Category Archives: racketeering

Ban Free Speech In An HOA?

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The link below is from a homeowner in Minnesota who is outraged that her HOA has issued new rules against certain types of speech, like talking to your neighbor about the HOA board.

Can they really do that?

Well, yes they can. A private non-profit corporation can do just about anything it wants whether it seems constitutional or not.

A for-profit corporation can do the same. The Denver TV station where I worked for more than three decades had rules about private discussions between or among employees. Religion and politics were forbidden. Political correctness was mandated at all times.

But your home is your castle, isn’t it? Well, not in the modern Homeowners Association Movement. If your HOA board is as fascist as many of them are, even certain kinds of private conversation in your home are banned. And you can be fined. And liened. And your home confiscated and sold at auction, all because of a private dinnertime conversation you had with friends.

Until we can get the courts to recognize that Homeowners Associations are governments…we are doomed to hear an endless list of horrors.

(banning of speech in a Homeowners Association)

 

 

Goonan on CAI! Another Good One!

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guest blog by Deborah Goonan

To legislators at the state and federal level, and housing policy makers, CAI (Community Associations Institute) presents itself as the sole authority on HOA issues, and an advocate for homeowners. In reality, CAI is a trade group that represents the interests of businesses that serve – or exploit – homeowners and residents in mandatory associations.

CAI’s recently published white paper on Association Governance reveals its true agenda – to perpetuate blind acceptance of the Association Governance as the only viable housing institution, and to simultaneously create an ever-growing need for “expert” services of managers, attorneys, and various HOA service providers.

Here’s a link to my own blog site where I take an in-depth look a few of CAI’s outrageous assumptions and objectives:

Dissecting the CAI white paper manifesto on Association  Governance (part 1)

Dissecting the CAI white paper manifesto on Association  Governance (part 1)

Embezzling A Cool 2.5 Million From Your HOA!

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It’s nice work if you can get it.

39-year-old William Francis managed money for more than four dozen HOA clients. He also managed to steal enough to finance the kind of life many men like him would love to have. Limousines, hookers, porn, NBA tickets. He faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison. Ah, but these judges rarely sentence a white collar criminal to more than 18 months behind bars. This man apparently spent a lot of his life behind bars, the kind where you find loose women and alcohol.

A life of luxury? People like this guy should get life in prison. Until we start treating embezzlement from HOAs like the crime it really is, the wave of corruption will continue. Nobody takes this crime seriously….except the victims.

(HOA manager admits a life of luxury after stealing all the money)

 

Illinois Corruption!

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Growing up as an Army Brat in the 1950s had its benefits. My dad was a West Point graduate in 1939, a time of true national honor, honesty and dignity. Many years later I remember my father weeping at news of the first West Point cheating scandal. I was too young to understand but my dad’s tears just broke my heart.

But these days, nobody raises their eyebrows at cheating and official corruption. It’s just the mud pit of what our country has descended into. Occasionally, reporters here and there expose the official corruption. Here’s the rare one:

(link to CotoBuzz story on Illinois corruption)

 

 

The Letter From Dave Clouse

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guest blog by Nila Ridings

It seems Dave Clouse had some things he needed to get off his chest about his condo so he wrote the editor of the Bradenton Herald.

Dave’s condo complex, Bridgewater Townhomes in Point Pleasant has a termite issue. Well, really it sounds more like a serious problem. And the termite problem is more serious because the HOA board refuses to allow proper treatment to wipe out the termites.

No tenting! That’s right when termites are severe enough the entire structure has to be “tented” and everybody has to leave the premise for an extended time period. What also happens is EVERYBODY sees this tent and wants to know what it is and why it’s needed. That is precisely why the HOA board does not want this type of negative attention drawn to Bridgewater Townhomes in Pleasant Point. Nope. It’s better to let the termites eat the building to the ground than to let the “outsiders” know the place is infested with termites! I’ve found that to be typical HOA board common sense.

Dave starts his letter with: “Buyer beware! Many people are attracted to the maintenance-free lifestyle that duplexes, condos and townhome owners enjoy. It is attractive to have the homeowners association be responsible for the outside maintenance of your building and property, especially if you only live here part time.”

I must say that is the propaganda that buyers are fed when they are looking to jump into the dark abyss of HOA ownership. He is correct in sounding the alarm of, “Buyer beware!”

The termite concern is just one of many that come with condos. Most people do not realize they will be needing approval for the interior changes they plan to make as well. Thinking of wood floors? Think again. Most condos allow wood floors on the ground floor only. From the second floor up those folks have cork floors. I visited a friend in a million dollar plus ocean front condo in Naples, Florida that had cork flooring. I didn’t like the look or feel of it. She didn’t like carpeting, but wood floors were out of the question. Tile floors? No, no, no, not having those either. Just more reasons to never buy a condo or in an HOA for that matter.

As for poor Dave Clouse, I hope he gets out before the termites digest his home!

(link to termite letter in Bradenton Herald)