Some pretty crazy ‘stuff’ happens in Texas Homeowners Associations. One family in Frisco is now learning how dangerous it is to live near an HOA common area. Brian and Natalie Woodward thought buying a home next to a pond would be fun. Now that the water drainage is threatening to destroy their property, the HOA and the developer are pointing fingers at each other but nobody is planning any changes. Meanwhile, the Woodward’s property is ‘slip slippin’ away.’
Aspen has always been known as a far-left city. There’s probably not a registered Republican within 25 miles of the town limits. And this isn’t meant as a slam against either my far-left friends or my far-right friends. I’ve got plenty on both sides and I respect them all. But there has to be some kind of law against this.
Aspen, as a ski town, needs to hire low-wage people to operate the ski lifts, clean the lodges and wait on diners. But Aspen is so ritzy that affordable housing is a joke. To work in that city you have to live someplace in Utah and commute. The answer? Take over aging condo associations, throw millions of dollars of taxpayer money into restoring them, and then become the condo association’s de-facto government. Then this faux management company operates the condos like a typical HOA fascist state, all rules, no rights.
Incredible. I can just feel the avalanche of future lawsuits. I’d love to hear your comments about what has to become kind of burgeoning scandal.
We hear it all too often on this website: How come HOAs don’t have to follow the law like all other debt collection agencies?
The only answer I have is that legislators are either crooked, or stupid, flat-out don’t care or a combination of any of the three. Believe me, your message is getting through to a handful of them. They occasionally contact me. But overall, lawmakers are feigning ignorance of this growing national scandal.
Linked below is a tragic story of an older man who’s dying of leukemia. The $75 dues payment he couldn’t afford has turned into a multi-thousand dollar campaign to snatch this man’s home. Make a note: It’s the Heather Lakes Homeowners Association near Tampa Bay, Florida. Make sure to tell your Realtor you don’t want to live there!
Debt collectors are forbidden by state and federal law from using the collection practices so common in the HOA industry. No one can tell me that this national scam doesn’t amount to organized crime. It does, and it has to be recognized as such.
Eventually, all of us in this fight for homeowners rights get discouraged. The goal of educating other homeowners is frustrating. Often it seems impossible. We wonder how we can make even a little dent in the massive corruption that infests and characterizes the Homeowners Association movement.
But don’t ever doubt your power as a individual human being to change the world.
Back in 2009, Dave Carroll, a musician from Nova Scotia, was frustrated when his expensive Taylor guitar was severely damaged through the negligence of United Airlines. He was even more frustrated by the callous handling of his damage claim. He couldn’t fight back. But as a musician, he could write a song.
Now, Carroll is a star on the international speakers circuit. He’s making a fortune with his CDs, his books, his concerts and his personal appearances.
Dave Carroll is just one voice out of seven billion. Yet since 2009 his song and his story have been viewed and have impacted more than 150 million people. And United Airlines has spent a fortune trying to repair its damaged image.
The new paradigm is social media. And you and I, my friends, are squarely in the middle of the revolution.
Here’s link to Carroll’s TEDx talk, along with his song, United Breaks Guitars:
It shows the growing impact of HOA fees on different types of neighborhoods. In recent years, more and more people have been moving away from private family homes into life in a condo. The decrease of available land, the mandate by many large businesses that employees should live closer to the city core, and the relatively lower cost of condo living are among the reasons for the demographic shift.
But knowing what we all know about the false promises of ‘easier living,’ the figures below are a little scary. Living in America is all about choice, isn’t it? But more and more we are all losing our God-given freedom of choice. In addition, we are paying higher and higher fees, fines and special assessments for the privilege of living in an HOA-controlled condo.
