Category Archives: Handicap

Cypress Woods in Palm Beach County Is Going Wild Over Wilbur

      2 Comments on Cypress Woods in Palm Beach County Is Going Wild Over Wilbur
guest blog by Nila Ridings
 
“Lawyers representing the HOA and Banyan Property Management said in a statement that they are trying to verify the medical conditions of the Halpern children as well as to verify whether Wilbur qualifies as a service or emotional support animal.”
 
This comment really disturbs me.  Why is it okay for the HOA and property manager’s attorneys to delve into the medical conditions of these children? That’s what we have pediatricians for!!!  And what happened to privacy policies regarding medical records?  Exactly where is the stopping point for HOAs when it comes to invading your life and privacy?
 
One child has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome and both have ADHD.  Wilbur is part of their therapy.  He calms them.  But he sure does not calm the board at Cypress Woods!  They want the family’s pet pot-bellied pig out!
 
It’s been many years now since pot-bellied pigs first became family pets. I remember calling on some clients who had two of them.  Those pigs were so smart and did the funniest things! I certainly learned from that experience they can be entertaining and loving animals and just as trainable as a dog.  
 
Do these HOAs really think they only have cats and dogs living inside their communities? Are they ignorant enough to think people don’t have snakes, reptiles, and birds…and who knows what other living creatures inside the four walls of their homes?  I would much prefer a pot-bellied pig next door than to have a snake get out of it’s cage and crawl up into our adjoined attic!  And I’d be fine with some chickens as long as there are no roosters… especially if the neighbors shared some eggs once in awhile.  
 
Nobody has stated how Wilbur is disturbing the neighbors.  Or is he disturbing anybody other than the board members?  Has he chewed up the HOA’s flower beds?  Does he go wild when the neighbors are frying their breakfast bacon?  What exactly is he doing that is causing such a ruckus?  Or is it just a matter of the HOA having rules that don’t exclude pot-bellied pigs?  Mrs. Halpern was trying so hard not to break the rules.  I guess she just hasn’t learned yet that she can be fined for wearing the wrong color eye-shadow to the HOA meeting if the board decides to fine her!  HOAs have literally become about that ridiculous!
 
I wish the Halpern’s the best in their battle to save Wilbur, so I signed the petition in hopes it will help.  Their boys love Wilbur and he’s well-cared for so that should be all that matters!

(link to WPTV story on Wilbur)

(link to pet pig petition)
 

 

Listen, As Never Before!

      5 Comments on Listen, As Never Before!
guest blog by Robert E. Frank, Colonel, USAF (Ret.)
Founder, HomeOwnersCoalition.org & Veterans Advocate

On American Independence Day 2014, is it time to implement “Equal Justice Under The Laws” For HOA & Condo Owners?” Are legislatures willfully violating our citizen rights? If so, why?

Are the following not true?

– Federal Laws require all states to comply with the US Constitution as the Supreme Law of the Land.

– States are required to support and defend the US Constitution when passing statutes and implementing regulations.

– States, counties and cities are required to support and defend the US Constitution in their statutes, regulations, rules, codes, etc. that bind all citizens.

– Local government rules, regulations, codes, etc. establish the controlling concepts and limitations in CC&Rs for when, how and by whom Homeowner and Condo Associations are established, maintained and how the property owners are governed in addition to standard government restrictions.

– So, why can the state and local government authorities legally allow developers to implement CC&Rs that violate the Constitutional rights and protections of HOA and Condo property owners? Is this not morally deficient, if not exactly illegal?

– Is this not a clear case where the government is violating its own agreements and mandates to “EQUALLY” support and defend the Supreme Law of this Land for all citizens?

– Does claiming that because HOAs and Condos are created as special, quasi-governmental corporations there is no moral or legal obligation to protect all citizens equally under our Supreme Laws stand up to even plain old common sense arguments?

– How can state government authorities, on one hand, rigidly control the creation of property and the associated governance regulations and rules of HOAs and Condos; but, on the other hand, (much like the Pontius Pilate of the Bible) ignore the fact that they are directly aiding and abetting the conscious denial of equal justice under the laws for HOA and Condo owners?

On American Independence Day, please explain why such crass injustice can be tolerated and ignored by so many in this industry?

Why won’t every single one of you Americans reading this topic stand up and demand “equal justice under our laws” for HOA and Condo owners?

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What’s A Developer To Do?

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A massive monkey wrench has been thrown into the field of real estate development with a 55 million dollar verdict against developers of a condo conversion project in South Carolina.

Developers are the people we homeowners all love to hate. They’re the bane of our existence. Their rotten reconstruction work has led to the financial ruin of hundreds of thousands, even millions of American homeowners. So we generally stand and cheer when a jury hands down a huge verdict against a developer.

Well, let’s stand back and give this one a little reflection.

There are about 200 residents of the East Bridge Town Lofts in Charleston, South Carolina. They all bought into the idea of buying an apartment that was converted to a condominium. Sloppy work. Unlicensed building inspector, all the usual jazz. But including all the legal costs, each of these property owners will theoretically get about 300 to 400 thousand dollars. So far, so good.

But…

…when the bankruptcy filings start filling the courts like an overflowing sugar bowl, where will those homeowners all be? When the delays and appeals to higher courts start piling up even higher costs, where will those homeowners be?

The American legal system was originally meant to provide justice for the injured. Sadly, that’s not the way things turned out. Oh, the lawyers on both sides will claim victory, of course. But the homeowners? The ones who’ve had to declare personal bankruptcy? The ones who’ve died or divorced or moved on to try to repair their lives elsewhere, what happens to them? Will they look back with great fondness on how the legal system treated them?

(South Carolina verdict)

 

It’s Not About A Flag, It’s About Testosterone

      6 Comments on It’s Not About A Flag, It’s About Testosterone

I swear, I’ve gotta quit doing stories about outrageous treatment of the American Flag, there are just too many of them. I could get stuck doing 12 or 15 stories a day. Still, I feel duty-bound to at least occasionally tell you when the latest cretin is pushing around his weight after having been given new power over other homeowners.

The latest victim of a flag outrage is a retired veteran named Larry Murphree of the Tides Condominium at Sweetwater, Jacksonville, Florida. It’s actually just a small flag that he placed in a flower pot on his porch. You can barely see it. It’s sticking in the flowerpot behind the right porch rail in the photo below. He’s been fined $8000 before and he got it settled in court.

imgres images[7]

After his court victory, Larry replaced the flag. And once again he’s being sued for $8000 and confiscation of his home. Here’s a very tight shot to show you a real good closeup of this tiny flag.

“It’s worth fighting for,” says Larry. “It’s a small flag but it stands for a big thank you and it shows the love and respect I have for my country.”

Larry, a little advice here from someone who knows. It’s not about the flag. It’s about a brain chemical called Oxytocin. If you don’t know about it look it up. When a chimpanzee of either sex is placed in a cage with a bunch of other chimps at the zoo, there’s an immediate disturbance. The new chimp races around the enclosure showing off his or her ‘equipment’, spraying the cage, making other chimps a little frightful of his or her prowess. Jane Goodall spent a lifetime studying this kind of behavior in all kinds of primates.

Larry, you’re being victimized by a new board member who thinks his or her virility is a little more chemically tinged than yours. Or maybe this board member wants you to think his or her influence among the weaker members of the tribe will carry more weight on the evolutionary scale. Whether you’re an evolutionist or not, you cannot deny that chimpanzees share approximately 96% percent of their DNA with humans. They (and orangutans) are our closest relatives. In so many ways, they’re a lot like us and we can learn from them. Your flag fight is not about patriotism. It’s about simianism. It’s about oxytocin. It’s about sex.

All science aside, there’s perhaps a bit of usable truth here. Spread this blog far and wide around the Tides At Sweetwater condominium complex. Without putting yourself in a slander trap, figure out which tiny dickensonian creature has been causing you all this misery. The good women of the Tides at Sweetwater know that as a veteran you probably came from good genetic stock. They’ll respect you. Then gather the whole community’s support as they publicly and visibly show this ‘little’ simian how ‘little’ they think your challenger’s virility really is. Each hour of each day when those community members greet that simian they should hold up their fingers about one inch apart. It’s just a guess. Just to show how much that person is regarded in the community.

Most journalists won’t tell you all of this. But since I know a little about science I will.

(Fox News story (ignore the ad, they’re getting harder and harder to skip))

Please reach out to Larry and let him know this blogsite address so he can spread it throughout the neighborhood.

And here’s a quick link from him:

(let me fly the flag)

 

 

 

What’ll The Tipping Point Be?

      3 Comments on What’ll The Tipping Point Be?

Yes, once again here’s the old bloviator talking about an impending crash in the housing market.

Economists have been predicting a mortgage and financial collapse many times greater than the nightmare of 2008-2009. The indicators are there. The national budget is raging out of control. Interest rates are far too low to sustain the banking industry. Investors are losing their shirts betting on the U.S. economy. China now owns a huge percentage of America’s debt. Mortgage companies at some point will have to massively raise the requirements on all new mortgages. If this happens the value of homes, starting with all those in Homeowners Associations, will crash.

In a recent blog I mentioned that this whole cascade of events will start with a minor story, a pebble being dislodged from an already unsteady dam.

The story linked below is more than a loose pebble. And it should be read and absorbed by absolutely every person with even a minor link to the Homeowners Association industry.

(Las Vegas running out of water)