Condo association settles Civil Rights allegation its actions forced woman with lung illness to park a mile away from her residence | NJ.com

Condo association settles Civil Rights allegation its actions forced woman with lung illness to park a mile away from her residence | NJ.com"TRENTON – A Mays Landing condominium association has agreed to pay a medically-disabled resident $10,000 and forgive thousands of dollars more in maintenance fees owed by the woman to resolve allegations that it unlawfully discriminated by failing to accommodate her disability, the Division on Civil Rights said Wednesday." Thanks to Shu Bartholomew for this link.

Car Blocked in Driveway by HOA

Angry crows dive-bomb officers in Everett, Wash.

Lt. Bob Johns said he recently was flanked by the aggressive birds and "got zinged."

"They're like velociraptors," Johns said.

One officer used his siren to try to scare away the crows, but it didn't work. The birds responded by decorating his car with droppings, The Daily Herald reported.

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Time to call in an HOA.

Treasury To Temporarily Penalize Mortgage Companies, Making Good On Old Threat

Treasury To Temporarily Penalize Mortgage Companies, Making Good On Old Threat
"WASHINGTON -- The Treasury Department will temporarily withhold payments to the nation's three largest mortgage companies for failing to comply with the Obama administration's signature foreclosure-prevention effort, perhaps finally making good on a 19-month-old threat, officials announced Thursday.

Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase, which collectively service about half of all home loans, abused homeowners and violated the rules of the Making Home Affordable (MHA) program, Treasury said."
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Can we get a great big round of "IT'S ABOUT TIME!!! SOCK IT TO THEM!"

Nev. bill dies, but HOA fee court battle lives on

Homeowners associations — where residents pay monthly dues to maintain common amenities such as pools and landscaping — were lightning rods during the legislative session, evidenced by the 20 bills introduced on the topic. Tensions between neighbors take on a whole new level when one can fine another for not replacing a flickering porch light or leaving the trash can on the sidewalk too long.

But the recent foreclosure crisis added fuel to the fire in homeowners associations, which are especially widespread in Las Vegas' relatively new neighborhoods. As more and more homes were repossessed, associations were unable to collect dues to maintain landscaping and common buildings, and collection agencies stepped in to help.
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We're just trying to save the neighborhood.

The next foreclosure fight, redux...

I received an email from William Brown of Scottsdale, AZ, asking for a reposting of the above-linked post with its many comments. I agree that it was a great video and discussion, so here it is.

Our Fantasy Nation? - NYTimes.com

Our Fantasy Nation? - NYTimes.com
Guess what country most resembles the Tea Party's prescriptions for the USA?

Oh, and this:

"I’ve always made fun of these countries, but now I see echoes of that pattern of privatization of public services in America. Police budgets are being cut, but the wealthy take refuge in gated communities with private security guards. Their children are spared the impact of budget cuts at public schools and state universities because they attend private institutions."

The HOA at Lexington Crossing | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The HOA at Lexington Crossing | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Check out this situation. Click the link above and you will see a photo. Click the link below that says "Car Stuck in Garage by HOA" and you will read the story behind it. I'm sure somebody will tell me it is just one of those "isolated incidents."

Says the homeowner whose driveway was blocked by the HOA as shown in the linked photo:

Car Stuck in Garage by HOA
"Hey all -

maybe someone can help me...

Can an HOA block my egress and ingress? They have placed three large stone pillars in front of our driveway, preventing us from leaving and my wife's car is in the garage. Her car has been stuck there for over four days so she can't work. We are beyond frustrated. The HOA president basically told us best of luck - see yea - your cable will be next to go.

We are paying our association dues - but can't keep up with all the new assessments and now with the 3k in their attorney fees we owe over 5k."

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/forum/atlanta/1298523-car-stuck-garage-hoa.html#ixzz1OjiKwZPs

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Why did this happen? What management company was this HOA using? Read on. He explains. If you look at page 3, entry number 23, of the city-data.com forum linked above, you will see that he says:

"We had an assessment done on our place last year for $1000 - I paid $500. I did not pay the other half. I Was 2 weeks late. They then doc'd me $800 in attorney fees. I called the management - Associa management and worked it out to pay an extra $100 a month until I could pay it off.

They then had another $1500 assessment done to rebuild the roofs. I could not keep up and feel behind - but made my payments plus $100 and I will continue to do so and try to make it more".

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/forum/atlanta/1298523-car-stuck-garage-hoa-3.html#ixzz1OjjXnUZ7

Dean Baker: "Dan Balz and the Washington Post STILL Don't Understand the Housing Bubble"

This is as clear an explanation of why housing prices collapsed, and why they will continue to fall for a while, as you will ever read.