Yes, there’s good news here and there on the HOA front. Is Indiana the first state to take any intensive steps toward ending the HOA madness? It’s beyond imagination to think that all fifty states aren’t considering cracking down on bully boards and lawn Nazis. Abuse of power is a vicious thing to have to endure. You wouldn’t believe the numbers of people who log onto this website and send me personal emails describing their own torment.
But look at some of the legislation either proposed or passed in Indiana. Maybe those Indy 500 rednecks aren’t going to take this HOA nonsense sitting down!
A few days ago I linked to the Mel Pittel case in the Meadow Creek Homeowners Association in a suburb of Minneapolis. Several years ago, Mel became suspicious of odd expenditures by his HOA board, and he got himself elected to the board. He also published a frequent blog about his HOA. The HOA, along with a powerful board member who owned a number of rental units there, not only refused to seat Mel on the board, but sued him over his website. A judge issued a gag order prohibiting Mel’s use of the Meadow Creek name on his blog.
I post links whenever I hear of an interesting story. This one is MUST-READ! It’s written by a Florida lawyer who talks about how corrupt lawyers in the HOA system are. You’d think that the average legislator would read such a post and demand that the laws be changed. But they never do. To me, it just points to the out-of-control corruption that infests the legal industry and the legislatures in every state.
“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” -Shakespeare (King Henry VI)
Homeowners are gradually finding more lawyers willing to represent them against bully HOA boards. That’s great news. Along that line, a Florida law firm is aggressively advertising that it will take up cases of wronged homeowners. Their online ad is pretty good. We need at least one law firm like this in every state.
Mel Pittel has waged a years-long fight to bring transparency to his Meadow Creek Homeowners Association in a suburb of Minneapolis. Pittel was even voted in by fellow homeowners as a board member. But the board got a restraining order preventing him from even attending board meetings. Now, a judge has refused the board’s attempt to get the restraining order extended. “Free speech,” said the judge.
Pittel has worked long and hard to inform other HOA members of what he suspects is financial mismanagement by the board. The fight has taken a heavy toll on his finances. But this country has a long history of people who’ve sacrificed everything for their fellow man. The link below is worth reading.
