a bad re-write of the famous Pogo line. But it happened to me at a gathering of authors and publishers last weekend. A very attractive young lady approached me and said, “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about your book, Neighbors At War.” That’s not an extraordinary experience. I’ve been approached by many other authors at such events. But it’s what she said next that stunned me.

“I am C.A.I.”

“Huh? What?”

“I am C.A.I. The Community Associations Institute. I’m their spokesperson. And we all know about your book.”

“Well, you’re the enemy,” I told her. She said she’d only been working with them for the past year and said the organization was working to change it’s image.

“Absolutely not possible,” I said. “The only thing you can do to improve your image is disband, dismantle the entire warped structure of Homeowners Associations and start over with a new organization of communities that respect and honor the U.S. Bill of Rights.

What’s really hilarious is that several other authors/writers gathered around us and began supporting me with their own stories of HOA horrors. One or two of them were former HOA board members and said they quit because of the bullies on the board. How weird is all that?

Anyway, we later exchanged cards. I told her if she and her buddies would actually read my book I’d agree to pay for lunch. I’m not sure if that’ll ever happen but it was an amusing way to spend a Saturday picnic.

 

Now, For Your Involvement!

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guest blog by Deborah Goonan

Are you interested in improving living conditions in homeowners associations (HOAs), condo associations, and cooperatives in the US? Or would you like to see a broader array of housing choices in this country?

A group of housing advocates is interested in organizing to promote consumer-friendly policies and standards for local governance and management of our communities, particularly those that are private, Association-Governed Residential Communities (more commonly known as HOAs). We are conducting a CONSUMER–FOCUSED survey of interested residents and former residents of HOAs in the US.

We want to hear from you.

What are the issues that are most important to you?

What has been your personal experience living in HOAs, Condo Associations, or Cooperative?

Why are you interested in change, and have you been involved in trying to make that happen?

The survey is sponsored by Sara Benson, proprietor of Association Evaluation LLC, an innovative, comprehensive community association rating service, the first of its kind in the US. Benson and Don DeBat, both of Chicago, are co-authors of Escaping Condo Jail, a book that exposes the truth and debunks the myths surrounding the condo lifestyle. Both authors are committed consumer advocates with a lifetime of experience in the Real Estate industry. Benson is a veteran Real Estate Broker and former HUD consultant, DeBat is a Journalist and Editor of Real Estate columns in two Chicago newspapers. You can read book reviews and learn more about the co-authors on Amazon.com.

Please note that this survey is consumer-focused, and is NOT sponsored by Community Associations Institute (CAI), National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) or any other industry or trade group. Our goal is to give housing consumers a voice in US housing policy-making, and that begins with listening to your concerns.

Please take a few minutes to respond to our brief survey by August 1st. We value your input and your privacy. Your responses will remain confidential, and will not be shared with salespeople, vendors, or anyone in your HOA.

Here is the link to the survey:

http://bit.ly/1K11ovs

http://independentamericancommunities.com/2015/07/26/do-you-want-to-organize-improve-our-communities-and-preserve-the-american-dream/

 

Whoa! Is this the Beginning?!?

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There are some scattered court cases which may have an interesting impact on Homeowners Associations, an impact many of us would love to see. From the National Law Review, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ruled that HOAs are debt collectors. We all know they file liens and harrass homeowners into paying dues, fines, collection costs, attorneys’ fees. But if they’re debt collectors then they have to follow all the laws governing debt collections. With what we know about HOA bullies that could subject associations to huge fines.

(link to National Law Review discussion of HOA debt collectors)

The Supreme Court’s recent disparate impact decision has been discussed before on Neighbors At War. It will most likely lead to a huge increase in lawsuits because people were discriminated against even if there was no intent to discriminate. Well, housing discrimination is basically the middle name of many HOA board bullies. This creates tremendous financial liability for all HOA communities.

(link to National Law Review article on disparate impact decision)

Then there’s the Nevada high court ruling that HOA liens have super-priority status over mortgage companies. Nearly two dozen states have such rules. Lenders might become extremely wary of lending money to potential buyers of HOA property. Once that trend starts, HOA home values will crash because buyers won’t be able to find lenders.

(link to recent FHFA warning about super-priority liens)

The tide may be turning against the so-called lure of HOA life!

Clooney Loonies

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Poor George Clooney. The American actor can’t seem to catch a break from his new British neighbors.

Clooney and his wife bought a 16 million dollar property in rural England…a chance to get away from the celebrity stalkers and paparazzi. But his new neighbors are outraged at his presence. More accurately, they’re outraged because he put up an extensive video security system which they say invades their privacy.

Having a video security system of my own I would bet the vast majority of Clooney’s cameras are fakes. Nobody who has security cameras has the time to watch them, even if they are real.

(link to Hollywood Reporter story on Clooney’s problems)

 

HOA Burglars!

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I guess we learn things all the time and this one is interesting. It’s a paper published in the University of Cincinnati Law Review about the 2008-2009 mortgage meltdown. Lending institutions are way behind on dealing with all the foreclosed properties. They’ve hired property management companies to help deal with the overload.

Now there’s been a rash of lawsuits by homeowners late on their payments who’ve come back to find that their homes have been trashed and their personal property stolen. Seems it’s being done by these third-party contractors hired by the mortgage companies.

I wonder if there’s any spillover by management companies that foreclose on liens on people in Homeowners Associations?

(link to paper on mortgage burglaries)