Portland Condo Owners Toss Out Homeowners Association Board That Imposed High Fees - Willamette Week: "Condo owners in the Cedar Mill neighborhood have won a reprieve from the new fees that many feared would drive them from their homes.
On Sept. 21, at the annual meeting of the Westlake Village Condominium Homeowners Association, the group calling itself Save Westlake Village took over all five positions on the HOA board.
They intend to rescind the fees the previous board imposed to pay for a $6.4 million renovation project for the 200-unit complex."
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Of course, there is another side to this that doesn't appear in this particular story. What is going to happen to the property now that apparently the renovation project isn't going forward?
Friday, September 29, 2017
Awful Homeowners' Association Hassles Man's Street Legal Upside-Down Camaro
Awful Homeowners' Association Hassles Man's Street Legal Upside-Down Camaro: "We can’t say we’re big fans of homeowners’ associations around here, as they tend to be garbage busybodies who insert their nose into your project car. One even recently decided to hassle one of the most infamous builds in 24 Hours of Lemons history—the running, street-legal Upside-Down Camaro. "
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I can't believe that this car runs. Pure genius.
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I can't believe that this car runs. Pure genius.
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Attorneys discuss rights to pooping in public after "Mad Pooper" video release - KRDO
Attorneys discuss rights to pooping in public after "Mad Pooper" video release - KRDO
I've heard many people talk about their rights as neighbors and residents and homeowners. Satellite dishes, flags, fences, pets, parking, pools, religious symbols, Halloween decorations...I thought I'd heard it all. But no. Is there a right to poop on your neighbor's lawn? Ask this lawyer, because he says his client has that right. Coming to an HOA near you? I hope not.
I've heard many people talk about their rights as neighbors and residents and homeowners. Satellite dishes, flags, fences, pets, parking, pools, religious symbols, Halloween decorations...I thought I'd heard it all. But no. Is there a right to poop on your neighbor's lawn? Ask this lawyer, because he says his client has that right. Coming to an HOA near you? I hope not.
Sunday, September 24, 2017
Tracking Arizona homeowners association foreclosures
Tracking Arizona homeowners association foreclosures
The Arizona Republic is seriously going after the HOA foreclosure situation. I've been commenting on the issue for just about forever, and so have a lot of other people. The problem is that CIDs typically have exactly one source of income, which is assessments. The volunteer owner-directors typically don't have enough training and experience to do their jobs, so they tend to rely on property managers and lawyers. In most areas where there are many CIDs, here are some law firms that function basically as HOA/condo assessment collection agencies. Their bread and butter is an automated business of sending demand letters, slapping liens on people's homes, doing foreclosures (often nonjudicial), and slapping attorney fees on every action they take. It is all collectable, all secured by the lien, and that means that the owner can't extinguish the lien unless s/he pays the attorney fees. So you get situations such as owing $1000 in unpaid assessments and $12,000 in attorney fees. The final piece of the problem is that in virtually every state these lawyers and their foreclosure mills are not regulated in any meaningful way. So there are abuses. Now, I would be the first to say that CIDs need to collect assessments, and they need to be able to foreclose at some point--for the assessments. That is a serious situation. They will go under if they can't collect, and before they go under the burden of paying for delinquent owners fall on the other owners, which can drive them into delinquency, too. So associations need to be able to collect their assessments in a timely manner. But what about all the extra charges and attorney fees? Here, there has to be some oversight and some proportionality, so that people don't lose their homes not because they can't pay their association, but because they can't pay the padded bill of the association's lawyer. And no, I don't begrudge these lawyers their living, because they have to pay the rent, too. But there are many documented examples of abuses, and state legislatures need to set some standards.
The Arizona Republic is seriously going after the HOA foreclosure situation. I've been commenting on the issue for just about forever, and so have a lot of other people. The problem is that CIDs typically have exactly one source of income, which is assessments. The volunteer owner-directors typically don't have enough training and experience to do their jobs, so they tend to rely on property managers and lawyers. In most areas where there are many CIDs, here are some law firms that function basically as HOA/condo assessment collection agencies. Their bread and butter is an automated business of sending demand letters, slapping liens on people's homes, doing foreclosures (often nonjudicial), and slapping attorney fees on every action they take. It is all collectable, all secured by the lien, and that means that the owner can't extinguish the lien unless s/he pays the attorney fees. So you get situations such as owing $1000 in unpaid assessments and $12,000 in attorney fees. The final piece of the problem is that in virtually every state these lawyers and their foreclosure mills are not regulated in any meaningful way. So there are abuses. Now, I would be the first to say that CIDs need to collect assessments, and they need to be able to foreclose at some point--for the assessments. That is a serious situation. They will go under if they can't collect, and before they go under the burden of paying for delinquent owners fall on the other owners, which can drive them into delinquency, too. So associations need to be able to collect their assessments in a timely manner. But what about all the extra charges and attorney fees? Here, there has to be some oversight and some proportionality, so that people don't lose their homes not because they can't pay their association, but because they can't pay the padded bill of the association's lawyer. And no, I don't begrudge these lawyers their living, because they have to pay the rent, too. But there are many documented examples of abuses, and state legislatures need to set some standards.
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