Category Archives: embezzle

After Judge ousts Receiver, no improvement at Blossom Park (FL) condos

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guest blog by Deborah Goonan

Last time I told you about Blossom Park condos in April, owners had decided they wanted to take back control of their Association from Receiver Frank Barber.

http://neighborsatwar.com/?s=blossom+park&submit=Search

Several of the owners had high hopes of turning the place around, after many years of neglect. A judge terminated the Receiver’s contract last month.

Well, it didn’t take long for the newly formed Condo Board to throw in the towel. Assessments are seriously delinquent, and remaining owners are apparently not interested in paying for a place that has become a haven for crime and a safety hazard. Reportedly, the trash is piling up now, too.

Where are the developers willing to swoop in like White Knights and rescue this dilapidated old motel turned into low-income condos? Isn’t that why Florida clings to its “eminent domain for condos” law?

It appears Blossom Park has reached the end of its useful life.

(link to requiem for Blossom Park)

Franklin TN HOA: $156K Fine over treatment of Disabled Children

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guest blog by Deborah Goonan

When Charles and Melanie Hollis purchased a home for their family in 2011, they probably didn’t expect to run into difficulty getting approval from their homeowners’ association for a sunroom addition. The sunroom was needed for two of their children, who happen to have physical and mental disabilities. It was intended to provide space for exercise equipment and physical therapy for the children.

After four attempts at getting a modification plan approved by the Architectural Review Committee, their reasonable request was essentially denied. Reading the September 2014 District Court decision, linked below, in December 2011, Chestnut Bend HOA attorney wrote a letter to Mr. and Mrs. Hollis, making approval of the sunroom conditional upon the agreement to install a more expensive shingle roof rather than a metal roof. The main reason for that condition was apparently to enhance the addition’s appearance.

The Hollis’ attorney replied that the owners would like to proceed with the metal roof, because of its lower cost, the fact that other homeowners also have additions with metal roofs, and the Property Manager had already acknowledged in writing that a metal roof would be acceptable. Attorney Tracey McCartney, Tennessee Fair Housing Council, provided a deadline date for response from the HOA Attorney, who never did issue a definitive approval.

So the Hollis family sold their home in Chestnut Bend, at a loss, and moved to another nearby home in a different community.

Four years later, the HOA has agreed to compensate the Hollis family $156,000 to cover damages.

Incredibly, the HOA Board still won’t admit any wrongdoing. After all, the rules are the rules, and they must be followed, according to the Board President. According to the Tennessean, Mr. Vaughn blames the Hollis’s for “hurting” their Association by creating the impression that the HOA is not a welcoming place. Call it Reputation Management.

And Westwood Property Management company was able to wiggle out of the lawsuit by agreeing to train its employees about Fair Housing laws, and to create a written policy for the company to use in the future.

But isn’t it rather disturbing that a professional management company would not already provide sufficient training to its staff? After all, it’s not as though requests for accommodation or modification by disabled residents are a rare occurrence.

And why does it take four years and several appeals to get to a resolution? I wonder how many HOA residents simply move out and give up on pursuing the matter, just to avoid the stress?

Maybe that’s part of an unscrupulous HOA Board’s playbook —  perhaps even encouraged by the Association Attorney and/or Manager. Say it isn’t so!

(link to news release regarding legal settlement)
(link to Sept 2014 District Court decision)

 

Texas Man Accused of Sharing Sex Romp Videos

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Hoo, boy, I’ve got several reactions to this story. First is disgust. This dirtball spent six months secretly video taping his bedroom romps with his girl friend. When the relationship developed some cracks he paid her back by sending tapes to her co-workers.
He also sent those naughty pictures out to the Homeowners Association! He’ll probably get off with a warning.

I can already hear his argument in court: “Your Honor, my actions were no more insidious than what’s done in Homeowners Associations across the country! Look, they’re all flying drones to peek into backyard hot tubs and bedroom windows and they pass those videos around the HOA board. HOAs are all about shaming homeowners for breaking the rules.

This girl broke my rules so I shamed her. But that’s what our neighborhood teaches us to do.”

Depending on whose pocket the judge’s fingers are in, this guy could actually win.

(link to story of illegal taping of sex romps)

 

Absolutely Hilarious!

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I have no idea if what’s linked below is the real deal. It’s posted by the Smithsonian Magazine which tends to give it some credibility. I’d feel more comfortable if this had been posted on an April Fools Day. But it’s a hilarious look at what life might have been like in a Homeowners Association in Britain in 1365.

(link to ancient HOA rules)

 

Kicking Kids Around

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guest blog by Dave Russell

How to ‘legally’ discriminate against children in HOAs…… It’s pretty simple, and it only takes one word!

A Fair Housing case was just settled in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Six families in the Greenbrier Village Homeowners Association won a settlement agreement in a federal lawsuit. The feds say the HOA was violating the law when it banned children from playing in the grass.

The Greenbrier Village Homeowners’ Association and Gassen Company had to establish new nondiscrimination policies, pay a $10,000 fine to the federal government and $100,000 to six families for their illegal discrimination

How to legally discriminate? Just use one tricky word

Shortly after the Minnetonka settlement, HOA lawyers started sending notices to every HOA in the land warning about discriminatory rules and policies relating to children and families.

The legal advice was: “When drafting rules and policies, it is in the best interest of the community to use the word ‘All’ during the rule drafting process.” In other words, if you have a rule against ‘children’ riding bicycles in the common areas, you should replace the word ‘CHILDREN with the word(s) ‘ALL’ or ‘EVERYONE.’ Example: ALL residents are prohibited from riding bicycles in the common areas.”

The arrogance continues

Apparently, the Villas of Summerfield HOA, in Hilton Head Island South Carolina, took those HOA attorneys’ advice but added their own sneaky twist.

2Q==The sign says “No Rollerskating, No Skateboards, No Bicycle Riding, No Scooter Riding. Even though 99% of anyone doing those things are kids, the sign doesn’t specifically discriminate against children, at least according to the HOA lawyers. Still, is this keeping with the spirit of the Fair Housing Act?

This Hilton Head enclave may soon be another one that learns a very expensive lesson.