L.A., other hot housing markets are getting frothy, report says - latimes.com: "Everybody I know is trying to do flips right now. It's like the day trading of the 1990s," Nordine said. "We went straight from Armageddon to speculation; there was nothing in between this time."
Still, Nordine is advising clients to buy now if they can, citing low interest rates and low risk of another foreclosure crisis.
"That is how the American economy works now," he said. "It seems as if we just go from one bubble to the next."
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The roller coaster is climbing to the clouds again in some metro areas such as DC and LA. And when the housing market gets bubbly, it can bode ill for receipts in Privatopia. HOAs have much smaller assessment bases than municipalities and counties and consequently less ability to absorb housing market volatility and the inevitable bubble bursts and painful hiccups in assessment cash flow.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
HOA Accountability Bill Stirs Debate at Capitol | The Texas Tribune
HOA Accountability Bill Stirs Debate at Capitol | The Texas Tribune:
"A bill aimed at making nonprofit homeowners associations more financially accountable and transparent pitted homeowner activists against people representing for-profit HOA contractors on Tuesday. House Bill 3803, by state Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, would require homeowners associations, which have government-like powers to levy assessments and foreclose on homes, to better safeguard the money they collect for the common good of the neighborhood. And it would for the first time introduce state oversight of HOAs — an elusive goal of Texas homeowner activist groups. The legislation would allow the attorney general to investigate breaches of fiduciary responsibility by board members and levy penalties of up to $20,000 per violation. That would go up to $250,000 if the violation was intended to harm an elderly Texan."
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Thanks to a kind correspondent in Texas who sent me the link to this story. It seems that money has become the root of many HOA and condo association problems, something that Tyler Berding has been saying for years now. In addition to the inadequate reserves problem that Tyler has written about, there are all the conflicts over assessment collection, attorney fee-shifting and excessive fees, questionable charges by management companies, embezzlement, and people taking over associations to milk them. During the real estate boom the slack was taken up by rising property values that made people feel flush with home equity and made sales easy. These days, money is tight, property values are stagnant, home equity is a fond memory for many people, and everybody is more easily drawn into conflict.
"A bill aimed at making nonprofit homeowners associations more financially accountable and transparent pitted homeowner activists against people representing for-profit HOA contractors on Tuesday. House Bill 3803, by state Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, would require homeowners associations, which have government-like powers to levy assessments and foreclose on homes, to better safeguard the money they collect for the common good of the neighborhood. And it would for the first time introduce state oversight of HOAs — an elusive goal of Texas homeowner activist groups. The legislation would allow the attorney general to investigate breaches of fiduciary responsibility by board members and levy penalties of up to $20,000 per violation. That would go up to $250,000 if the violation was intended to harm an elderly Texan."
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Thanks to a kind correspondent in Texas who sent me the link to this story. It seems that money has become the root of many HOA and condo association problems, something that Tyler Berding has been saying for years now. In addition to the inadequate reserves problem that Tyler has written about, there are all the conflicts over assessment collection, attorney fee-shifting and excessive fees, questionable charges by management companies, embezzlement, and people taking over associations to milk them. During the real estate boom the slack was taken up by rising property values that made people feel flush with home equity and made sales easy. These days, money is tight, property values are stagnant, home equity is a fond memory for many people, and everybody is more easily drawn into conflict.
Friday, April 12, 2013
Dean Baker: Obama Accepts the Agenda of Misguided Washington Elites | Debate Club | US News Opinion
Obama Accepts the Agenda of Misguided Washington Elites | Debate Club | US News Opinion: "Unfortunately, rather than deal with the reality – that we need deficits to sustain demand in a context where the private sector will not do it – the politicians in Washington have gotten hysterical. This is like complaining about our use of water when the school is on fire with the kids still inside."
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The obsession with deficit reduction and austerity budgeting will probably kill the feeble economic growth we are now experiencing, just like it has done in every European country that tried it. That will cause a lot of suffering, but in Washington these days they don't seem to know or care much about the real situation that ordinary people face. That goes for both parties in Congress and the Obama administration.
Banks get bailouts, commit foreclosure fraud and even major crimes, and get slaps on the wrist. Ordinary people lose their wealth and their jobs and face foreclosure. Now a Democratic president is volunteering to cut Social Security in order to look sufficiently credible to tax-phobic rich people, whose incomes and wealth have grown spectacularly over the last three decades. Cities go begging to private investors for money to rebuild crumbling infrastructure. Teachers are being laid off and students are giving up on going to college because it is too expensive. Climate change is so far advanced that we need policies aimed at adapting to it, because at this point it can't be reversed--but instead we have congressional committee chairs who think it is a socialist hoax.
And in Washington, the big issue is deficit reduction? Quite a political system we have here, isn't it?
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The obsession with deficit reduction and austerity budgeting will probably kill the feeble economic growth we are now experiencing, just like it has done in every European country that tried it. That will cause a lot of suffering, but in Washington these days they don't seem to know or care much about the real situation that ordinary people face. That goes for both parties in Congress and the Obama administration.
Banks get bailouts, commit foreclosure fraud and even major crimes, and get slaps on the wrist. Ordinary people lose their wealth and their jobs and face foreclosure. Now a Democratic president is volunteering to cut Social Security in order to look sufficiently credible to tax-phobic rich people, whose incomes and wealth have grown spectacularly over the last three decades. Cities go begging to private investors for money to rebuild crumbling infrastructure. Teachers are being laid off and students are giving up on going to college because it is too expensive. Climate change is so far advanced that we need policies aimed at adapting to it, because at this point it can't be reversed--but instead we have congressional committee chairs who think it is a socialist hoax.
And in Washington, the big issue is deficit reduction? Quite a political system we have here, isn't it?
Broke homeowners association halts trash service in Aldine Village neighborhood | abc13.com
Broke homeowners association halts trash service in Aldine Village neighborhood | abc13.com
As Icy deLight points out in a comment (thanks for the link to this 2008 story) to the post below, there is nothing unusual about HOAs and condo associations having their utilities cut off for non-payment. That makes the place uninhabitable, the authorities take steps to make that official, and eviction of the owners is the next step. As Fred Pilot notes in his comment on the post, the attorney who says this is an unusual thing doesn't know what he's talking about. The unusual thing is for a local government to get busy and address the problem systematically instead of waiting for the "free market" to solve it. The City of Chicago is the only municipality I know of that has set up a serious program to turn failed condo buildings into apartments. In this city alone, "To date, about 150 Chicago condo buildings, from six-flats to a 36-unit building, are somewhere in the process of being converted into apartment buildings. " So don't tell me the problem is uncommon.
As Icy deLight points out in a comment (thanks for the link to this 2008 story) to the post below, there is nothing unusual about HOAs and condo associations having their utilities cut off for non-payment. That makes the place uninhabitable, the authorities take steps to make that official, and eviction of the owners is the next step. As Fred Pilot notes in his comment on the post, the attorney who says this is an unusual thing doesn't know what he's talking about. The unusual thing is for a local government to get busy and address the problem systematically instead of waiting for the "free market" to solve it. The City of Chicago is the only municipality I know of that has set up a serious program to turn failed condo buildings into apartments. In this city alone, "To date, about 150 Chicago condo buildings, from six-flats to a 36-unit building, are somewhere in the process of being converted into apartment buildings. " So don't tell me the problem is uncommon.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Homeowners Lose Their Water, Forced To Move | WREG.com
Homeowners Lose Their Water, Forced To Move | WREG.com: Attorneys say because this is such a unique situation even the judge isn’t even sure yet how he’ll handle the problem.
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Wrong. The taps have been turned off before in attached Privatopia. When the water gives out as in this townhome HOA, Tyler Berding's stage four death spiral accelerates exponentially. Film at 10 on WREG, Memphis.
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Wrong. The taps have been turned off before in attached Privatopia. When the water gives out as in this townhome HOA, Tyler Berding's stage four death spiral accelerates exponentially. Film at 10 on WREG, Memphis.
Tuesday, April 09, 2013
State Lawmakers Try To Rein In Homeowners Associations � CBS Denver
State Lawmakers Try To Rein In Homeowners Associations � CBS Denver: “Excesses fees, fines, add-ons, charging $100 to issue a letter to a homeowner indicating that their delinquent,” Rincevich said. “If you’re delinquent there should be a penalty, but too often it’s an execution, not a penalty.”
The bill passed out of committee and is headed to the full House.
Another bill that would better track HOAs, their number, how they resolve complaints, conduct elections and determine fees, also passed out of committee Tuesday.
In all there are four bills dealing with HOAs now making their way through the legislature.
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It's legislative season and once again time for another round of HOA reform bills.
The bill passed out of committee and is headed to the full House.
Another bill that would better track HOAs, their number, how they resolve complaints, conduct elections and determine fees, also passed out of committee Tuesday.
In all there are four bills dealing with HOAs now making their way through the legislature.
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It's legislative season and once again time for another round of HOA reform bills.
The Gender Wage Gap Differs by Occupation | Center for American Progress
The Gender Wage Gap Differs by Occupation | Center for American Progress
...and "Property, real estate, and community managers" leads the list for worst gender gap, with women making 60.6% of what men make doing the very same job. And the occupation is 57.4% female. Sounds like somebody has some 'splainin' to do. Over to you, Community Associations Institute public relations staff. Maybe they should hire Zogby to do a survey of female managers and see if they like this situation.
...and "Property, real estate, and community managers" leads the list for worst gender gap, with women making 60.6% of what men make doing the very same job. And the occupation is 57.4% female. Sounds like somebody has some 'splainin' to do. Over to you, Community Associations Institute public relations staff. Maybe they should hire Zogby to do a survey of female managers and see if they like this situation.
Monday, April 08, 2013
USDOJ: Service Members to Receive $39 Million for Violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
USDOJ: Service Members to Receive $39 Million for Violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act
"The Justice Department announced today that under its 2011 settlements with BAC Home Loans Servicing LP, a subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation, and Saxon Mortgage Servicing Inc., a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, 316 service members whose homes were unlawfully foreclosed upon between 2006 and 2010 are due to receive over $39 million in monetary relief for alleged violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)."
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The foreclosure mill just grinds along, using the courts to steamroll over middle class home owners who believed all that American Dream stuff about putting your wealth into real estate. Here we hundreds of unlawful foreclosures on members of the US military. It's good that something was done about it. But to call this the tip of the illegal foreclosure iceberg is gross understatement.
"The Justice Department announced today that under its 2011 settlements with BAC Home Loans Servicing LP, a subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation, and Saxon Mortgage Servicing Inc., a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, 316 service members whose homes were unlawfully foreclosed upon between 2006 and 2010 are due to receive over $39 million in monetary relief for alleged violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)."
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The foreclosure mill just grinds along, using the courts to steamroll over middle class home owners who believed all that American Dream stuff about putting your wealth into real estate. Here we hundreds of unlawful foreclosures on members of the US military. It's good that something was done about it. But to call this the tip of the illegal foreclosure iceberg is gross understatement.
Sunday, April 07, 2013
As cities lay off police, frustrated neighborhoods turn to private cops - CSMonitor.com
As cities lay off police, frustrated neighborhoods turn to private cops - CSMonitor.com:
Long known for patrolling shopping malls and gated communities, private security firms are beginning to spread into city streets. While private security has long been contracted by homeowners associations and commercial districts, the trend of groups of neighbors pooling money to contract private security for their streets is something new. Besides Oakland, neighborhoods in Atlanta and Detroit – both cities with high rates of crime – have hired firms to patrol their neighborhoods, says Steve Amitay, executive director of the National Association of Security Contractor. “It’s happening everywhere,” Mr. Amitay says. “Municipal governments and cities are really getting strapped in terms of their resources, and when a police department cuts 100 officers obviously they are going to respond to less crimes.”
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So affluent neighborhoods are starting to do what businesses have been doing since the 1970s by forming Business Improvement Districts (BIDS) and contracting for a higher level of police (and other services) than the municipality can provide. And note this: "Meanwhile, the private security industry is projected to grow by about 19 percent – from 1 million to 1.2 million guards – between 2010 and 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most of that growth will come because private firms are doing jobs once held by law enforcement, according to the bureau."
Long known for patrolling shopping malls and gated communities, private security firms are beginning to spread into city streets. While private security has long been contracted by homeowners associations and commercial districts, the trend of groups of neighbors pooling money to contract private security for their streets is something new. Besides Oakland, neighborhoods in Atlanta and Detroit – both cities with high rates of crime – have hired firms to patrol their neighborhoods, says Steve Amitay, executive director of the National Association of Security Contractor. “It’s happening everywhere,” Mr. Amitay says. “Municipal governments and cities are really getting strapped in terms of their resources, and when a police department cuts 100 officers obviously they are going to respond to less crimes.”
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So affluent neighborhoods are starting to do what businesses have been doing since the 1970s by forming Business Improvement Districts (BIDS) and contracting for a higher level of police (and other services) than the municipality can provide. And note this: "Meanwhile, the private security industry is projected to grow by about 19 percent – from 1 million to 1.2 million guards – between 2010 and 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most of that growth will come because private firms are doing jobs once held by law enforcement, according to the bureau."
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