I’ve now heard from several NAW people that they either can’t log in or can’t comment on the website. Nobody is blacklisted from this site (except for excessive profanity). But there’s apparently some new anti-spam software on many servers that’s causing huge problems. If anyone on a big server is sending out spam everybody on that server gets blocked. My webmaster is working on the problem.
Ward
Our frequent guest blogger, Deborah Goonan, is part of a team of consumer advocates conducting a nationwide HOA survey. In addition to a social media presence, she has posted it on her own web page at Indepentent American Communities (IAC). Obviously, such a survey is more accurate when the survey sample is large. And the more people who respond, the more likely our combined voices will be heard. So, if you haven’t participated yet, please do.
In email exchanges around the country I have a rough idea of what many Americans think about HOAs, POAs and condo associations. But Deborah has fine-tuned a number of survey questions and the results will ultimately be distributed to policy makers.
It’s finally your time to be heard! Here’s your chance to begin the process of making change happen.
It’s another sad day for Nevada homeowners. Federal Judge James Mahan has given another one of the Las Vegas HOA swindlers a sissy sentence. Organized crime swindler Charles McChesney was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison. Ultimately, he’ll only spend 15 months there.
Homeowners in Nevada lost untold millions of dollars when this crime ring ripped off Homeowners Associations all across the valley. They’ll never get a dime of that back. This was a vicious financial crime that completely changed the lives of many decent working and/or retired people. To give these swindlers only 30 months is a crime in itself. Even though only a dozen Homeowners Associations were named as victims in the case, inside information says there may have been hundreds more.
The FBI generated about four million pages of evidence and testimony. Had the investigation exposed the entire Nevada scam the evidence could have run into the hundreds of millions of pages.
Think of this: If crooked HOAs and management companies across the country were put through the same kind of investigative scrutiny there would be millions of convictions. There just aren’t enough prisons to hold everyone.
Yes, it’s a sad day for Nevada. But it’s even sadder for the rest of the country.
guest blog by Deborah Goonan
I could hardly believe my eyes and ears when I read this article and watched the videos in the Bradenton Herald article regarding Carlyn Estates Mobile Home Park in Palmetto, Manatee County, Florida. I honestly had to dry the tears from my eyes. You MUST watch these short videos, particularly the video of the mobile home resident who is vehemently against having the local Food Pantry distribute free boxes of food to 28 of her neighbors.
Talk about nasty. She thinks that her fellow HOA members should get help from their families, or call social services and “hand over their checks” to a nursing home. Wow. A total lack of compassion.
Here’s the reality: for many seniors, there are no family members to assist them. These 28 seniors are unable to get to the food pantry, because of illness, disability, or lack of transportation, so the Hope Center Food Pantry has been making weekly distributions where they live. One resident, recently widowed, is quoted in the article, stating that the owner of the mobile home park, Tonia Sonju, is denying her the right to take care of herself, and causing her physical and emotional stress.
What’s the issue?
You see, according to another article in the Miami Herald, the HOA policy, written by Sonju, prohibits “soliciting” of any kind. Residents have received violation notices from the Park owner, that state the following:
“No peddling or soliciting or operation of a commercial enterprise is allowed in the park without prior consent of the management. You continue to operate a commercial food bank in Carlyn Estates in violation of Rule 52 which causes the disruption of the park, causes unsightly and unsanitary conditions, significant trash, along with rats, roaches, and mice, etc.”
Christie Castro, President of the Manatee County Senior Advocacy Council has tried to speak to Sonju on behalf of the senior residents, but Sonju has refused to talk to her. Lenworth Gordon, director of the Hope Center Food Pantry in Palmetto, has spoken to Sonju, but was unable to change her mind regarding HOA policy. They argue that since the food is donated, there is no “solicitation” and no commercial business activity. There is no stockpile of food to attract pests.
Castro believes that these seniors need advocates to prevent them from being bullied in their HOA. The residents tried to attend the last HOA meeting to discuss the issue, but it was cancelled at the last minute. Now the residents are trying to arrange a meeting at one of the local churches. The advocacy group is hoping a local attorney will provide pro bono assistance in resolving this matter.
The local Meals on Wheels has offered to provide delivery of meals to those residents who qualify.
Kudos to Hope Center Food Pantry, Manatee County Senior Advocacy Council, Meals on Wheels PLUS, and both the Bradenton and Maimi Herald news companies for bringing this important issue to the attention of Floridians, and the general public.
(link to Bradenton Herald article with videos)
(link to Miami Herald article)
The link below has absolutely nothing to do with HOAs. It should. But it’s interesting nevertheless. It’s also a chance for me to tell another one of my weird personal stories.
It was the early 70s and we were three years into our marriage. We had our second baby son and we were living in relative poverty. Still, we went looking for a home and found one for sale on the Seattle Eastside. I think the original price was around $30,000 but I calculated that all we could afford was $23,000. I gave the owner 200 bucks cash for the earnest money deposit and since there was no Realtor involved and nothing to sign I wrote up my own contract on the only paper in the house: A paper napkin. What was I thinking? I was just 24 and still dumb about life.
The owner of the house signed the paper napkin, reluctantly of course. I know he had regrets about accepting my low-ball offer, but he still honored our agreement. And I carried that napkin into my bank to see if they would give me a loan. Based on the signatures on the napkin they gave me a full loan.
After getting the TV job in Denver a couple of years later we sold the house…and got $36,000. Had I kept that old house it would be worth more than a half million dollars today! You win some, you lose some.
Anyway, here’s a link to some interesting home buying tips:
