Category Archives: The Book

CAI Socks It To Homeowners In Tennessee!

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One of our blog members in Tennessee says the CAI appears to be the only group spending its lobbying money on a Homeowners Association bill now before the legislature.

The proposed bill would make important changes to protect private homeowners in that state.

But the crows at CAI have billions of dollars at their disposal.They make sure that Tennessee lawyers have guaranteed employment as they dip deeply into the pockets of homeowners.

The bill actually sounds like a pretty good one. But in HOA Amerika logic and justice are not really compatible concepts.

The following is an exact copy of what a CAI bigwig is telling his minions to lobby:

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To: All Community Association Board Members

From: Scott Ghertner

Date: February 6, 2014 Subject: Urgent legislative call to action – HB 2060 and SB 2098

As Chairman of the Tennessee CAI Legislative Action Committee and Co-President of Ghertner & Company, I would like to immediately bring to your attention some very disturbing legislation being introduced this month in our Tennessee legislature. Representative Jeremy Durham and Senator Jack Johnson, both of Williamson County, are co-sponsoring a bill (HB 2060 in the House and SB 2098 in the State Senate) that seeks to significantly diminish the authority of condominium and home owner associations in Tennessee.

This bill if passed will:

 Eliminate the automatic lien that associations have with regard to delinquent payers , thereby potentially

jeopardizing the financial solvency of associations and the willingness of lenders to make loans to associations and unit owners;

 Limit the amount an association can fine for rule violations;

 Attempt to insert State rules regarding parking enforcement on public streets within the association;  Prohibit associations from enforcing covenant restrictions with regard to political signs.

Please contact these leaders today and inform them that you want them to withdraw this bill immediately!

Senator Jack Johnson at 615-741-2495 or via email at sen.jack.johnson@capitol.tn.gov

Representative Jeremy Durham at 615-741-1864 or via email at rep.jeremy.durham@capitol.tn.gov

You can also contact the following members of the House Business and Utilities Subcommittee who will hear House Bill 2060 and let them know that you do not support this bill. Please remember the committee members listed below did not introduce this bill and will be hearing about this bill for the first time next week. So we ask you only to communicate to them your opposition to this proposed bill.

Chairman Art Swann at 615-741-5481 or via email at rep.art.swann@capitol.tn.gov

Representative Kent Calfee at 615-741-7658 or via email at rep.kent.calfee@capitol.tn.gov

Representative Barry Doss at 615-741-7476 or via email at rep.barry.doss@capitol.tn.gov

Representative Pat Marsh at 615-741-6824 or via email at rep.pat.marsh@capitol.tn.gov

Representative Jason Powell at 615-741-6861 or via email at rep.jason.powell@capitol.tn.gov

Representative Curry Todd at 615-741-1866 or via email at rep.curry.todd@capitol.tn.gov

Representative Tim Wirgau at 615-741-6804 or via email at rep.tim.wirgau@capitol.tn.gov

Thank you for your attention to this very important issue.

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Now that we know exactly how CAI plans to throw its influence around, they’ve provided a list of legislators who they consider weak…so we can now lobby them right back. 

Life Comes Full Circle

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The older you get, the more you realize that life really does have circles and cycles and old memories come back in surprising and amusing ways.

When I was a dumb teenager one of my first broadcasting jobs was as a talk show host on a Seattle radio station. Talk radio was not the mega-monster it is today and I probably made a buck-fifty an hour for a two hour show.

Believe me, talk radio was not my forte and my listeners probably numbered more in the dozens than in the thousands. But we had plenty of famous people show up to be interviewed about books they’d just written. Invariably, they’d autograph a copy and give it to this newbie radio kid.

One of those guests was Chuck Yeager, the famous test pilot who first broke the sound barrier. As green and uninformed as I was, I barely knew his name. But we struggled through an hour long interview and fortunately he was a much better talker than I was.

Anyway, my mouth dropped open at this week’s story in the Sacramento Bee about 91 year old Chuck Yeager being dragged into court by a Homeowners Association! The Park River Oak Estates Homeowners Association is suing him for $28,000 claiming he won’t pay his HOA dues.

Yeager argues he’s not even a member of the association. His property is nearby, but it was never annexed into the HOA, and Yeager has never requested nor been offered any of the HOA’s services.

Ah, Chuck Yeager. You undoubtedly don’t remember me from forty-five years ago but we were on the same side of the microphone then. And we’re on the same side of the platform now speaking out against the many atrocities of the out-of-control HOA movement.

Hang in there, Chuck. Break another barrier!

(link to Yeager HOA story in Sacramento Bee)

 

Woodlands Condos In Branson Burn To The Ground

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guest blog by Nila Ridings

Branson, Missouri offers many attractions and more live music entertainment theaters than Las Vegas. The surrounding lakes and golf courses are a paradise to lovers of the outdoors. Kids love all the rides at Silver Dollar City. Shoppers love The Branson Landing and all the outlet malls. Branson is also home to the only privately-owned commercial airport in the United States. So private that even a couple of Southwest Airline pilots couldn’t find it a few weeks ago when they landed at the wrong airport over at the College of the Ozarks.

Personally, I love a wilderness resort called Big Cedar located just south of Branson on Tablerock Lake. I was leaving there on Wednesday when the fire trucks were racing up the highway. I could see the dark smoke rising into the sky. Until now, I did not know it was an entire condo complex ablaze.

With all that Branson has to offer it appears they did not require sprinkler systems in this condo complex. They did not have the maximum water supply on the fire hydrants. And the end result is 12 condos burned to the ground. The source of the fire may never be known.

I sure hope the owners take their insurance money and run. With the nightmares we’ve heard about rebuilds on condos and the suffering the owners have endured it would be the ideal time to get out and stay out of an HOA or condo association.

Branson did so much right, but they allowed this beautiful area of the Midwest to be covered with HOAs and condo associations. And the building continues today. So sad.

Just another example of why buying a condo has major risks associated with it. Condo buyers beware!

(link to Branson Tri-Lakes News)

(link to Ozarks First)

 

 

To Grandmother’s Treehouse They Go!

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guest blog by Nila Ridings

I know very few grandparents who don’t jump for joy when they hear the grandkids are coming to visit.  They anxiously anticipate the noise and laughter, games and puzzles, and helping choose crayons for the coloring books. Cherishing their grandchild’s artwork which they will attach to the fridge with magnets or frame for a bedroom wall.  And the grandchildren crave the unconditional love and undivided attention that only a grandparent can give.  Grandparents don’t stop playing to pay bills, do laundry, or mow the lawn.  But in today’s world of Homeowners Associations so many neighborhoods squelch a grandparent’s dream because they are not kid-friendly.   
 
Jeri Wakefield lives in Dallas, Texas, and she must not live in an HOA. For her that’s a good thing because of her lifelong dream of creating special memories, including a treehouse for her grandchildren. Her husband, Stephen, was skeptical of what Jeri and their architect friend, James Curvan, were planning.  But he was a good sport and followed along with them seeing how his wife was so happy. The treehouse they built is fabulous.
 
When I think back to my childhood and the fun I had at my grandmothers’ houses…mostly playing outside…those were some really fun and impressionable times.  If they had lived in HOAs, knowing what I know today, I don’t think I would have wanted to go visit. The restrictiveness of an HOA would have drastically changed the landscape of my cherished memories.  
 
Please watch this short video, think of your own grandkids, and try to imagine what many grandparents are missing out on by choosing life in an HOA. 
 
 
 

With Apologies, and Absolutely Off Topic

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Our frigid weather and snow here in Colorado reminded me of a video story I did several years ago on a beloved dog. Her name was Glory. And her name was a perfect description of a dog sent to me from Heaven.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akPn2n3p5eY