Thursday, August 19, 2010

Cable TV: Homeowners associations buck cable bills - OrlandoSentinel.com

Cable TV: Homeowners associations buck cable bills - OrlandoSentinel.com: "For years, subdivision developers have locked their homeowners associations into blanket caCable-television contracts that force the associations to pay for every home in a community — even if a house is empty or the owners are behind on their homeowner fees.

But now, with associations racked by record foreclosures and delinquent homeowner fees, some communities are balking at paying for unused cable service in vacant houses or service to homes where the owners long ago stopped paying their association fees."

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Thanks to Beth for this instructive story. It is fascinating to hear industry advocates waxing eloquent about the supposed contract that the owners entered into with their fellow residents, thus indenturing themselves forever. Deals like, this, though, show what really happens. The developer writes whatever he wants, sells out, and leaves, and the residents are stuck with whatever situation he created for them. But when things like this happen...when it is the association that wants to break what looks like a bad deal...then watch the industry advocates switch sides and talk about the need to rewrite the deal to save the association in these hard times. As someone once said, where you stand depends on where you sit.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

The management companies are interested in anything that might result in financial hardship. They profit from delinquencies whether actual or created artificially by the management company. This is why CAI promotes unlimited assessments, private fines, and a host of other unlimited financial burdens imposed upon the homeowner.

Darth Vader said...

I have altered the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further.