Is the Florida Foreclosure King Abdicating? David J. Stern Will Close His Law Firm « Above the Law:
The article says that there has been an investigation concerning the possibility of some falsified paperwork.
Monday, March 07, 2011
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Nevada Lawmakers Discuss Homeowners Assoc. Bills
A commission on common interest communities had set caps on those fees, but Copening said Governor Brian Sandoval lifted those caps when he took office. "The governor put a cap on all regulations, so it never went into effect."
Copening is not alone in her effort. Republican Assemblyman John Hambrick.
"We have all heard of horror stories of huge fees," said Hambrick. "A $20 late bill, turning into a $5,600 penalty and all that money goes to the collective agencies. Those stories need to stop."
Copening wants a $1,950 cap on homeowners association fees. However, Hambrick said he isn't prepared to put a number on it. "I would like to see a cap, but I don't want to put a specific dollar amount on it yet."
From Fred Fischer: Nevadans share horror stories of HOAs.
Nevadans Share Horror Stories of HOAs
When HOAs are created to satiate government bureaucrats, rather than homeowners, it shouldn't be surprising that many HOA communities are neither well-crafted nor homeowner-friendly. But, the solution to the HOA problem is not more government intervention. It is less. The first step is for government to stop mandating and subsidizing the creation of HOAs. Nick Dranias, Goldwater Institute
State legislators for many years have been getting an earful from property owners over housing association contract governance yet they fail to understand the root causes of the conflicts and act accordingly. It’s the same issues that faced early colonial America until they finally acted and abandoned charter Board governance in favor of something better where “we the people” have a place and vote at the creation table and legislators should do the same.
Privatizing services is one thing but privatizing housing is a whole other animal and without a doubt most likely unconstitutional. Because it first represents the delegation of inalieable rights to others which clearly violates constitutional law. Second it gives the developer and industry member professionals who sit at the contract creation table the right to dictate what they want the behavioral and social standards of the eventual owners to be. Even though they themselves most often do not, will not or ever live in the housing association that they create with voting standards so high that it assures that changes by eventual owners will not likely occur !!!
Mr. Drains is correct that the substantial reforms needed concerning these contractually-created associations probably won’t come from State legislation for two primary reasons. 1) The housing association trade group lobby, which is fully funded by the housing association members has the most access and greatest economic influence upon State legislators. The initial CID legislation of forty years ago that includes a large number of today’s accompanying housing association legislation was authored by the housing association trade members and supported by municipalities. Consequently neither party has an economic or social incentive to either abandon or move away from what they have exclusively created and control for their own benefit. In fact the more conflicts and problems that occur with their created “corporate product” the more the industry prospers economically and politically. 2) The very foundation of the CID housing model is its governance which is based on private contracts. Except are housing associations valid contracts when mandated and created by others as compared to if owners voluntarily create them after development build out ? When did “a meeting of the minds” between the developer and the buyers occur to create the contract? Why are the contracts (declarations) devoid of important disclosures of information that potential buyers into these nonprofit corporations are in titled to know ? When potential buyers consider signing a housing sales contract, is the attached HOA contract genuinely voluntary since refusal to accept its provisions and authority leaves the buyer with only one choice, to walk away? How can this be a “voluntary act” when neither the association nor the homeowners had actual notice or meaningful reflection to accept or reject such a contract given the fact that it was drafted by the developer as required by municipal mandate and then imposed upon the association before the homeowners existed or took control of the Board ?
The endless and “fundamentally unworkable” issues that surround privatized housing when under the authority of private contract governance created by others will continue. Until the property owners have a place, voice and vote at the governance creation table and their constitutional property and other rights returned. Because when housing is privatized, owners are reduced to being renters and only owners in name and this needs to change since contract governance is not the only or best way to govern CID housing !!
Thanks, Fred Fischer
When HOAs are created to satiate government bureaucrats, rather than homeowners, it shouldn't be surprising that many HOA communities are neither well-crafted nor homeowner-friendly. But, the solution to the HOA problem is not more government intervention. It is less. The first step is for government to stop mandating and subsidizing the creation of HOAs. Nick Dranias, Goldwater Institute
State legislators for many years have been getting an earful from property owners over housing association contract governance yet they fail to understand the root causes of the conflicts and act accordingly. It’s the same issues that faced early colonial America until they finally acted and abandoned charter Board governance in favor of something better where “we the people” have a place and vote at the creation table and legislators should do the same.
Privatizing services is one thing but privatizing housing is a whole other animal and without a doubt most likely unconstitutional. Because it first represents the delegation of inalieable rights to others which clearly violates constitutional law. Second it gives the developer and industry member professionals who sit at the contract creation table the right to dictate what they want the behavioral and social standards of the eventual owners to be. Even though they themselves most often do not, will not or ever live in the housing association that they create with voting standards so high that it assures that changes by eventual owners will not likely occur !!!
Mr. Drains is correct that the substantial reforms needed concerning these contractually-created associations probably won’t come from State legislation for two primary reasons. 1) The housing association trade group lobby, which is fully funded by the housing association members has the most access and greatest economic influence upon State legislators. The initial CID legislation of forty years ago that includes a large number of today’s accompanying housing association legislation was authored by the housing association trade members and supported by municipalities. Consequently neither party has an economic or social incentive to either abandon or move away from what they have exclusively created and control for their own benefit. In fact the more conflicts and problems that occur with their created “corporate product” the more the industry prospers economically and politically. 2) The very foundation of the CID housing model is its governance which is based on private contracts. Except are housing associations valid contracts when mandated and created by others as compared to if owners voluntarily create them after development build out ? When did “a meeting of the minds” between the developer and the buyers occur to create the contract? Why are the contracts (declarations) devoid of important disclosures of information that potential buyers into these nonprofit corporations are in titled to know ? When potential buyers consider signing a housing sales contract, is the attached HOA contract genuinely voluntary since refusal to accept its provisions and authority leaves the buyer with only one choice, to walk away? How can this be a “voluntary act” when neither the association nor the homeowners had actual notice or meaningful reflection to accept or reject such a contract given the fact that it was drafted by the developer as required by municipal mandate and then imposed upon the association before the homeowners existed or took control of the Board ?
The endless and “fundamentally unworkable” issues that surround privatized housing when under the authority of private contract governance created by others will continue. Until the property owners have a place, voice and vote at the governance creation table and their constitutional property and other rights returned. Because when housing is privatized, owners are reduced to being renters and only owners in name and this needs to change since contract governance is not the only or best way to govern CID housing !!
Thanks, Fred Fischer
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
BBC News - South Africa: Toxic water 'threatens Johannesburg'
BBC News - South Africa: Toxic water 'threatens Johannesburg': "Rapidly rising acidic water in the abandoned gold mines under Johannesburg in South Africa could leak out early next year, the water ministry warns."
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Thanks to David McKenzie for the link. Water pollution and water scarcity will be enormous problems in many places in the years to come. Phoenix and Las Vegas, for examples...
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Thanks to David McKenzie for the link. Water pollution and water scarcity will be enormous problems in many places in the years to come. Phoenix and Las Vegas, for examples...
FT.com / FT Magazine - Aerotropolis
FT.com / FT Magazine - Aerotropolis: "“[The Koreans] tracked us down, wanted us to build a city in the ocean, and no one else was interested. What was going on here?” Gale said. “Their vision scared everyone else away. It wasn’t until I saw the airport that I understood where they wanted to go with this.” The answer: to China. The sales pitch to prospective tenants is simple: move here and you’re only a two-hour flight away from Shanghai or Beijing. You’re four hours away at most from cities you’ve never heard of, such as Changsha, which happens to be larger than Atlanta or Singapore. Nearly one billion people are a day trip away.
“China alone needs 500 cities the size of New Songdo,” Gale told me, and he hopes to break ground on the next one in Chongqing sometime this year. How many will be umbilically connected to the nearest airport? “All of them.” "
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Thanks to David McKenzie for this link.
“China alone needs 500 cities the size of New Songdo,” Gale told me, and he hopes to break ground on the next one in Chongqing sometime this year. How many will be umbilically connected to the nearest airport? “All of them.” "
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Thanks to David McKenzie for this link.
Investors snap up cheap homes, new buyers miss out - Yahoo! News
Investors snap up cheap homes, new buyers miss out - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON – Home sales are starting to tick up after the worst year in more than a decade. But the momentum is coming from cash-rich investors who are scooping up foreclosed properties at bargain prices, not first-time home-buyers who are critical for a housing recovery.
The number of first-time buyers fell last month to the lowest percentage in nearly two years, while all-cash deals have doubled and now account for one-third of sales."
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And I hear that condo units are popular with this type of buyer. They form a syndicate and buy up many units in the same building so they can control the association and do whatever they want with the property.
The number of first-time buyers fell last month to the lowest percentage in nearly two years, while all-cash deals have doubled and now account for one-third of sales."
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And I hear that condo units are popular with this type of buyer. They form a syndicate and buy up many units in the same building so they can control the association and do whatever they want with the property.
When Will the Housing Recession End? A Graphical Illustration Why the Downturn Will Persist Through 2013
This is an interesting web site that offers a pointed opinion on the causes of the current "affordable mortgage depression," as the author calls it.
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