This one is huge, and it’s developing right now in Colorado.
A Homeowners Association in Vail is being sued because one of the supervisors in the management company was a jerk who was mistreating female Mexican workers. The Feds are now suing both the management company and the condo association.
I’ve owned two ski condos in that same area and I never had a clue who the management company was. I did get dinged a couple of times when I tried to change the locks on my doors. The management company bored through the locks, changed the door handle and charged me for their work. Yes, I was p.o.’d about that and it was one of the reasons I finally dumped the condos when the market improved.
But what if a federal EEOC sexual harassment lawsuit/judgment happened while I was still an owner? I could have been hit with a 10 to 50 thousand dollar special assessment for something I had zero knowledge about. Most Vail condos are owned by average people in Denver who just want to ski a week or two a year and rent them out the rest of the year to make the mortgage payments.
Incredible that completely innocent homeowners or condo owners could be financially ruined by this kind of thing.
You’re supposed to do your due-diligence before buying that first home. Sure, the place looks great. Yes, it’s a sexy North Miami Beach high rise condo.
But, good grief, take a look at what’s happening around you. One family in the building can’t access their six-story balcony because it’s hazardous. Walking onto the balcony could mean sudden death. There are dozens of others inaccessible balconies. The building is full of mold. There are allegations of the embezzlement of more than a million dollars worth of dues paid by homeowners to the management company for parking fees.
Big cracks are appearing in the Jade Winds high rise. The condo association has filed for bankruptcy. It’s not an uncommon phenomenon in North Miami Beach and around the country, for that matter.
This continues to be a national scandal, the biggest one that state and federal legislators are NOT looking at. “Please go away from my office. Please don’t talk about HOAs. It’s too confusing and my mental capacities are not functioning at full speed right now.”
I love the readers of this blog, I just want to protect them from financial disaster.
My lifelong friend shared the video below with me.
The visual images put life into perspective in a way that makes a person think. Think, about what has been accomplished and what lies ahead.
Where is it we wish to be down the road? The young may be seeking the perfect mate, an exciting career, a dream car, or a luxury vacation. The older folks mostly set their focus on their health (and wish it had been their top priority decades before), hope they can hold onto their job until they can afford to retire, and they cherish calls from friends and family while clinging tightly to their beloved pets.
When it comes to the roof over all of our heads…I hope the young have learned to run from condos, POAs, and HOAs. I wish every senior would get out of them before they cannot make the move. And for those still able-bodied and know the risks I hope for them to find the motivation to pack up and drive right out the gate. I fall into the latter category and this video just helped me to stay focused on my goal.
If you find it interesting and motivating, please share it. I’m so thankful my dear friend shared it with me.
Newspaper columnists who favor the Homeowners Association system are getting about as rare as hen’s teeth.
On the other hand, many many journalists are finally ‘getting it.’ Either they’ve been bitten themselves, or they’ve had a flood of complaints from bullied or cheated homeowners. The column linked below from the Capitol Gazette, in Maryland, is really, really good.
She uses the words, “no accountability.” Amen to that!
