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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.

Boom Goes The Egg Money!

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That’s Pennsylvania Dutch, and you can look it up if you’re interested.

But it basically means that a homeowner’s savings are all gone. And that’s exactly what’s happening as FEMA redraws its maps for flood zones. A couple of years ago 20,000 homes were damaged or destroyed in a devastating flood in Boulder, Colorado. I remember it well because a close friend and I spent 12 hours trying to find a way out of the flooded streets, the collapsing pavement and entire homes drifting down the middle of major boulevards. We survived, but we had to endure waves of water crashing over my 2001 Blazer. I can personally testify that Chevy Blazers actually float…at least for a little while.

The federal flood maps didn’t list any of those Boulder neighborhoods as flood zones and many homeowners discovered, to their horror, that as members of HOA corporations they didn’t qualify for federal emergency relief. If you own a home you get federal relief. If you’re in a Homeowners Association you are considered a stock holder, not a homeowner. Who knew?

Now, thousands of people around the country are discovering that their membership in Homeowners Associations won’t save them from future weather disasters as FEMA re-draws all the flood maps. What does that do to HOA property values? You get just one guess!

(link to the redrawing of flood maps by FEMA)

 

 

A Reward For Turning In A Rotten Neighbor

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Just amazing! Just in time for Christmas, counties in Florida are offering rewards for turning in criminals. Just look around your HOA and you can find plenty of board members and property managers who are stealing, bribing, defrauding and embezzling from homeowners. There’s your Christmas money.

Just take this advice from a long-time investigative reporter. Whenever the cops ask you to anonymously call an 800 number, the dirty secret is that you’re not anonymous. The Crimestoppers 800 number is a complete and total scam. Call from a phone booth.

(turn in Florida criminals for a reward)

A Victory For Colorado Homeowners!

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It seems like each state has a hero in the anti-HOA movement. Colorado has Stan Hrincevich. He has worked long and hard to get some kind of state control over the HOA scam. Here’s his latest update on HOA legislation in our state:

The HOA Property Manager (aka Community Association Manager (CAM)) licensing law was fully implemented July 15, 2015. This law provides homeowners a chance to help clean-up abusive industry practices and provide a forum for home owners to rein in violations of State law and HOA governing documents. HB 13-1277 is the licensing law.

The complaint process involves an on-line/web application and is fully explained in our Complaint Guide and should not take more than 15-20 minutes. Since the State HOA Office has no investigative or enforcement authority we suggest you direct all your HOA problems that you want investigated to the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) under the licensing law. The State HOA Office can also be apprised.

Several CAM violations stand out and we ask you and your fellow homeowners to pursue via a complaint:

1) CAM is not licensed (simple lookup on your part)

2) violations in conducting elections, meetings, extremely poor property maintenance, records release (items a,b,and/or c below) and

3) charging HOA Transfer Fees (items “a” and “c” below). All are applicable to CAM complaints. Each one requires a separate complaint.

The explanation of your CAM complaint involves:

1) a description of your problem including how you understand it violates your rights. Include one or more of the below statements extracted from the licensing law to support your complaint.

2) Evidence such as you paid a Transfer Fee documented on your home closing papers, your request for documents has been refused, etc.

Supporting all complaints should be your documentation including an email informing BOTH the HOA Board and CAM of your problem, allow 7-10 days for resolution and if not resolved file a complaint. If you need guidance let us know. Complaints are confidential with DORA.

Let’s all participate to surface problems and hold violators accountable.

Extracts from CAM Licensing Law:

a. KNOWINGLY VIOLATING OR KNOWINGLY DIRECTING OTHERS TO VIOLATE CCIOA (or your HOA governing documents)

b. HAVING DEMONSTRATED UNWORTHINESS OR INCOMPETENCY TO ACT AS A COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION MANAGER BY CONDUCTING BUSINESS IN SUCH A MANNER AS TO ENDANGER THE INTEREST OF THE PUBLIC

c. ANY OTHER CONDUCT, WHETHER OF THE SAME OR A DIFFERENT CHARACTER THAN SPECIFIED IN THIS SUBSECTION (1), THAT CONSTITUTES DISHONEST DEALING.

Stan Hrincevich
Colorado HOA Forum LLC
www.coloradohoaforum.com
email: coloradohoaforum@gmail.com or coloradohoaforum@coloradohoaforum.com

 

 

Las Vegas HOA Horror Show

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Las Vegas TV reporter Darcy Spears is the First Lady of HOA exposures and she’s got another great one. This time it’s not a crooked board. It’s an HOA management company that’s doing its level best to ruin a little old lady. Phony dues, phony charges, threats of liens and foreclosures. Even the HOA board which fired this company says it’s all bogus.

This has to be seen to be believed.

(link to the latest HOA Hall of Shame)

 

Just Follow The Money!

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Whew! There’s a nasty dispute going on in the Cobblestone Community Homeowners Association in Atlanta. It’s a very tidy neighborhood of upscale Atlantans. But the HOA president and treasurer won’t release financial documents to show how dues are being spent. The neighbors want to throw out the board members and get an audit done. The HOA president won’t schedule an election.

The cops have been called. Neighbors have to meet in a nearby library. Watch the video. You have to admire the comments by the news anchor at the end of the story!

 

(link to fox5 Atlanta story on HOA dispute)

http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/i-team/53871300-story