Category Archives: Fraud

Excellent Resource!

      No Comments on Excellent Resource!

A few weeks ago, I ran across an excellent resource for anyone curious about the Homeowners Association experience.  His website is still under construction, but Robert R. has been through the HOA meatgrinder a couple of times. He’s one of the few people who’s ever actually won a lawsuit against the parasites in the legal profession who’ve turned HOA life into a nightmare for hundreds of thousands of Americans. Since his site is still under development, I’ll let him tell his own story if he chooses to do so.

But what really intrigues me is that Robert has done a well thought out comparison between Right To Work laws and an imaginary Right To Own law. Do you have a right to work without being forced into a labor union? About half our states say you do. Do you have a right to own your own home? No states say you do. In fact more and more states are ordering real estate developers to force all buyers into deed restricted corporations in which each homeowner is technically a member/partner.  In other words, you own your home WITH your neighbors. And you, in essence, own a portion of each of your neighbors’ homes.

Now just think of one nightmare scenario to see the potential problems that can and do arise.  A jury awards a huge slip-and-fall civil award against your HOA. Guess who pays? Well, my partner, my buddy, my friend. You do! Get out your checkbook and prepare to write a big one for the pending special assessment.

Anyway, Robert R. is a thinker and his website is worth spending some time on.  www.righttoown.org

Beware the Homeowners Association!

      No Comments on Beware the Homeowners Association!

Restrictions ApplyMillions of Americans have moved into covenant-protected neighborhoods, thinking the experience will be a positive one, maintenance will protect property values, neighbors will be friendly. A good percentage will find exactly what they were searching for.

Sadly, many others will discover that the move to the new neighborhood constituted a fundamental change of government. Yes, they’ve actually moved out of the United States of America and into a private non-profit corporation governed, not by the U.S. Constitution, but by a set of bylaws and restrictions. The restrictions were created by the original real estate developer and control handed over to neighborhood boards. The new corporate rules have nothing to do with the Bill of Rights with which most of us are familiar.

They’ve been called ‘private governments’ because they operate largely outside the control of traditional established government. Neighborhood covenants, controls and restrictions take precedence over such mythical concepts as freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, the right to bear arms, equal protection, the right to privacy in one’s home. In fact, in thousands of cases across the country homeowners are discovering that snooping, spying and reporting on others is de rigueur. In the HOA system there is no such thing as privacy. Violators of local rules have no right to trial by jury, in fact the governing boards play simultaneous roles of judge, jury and executioner. And the number of lawsuits inside the HOA movement is exploding.

These ‘sub-governments’ are the fastest growing part of the housing sector. Traditional governments are refusing to allow developers to build homes unless they create these little gestapo neighborhoods. In many suburban areas across the country up to 100 percent of all new homes are built within these controlled neighborhoods, making them in essence, de facto governments. Yet these ‘governments in fact’ are unimpressed and uncontrolled by the Constitutional restrictions our founders created to protect the citizenry.

The Community Associations Institute, which thrives on the billions of dollars paid to private management companies, debt collectors and armies of lawyers, claims that 70% of HOA members think of the experience as positive. Surveys by groups not connected with the CAI report a different experience. In fact there is a tidal wave of homeowners who say they’ll never live in an HOA again.

According to Janet Portman, editor of Nolo Press in Berkeley California and author of “Every Landlord’s Legal Guide.”, homeowners in the community are treated more like tenants than property owners. New homeowners often find themselves being fined or sued for incredibly minor violations like having an oil spot on a driveway or leaving a trash can outside a few minutes longer than the prescribed deadline. Claiming that board members are guilty of the same violations is not a defense, so it’s not uncommon for new HOA residents to begin believing there are two distinct sets of rules; one for the ruled, and one for the rulers.

The big club being wielded by board members and HOA management companies is the threat of sudden foreclosure, and in 37 states that means non-judicial foreclosure. Homeowners can and have found their homes confiscated and sold on the auction block without the case ever being heard by a judge.

This blog, by the way, is meant to be interactive. Please share your own stories while we take names and kick butt. And we’ll build a list of other resources for beleagured homeowners.  Post your comments, or tweet me @ward_lucas — I would love to hear your stories!

Ward Lucas
Author of
Neighbors At War: The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association

Homeowners Association Misuse of Power

      No Comments on Homeowners Association Misuse of Power

The move into ‘private governments’

Since the modern Homeowners Association movement was born in 1964, nearly a hundred million Americans have made the choice to buy into covenant controlled neighborhoods. Today sixty million people live in Homeowners Associations. The phenomenal growth of the HOA has been encouraged by municipalities which are more than happy to shed some of the expenses and duties of local government. Zoning laws are expensive to enforce, but by giving quasi-governmental powers to neighborhood groups, traditional governments can shed much of the cost of keeping neighborhoods manicured. The downside is that most HOAs are run by elected officers who have little or no training or background in good government practices. Many covenants are open to wide interpretation, which gives more aggressive board officers an amazing amount of lattitude to enforce, prosecute and persecute homeowners who are deemed ‘uncooperative’. Thus, fines can be levied for such violations as planting flowers without getting advance permission from the landscaping committee, placing unapproved wind chimes on the front porch, leaving shampoo bottles visible on bathroom windowsills, and even leaving a garage door open for longer than a prescribed time. A paint job in need of a minor touchup can bring heavy neighborhood fines, painting a house the wrong color can end up in an expensive legal court case, but even if new paint exactly matches the previous paint, failing to ask for advance permission to paint is a ‘crime’ which can lead to thousands of dollars in fines, and even expulsion from a neighborhood and confiscation of your home. Unconstitutional? Nope. Illegal? Not on a bet. Won’t law enforcement intervene to protect your rights? Don’t count on it. By agreeing to sign the restrictive covenants before buying your house, you gave up an amazing number of rights.

One Hero in the Homeowners’ Rights Movement

Arizona’s George Staropoli is probably one of the nation’s foremost critics of the Homeowners Association movement. He says buyers are rarely told the kinds of rights they are tossing away when they move into quasi-government neighborhoods. His organization, Citizens for Constitutional Local Government, lobbies before legislatures, citizens groups and from his websites in favor of re-establishing Constitutional rights. His writings are prolific and there’s no element of HOA life on which he is not an expert. The deeper he digs into the abuses of the movement, the more adamant he becomes about the need for Americans to reclaim their historic property rights.

Crazy Cases

Some of the attacks on homeowners by HOA and Condo boards border on the bizarre. In Long Beach, California, an elderly disabled condo owner named Pam McMahon was ordered not to walk her dog from her condominium unit through the lobby. If she wanted to keep the dog it would have to be carried while in the building. But the disabled McMahon used a cane to walk and could not carry the 25 pound dog. So her board began fining her $25 dollars a day. The fines and the legal expenses continued adding up, until the woman was forced to give up her condo and move elsewhere. Despite federal laws which mandate special consideration for the disabled, McMahon is just one of many homeowners who’ve been forced to give up their homes because neighborhood rules made their lives impossible.

Other examples of HOAs regulations are so outrageous they almost defy description. However, in this ongoing blog I will do my best to tell you some of the more egregious stories of Neighbors At War.

Ward Lucas
Author
Neighbors At War: The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association

Is Having A Homeowners Association Worth It?

      No Comments on Is Having A Homeowners Association Worth It?

One of the main purposes of a homeowners association is to maintain the common areas in a neighborhood like the parks and roads. The homeowners in turn are obliged to pay their dues to sustain these amenities. Often, these can be from $100 to $10,000 per year, based on the kind of neighborhood and their amenities. Moreover, not only do the residents have to pay their HOA dues, but they also are required to follow the rule book of the association.

The different regulations implemented by the association differ in each neighborhood but will most likely include your house color, trees you plant, your parking area and if you will have your house rented. Once these regulations are not followed, these homeowners have to pay a fine that is based on the broken rule.

To top it off, these associations even implement foreclosure if residents fail to pay their dues and fines. A study by the Sentinel Fair House reported that about 18 percent foreclosure activities in the five counties studied were caused by homeowners associations. About 70 houses in these five counties where foreclosed for less than $2,500 including legal fees.

Many homeowners are actually satisfied with their associations said Frank Rathbun, spokesperson of the Community Association Institute. These homeowners associations provide good amenities to the residents and even protect property values.

Critics however present an alternative opinion concerning these associations. They say that neighborhoods with homeowners association must offer more disclosure on the different restrictions and laws. One resident even said that it is essentially giving up your property rights when you.

Usually, home buyers do not have a copy of the rules and regulations of the association until after they move in. If they do not ask for the rules of the neighborhood, they will not have a clear idea of what consequences they might be facing and it will be too late to back out.

Ward Lucas
Author
Neighbors At War: The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association

Are HOAs Good Or Bad For Homeowners?

      2 Comments on Are HOAs Good Or Bad For Homeowners?

Government? Or not government?

Most new communities these days are governed by homeowners associations or property owners associations. These are made up of homeowners who have collectively signed restrictive covenants as a condition of home ownership. Those covenants require certain behavior on the part of each member. Monthly or annual dues are collected to maintain common areas or provide for services such as trash collection or cable tv delivery. Each HOA or POA calls for the election of board members and officers who are given the power to take actions to make sure rules and covenants are followed. The board also has the ability to assess fines or other penalties, up to and including the confiscation of an entire property without reimbursement. For all intents and purposes, Homeowners Associations are mini-governments or quasi-governments which exist outside of most prevailing law. The magic that lets this happen is that the typical HOA is a corporation, a non-profit PRIVATE corporation. In other words, it’s equivalent to a private members-only country club. Homeowners are not considered to be homeowners or taxpayers or citizens, but rather MEMBERS. As willing MEMBERS they have agreed to be governed by the elected board as it administers the restrictive covenants that were WILLINGLY signed by all members.

But just like private non-profit corporations, rules are subject to interpretation. Rules can be changed. And many HOA members in many states have made amazing discoveries about the rights they thought they once had. For example:

Restrictions in selling or renting the house

You may think you’re that as the owner of your home you can sell it whenever you wish. Well, you may discover that your neighbors are partners in your home ownership and they will have a say in who you select as the buyer. In some communities, you may only sell it to a family consisting of two natural married adults. Blatant code for no gays, lesbians or singles.

You may only sell it to people over a certain age, as in age-restricted retirement communities.

You may not be able to sell it to a family with grandchildren (no overnight stays lasting longer than two consecutive nights)

You may also be stunned to discover restrictive covenants outlawing blacks, orientals, jews and other minorities. Federal law prohibits such discrimination, but the ongoing existence of such covenants leaves a powerful and not-too-subtle message. (I’ll have a whole lot more on this subject in my upcoming book Neighbors At War: The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association.

Landscaping Restrictions

Every person is an individual with different tastes, desires, likes and dislikes. Life might be easier if you could only buy one color of carpet, one style of lampshade or one kind of flower. But we ARE our differences. Human nature rebels against regimentalism. Still, your neighbors are your partners and they want you to abide by certain rules. Properly grown grass, no brown spots, no weeds, no grass longer than 1 and 1/2 inches tall. No pansies, no more than a prescribed number of rose bushes, one neatly trimmed tree planted only on the left side of the sidewalk. All landscaping plans submitted to the architectural control committee. Believe it or not, there are thousands of lawsuits against homeowners who’ve violated one of the above restrictions (Again, lots more in Neighbors At War: the Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association)

No parking on the street

This one leads to more arguments, lawsuits and fisticuffs than almost any other. Land developers were given the right to jam more dwelling units into smaller spaces in exchange for creating severe parking restrictions. So, that overnight guest of yours? Forbidden! The birthday party for your youngster? Give it up, unless guests park in some nearby supermarket lot. But even worse? Dictatorial board members hire towing companies to snatch cars the second a delivery is being made to your house, or the moment an innocent guest drops by to say “hi.” Ambitious towing companies have been known to slip an occasional ‘C note’ to the first board member who calls them. Even worse, some communities hire two truck drivers to constantly patrol the streets snatching cars. It can cost a couple hundred bucks to get your car back.

No parking on your own driveway

Seriously! Some Homeowners Associations prohibit the accumulation of junk in your garage. There’s a good reason for that. They don’t want any passenger car visible from the street, so all cars must be parked in garages at all times.

No over-sized vehicles in the neighborhood

This sounds like a reasonable restriction to keep semi-trucks out of narrow neighborhood streets. But this is actually a way of keep out riff-raff. There’s a case in Texas where the local millionaires could have Hummers and Cadillac Escalades. But the owner of a brand new Ford 150 was fined and sued because it was a pickup truck. It cost him 150,000 bucks to fight the case.

No home-based business

This is very common. Obviously, the intent is to keep out homeowners who have a stream of customers coming to visit. But this rule is often used arbitrarily to get rid of ‘undesirables’. Any kind of home-based business can be deemed illegal, even one owned by a writer who rants against Homeowners Associations…

No Green Energy

No kidding! No laundry lines (lots of fines and lawsuits on record). No solar panels (lots of fines and lawsuits on record) No xeriscaping (lots of fines and lawsuits)

In summary, if you’re going to live in an HOA plan for trouble. Even though you may like the kinds of rules you’ll have to follow, set aside a sum of money each month in a permanent savings account. Regular saving is always a wise idea, but especially in the HOA environment. Sooner or later you may need to use that money for fines or legal fees.

Ward Lucas
Author
Neighbors At War: The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association