Wow! All of a sudden it seems like HOA media coverage has exploded! A raindrop here and there, and all of a sudden a thunderstorm!
HOA aficionados, lawyers, liars, and HOA organizations that perjure themselves while testifying in State Legislatures continue to complain that true HOA problems are so rare they don’t merit attention. Rare, indeed! The rare HOA is one that DOESN’T have problems.
Get it, folks? HOAs are universally as fascist as they are incompetent. Bullies run for the board. They get elected because homeowners have been bullied into submission and don’t even dare to attend the meeting and vote. Once a bully is in power, the testosterone gets released.
I’m linking to comments on Reddit from people who’ve been screwed by the lawn Nazis in HOAs across America.
(link to readers’ comments on a Reddit post)
LOL! That’s the lie I’ve been railing against for the past half dozen years.
No, HOAs absolutely DO NOT protect property values. And across the country, homeowners are learning about that the hard way. The latest hair-raising story comes from North Carolina.
Police in Wake and Johnson counties confirm they’re investigating possible embezzlement of more than a half million dollars from more than two dozen Homeowners Associations managed by Kornerstone Community Management.
Let’s see, I’ve got a home in The Wellington HOA I’d like to sell. Oh, a special assessment? To cover all embezzlement costs? Now, where did my prospective buyer go? Guess I’ll have to lower the asking price again.
No, your HOA does not protect your property values.
(link to WNCN-CBS news in Raleigh, North Carolina)
One of the most articulate and intellectual bloggers in the homeowners rights movement is Deborah Goonan. A critically important recent column of hers is one that’ll be overlooked by most of us, the so-called Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act. It would force the FHA to ease regulations on mortgage financing for those buying condominiums. On the surface it sounds like a great thing, lowering down payments, reducing the mandated number of owner-occupied units.
But beware! We don’t know what the exact timing is, but there’s a mortgage/credit bubble headed our way that will make 2008 look like a walk in the park. Not a single banking expert is predicting otherwise. All it takes is for one branch to break and the whole tree will fall. Many expect the troubled Deutsche Bank to be the first to fall. Others think the controversial Presidential election cycle could be the trigger.
Regardless of your political persuasion, this is a dangerous time for homeowners, investors and virtually anyone trying to support a family. This bill had unanimous support in the Congress and Senate. But read Deborah’s column. Make your friends read it. And hold your breath because things are going to get interesting.
(link to Independent American Communities column on HOTMA)
Most people in our network already frequently check into Shu Bartholomew’s incredible weekly radio show, On The Commons. Everybody who’s anybody in the homeowners rights movement has been interviewed by Shu at least once. But this weekend’s show had a ‘first-timer.’ And what a first-timer it was!
The guest was Judy Thomas, the reporter behind the huge HOA investigative series in last week’s Kansas City Star. Judy says she’s gotten responses from all over the country. Strange, because so many other major newspapers have turned down stories about the HOA mess because they assume it’s a non-issue. It’s getting more and more difficult for professional lobbyists like the Community Associations Institute (CAI) to pretend that almost all homeowners are happy with their HOA. It’s obvious that millions, even tens of millions of homeowners have been burned by the national HOA scam.
Definitely listen to how this Kansas reporter uncovered the truth about HOAs.
(link to OnTheCommons.net)
The ripples from the investigative series in the Kansas City Star continue to move across the nation. Editors at many major newspapers are undoubtedly kicking themselves for not diving into the story earlier. Beleaguered homeowners in out-of-control Homeowners Associations who’ve been victimized by the local lawn Nazis are feeling a bit of satisfaction that someone in the newspaper industry is finally looking their way. And some HOA bully boards may be looking behind them to see if investigative reporters are shadowing their activities.
Lord Acton famously said, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis said, “Light is the best disinfectant.” The very structure of the modern Homeowners Association creates a system of absolute power. And only by opening up that corrupt and secretive HOA structure to public inspection will homeowners begin to reign in the abuses and financial corruption of a huge number of the nation’s HOA neighborhoods.
The editorial in the Kansas City Star is worth reading, although those of us in-the-know recognize that it doesn’t go far enough. Legislative control? Yes. It’s necessary. But a complete ban of these phony non-profit HOA corporations is the only way to truly restore Constitutional rights to tens of millions of homeowners who inadvertently signed them away.
(link to HOA editorial in Kansas City Star)
