Category Archives: Handicap

Debt Collectors Have Rules, HOAs Don’t!

      4 Comments on Debt Collectors Have Rules, HOAs Don’t!

We hear it all too often on this website: How come HOAs don’t have to follow the law like all other debt collection agencies?

The only answer I have is that legislators are either crooked, or stupid, flat-out don’t care or a combination of any of the three. Believe me, your message is getting through to a handful of them. They occasionally contact me. But overall, lawmakers are feigning ignorance of this growing national scandal.

Linked below is a tragic story of an older man who’s dying of leukemia. The $75 dues payment he couldn’t afford has turned into a multi-thousand dollar campaign to snatch this man’s home. Make a note: It’s the Heather Lakes Homeowners Association near Tampa Bay, Florida. Make sure to tell your Realtor you don’t want to live there!

Debt collectors are forbidden by state and federal law from using the collection practices so common in the HOA industry. No one can tell me that this national scam doesn’t amount to organized crime. It does, and it has to be recognized as such.

(HOA fines dying man, FOX13 News)

 

 

 

A Fiscal Tidal Wave Coming To America?

      No Comments on A Fiscal Tidal Wave Coming To America?

For several years I’ve warned readers of this website that this country is facing a massive fiscal crisis because of too many years of profligate spending. It’s not just the U.S. government, either. It’s China, Russia, Japan, Greece, Brazil, Portugal, Ireland and many others. Because these countries don’t back up their currencies with cold, hard assets, the value of these fiat currencies is whatever the respective government says it is. If a government overspends, then it just devalues its currency and uses inflation to lessen the pressure of its federal debt.

That’s a ponzi scheme, and ever since Charles Ponzi’s stamp selling scam in Boston in the 1920s, the world has known that even legitimate businesses (or governments) that continually spend more than they take in…eventually collapse.

On this website I’ve occasionally warned you that a fiscal calamity could ripple across the nation’s Homeowners Associations and because of a history of mismanagement by HOA bullies, mortgage companies will be increasingly reluctant to lend money where neighborhood associations are mired in a pattern of litigation. If a home buyer can’t get a mortgage to buy your house, what is your house really worth? Did the HOA really fulfill its promise to protect your property values?

Now, going one step further, pay very close attention to news events of this next week. A fiscal disaster that could profoundly affect the U.S. housing market could happen as early as next weekend. Oil prices across the world have collapsed to under thirty dollars a barrel. Some on Wall Street say the price could eventually go as low as sixteen dollars a barrel.

Saudi Arabia, one of America’s staunchest allies, is panicking. Oil sales amount to 75% of that country’s income. For years, the Saudis have pegged the value of the riyal to the U.S. Dollar. If they pull that peg and the riyal is devalued against the dollar, then Katy bar the doors. There’s no one who can predict how this will impact the world economy.

Massive inflation might help the individual who holds a large fixed interest mortgage. For many decades homeowners have been able to inflate their mortgages away. But a frightened financial industry doesn’t like to offer reasonably priced mortgages in risky neighborhoods.

I’m not an economist so I’m open to criticism. But these are interesting times, aren’t they?

Abusing the Handicapped

      3 Comments on Abusing the Handicapped
guest blog by Deborah Goonan

Wow! Sometimes I read about egregious HOA acts of discrimination that boggle the mind.

This is one of those times.

Gary and Renee Kuhn are the parents of a severely disabled adult daughter. Khrizma has Down’s Syndrome, autism, chronic digestive problems, scoliosis, and the intellectual capacity and functionality of a 2-year old child.

In 2005, they purchased a home in The Fountains at McNary Estates, making them subject to not one, but two, sets of HOA restrictions.

For the first five years of residence, Khrizma lived with her parents part time. Beginning in 2010, their daughter became a full-time resident. In 2014, her medical condition worsened, causing Khrizma to experience urgent bowel movements. Unable to care for herself, the Kuhns must provide round-the-clock care, which includes quick access to toilet facilities and access to a shower for clean up after use of the toilet. The curvature of Khrizma’s spine makes it necessary for her to lie down when being transported to various medical appointments and treatment centers.

The Kuhn’s were faced with the difficult dilemma of how to best care for their daughter’s needs, particularly during transport to and from appointments and medical treatment. In conjunction with her doctors, it was determined that the best solution would be to purchase a specially equipped RV with toilet and shower facilities, as well as a bed for her to rest. The doctors recommended parking the RV in the driveway for immediate access as needed. However, HOA rules prohibit parking of RVs in driveways.

Khrizma’s doctor provided a written explanation of the necessity of accommodating the family’s need to care for their disabled daughter, and the Kuhns made several requests for reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act, both at the federal and state levels.

Both McNary Estates and The Fountains HOAs denied those requests, under the advice of their attorney, Kevin Harker, owner of Community Associations Law Group in Portland, Oregon. Harker insists that the HOA is not obligated to provide accommodation for the RV, as it is merely a method of transportation, and does not involve Khrizma’s use and enjoyment of the dwelling itself.

I told you it was egregious.

Fair Housing Council of Oregon (FHCO) vehemently refutes Harker’s claims, but the HOAs both stood firm in their convictions to deny the civil rights of Khrizma and her parents. FHCO informed both HOAs that Kuhns were legally entitled to park an RV in their driveway, and, after months of delay, the Kuhns proceeded to do just that. The HOA immediately began threatening to sue the Kuhns in order to force them to remove their RV.

According to the complaint, several of the Kuhn’s neighbors, two of them former HOA Board members, allegedly engaged in hostile behavior, including spying on the Kuhn’s from the residence across the street.

This is a common theme we see repeated in Association Governed Residential Communities all over the US. The Board often discredits and demonizes homeowners with whom they disagree. Many homeowners then either avoid the alleged “troublemaker” or engage in further harassment.

The family was forced to sell their home to remove themselves from the hostile environment, and to obtain necessary accommodations for their daughter’s disabilities.

The story has been covered by Oregonlive.com, and includes a link to the Legal Complaint filed on behalf of the Kuhns by their Civil Rights attorneys, Dennis Steinman and Scott J. Aldworth, of Keller, Alterman, & Runstein, based in Portland, Oregon.

Parents sue homeowners association that wouldn’t let them park RV to help disabled daughter

Another story on the Kuhns

Read the Complaint filed on behalf of the Kuhns

Upon reading the complaint, I was able to discover some disturbing claims brought by the Kuhns:

  • Richard LeDoux, President of The Fountains HOA, has physically and verbally threatened Mr. Kuhns. He has also engaged in what appears to be a smear campaign by emailing all Fountains HOA residents claiming the HOA has no legal obligation to accommodate an RV in the driveway.
  • Both Teresa Girod, President of McNary Estates HOA, and LeDoux have led their respective Boards to deny reasonable accommodation not only for parking the RV in the driveway, but also to honor a request made by the Kuhns to move the location of board meetings from the personal homes of Board members to the HOA clubhouse, a facility that is ADA compliant.
  • The HOA has attempted to force Kuhns into mediation over their request for accommodation, and to binding arbitration over their refusal to remove the RV from their driveway.
  • In the process of selling and moving to a new home, the Kuhns were forced to spend $76,000 more on the new house, and had to vacate their former home for a month before they could close on their new home. That meant they had to spend thousand of dollars to live in a cramped hotel room. The unexpected extra expense forced them to sell their car. This situation caused immense stress for both Khrizma and her parents. Mr. Kuhn had to be placed on medication for anxiety related to extreme stress during that period of time.

 A few other nuggets:

  • The Kuhn’s attorneys, Steinman and Aldworth, are noted experts in Civil Rights litigation in the Portland area. They are demanding a jury trial.
  • McNary Estates HOA’s attorney, Kevin Harker, is the owner of Community Associations Law Group, a member of Community Associations Institute (CAI) Oregon and Utah Chapters. He has been a speaker at CAI national conferences in 2013 and 2010. The topic of his 2010 speech was “Keeping out the Riff-Raff: Making Your Community Safe.” He has co-authored the 2006 Washington (state) HOA Handbook.
  • According to the news release, McNary HOA has been involved in a previous Fair Housing lawsuit, which they lost.

It appears that HOA members will be on the hook for more legal expenses, which may very well be denied by their insurance policy. Stay tuned for updates.

 

Impact of Embezzlement in an Emergency!

      4 Comments on Impact of Embezzlement in an Emergency!

OK, the biggest reason for a Homeowners Association is to protect property values. Right? Well, let’s visit another of hundreds of thousands of parallel cases around the country. This one involves the Big Wood Springs HOA in Winnsboro, Texas.

I’ve lived in Texas, El Paso and San Antonio, and even as a kid I knew how powerful some of those winter and spring storms could be.

Members of this HOA were trapped when a December storm damaged the only bridge that separates them from the rest of the world. They need tens of thousands of dollars to repair the bridge along with a number of HOA roads which were damaged by the rains. Emergency vehicles can’t reach them, visiting nurses can’t reach elderly homeowners. Government agencies can’t help out because the damaged bridge is on private property. It’s illegal to use state funds to improve or repair privately-owned structures.

The problem is that the former HOA treasurer was recently arrested for embezzling 60 to 80 thousand dollars from the neighborhood’s budget. Now, there’s no money left for the emergency repairs.

Who’d have thought? Who’d have thought that an embezzler could cause an emergency that would risk the lives of an entire community?

What are your property values now, Big Wood Springs?

(link to KLTV report on HOA embezzlement)

 

Followup to Condo Confiscation

      4 Comments on Followup to Condo Confiscation
guest blog by Sara Benson

Last night’s post on Neighbors At War referred to a Chicago high rise condo building where many homeowners are about to lose their shirts. Once the developer has control of 75% of the units he can begin to put the remaining owners out of their homes.

The frightening thing is that the American Bankers Association stopped tracking foreclosure rates in condos. We have documented severe erosion of values in condo associations–as high as 77 percent in one building alone where 100 percent of the condos went into foreclosure. The average special assessment in older high rise buildings that were converted in the 1970s and 80s is a whopping $50,000 per door. And we’ve seen some special assessments that high in buildings that were converted in the mid-2000s due to faulty construction. One owner reported a special of $150,000. All this in addition to the “regular” monthly fee.

It’s a nightmare out there.