Category Archives: HOA Issues

You’re STOOPID To Buy An HOA Home In Nevada!

The Bank of America lawsuit against dozens of Nevada Homeowners Associations chugs onward. Earlier this Fall, B of A filed a federal lawsuit claiming that HOAs were illegally charging excessive collection fees and arbitrary fines against homeowners who committed minor infractions of HOA rules and covenants.

In one such case, a family in North Las Vegas moved out of their home and attempted to short sell it through the Bank of America. But the HOA in question decided the home in question had too many pine needles and weeds on the property, and they filed a lien against the home. Although the initial fine was only a few hundred dollars, the HOA dramatically escalated its fines and costs to more than $16,500. That made the home virtually unsaleable.

In another case (reported by Darcy Spears, KTNV-TV in Las Vegas), homeowner Char Vanderveen had her home seized by the Mountain’s Edge Homeowners Association. The HOA sold her $700,000 home for $7000, less than one percent of its true value.

There are hundreds, if not thousands or even tens of thousands of similar cases.

Bank of America says that kind of thing is happening all over Nevada and they want a federal judge to intervene.  Any kind of major judgment against Nevada HOAs could cost them millions of dollars. HOA board members and their attorneys are now whining that if they lose the case, the costs will have to be assessed against all other homeowners.

To refer back to the headline of this story, would you buy a home in an HOA that’s potentially facing multi-million dollar judgments, legal fees and huge special assessments against all homeowners? Wouldn’t  you be stupid to do so?

http://www.ktnv.com/news/local/174865911.html

Isn’t It Sweet When The Media Start Paying Attention?

More and more noise is being made around the country from the smallest media to the highest…about abuses by Homeowners Associations. And it’s about time. There’s no more fundamentally corrupt American institution than the HOA down the street. Don’t believe me? There’s an easy test. Just Google “HOA embezzle” and look at the results. Then multiply your results by 1000, since less than one out of a thousand HOAs involved in embezzling ever get any kind of news coverage.

Shocking? Well, that still doesn’t cover even a fraction of the abuses by HOA boards. With more than 300,000 Homeowners Associations in the country, a massive number have complaints about the excesses of power-mongering board members. Don’t believe that? There’s an easy test. Just choose any one of those HOAs in the country and attend the annual meeting. Odds are you’ll see a vicious slugfest.

Enough said.

Ah! No, not quite enough. This blog below from San Fran is really worth reading.

http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2010/09/02/what-happens-when-your-hoa-becomes-hostile/

“Dear Lord, Thank You For Our Country’s Free Press!”

Yep, that’s what every red, white and blue patriot in our country ought to be praying tonight. My excitement comes from a development in Columbia County, Georgia. The Mills Haven Homeowners Association sued a member of its HOA over the color of her granddaughter’s pink playhouse. The lawsuit drew publicity from all over the country, and many angry phone calls to the HOA.

But a news story from a Georgia TV station, WJBF, says the lawsuit has been dropped.

Hallelujah!

http://www2.wjbf.com/member-center/share-this/print/?content=ar4757409

 

So You Think You Own Your Home?

You think that owning your own home means you might be able to rent it out when troubled times hit your family? Not so, according to a judge in Mississippi. He ruled against a family who purchased an HOA home and leased it to someone else during the ongoing recession.

Jason and Anna Kephart bought their home in the Northbay Homeowners Association in 2010 but leased it to another family a short time later. But in 2006 Northbay had outlawed any home that was not owner-occupied. Now they’re beginning to sue the violators.

Northbay HOA board members immediately started crowing about the court victory against the Kephart family. Northbay’s vice president Steve Hickok says, “I’m happy with this decision…all Madison neighborhoods will be encouraged by the ruling.”

The judge’s ruling, in this blogger’s opinion, is probably correct. A homeowner never really ‘owns’ a home in an HOA. He just ‘borrows’ it from the neighborhood majority. So a ban against renting out your home is undoubtedly enforceable. In fact, the Northbay HOA says, “Now that we’ve won, we’re going to go after two other homeowners who are renting out their homes.”

But the unintended consequence of this attitude will soon become pretty clear. Instead of a fully occupied community, it’s not hard to imagine how HOA life will feel once all the Foreclosure signs start popping up.

There goes the neighborhood.

http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20121013/NEWS/310120074/Northbay-ban-rentals-upheld?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CHome%7Cs

A Half Million Dollar Embezzler

This blogger has repeatedly said that embezzling in American HOAs is almost universal. There are no controls, and where there are no controls human beings universally drop to their lowest ethical level. Another example popped up in Davenport, Florida.

HOA president David Meadows has been arrested for allegedly stealing a half million dollars from his Homeowners Association. One resident, Danielle Groth, says it’s routine for her HOA to charge $100 a day for such things as cigarette butts on the ground to kids’ toys in the yard or the wrong style of window blinds.

The Florida State Attorney Generals office says a lot of that money ended up in David Meadows pocket.

The Bimini Bay Homeowners Association. Such a lovely place to live!

http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_polk/davenport/davenport-hoa-president-accused-of-stealing-500k-from-association