Category Archives: Quivira Falls

Blow N’ Go High On The Roof Top

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guest blog by Nila Ridings

Here we go again!  I hope this will be an eye-opener for our readers.

Quivira Falls Community Association still ranks at the top for winning the “HOA Bullying Award.”  Why?  Because like most HOAs they love to bully people.  They seem to really get some sort of sick thrill out of irritating the homeowners.  But, it’s far more than irritating, they are putting us at risk for property damage and liabilities.

Gutters being my responsibility, I had new ones installed in 2008.  Knowing that Quivira Falls has a very long history of not performing necessary maintenance, I spent an extra three hundred and fifty dollars to have gutter guards installed.  The company I did business with has been around since 1972 and certainly knew what they are talking about when they said, “do not let anyone use leaf blowers on your gutters because it will tear up the guards!”  So, I notified Quivira Falls HOA office that I did not want anyone to clean my gutters going forward.  Well…let’s see, it’s been six years and they still love to put people on my roof with leaf blowers which now results in me calling the police.

Two years ago, they taped a note on my front door saying since I didn’t want my gutters cleaned by the HOA they would no longer be doing it.  I gave a sigh of relief…finally…somebody learned how to read and understand what my letters said.  Yeah!  Nope, not yeah…within hours of writing me that letter on Quivira Falls letterhead they were up on my roof!  I called the police and kept the report in my files.

Today, after all these years of emails, letters, and calling the police, they were back up there with the leaf blowers!  From my office window I could see the ladder and hear the noise.  With my phone and camera in hand, I walked outside and removed the ladder from my guttering and dropped it into the grass.  I called 911 and told the dispatcher what was happening and that they were still on my roof and the ladder was laying in the grass.  With my camera positioned and ready, I waited for them to come over the ridge of the roof.  They saw me, my camera, and the missing ladder.  When I said the police were on their way the one started apologizing and the other stood stone-faced on my roof.  In nothing flat the police arrived just as their supervisor/owner did.  He immediately instructed them to get to the next job, but the officers wanted to see their identification first.

The police advised me they cannot arrest workers for trespassing.  Nor can they arrest a company owner unless he’s caught on the roof.  I’m basically screwed except I have the option of taking them to circuit court.  You bet I can do that!  I’m always welcome to spend $30,000, $50,000 or even $100,000 in legal bills to try and stop myself from being bullied and attempt to be reimbursed for construction repair bills.  I will also be the one paying the tab for damage to my gutters and shingles along with the cost of water damage repairs on my ceilings caused by broken shingles that create leaks!  And, if I’m really lucky they may cause a rafter or two to snap which gives me the pleasure of hiring a contractor to come and snake his way through my bedroom closet and into the attic while carrying long pieces of lumber that scrape my walls and woodwork.

To properly clean gutters you must remove the debris and then flush the downspouts with a garden hose.  Walking around on roofs with leaf blowers is a waste of time and money since the downspouts are ignored.  It’s a farce, to say the least.  And a way to fool homeowners into thinking they are getting something for their $240 monthly dues.

So, I asked the officers, “How would I sue somebody when I don’t know their name, company,  or location?”  With that, the officer asked the company owner if he would like to share his name and contact information with me?  He said, “No!”  I looked at the cops and stated people who have nothing to hide, hide nothing and this guy won’t even identify himself.  Yet, I’m supposed to sue him if I have damage to my roof or guttering?  Really?  With that, he reluctantly handed me his business card.

After he left, I mentioned that one of the roof top workers reeked of something that smelled…you know…medicinal.  The cop said he wished he’d of smelled it.  Possibly he would have if “Mr. Mystery” had not quickly shooed his workers away from the area.

Bottom line, my attorney has told me to never let anyone work on my property without seeing their certificate of insurance even if they are employed or contracted through the HOA.  Reason being, if they fall into my fenced area or on my front porch resulting in injuries or death, I will be the person responsible and hit with the lawsuit if they are uninsured!

On this same issue, a few years ago the HOA cleaned the gutters of some new homeowners that moved here from a foreign country.  The nicest people you would ever want to meet!  Their gutter guards were blown out and left laying on the grass around their townhouse.  They asked if I would type a letter on their behalf requesting they be re-installed because they don’t speak or write English fluently.  I suggested they mail it certified.  Quivira Falls refused it, so when it came back they hand-carried it into the office.  How shocked they were when the woman in the office told them to put the gutter guards back in themselves!  That’s right, the HOA blows them out and you can just buy a ladder and climb up there and do the job yourself!  “Welcome to America!!! and Quivira Falls Community Association one of the nation’s  finest bullies in HOAs!”

As the police were leaving the fire department ladder truck pulled up.  I guess the 911 dispatcher must have assumed a roof rescue was going to be needed.  Yes, indeed these HOAs are costing the taxpayers a ton of money and they don’t even have a clue.  The police chief’s office says always call them to come out and make a report even if they can’t arrest anybody.  That way if you end up in court with an HOA case you’ve got police reports to back you up.

I just lost another precious day of my life in HOA HELL!

 

70 Years Ago Today…Far Far Away in Normandy

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guest blog by Nila Ridings

It’s with deep emotions and a heavy heart that I write this blog about D-Day.

On that beach, dressed in the United States Army military fatigues with a rifle and a helmet was the man that ten years later would become the most influential person in my life. He was six feet tall, slender, beautiful blue eyes, thick dark brown hair with a wave on the side, a grin that melted everybody’s heart, and a sense of humor that could turn the toughest situations into one that made me laugh. Mom’s girlfriends said he was so dreamy looking he could have been a movie star. By the grace of God, I was one of three lucky girls that got to call him Dad.

He wasn’t a war hero, he was my hero. From my earliest memories in life, he was always my best friend. He was a very successful businessman, but first and foremost he was a loving husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, uncle, friend, and employer. He never missed my dance recitals, or a chance to make latrines for my Girl Scout camp. He was at every event I was a part of in school even when he was sitting in the freezing cold on concrete bleachers while I was cheering for our team until I lost my voice. He taught me about life, people, money management, construction, honesty, integrity, motivation, ambition, problem-solving, decision-making, project management, and taking good care of customers. He lived by his motto of “Work hard and play hard but never do too much of either one!”

We went to air shows and boat shows, car races and rodeos, the circus and ice skating performances. We went to Disneyland and Fairy Land, and coast to coast in the family station wagon. We ate well and lived comfortably in a beautiful HOA-FREE neighborhood. We had nice cars, boats, clothes, and a vacation home.

I’ve been extremely fortunate. And, my Dad told me to never buy a home with an HOA. I didn’t listen to his advice and I’ve paid the price. I fight every day to educate others about the horrors of HOAs and try to protect them from this misery. My Dad is my driving force, the wind beneath my wings, and the angel on my shoulder. He knew this HOA battle would grow ugly and brutal and I fight it to honor him.

He fought for our country to protect our freedoms from being destroyed by our enemies. When WWII was over, he returned to Kansas and never shared a word about what he saw on June 6, 1944. I just always knew we would take no vacations where we slept in a tent or away from American soil. And rice was never served on our dinner table. I did not know where my Dad was on D-Day until after both of my parents were gone and a family friend told me. I cried for hours.

Many men lost their lives. Wives lost their husbands, children lost their dads, mothers and fathers lost their sons, and brothers and sisters lost their brothers, and families lost loved ones seventy years ago on this fateful day. May we pause to remember each of them. And, pray that the citizens of our country and especially those of us in HOAs will recognize they did not make the ultimate sacrifice so we could turn against and battle each other on American soil today.

Beyond words…I love you and miss you, Dad.

Thank you for your service to our great country.

Elmer L. Ridings, 1922-1988

$100,000-Love Scores Zero With Quivira Falls Homeowners

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guest blog by Nila Ridings

Tennis anyone?  Well, not for the past several years because the courts have been bolted shut.  The surface is broken and the weeds are growing wild up through the cracks.  When the courts were open they were enjoyed once in a blue moon by non-residents with Missouri plates on their cars.

On October 22, 2007 six of the board members signed and mailed a letter to every homeowner to defend their position against the petitions that had been signed by over 240 homeowners to recall the board.  In that letter they state, “They say we are also frivolous to buy wind screens for the tennis courts.”  And, then they go on to say that due to the foreclosures that would impact their revenue they voted “for,” but decided “against,” buying the wind screens and new nets.

Warning

You bet there were homeowners opposing that ridiculous and unnecessary purchase because our townhouses were rotten to the point of having frame damage.  As a matter of fact, just four months after that letter was written the electric meters fell off my house because the siding and the structural frame was so rotten it just completely gave way.  This happened during a torrential rain storm and ripped two holes about the size of five gallon buckets in the back of my house.  Water was literally spraying out the electrical breakers on the wall downstairs and the water was gushing in under my new wood flooring, all over my new basement ceiling, down the walls, and running like a river across my brand new white berber carpeting and on across the basement to the drain in the utility room!  And there was absolutely nothing I could do to stop it.  My work order had been in for over two years for wood rot repair and it was met with nothing but totally goofy childish excuses.  When I told a board member I was going to hire my own contractor to repair the exterior of my house and apply the stucco, she told me…get ready now readers… brace yourselves………………..“If you hire your own contractors we are going to sue you and make you take the stucco off and put the wood rot back on!”  To this day, that is one of the most stupid things anybody has ever said to me in my entire life!

Back to the tennis courts.  One of the homeowners got ticked at the HOA and decided to report the tennis courts as abandoned property to the City of Overland Park.  Of course, I was notified of this because any time people are upset…I hear about it.  

Nobody wants to raise hell with this HOA board because if you dare do it, there is hell to pay. Sheer hell.  Ugly hell. Hate-filled hell.  That treatment silences 99.999% of the homeowners.  They haven’t been blind to the treatment I’ve gotten by the board and their cronies so they are not marching down the “Nila Ridings Road.”  No sir, they value their quality of life and bank accounts far more than speaking out…thus, this HOA is a horrible nightmare!

Quite by accident I found the property manager on my driveway right after hearing of this report.  I decided since she was right here within two feet of me, I’d ask about the status of the tennis courts.  She told me it was CITY CODE that Quivira Falls had to have these tennis courts resurfaced or totally removed, including the asphalt.  The cost to remove the fencing and asphalt for both courts was going to be $100,000.00 and 1/3 that amount if they were resurfaced.  I was skeptical….my gut instinct and intuition was saying this “smells” rotten.  My call to the City revealed it is not City code for Quivira Falls to have tennis courts.  A plan can be submitted for something new in their place, OR they can be removed. BUT THE ASPHALT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE REMOVED!

I’m 99% sure I could find somebody that would take those fences down for free and haul them off and reuse them.  I know a few loads of dirt and some grass seed can be purchased for far less then $100,000.00.  And, in the end the HOA would save money by not having to maintain the courts, buy nets, or those wind screens that were voted on in 2007, the lights could be removed as well and probably sold, but certainly there would be no electricity burning and there would be no expense of changing the bulbs when they burn out.  

I sent emails to the property manager and the board demanding this project be stopped so further discussion could take place before another $35,000 is wasted.  For those of you who don’t know this, my HOA borrowed $1M and most definitely it makes more sense to pay down debt then it does to resurface unused tennis courts! Nope, this CAI property manager is going forward with this project no matter what!  

Did I fail to mention just a couple of years ago they built a fancy handrail down the steps to the tennis courts?  That’s right, it’s been the “staircase to nowhere” because once you walked down there you were “welcomed” with the padlock!

Homeowners are putting protest plans together.  It looks like ANOTHER war is about to begin in Quivira Falls!

Here’s the kicker…”Arizona Dave” just had the tennis courts at his condo complex resurfaced.  They are larger than the ones in Quivira Falls.  Dave’s association is managed by him, not a CAI property management company.  He emailed me the paid invoice….$12,000.  

Like I said, something “smells” rotten!