Category Archives: Patriotism

Crooked Pennsylvania Judges

      6 Comments on Crooked Pennsylvania Judges

All too often among people who frequent this blog, we’ve seen injustice by virtue of actually having been dragged into a court of law to argue one side or another of an HOA case. I get lots of email from homeowners who feel they’ve been looted, not only by an abusive HOA but by judicial rulings as well. And I’ve spoken with attorneys who feel their homeowner clients did not seem to get fair and balanced rulings from the bench. Indeed, only a tiny fraction of HOA court cases ever come down on the side of the homeowner. Logic would tell you that such rulings would favor approximately half of those who stand before the bar. Instead, rumor has it that homeowners have about a one percent chance in court against an HOA.

The massive impact of the CAI (Community Associations Institute) cannot be underestimated. True, the CAI lobbies legislatures on behalf of Homeowners Associations. This is kind of a half truth, since CAI really lobbies on behalf of the vendors of Homeowners Associations, e.g., the lawyers, the property managers, the suppliers of HOA services. And they blatantly lie when they testify, as they often do, that they represent homeowners. But judges, many of whom, are well-connected and live in Homeowners Associations, cannot possibly be ambivalent about their support of the HOA system. Judges are human beings, and human beings are all ‘little walking bundles of bias.’ And many of those same judges are closely linked to law firms where fellow attorneys make a great deal of money from suing homeowners who live in associations.

So, when our friend in Pennsylvania sent us the following link about the spreading scandal among judges in her state, the immensity of the scandal set us back on our heels. Cash for kids, child porn sent from one judge to another, it just takes your breath away. We, as homeowners, want only to have a chance of fairness when we enter a court of law. If we’re forced to stand before the bench, while feeling contempt for the lack of human decency sitting there in judicial robes, well, it just demolishes our faith in the system.

(link to news story of scandals in robes)

 

Health Problems, Computer Problems, & a Dash of Old Age!

      1 Comment on Health Problems, Computer Problems, & a Dash of Old Age!

In complaining the other night about health problems, age problems and computer problems, I completely forgot the main point of bringing all of this up in the same post. It was a way of directing you to one of the funniest commentaries on old age that I’ve ever seen. It was a speech to the Conference on Aging done by a well known California weatherman.

You may end up with some laughter-related medical problems of your own. 

 

 

Amazing Thanksgiving Story

      3 Comments on Amazing Thanksgiving Story

Because of my family’s long association with the military, I will occasionally do non-HOA stories and links on this website. I hope you’ll forgive me for taking the occasional side road. Just remember that intentionally taking side roads is the key to happiness and fulfillment in this life we lead.

Don Brookins was one of my longtime photo-journalists while I was working in the TV news business. During long stakeouts in my undercover van he used to tell me stories about his dad and his connection with the Battle of the Bulge in WWII. I was moved by his story and hope you will be moved, as well.

(link to story about the American Saint Nick)

 

 

HOA War In North Carolina

      5 Comments on HOA War In North Carolina

North Carolina is certainly a state where the HOA system has gotten way out of control. Fortunately, outspoken advocates like Ole Madsen (HEAR4NC.org) are articulating the insanity that’s disrupting the lives of so many homeowners around the country.

When you buy into an HOA, you’re essentially pledging all your personal assets to a group of partners, most of whom you’ve never met. Your assets become the de facto assets of a non-profit corporation which is potentially subject to liability lawsuits, damage from natural disasters, poor workmanship by developers, frivolous legal actions by overreaching board members, embezzlement by board officers and management companies. That’s a crazy kind of partnership, but it’s one that tens of millions of Americans have blindly accepted. And it’s one where HOA law firms are bathing in the mythical pot-of-gold.

In many HOAs homeowners are beginning to realize that they’ve entered a vortex that is spinning downwards, threatening property values and life savings.

The TV story linked below is worth watching. But as you do so, just be aware this isn’t an isolated incident. The HOA system in America is so badly broken it can never be fixed. It’s built to reward criminal behavior and those who bully their way to the top. When there’s a record of bad behavior by HOA officials and management companies, how do you persuade a potential buyer to take over your mortgage?

(link to WWAY TV story on missing HOA money)

 

HOA Controversies Finally Getting Media Attention

      No Comments on HOA Controversies Finally Getting Media Attention

I cannot remember a time in my 40 years as a journalist when so many broadcast stations were discussing abuse of homeowners by their own Homeowners Associations. Denver, Las Vegas, Houston, San Antonio, Florida, Virginia, North and South Carolina. Talk show hosts are inviting homeowners’ rights advocates to join them on the air, newspaper columnists are finally standing up to the incredible falsehoods being spread by those who profit from managing HOAs or supplying lawyers to sue homeowners over incredibly minor infractions.

Another shift I’m seeing, unless I’m fooling myself, is a change in attitudes among the talk show hosts, themselves. In past years many of them have been big defenders of the HOA system. But in at least a half dozen cases I’ve seen prominent talk show hosts changing their opinions and deciding that the kind of ‘democracy’ practiced in many HOAs is getting pretty outrageous.

This week I was in getting some medical tests done and the medical tech told me about some things he had witnessed in his own HOA. He hadn’t been through anything more significant than the occasional nastygram. Those nastygrams! We all get them. But they really do change the character of a neighborhood, don’t they? What makes a homeowner want to attend the 4th of July or Labor Day picnics when he’s constantly eyeing the crowd for the Nastygram Lady or the board members who sling the lawsuits? I’ve lived in neighborhoods both inside and outside of HOAs. And the block party, in my experience, was always better attended in the more traditional neighborhoods.

Anyway, I really do feel there’s a national shift occurring, probably because more and more people are speaking out about the abuses they’ve witnessed or experienced in their own neighborhoods. More and more people are feeling the sting of falling or static property values in HOAs which they presumed would protect their investments. This website is growing…I’ll have more on that in a few days. But people are spreading the word about HOA outrages on this and other forums.

Off topic, but even more important, I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, hopefully with family…and with good neighbors.