Category Archives: Florida

“One Small Step For A Man, One Giant Leap (still to come)”

Wow! Jan Bergemann, you are somethin’ else! I didn’t think your proposed legislation had a ghost of a chance of even getting out of committee. But Jan, my brother, you have accomplished a miracle. Just remember it’s only a small step, and you’re up against a massive HOA tort industry that will do anything in its power to ruin you, your reputation, your health, your bank account. Remember, you’re threatening the income stream of a very powerful and unscrupulous monster.

But you are among a small handful of pioneers who opened the eyes of many of the rest of us around the country. We all owe you a debt of gratitude. Of course, we know and you know that you’ve got a big red target on your back.

Those of you who’d like to read the progress and the text of Jan’s proposed Florida reform legislation, it’s linked below.

http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=99asbrdab&v=001PAHSyKgq2Iq97r8N_9ppO1dwdqJSFmw_AolLy6KxC7oRT38uuDvHhB18C0poQ7wX8fZnNwKErzSWQxtLNTHsRahyAldp-aluI_tbop7rEJp-xT3Hehp-YgI263W39r0hSS3cqzw8jBE%3D

HOA Murders! Again!

Professor Gary Solomon, one of the prominent national voices in the Homeowners’ Rights Movement, has long predicted that the nation will see a wave of violence in Homeowners Associations. There’s no doubt this man is precognizant. This weekend’s news proves him to be a real prophet.
 
In Harrisburg, North Carolina, Anthony Charles Hardy lived exactly between homes of the president of the Windsor Forest Homeowners Association and a house occupied by another member of the board. This weekend Hardy murdered both board members, and then committed suicide in a subsequent standoff with the SWAT team. Three people dead.
 
Do you want to be a prophet? Just go to your annual homeowners association meeting and watch the fury and frustration vented by homeowners against the board of directors. It really is a little scary.
 
Of course, there’s absolutely no excuse for murder. None. But is this violence just wildly coincidental?
 
Arizona resident George Staropoli, one of the pioneers of the Homeowners’ Rights Movement, points out in a recent blog the arrogance of the national HOA lawsuit industry with the artwork on the covers of industry magazines from several years ago. The industry, the CAI in this case, is absolutely mocking the coming wave of homeowners who are screaming about the rights they’ve unexpectedly lost by signing the CC&R papers for a new home.
 
While realizing that homeowners are turning to murder and mayhem in states like North Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri, Florida, Arizona and others, try to comprehend why leaders of the HOA money scam would mock simple homeowners who are just trying to understand how and why they lost all their Constitutional rights.  Please, please read Staropoli’s blogpost linked below (all the way to the end to see the magazine covers) and make sure you take in the full impact of the HOA industry’s attitude toward the rest of us. They owe us a huge apology.
 
 

You’re Only A Paraplegic! You’re Not Disabled!

There must be a hundred-and-one schemes to get rid of the ‘gimp’ in your life. Yes, that’s the word once hurled at my wife, who has multiple sclerosis. The first time I ever heard that word was from my HOA president.

Now, the number one ‘gimp’ in Hollywood, Florida is a lady whose HOA is trying to sue her for being disabled. Yep, we don’t want disabled people ruining our property values, do we?

Larraine Best rides what she calls her ‘trike’. The Summit Towers Homeowners Association says it’s a motorcycle and she clearly has no business parking it at her home, especially in a handicap slot. She has a damaged spinal cord and gets around on crutches, and on her trike.

Lordy, lordy, federal lawyers and Broward County lawyers are now planning to sue Summit Towers on her behalf. The HOA says any such lawsuit would amount to a mockery of truly disabled people. Huh? Whazzat?

ADA lawyers have a nasty habit of always winning lawsuits on behalf of the disabled. And civil suits against HOAs by disabled people are almost always successful.

Citizens of Summit Towers? Plan on going to the bank to withdraw money for the big special assessment that’s coming your way.

Have a nice day.

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-02-11/news/fl-ada-motorcycle-lawsuit-20130209_1_condo-rules-condo-board-motorcycle

 

We’re Back! Wobbley, But Back!

My Webmaster is my personal hero/heroine. By some miracle she has restored most or all of my blog posts that were trashed in this most recent hack attack.  Although my posts might not be in chronological order, that’s OK. It may actually mean that you get to read some things you otherwise might have missed because they were written some time ago.

In the meantime, if you ever need a genious as your own personal Webmaster, please let me know. I kind of hate to refer her to you because I don’t want to ever lose someone with her Internet talent and knowledge. But if you email me at Ward@NeighborsAtWar.com, I will (reluctantly) give her your name and contact number.

Oh, yeah! You’ve gotta buy my book first before I give her your number!   That’s not extortion. It’s business.

Florida Outrage

Florida has a new law that allows HOAs to evict a homeowner who’s behind on dues and lease the house to a tenant to make up for the lost money. The Bridgewater Community Association in Wesley Chapel has taken that to extremes.

Joanne McCarn says she missed a $225 dues payment in 2009 when her mother died. She claims she knew nothing about the overdue payment until recently. The HOA began tacking on late fees, attorney’s fees, and collection costs. By the time Joanne found out about her missed payment, the HOA was demanding $2,565, more than ten times the original amount. Joanne and her husband both tried to contact Association officials, who refused to talk to them.

The McCarn family had leased their home to a renter. But the HOA used the new Florida law to kick out the McCarn’s renter and put in a renter of their own. Joanne says it’s completely outrageous because the house hasn’t been foreclosed upon.

“I still own this house,” she says. “The HOA changed the locks on the doors and they call the sheriff if I come near the property.”

A Homeowners Association lawyer in Florida says the HOA’s actions are illegal. If so, then homeowners in the Bridgewater Association may be hit with a special assessment to cover a hefty lawsuit against the community.