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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.

Calling Mr. Plumbean To The HOA Meeting

guest blog by Nila Ridings

Purely by accident Mr. Plumbean changed his neighborhood. I think if he would attend some HOA meetings across the country he could change the mindset in HOA Amerika!

Like many of you, I follow the HOA stories that Judy Thomas has been writing in the Kansas City Star’s HOA Hell series. The comments that people make are very interesting and most are supportive of the homeowners, not the HOA. One comment read something like this: “This story reminds me of a book I read in elementary school.” I was so curious I asked for the name of the book and she wrote back The Big Orange Splot by Daniel Manus Pinkwater.

The orange splot starts a chain reaction of major change in the neighborhood by Mr. Plumbean. Prior to its appearance every home looked exactly alike and that’s the way everybody wanted it to be. They liked the “neat street” sameness. I will not give away the story line but I think the HOAs of Amerika desperately need Mr. Plumbean! And I feel sure the author was a victim of an HOA at some point in his life.

While this is a children’s book it’s one that HOA homeowners will no doubt relate to and hopefully learn from. The answers we have been seeking can be found in just 32 pages!

Yet Another CAI Lie!

Egads! I hate to publish links to CAI press releases. As I do this, just remind yourself that CAI rhymes with lie. The Community Associations Institute just loves to help struggling seniors, right? That’s what they’re trying to pretend right now. They’re going to help pack meals for low-income or struggling old folks.

If CAI really wanted to help seniors, then they’d start advising some of their hundreds of thousands of member Homeowners Associations to quit fining, liening and confiscating the homes of seniors who are too weak to fight the petty dictates of the local lawn Nazis.

Want to really help seniors? Give them back their access to Due Process and the Bill of Rights.

(link to press release on CAI’s amazing lie)

 

Beware Of Text Scam!!

Not HOA related.

Be cautious of a phone scam that’s sweeping the country. You get a text on your cell phone supposedly from Bank of America. It says “Your Bank Card has been locked as a security measure! Follow http://xxxxxxx(my deletion)xxxx and update your profile to unblock your credit card.”

This scam has been used for a number of years, but several friends I called tonight said they had just gotten such a text. So apparently this one is going around again. Banks won’t text you and tell you to update your profile.  So beware!

Ward

This Is How We Treat Our Veterans?!?

Being an injured veteran, back home from fighting our wars abroad, you’d think Americans might be a little more understanding and compassionate. But the tiny-minded Water Oaks neighborhood on Florida’s Emerald Coast apparently feels like it’s a little too good for a lowly former Army NCO.

Sgt. First Class Shane Jernigan is a first class fellow. His neighbors are acting like a bunch of slimy low-lifes. Jernigan has been in one fight after another as his Homeowners Association tries to make him so miserable he’ll leave. But he’s a fighter. This HOA and its law firm (one of the most notoriously litigious in the whole state) is trying to spend him to death.

It’s a strange irony, the name of the town where all this is going on. Niceville. You can’t make these things up!

(link to Daily News story of Jernigan’s fight)

 

 

Kansas City Star: HOA Central!

The Kansas City Star continues to be the premier newspaper providing in-depth news coverage of the national HOA abuse scandal. In this category, at least, the Star is acting like a national newspaper, not a City newspaper. People in all fifty states and Canada are following the expose’ by reporter Judy Thomas and her team. Finally, some true muckraking by a journalist who has the guts to stand up to this massive and corrupt lobby.

And don’t think this reporter isn’t getting abused for her efforts. I maintain no personal contact with her. But I’ve been in the trenches in another city when an investigative team breaks a scandal wide open. It’s not pretty. It’s bloody. The hate calls, sooner or later the death threats. The midnight phone hangups at your home number. The threats to family members. Sometimes a parked car up the street watching your comings and goings. Yep, I’ve been there and I know exactly what’s going on.

But the Kansas City Star plunges forward. As long as this newspaper supports its reporter the stories will continue. They’ll go on because the national HOA scam is huge and there’s no end to the stories, the victims, the sources.

Competing editors across the country will start getting jealous and begin doing their own investigations, of course claiming that they were the originators of the HOA expose’. I’ve seen that happen, too. To me. Yep, I’ve been in the trenches.

And sooner or later we’ll see some legislators tiptoe forward and test the waters. If they sense constituency support they’ll possibly ‘suggest’ some controlling legislation. I’ve seen this happen, too, and I’ve watched them suddenly back off and say, “I’ll try again next year.” It’s another phony promise by cowardly legislators too afraid of losing a vote or a donation here and there.

Another brave reporter is Jeff German of the Las Vegas Review Journal. I’ve never spoken to him, but he’s also one of the very few reporters who’s dared challenge the corrupt HOA industry. I know by the power of his investigative efforts what he’s gone through to expose the scams and the lies and the suicides/assaults/murders of HOA scammers who’ve turned state’s evidence.

Despite the “We’re so innocent” claims of major figures in the national HOA industry, we are dealing with classic organized crime, racketeering, violations of RICO statutes. The lawsuit industry could clean up its own corruption, but there’s just too much money to be made. In this industry, if you’re not dishonest you’re not making any money.

Follow the money. Who’s getting rich? Those are the criminals.

(link to latest Kansas City Star report on HOA abuse of a homeowner)