Category Archives: Fraud

Anti-Homeowner Bill Thwarted in California

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California Assemblyman Richard Gordon was persuaded to remove his bill that would have required homeowners in the state’s 17,000 HOAs to surrender their right to a secret ballot in HOA elections. It’s stunning that such a law would even get proposed in a knowledgeable State Legislature, but this bill was an evil one. It gave a private organization, Community Associations Institute (CAI) almost dictatorial control over HOA board elections.

CAI comes across as such a benign “education only” organization, but just keep your eye on the money. Always watch the money. CAI would have made billions and billions of dollars had this legislation passed.

HOA Crime In The California Legislature!

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Some really creepy legislation is making its way through the California Legislature. Both bills are sponsored by the Community Associations Institute, and as you’ll see in a moment they almost criminalize the right for HOA homeowners to vote, and the right for them to vote secretly.

The first bill, AB-1360, is sponsored by the almost clueless Senator Norma Torres. It would allow Homeowners in HOAs to vote by electronic voting. HOA voting has an amazing  history of scandal, and organized crime corruption. However, Torres is having trouble getting her fellow senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee to go along. The conclusion is obvious. Her fellow senators are much smarter that Ms. Torres, because they recognize the danger.

The clowns at CAI are also sponsoring AB-1360 and they’ve gotten their favorite brain-dead Senator to sponsor this one, as well. You see, CAI has a client who sells voting machines, equipment and software, and hundreds of millions or billions of dollars would be pouring into the messy hands of CAI & Co.

The next bill of note isn’t just stupid, it’s almost criminal in nature. AG-968 would mean no more secret ballots. The Office of the Inspector of Elections would no longer exist, meaning that if voters have a problem they have to run to our favorite private organization, the CAI.

California is one of the few states that allows homeowners to sue their HOAs in Small Claims Court. But to win in Small Claims, you have to have evidence. In this bill, all evidence from an HOA election will be lost. Gone. The CAI has essentially become the de facto Inspector of Elections.

If this isn’t Las Vegas style HOA corruption, then someone tell me what is!

BTW, Assembly Member Richard Gordon’s phone number is 1-916-319-2024. 

Money Grab In Florida Ruled Illegal

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The Supreme Court of Florida has slapped the pinkies of some municipalities that were trying make a little extra money from homeowners by trying to do what Homeowners Associations do all the time. When a homeowner buys a property in an HOA or CID or condo association, the buyer agrees to pay off his HOA dues before he makes a house payment. Thus the HOA actually has more power to punish miscreants by liening and auctioning off the house before the mortgage company gets its take. Thus, HOAs have a super-priority lien over the main lender on the property. The super priority. The ability to have super-priority status is built into the original developer’s Covenants Controls and Restrictions usually because that’s what the local municipality ordered.

The City of Palm Beach, seeing a chance to cash in on struggling homeowners the way Homeowner Associations did, passed local regulations giving themselves the same kinds of super priority status as HOAs. After all, weren’t municipalities charged with enforcing some of the same kinds of codes as the typical HOA?

Not so fast, said the State Supremes. Yes, the Florida Constitution gives broad powers to municipalities to take other people’s stuff…but only as far as what the state legislature allows. Still, this particular legislature has done some pretty goofy things to homeowners over the years. You just can’t predict when these parties will all be back in court over some ‘new’ taxing powers handed to them by lawmakers. “No man’s life, liberty or property are safe when the Legislature’s in session.” -Mark Twain

http://tinyurl.com/mx8b9r3

 

 

 

 

Important Post as the 4th of July Approaches

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The Homeowners Association movement is rife with hypocrisy. This truth was demonstrated in a recent Illinois Supreme Court case, Spanish Court v. Carlson. The Illinois Supreme Court has made some goofy decisions on HOA issues in the past, but this one was spot-on. It essentially ruled that homeowners can withhold dues if the HOA isn’t fulfilling its contractual obligations to homeowners.

Community Associations Institute (CAI) makes billions of dollars by pretending that Homeowners Associations are exempt from annoying and petty requirements of the U.S. Constitution because they’re not real governments. They’re private non-profit corporations.

On the other hand, CAI argues that it needs the right to break into private homes to force homeowners to pay dues (taxes).  And just like government, it needs to collect dues (taxes) to pay for common amenities, even if it fails in its contractual duties to maintain those amenities.  Wild, huh?

Arizona’s HOA expert, George Staropoli, has an excellent analysis of this ‘friends of the court’ brief filed by the CAI. It’s a quick read, but important. It potentially means that the CAI’s hypocrisy is finally being recognized.

Please, please, take a few moments to consider George’s post.

http://tinyurl.com/pn3eguy 

Then, tell everyone on your email list to read it as well. It looks like some homeowners are actually beginning to win back some of the Constitutional rights they’ve lost to the national HOA scam.

BTW, be sure to click on the link at the bottom of George’s post. It’s a more in-depth analysis of the Illinois decision.

 

Throw Christians To The Lions!

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Don’t think for a moment your HOA has any sympathy for your religious views. Across the country there’ve been plenty of homeowners who were forced to shut down their Wednesday night Bible studies because it meant one too many cars parked on the street or the driveway.imagesCAKVSB6Y

In Katy, Texas, a young lady named Meagan Schmidt joined a church a few months ago. She says the church changed her life so much that she wanted to tell others. So she put up a small sign in her yard that said, “Journey Church.” But the Highland Creek Village Homeowners Association says it’s a commercial sign and blatantly violates neighborhood covenants.

The young lady is resisting and even tried to explain her side to the board members. They shouted her down. Now it’s fines and liens and pending lawsuits. The HOA has even cancelled pool permits for the family’s kids.

In days of old, Texans would have resorted to six-shooters at sundown. These days it’s all about shaming the kids until the parents submit.

Highland Creek Village HOA. Another one to avoid like the plague.

http://tinyurl.com/kkfvta3 

original source:

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/22614783/2013/06/17/homeowner-association-tells-tenant-that-church-sign-has-to-go