Thursday, September 03, 2009

Northwest Herald | Homeowners association 
how-to: What buyers should know before moving in

Northwest Herald | Homeowners association 
how-to: What buyers should know before moving in: "“This is an organization that can hold power over you and your home and can decide what you can do with your property,” McKenzie said. “They decide if you can have a flag pole, or a clothesline, or swing sets. If you are not comfortable with that, then don’t move into one of these.”"
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Thanks to Bill Davis for sending me this link.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Let's see, "“They decide if you can have a flag pole, or a clothesline, or swing sets. If you are not comfortable with that, then don’t move into one of these.”"
In my opinion, maybe, now, this simplistic view is a deciding factor, but as far too many have been forced to live through, many of these abusive groups and their associates have an agenda that is not so simplistic. The intentional outrages; fines, leins, foreclosure by some of these abusive groups and their friends and the legal devaststion they have been able to inflict upon innocent, unsuspecting homeowners is crazy!
Simply if you ask a question, are of a certain gender, etc., are disabled (and they think you will cost them money), are elderly, or anything some of these board members and their friends can dream up, can render you homless and financially devaststed. Come on, Dr. McKenzie, tell it like it really is!
other

Anonymous said...

Dear Dr. McKenzie,
Am I mistaken, but didn't you nickname the the the theft and questionable practices of some in these abusive groups, "the lawyer relief act?" What about those homeless due to the illegal and unethical practices of some boards their associates and friends? I have a newsflash for you. Of those I know homeless, harrassed, terrorized, financially devastated and singled out for this abuse. Not one of those individuals/families has anything closely related to the practices inflicted upon them in any of their governing documents for their community. I would get real, and skip the clothesline and flag pole fallacy. That is almost as good as, "Oh, the documents mean nothing. They just say you can't raise chickens or paint your house purple..."

Anonymous said...

Wow Evan, you really soft shoed that one!
Why can't you be quoted talking about the real problem.
These organizations are ALWAYS one election away from disaster

Evan McKenzie said...

If you look very closely at the Northwest Herald article, you will see that it was written by Brian Slupski. It was not written by yours truly. When I write something, I can say whatever I want. I am perfectly happy being judged on that. But I will not be judged by what somebody else writes. When a reporter interviews me for 40 minutes and then selects one or two sentences from his interview notes to include in his article, and throws the rest of my comments in the trash, it isn't my problem.
I have said more and written more about municipal mandates, HOA tyranny and lack of consent, lack of choice in the housing market, etc., than just about anybody on this planet. I really don't need to be told what I can and can't say to reporters about all this. I say it, and they write what they want.

Shu Bartholomew said...

That's for sure. I have been misquoted several times, even when the article was about me. In the WP article, the reporter said I was glad there was an HOA to protect my property values. When I asked her about it after the article was published she said she just assumed I would be. The truth is that I believe the property values argument is totally bogus.


Ironically, the only time I was NOT misquoted was when I was interviewed for Common Ground.

Beth said...

my gosh, Shu, you must have been REALLY ticked about that misquoting! And in the Washington Post? Aaargh . . .

Anyone who has ever been interviewed by a journalist knows what a gamble it is. No matter how carefully you phrase your sentences, the story can present your thoughts completely wrong. The more you explain, the riskier things get (because there's more that can be taken out of context).

On the other hand, if you don't talk to journalists, there's less possibility of a good story getting written.

Tom Skiba said...

Quote [[Ironically, the only time I was NOT misquoted was when I was interviewed for Common Ground.]]

Thanks Shu....