Author Archives:

About

Ward Lucas is a longtime investigative journalist and television news anchor. He has won more than 70 national and regional awards for Excellence in Journalism, Creative Writing and community involvement. His new book, "Neighbors At War: the Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association," is now available for purchase. In it, he discusses the American homeowners association movement, from its racist origins, to its transformation into a lucrative money machine for the nation's legal industry. From scams to outright violence to foreclosures and neighborhood collapses across the country, the reader will find this book enormously compelling and a necessary read for every homeowner. Knowledge is self-defense. No homeowner contemplating life in an HOA should neglect reading this book. No HOA board officer should overlook this examination of the pitfalls in HOA management. And no lawyer representing either side in an HOA dispute should gloss over what homeowners are saying or believing about the lawsuit industry.

Legacy Park Community Association – An HOA Thief In Their Midst

      No Comments on Legacy Park Community Association – An HOA Thief In Their Midst

We’ve frequently talked in this blog about thieves who steal from their Homeowners Associations.  There’s another one. There’s always another one.

Douglas Gilpatrick Tulper, a treasurer for the Legacy Park Men’s Club took almost 18,000 dollars from his organization which is part of the Legacy Park Community Association in Kennesaw, Georgia. He says he needed it to pay bills.

His attorney may use his age as an excuse. He’s 78. But the problem isn’t age, or senility, or dementia. The problem is that HOA officers can do whatever the heck they want to with other people’s money. There is no oversight. There are no rules. And where there is no oversight, greed has no chains. It’s extremely rare when somebody actually gets caught.

America has 300,000 Homeowner Associations, little fiefdoms where the U.S. Constitution is not observed, respected or acknowledged.

Embezzlement arrests are rare in our gated communities. Yet every one seems to have some little “bit of history” with HOA thieves.

Isn’t something wrong here?

Ward Lucas
Author of
Neighbors At War: The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association

Do You Smell Something Rotting in the Air of Las Vegas?

      No Comments on Do You Smell Something Rotting in the Air of Las Vegas?

With several dozen Las Vegas Homeowner Associations mired in the muck of a federal corruption investigation, members of one association have learned they may be targeted by huge IRS assessments and fines.

Sun City Summerlin Community Association is not one of the Nevada HOAs where investigators have found corrupt cops and judges and lawyers. But this HOA’s accounting practices are attracting lots of federal attention.

The HOA operates several commercial golf courses and restaurants. So in addition to HOA dues, there’s a chunk of money coming into the coffers of the HOA from outside sources. Theoretically, taxes should be paid on that income. But Sun City Summerlin Association has been deferring millions of dollars on its annual tax forms. Homeowners don’t seem to be aware that their snowbird homes may end up as tax magnets instead of tax shelters.

Sun City Summerlin is a not-for-profit organization, so theoretically homeowners should have been given some rather large refunds. Instead, each homeowner may be given some rather large surprise tax assessments.

Other Homeowners Associations across the country area are closely watching what happens in Las Vegas. Elderly homeowners may suddenly discover a downside to investing their life savings in a retirement home in the Sun Belt.

Ward Lucas
Author of
Neighbors At War: The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association

The Wonders of Childhood

      No Comments on The Wonders of Childhood

Seven youngsters in the Twin Cities area will always remember the winter they learned to skate.

On a small piece of land where their backyards adjoined, their dads nailed some boards on top of one another. When the Minnesota skies turned frigid, the families turned on their garden hoses and filled the enclosure with water. It froze over, and they poured in another inch of water. Then another.

After just a week or so the families had created a miniature ice rink. The youngsters strapped on their new Christmas skates and with pint-sized paddles they learned to swat a puck back and forth. Eventually, two nets went up and the dads began teaching their youngsters all the finer mysteries of the sport of hockey. The miniature ice rink was envied by other children in the neighborhood and each afternoon they’d gather and play. They learned the rules of sportsmanship. And of friendship. And of taking turns.

Then the letter from the Homeowners Association arrived. The ice rink was illegal and had to be immediately removed. A violation of the demand would mean fines, liens, lawyers and lawsuits. There was no one to appeal to, no neighborhood gathering where the kids could plead their case. The ice rink had to go.

Seven youngsters will always remember the winter they learned to skate. And the winter they learned their backyard activities weren’t welcomed.

Yes, those seven children will always remember their childhood in Oakdale, Minnesota. And the Oak Run Shores Homeowners Association.

Ward Lucas
Author of
Neighbors At War: The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association

Do We Owe Them Anything?

      No Comments on Do We Owe Them Anything?

Sherman McCray is 81 years old. He was an Army veteran who saw the brutality of the Korean War, but he fought because he thought it was his duty to protect the honor of his fellow Americans.

In the post-war years, he married the love of his life. When she died, he tried to build a life for another.  She, too, succumbed to the cruelties of age. A pension helped with some of Sherman’s expenses.

But over a period of years he began to feel the ailments and pains that take apart and disintegrate an old man’s life. After the heart attack and a gall bladder operation, there wasn’t much money left over.

One of the bills that arrived was from the Vista Homeowners Association in Orlando.  Sherman McCray says he tried to call the HOA lawyer to discuss the bill. But each time he did, another one hundred dollars was tacked onto his $339 dollar dues.

With collection costs, attorney’s costs, and 18% interest, the overdue amount rose into the thousands. The lien from the HOA said they planned to take his house. He just couldn’t understand how his entire life could be stolen from him over a paltry bill. In a hand-written note, he pleaded with the judge not to take away an old man’s home, one that he’d worked so hard to build.

The lawyers for the Vistas Homeowner Association essentially said, “it’s too bad. It’s just the way the law in Florida works.”

In a few days, the desperately ill 81 year old veteran will be kicked out into the streets where he’ll sit among a pile of his belongings. His old black dog will comfort him while he figures out what to do. His home will be auctioned off for a few thousand dollars to help fill the HOA’s treasury.

Mary Goldin, president of the Vistas Homeowners Association refused to come to the  door to talk to a reporter.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/lake/os-lk-lauren-ritchie-home-foreclosure-20120122,0,6837576.column

Ward Lucas
Author of
Neighbors At War: The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association

How to Crash Property Values in an HOA!

      No Comments on How to Crash Property Values in an HOA!

What if your HOA suddenly passed a rule that no member could ever convert his home to a rental?
Homeowners rent out their homes for many legitimate reasons: to stall for time until sales values go back up; to bring in some money while Dad’s is relocating to a job out of state. Some parents invest in homes near a college so a child can decrease living expenses by taking in a roommate.

Poorly maintained rental property certainly brings down values of nearby homes. But well-maintained rentals harm no one.
So, what’s the harm in outlawing non-owner occupancies?

We may soon find out.

The City of West Saint Paul has passed an ordinance that says no more than ten percent of the homes on a block may be used as rental property. It was adopted because of fears that banks would convert foreclosed homes to rentals instead of selling them.

Several questions come to mind: what protects neighborhood values more, a number of well-maintained rentals? or waves of foreclosed homes sitting empty waiting for an economic turnaround that may never come? And another: if you knew you were buying a house you could never convert to a rental under any circumstances, would that raise it’s value? or would you be tempted to low-ball the seller? And wouldn’t your low-ball purchase bring down ‘comps’ on all other nearby houses?

And a final question: would lenders be more or less eager to lend money to a borrower who might have to default because he could never rent out his home in a future emergency?

West Saint Paul, Winona, and any other cities with such bans, you haven’t just shot yourself in the foot. You’ve shot, re-loaded, shot, re-loaded, shot, re-loaded……..

Ward Lucas
Author of
Neighbors At War: The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association