Category Archives: Horror Stories

Does CAI Ever Tell The Truth?

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guest blog by Deborah Goonan,  IndependentAmericanCommunities.com 

Ok, folks. Here’s an opportunity for CHPPI and state advocates across the country to fight against this sickening example of propaganda and help support bills in FL that will limit excessive fees and abuse of consumers.

NOTHING that is written in the most recent Community Associations Institute / Community Advocacy Network press release (referenced below) represents the truth.

The only “advocacy” promoted by CAI and CAN is self-advocacy for their own profit potential.

We can blow this out of the water by exposing who is behind CAI and CAN — management company CEOs and prominent law firms that make their living off of Collection services, document production services, and enforcement of covenants, restrictions, and rules.

Take note that the Business Partner’s Council membership just so happens to include Joseph Russo, owner of GetDocsNow.com – one of the industry’s corporations that directly benefits from charging unlimited fees to provide documents that are needed or required as part of the real estate sales process and title search. What a coincidence!

The premise of the CAI-CAN argument is that fees for providing necessary HOA financial disclosure information should be unlimited, and that the buyer should pay up front, so these charlatans can be assured of getting paid.

And if the buyer won’t pay up front, and the closing doesn’t happen — possibly because the buyer balks at paying artificially inflated liens on the property — then the poor homeowners will have to pick up the cost. After all, the industry fighting this bill certainly does not want to eat the cost themselves! Their Association document disclosure service is SO valuable, right?

And let’s use common sense. What affects the bottom line more for homeowners: covering some of the association’s costs for providing timely and accurate disclosures documents or dealing with thwarted sales related to excessive or surprise closing costs involving liens heavily padded with fees and collection costs?

Aren’t HOA members harmed when delinquency rates remain high due to the fact that sellers cannot unload their homes because buyers won’t pay hefty liens (and then risk being billed for more after closing)? Don’t lenders avoid financing condos and homes in associations with high delinquency rates — or at least offer less favorable financing terms?

I know plenty of true homeowner advocates read this blog. Please give me your thoughts?

References:

(link to CAI Press Release)

(link to Florida House Bill 203)

(link to Florida Senate Bill 722)

 

Colorado CAI!

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(editor’s note: Stan Hrincevich is a hero in the Colorado HOA fight. After years of fighting he’s gotten a few legislators to pay attention and pass a handful of reform bills. The bills still need work.  But the reaction to Stan by the CAI is interesting, and instructive to all of us.)
guest blog by Stan Hrincevich  (letter to legislators from coloradoHOAforum.com)

The fight for financial relief for small CAMs in this Bill was not supported by the CAI in the last legislative session. The cost of a license for small CAMs can equal a year’s income: it’s abusive and burdensome. Previous misinformation spread was that the goal was to exempt small CAMs from being licensed: not true, never in any proposal but believed by too many. This Bill provides fairness and relief to small business with reduced fees and educational requirements commensurate with knowledge to legally and competently service small HOAs of 30 or less units. Educational providers are able to offer small HOA CAM courses at a reduced cost. Costs for Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies to implement should be covered in the same manner as completed when the total licensing law was implemented.

The Community Association Institute (CAI), the group representing property manager and HOA legal interests, has been lobbying the legislature to oppose our upcoming Bill to improve the CAM licensing law even before the Bill has been officially submitted. The misinformation and untruths are insulting to home owners and exemplifies how CAI wants to continue to be a protected organization/profession with special privileges and the power to operate with secrecy and no accountability.

Here is what I picked up from legislators about CAI’s objections to our proposed Bill:

1. Our Bill proposes that all CAM fees be documented on a receipt to the payee, include an itemization of the charges, be in compliance with the law (in the case of Transfer Fees), justify charges by work performed, explain how the fee is not included and paid for by HOA dues (duplicate charging), and as in the case of the Transfer Fee, a receipt be provided to the home owner 3 days prior to closing. Additionally, all fees should be reasonable. THE CAI OBJECTS TO THIS! THEY WANT THE PRIVILEGE TO BILL YOU WITHOUT PROVIDING A RECEIPT OR JUSTIFYING CHARGES. JUST DO IT BECAUSE THEY CAN. Do you think Master Card, VISA, Comcast, or Xcel Energy would get away with demanding a payment and not justifying the charges?

3. We want to improve and better define how CAMs must comply with State HOA law and HOA governing documents. No, the law is not very defined but is general and lacks specific accountability. CAI feels the broad and ambiguous statements in the law and rules are adequate. What do they have against requiring any clarity in following the law? This speaks for itself.

4. The fight for financial relief for small CAMs in this Bill was not supported by the CAI in the last legislative session. The cost of a license for small CAMs can equal a year’s income: it’s abusive and burdensome. Previous misinformation spread was that the goal was to exempt small CAMs from being licensed: not true, never in any proposal but believed by too many. This Bill provides fairness and relief to small business with reduced fees and educational requirements commensurate with knowledge to legally and competently service small HOAs of 30 or less units. Educational providers are able to offer small HOA CAM courses at a reduced cost. Costs for Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies to implement should be covered in the same manner as completed when the total licensing law was implemented.

A Fiscal Tidal Wave Coming To America?

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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?

HOA Trouble In Colorado

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guest blog by Stan Hrincevich   (coloradohoaforum.com)

Colorado Springs Town Hall Meeting: let us know how you can help get the word out about this meeting on Feb 13: contact legislators, post flyer at your HOA, local media, etc.

Construction Defects Legislation: here we go again with the Denver Post exclusively contacting the Community Associations Institute (CAI) to represent homeowners’ interests in how homeowners’ money is used in litigation. Below is our letter to the editor of the Denver Post and copied to legislators:

“The Denver Post again allows those making millions of dollars from HOA Construction Defects (CD) litigation to represent the voice and rights of homeowners and distort the debate in CD legislation reform. No input is accepted from any recognized homeowner’s organizations. Once again, the only point person on homeowner’s rights is none other than the Community Associations Institute (CAI). The CAI represents the interests of property managers and HOA lawyers, NOT HOMEOWNERS! If CD legislation is ever be explained in a truthful, balanced, and productive manner it must first get by the pervasive CAI smoke screen.

First, almost all HOAs created in the past 15 years mandate in their Declaration that arbitration must be used in CD dispute resolution. Of the 8,500+ HOAs in the State most are beyond the statute of limitations and cannot sue. As a percentage or relative number of all HOAs, those that changed their Declaration (at the encouragement of HOA lawyers) is very, very small. Thus, precluding HOAs from changing their declaration and infringing upon homeowner’s rights is a weak argument. Furthermore, a recent Colorado court case has ruled HOAs can be prevented from changing their Declaration. The CAI would have the public believe the inability to change the Declaration will have a profound impact on homeowners’ rights but the reality is that it would mostly impact the ability of HOA lawyers to promote litigation in our costly court system.

The other issue involves requiring homeowners to vote on the approval of the use of their own funds in CD litigation. Currently, any HOA Board at the encouragement of their attorney can spend unlimited HOA funds on litigation without the knowledge or approval of homeowners. The CAI opposes this empowerment of homeowners as it would effectively reduce litigation.

We at the Colorado HOA Forum offer the following CD legislative proposal to mitigate litigation and empower homeowners: “HOA homeowners are required to be apprised of and vote on the use of HOA funds in all litigation.” Why is this so difficult?”

 

Confiscating Your Condo

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The first part of the story linked below is interesting, but not earth-shaking. It’s about apartments that are converted to privately owned condos, and then back to apartments. It happens all the time. But what happens next should shake you to your boots!

If 75% of the condo owners want to sell to a developer who’s converting condos back to apartments, then screw the remaining 25%. They pretty much have to take whatever the developer offers, which is sometimes a fraction of what those condos were worth.

In Florida, if a developer controls 90% of the units, the remaining residents may as well go live in a park someplace. They’ll get next to nothing as the developer seizes their homes.

Again, when a Realtor says HOAs protect property values, tell them they are pathetic liars. Then just walk out.

(link to article on how they seize your home)