As the owner of this blog has observed, there's years more excess to be wrung out of the real estate bubble that burst five years ago.
Before it's done, it could take down a lot of HOAs with it. Witness the "the fading fortunes of gated communities and condominiums" in Florida as the Palm Beach Post put it in this article, where desperate HOAs have resorted to locking out inmates behind on their assessments and removing the doors of their mailboxes.
4 comments:
Not pretty. Not encouraging. Without putting too fine a point on it, DON'T SAY I DIDN'T TELL YOU SO. Read my articles/books leading up the present time. How much of a warning, ie, WAKE UP CALL do Buyers need to understand that this [HOA] concept is an unmitigated failure? How possibly does/can the industry (Privatopia included) justify their actions? They have a lot to answer for.
Donie Vanitzian
Donie,
Nonsense.
H.O.A.ism is great in theory.
It's just that
(1) homeowner's aren't good enough for H.O.A.ism
(2) the right people haven't been put in charge
(3) it hasn't been implemented correctly
(4) true HOAism hasn't been tried yet, so you can't criticize it.
Once homeowners are educated about how wonderful H.O.A.ism really is, and the government stops interfering with the free market and allows H.O.A.s to grow in number, size, and power, everybody will be able to enjoy the benefits of privatized government.
Homeowners of America -- unite!
You have nothing to lose but your property values.
@Communistry...
You forget that you can also lose:
The property in its entirety
Sanity
Peaceful enjoyment of your property
Freedom from mental anguish
Your life savings
Your job
Your marriage
Your family
Your privacy
There is an abundant evidence of abusive, deceptive, and arbitrary, capricious, & discriminatory conduct by HOA corporations and their agents. Abusive practices by these entities contributes to the loss of property values, loss of property, personal bankruptcies, marital instability, loss of jobs, and invasions of individual privacy.
> removing the doors of their mailboxes.
I think the Post Office might have something to say about that.
According to Section 1705 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, "Whoever willfully or maliciously injures, tears down or destroys any letter box or other receptacle intended or used for the receipt or delivery of mail on any mail route, or breaks open the same or willfully or maliciously injures, defaces or destroys any mail deposited therein, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both." This means that violators can serve a prison sentence up to three years for each act of vandalism. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service notes that a fine of $250,000 can be levied.
In response to one internet query about HOAs tampering with mailboxes, several respondents discouraged the homeowner from taking action, because "If you proceed, the HOA will file a countersuit, and then you will pay not only past due dues, but thousands in attorneys fees. I have seen silly arguments like yours filed many times....If you push, they will push back, and in the end you will lose."
Rules are for the little people.
Besides, even if the HOA is fined $250,000, guess who ends up paying the fine? Like the facehugging parasite in the movie Alien, HOAs have a perfect defense mechanism.
Post a Comment