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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.

HOA Embezzler Gets 90 Days

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Yet another HOA embezzler got a tap on the wrist this week, after pleading guilty to forty counts of stealing from his neighbors.

Robert Dwyane Wood stole an undetermined amount of money from the treasury of the Cabbagetown Initiative Community Development Corporation, a homeowners association in Atlanta. Much of the stolen money came from funds raised to help victims of the 2008 Atlanta tornado. Victims of the tornado never received the money that was donated on their behalf.

Wood was formerly the president of the Homeowner Association.

In addition to 90 days in jail, Wood was ordered to make restitution in the amount of 78,000 dollars.  That’s the amount of money that could be documented as being stolen. But other HOA leaders say they suspect that far more money was taken, but they couldn’t prove Wood stole additional funds.

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/former-cabbagetown-president-sentenced-1248434.html

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

Homeowner Associations: an International Problem

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When critiquing the Homeowner Association movement, most of our attention is directed at problem HOAs in the United States. But the out-of-control HOA board, it seems, is an international problem.

In Dubai, residents of Palm Jumeirah were furioius when their water was cut off for five hours. The problem was that a homeowner was late paying a water bill so all other homeowners were forced to suffer for this one person’s mistake. Dubai has a history of out-of-control neighborhood governance. Property rights there are somewhat vague and ill-defined.

In the Philippines five members of a family, including the president of a Homeowners Association, were recently murdered. The suspects are reportedly some HOA residents who are afraid they’re going to be losing their homes.

In South Africa, the major Property Owners Association is in a zoning war with the City of Johannesburg over the power developers should have over the quality of their construction projects.

What distinguishes American Homeowners Associations from others across the world is that Americans are protected by a Bill of Rights, which guarantees freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to bear arms, the right to assembly, the right to due process, the right to protect the integrity of one’s home and private papers.

On second thought, don’t Americans sign away all those rights away when they buy property in a Homeowners Association? They do?

Never mind.

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

Liar Liar, Pants on Fire!

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On very rare occasions a damaged homeowner actually beats his HOA in court. It’s incredibly rare, but it does happen. And this one happened in Tennessee.

In its infinite wisdom, the Rivertown On The Island Homeowner Association decided to confiscate and auction off some poor shmuck’s house for non-payment of dues. But in its glowing arrogance, the HOA figured it needn’t inform the homeowner how much he had to pay to stop the foreclosure.

It was a $300,000 house. The HOA grabbed it, kicked out the owner, and hocked the house for $12,000. But nobody seemed to know how much the owner was behind on his dues. In fact, the owner had been paying his dues all along. Despite the HOA’s ledger which proved the dues really were being paid, the HOA decided to tell the judge a wee little fib. It claimed the aforementioned shmuck had paid nothing.

Ah, the fibbers got caught and the trial court ordered the house returned.

But the geniuses who run the Rivertown On The Island HOA decided they really hadn’t been arrogant enough. They appealed the case to the Tennessee Court of Appeals, arguing that the judge in the first case was biased against the HOA. Ya think? Get caught lying to a judge, and then try to blame the judge for getting steamed?

Anyway, the Court of Appeals decided that lying HOAs need to get caught once in a while. It upheld the first judge and jammed trial fees down the open throats of the HOA officials. Sadly, though, all those Rivertown homeowners are going to have to cough up a special assessment to pay for this stupid court case.

That means the family who won this court case will end up being about as popular as ticks on a picnic blanket. Best advice: move out! And vow never again to live in an HOA!

http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx?page=1&xmldoc=In TNCO 20111206623.xml&docbase=CSLWAR3-2007-CURR&SizeDisp=7

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

BAM! The First Las Vegas HOA Corruption Indictment

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It could be the first of many; but the first actual indictment for corruption in the Las Vegas Homeowners Association investigation was handed down Friday, December 9th.

Dax Lee Louderman, a former employee of a construction company, was charged with stealing more than a half million dollars in a construction defect case. Louderman was charged with 13 counts of theft from the Stone Canyon HOA.

Louderman was charged in state court rather than in federal. But it appears to be a spinoff from the massive federal investigation of fraud and corruption in more than a dozen Las Vegas Homeowners Associations. In recent weeks, ten targets of the federal investigation have pleaded guilty to theft and corruption, and the stacking of HOA boards with officers who would direct construction and legal expenses to certain lawyers and construction companies. Presumably, those ten suspects will now testify against other targets in the case.

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

Another HOA Embezzlement Case

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Ho hum, it’s just another embezzlement from a Homeowner Association. I don’t want to bore you with too many details, since these happen with unbelievable regularity.  I haven’t done an official study, but it seems that there are more HOA embezzlements than purse snatchings. Is that possible? It’s just so incredibly easy to steal from your neighbors when you’re an HOA board officer or manager. The difficult thing to understand is how you can look your neighbors in the eye. If anyone can enlighten me as to how that miracle can be accomplished, please do. That kind of bald-faced dishonesty just mystifies me. But there’ll be another embezzlement tomorrow. And the next day. And the next.

Source: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/12/06/1906375/police-say-former-treasurer-of.html

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