I’m so glad someone sent me this link. It’s a Skype discussion between some concerned HOA members in Minnesota and Dr. Gary Solomon. Solomon is one of the premiere experts on the national HOA scam and every second you spend watching this video will pay off many times over.
(link to Skype discussion between Dr. Solomon and Minnesota homeowners)
Spencer’s Plantation homeowners association is in the midst of conflict, according to a report from First Coast News, Jacksonville.
Defunct developer, Mercedes Homes, ended business operations in 2012. Since that time, SPHOA’s Board leadership has changed several times, dwindling from 5 members a few years ago to only 2 members as of June 2015. The management company has been changed twice, most recently a few weeks ago, according to public records.
According to the report, the new Board has been aggressively pursuing homeowners for various minor covenant violations, issuing hefty fines. A search of the Clay County Clerk’s database confirms that the past 2-3 years have seen a fair amount of activity, with the HOA filing liens upon properties that were later paid and satisfied by those owners.
Recall attempts by homeowners have failed to remove the Board President and Treasurer, and it looks like the matter will now have to go to arbitration with Florida’s Division of Business and Professional regulation (DBPR).
Do low annual assessments = fewer HOA conflicts?
One fact that caught my eye in the news report: Spencer’s Plantation includes 222 homes, with annual assements of only $250. Reading the Declarations online, this HOA’s common areas consist of a few storm water “lakes” and a small green space. This is a relatively small, no-frills HOA, especially for Florida.
There is sometimes a misconception that HOAs with minimal common area maintenance and low annual fees are somehow less of a hassle than elaborate gated communities with golf courses, club houses, pools, and the like.
But when I read through the Covenants, Conditions, & Restrictions (CC&Rs) for Spencer’s Plantation, I noticed that the Use Restrictions and aesthetics standards — what I like to call “Keeping Up Appearances” — or KUA Rules, are every bit as elaborate as those fancy master planned communities such as Celebration or The Villages.
So that means that the HOA Board can, and often does, end up with a few members who are gung-ho on enforcing those elaborate rules to the letter. And often, there is a property management company and an HOA attorney aiding and abetting those efforts. After all, these “service” providers make a living as HOA Enforcers.
Apparently, that’s what’s going on at Spencer’s Plantation, according to the homeowners that contacted First Coast New. It’s a familiar story that we hear about over and over again.
Don’t be fooled by the size or simplicity of the community. Be sure to read all of the CC&Rs, plus any related Rules and Regulations, very carefully. Better yet, hire a qualified real estate attorney to represent your interests from the time you execute a sale contract through closing. If reading and understanding the fine print and details raises red flags, better to walk away before the deal is done!
Read the story on First Coast News here:
Yes, they do exist. Neighbors from Hell. And despite my anti-HOA angst I have to admit it when a certain neighbor should be hung from a yardarm.
Orange County, Florida, this woman even looks creepy. She set up a massive stereo speaker woofer system that intentionally blasted noise through her floors to drive her downstairs neighbor crazy. She could control the entire system from her smart phone.
Marianna Seachrist. What a piece of work!
It took a while, but the cops finally showed up. And now this attractive Florida beauty has a date with a judge.
(link to Marianna Seachrist facing criminal charges)
http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/deputies-woman-set-elaborate-system-bother-neighbo/nmwKx/
The focus in the news lately has been on condominiums, with city leaders bucking state law to go around legal protections for homeowners, claiming that if they do not ease up on construction standards, developers won’t be able to build enough “affordable” condos for first-time buyers.
Well, here’s a story of apparent construction defects affecting some pricey single family homes on the outskirts of Frederick, roughly 30 miles north of Denver. It seems Dr. Robert Landry, a veterinarian, his wife and two small children have had to move out of their home. Landry alleges that the family’s Lennar-built “forever home” is uninhabitable, because the foundation is sinking into soft soil, allowing moisture and mold build up, buckling wood floors, and kitchen counters pulling away from the walls.
The homeowner hired an engineer to examine the foundation and crawl space, and to conduct soil testing. The results of recent soil tests indicate that the soil is too soft to support construction of a home. Lennar claims that soil testing done in 2006 indicated a drastically different soil composition that was deemed suitable for construction.
However, in 2013, Colorado saw historic flooding, and Weld County – where Landry’s home is located – was particularly hard hit. Additionally, Frederick has a history of coal mining activity, and in recent years, nearby land has become the site of oil and gas drilling, and the controversial practice of fracking. (the subject of another blog) Several of Landry’s neighbors report similar damage to their homes.
A Google search of Lennar Homes in Frederick indicates the company is no longer building homes in Rinn Valley HOA, the site of Landry’s home. Landry has approached the Town of Frederick and the HOA for assistance, before bringing his story to local media.
Landry contends that new soil testing should have been done following the 2013 floods, prior to breaking ground on his home and others nearby. He questions why the Town of Frederick approved construction and issued occupancy permits for homes built on shifting soils, particularly without drilling deep piers into bedrock to support their foundations. The inspection officer admits that the Town’s policy is to simply accept the Developer’s reports, signed by the builder’s own engineers.
This is common practice in many states – the local government’s development planning officials are mostly paper pushers. As long as the Developer files the required reports with signatures, the project is good to go. And many site inspections are either conducted by the Developer’s chosen experts, or, if conducted by the city or county, such inspections are cursory at best.
In other words, as a home buyer, no one is looking out for your interests.
To add insult to injury, the Attorney hired by Landry says that it is impossible for homeowners to sue Lennar, because the Developer requires arbitration to settle construction defect disputes. Those consumer-hostile terms were written into the sales contracts for all homebuyers. (Similar terms are most likely written into the governing documents for the homeowners association, with regard to defects that occur in the common areas.)
Landry and his neighbors hope to convince Lennar to buy back their homes, so they can move on with their lives.
Source articles and video:
(homeowner blames builder for sinking house)
(earlier report, Shifting Soil Damages Brand New Home in Frederick)
(March 2015, Dr. Robert Landry asks for assistance from Town of Frederick with Rinn Valley homes)
