Bush signs bills to protect owners from boards: South Florida Sun-Sentinel
That would be Jeb, not George. This is a big year for HOA owner's rights activists in Florida as well as California, and (see below) now Texas.
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Beginning Oct. 1, homeowners and condo owners will have greater protection from abusive boards. In the first major reform in a decade, Gov. Jeb Bush on Wednesday signed two bills that would create the job of ombudsman to hear condo complaints and ban homeowner associations from foreclosing if owners don't pay fines. Homeowners will have the right to fly flags in front of their homes and associations won't be able to sue members for speaking out.Condo boards will not be able to change rules on rentals for existing owners. Homeowners and their associations will face mandatory mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution to prevent them from battling in expensive lawsuits.

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF TEXAS
????????????
No. 02-0492
????????????
Geneva Brooks, et al, Petitioners,
v.
Northglen Association, Respondent

Here's a Texas Supreme Court victory for attorney David Kahne, who represented famous activist Geneva Brooks, who passed away about two years ago. The main issues were increases in assessments without approval of the members and board-imposed late fees (for non-payment of assessments) when the CC&Rs authorized only interest.
Excellent legal work by David, with whom I have had a number of interesting conversations over the last few years. Congratulations!

New U.S. Home Sales Leap to Record High

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales of new U.S. homes surged well past expectations in May to a record high, as generally rising mortgage interest rates did little to restrain home buying, a government report showed on Thursday.

Sales of new homes jumped 14.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.369 million units from an upwardly revised 1.192 million in April, the Commerce Department said. It was the biggest monthly climb since April 1993.

Analysts polled by Reuters were expecting sales to rise more modestly to 1.12 million units from the originally reported 1.093 million pace on the strength of mortgage applications.

Sales of new homes reached a record high 663,000 annual rate in the South, the region with the greatest volume of activity. They rose to a 121,000 rate in the Northeast, the highest level since January 1989.


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Those common interest housing units are just jumping off the shelves, no matter how many stories there are in the press about taking away people's pets and tearing down their flags. Go figure.

KTLA.com | LA's WB | Television Los Angeles | Condo Ban on Pets Is Upheld
The homeowner victory in the legislature over foreclosure reform is tempered by the loss in the California Supreme Court last week. The Terifaj case, that I have posted about earlier, went against the homeowner. She even has to pay the association's attorney fees:

The California Supreme Court on Monday upheld a Palm Springs condominium ban on pets over the objection of a dog lover who bought in before the exclusion was put in writing.

The Villa De Las Palmas Homeowners Assn. had repeatedly warned Paula Terifaj that she was violating the rules, according to the opinion. The court upheld the association's power to exclude pets and ordered Terifaj to pay $15,000 to cover the association's legal fees.

Terifaj, a Brea veterinarian, argued on behalf of the 6.7 million California households with pets that owning them benefited human health and well-being.

In the unanimous opinion written by Justice Carlos Moreno, the court ruled that "all homeowners are subject to use restrictions contained in amended [association rules] irrespective of when the amendment was passed."

The homeowners association argued that there had been a long-standing, though unrecorded, rule banning pets since 1962, and that Terifaj was aware of it.

Terifaj bought a condo in 1995 and moved in with her dog, Lucy. After Lucy died in 1998, Terifaj brought another dog onto the property.

The association had repeatedly told Terifaj to remove each dog from the premises. In 2000, the association approved a recorded rule banning "animals of any kind, including, without limitation, dogs, cats, birds, livestock, reptiles or poultry."

State law that took effect in 2001 gives residents in "common interest developments" the right to keep a single pet. Those developments include condominiums, planned housing developments and cooperatives.

The court ruled Monday that the benefits of pet ownership were irrelevant. Instead, the issue was whether "subsequently enacted and recorded use restrictions may be enforced against a current homeowner."

In upholding the 4th District Court of Appeals in Riverside, the high court also concluded that Terifaj must pay the homeowners association $15,000 in attorney fees.

SB 1682 Senate Bill - AMENDED
Here's the version of SB 1682 that passed committee.

SB 1682 Assembly Bill - Status
The Ducheny bill that would eliminate foreclosure for assessment collection under $2500 has passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee 8-3. I haven't looked this up, but I'm told that it was a party line vote, with Democrats for and Republicans against. Now the bill has passed the Senate and is headed for the Assembly floor, I would assume.

Las Vegas SUN: 1st Private, Manned Rocket Set for Launch
MOJAVE, Calif. (AP) -

Aviation enthusiasts began gathering Sunday in the high desert in hopes of seeing the first flight into space by a privately developed, manned rocket. Thousands of people were expected to be watching early Monday when an exotic jet-engined airplane named White Knight was set to take off from Mojave Airport carrying the rocket-propelled SpaceShipOne. If SpaceShipOne is successful, designer Burt Rutan and his Scaled Composites development company will use the craft to make a run at the $10 million Ansari X Prize, a formal competition intended to spur commercial development of spaceflight.


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The privatization of space travel proceeds apace. This reminds me of the film "Alien," where "The Company" is mining in outer space and, of course, has an evil ulterior (profit) motive to exploit the Alien's hardy predatory nature for "the Weapons Division." Call me if White Night comes back with a xenomorph.

The Outer Banks Sentinel: Archaeologists plan search for lost Roanoke Settlement

This goes on my cool list. I've wondered about the lost Roanoke colony since I first heard about it in the sixth grade.

The search for the settlement site of Sir Walter Raleigh's Roanoke colonies of the 1580's, including the mysterious "Lost Colony," will resume later this year if plans now being made by archaeologists and historians are realized.

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Perhaps you recall this as well. The colonists landed at Roanoke Island in 1587, founded the Cittie of Raleigh, and in 1590, when ships returned, they found the place deserted and the word "Croatoan" carved into a tree. Nobody has ever been able to figure out what happened to them. X-files material, but real.
Here's the story in more detail--From a cool site called "Packet."

NEWS.com.au | Public must keep clear of Madonna (June 19, 2004)
MADONNA has won her bid to stop walkers from traipsing over large parts of her £9 million ($24 million) country estate in England.

The singer's lawyers had argued before a public inquiry that a demand from the Countryside Agency to let ramblers onto areas regarded as open countryside would bring strangers close to her home at Ashcombe House, compromising both her privacy and her security.

The inquiry ruled today that the public had no right of access to 15 of 17 contested segments of land on the 548-hectare estate on the border of Wiltshire and Dorset.

But the Countryside Agency claimed a partial victory, saying the two parcels of land where walkers must be allowed accounted for 54 hectares of the 142 hectares under dispute.

"Almost half of the land contested at the public inquiry has been classed as open count," the agency said.


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Where to begin? But isn't her name Esther or Divinity or Abstinthe or something now? Anyway, now that she has clearly established her right to keep the stinky public off her land, what does she think we should do about Iraq? I, for one, don't feel comfortable voting until she tells me what to do. Do you?

Many back dog owner as condo chief quits
A battle over an elderly woman's Chihuahua has roused legions of supporters for the widow and forced the resignation of a condominium board president who fears for his safety after enforcing a no-pets rule. The uproar comes after 85-year-old Bernadette Casale was ordered to give up her pooch, Cha Cha. As news of her plight spread, scores of supporters have inundated the Bridgeview condominium in suburban Delray Beach with angry phone calls and e-mails. "It's getting pretty scary," Casale said. So scary that board president Chris Termini has resigned after serving 12 years on the board. Termini declined to comment Thursday to avoid stirring more controversy. "One letter said to the effect, 'If Ms. Casale loses her dog, my face will be the last face you see,' " said Joe Conigliaro, board vice president. Conigliaro said exempting Cha Cha would be unfair to other residents who must follow the no-pets rule, which was first implemented about a decade ago after a community vote.

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One neighbor has already announced that if Ms. Casale gets to keep her dog, "I'm going out tomorrow and buying me one." This whole episode would make sense if it were on The Sopranos, but it's real life.

ABC13.com: Officials order woman living in two-room home to give up 130 pets


By The Associated Press
(6/15/04 - HOUSTON) — A Liberty County woman found with more than 130 animals in her two-room house and on her half-acre lot has been ordered to surrender the pets to an animal rights organization. Patsy Boucher, 58, lived on her property with 121 dogs, eight birds, a cat and several pigs and guinea pigs. A justice of the peace told her to turn over the animals because of concerns for their well-being.


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See what happens when you live in a neighborhood without an HOA? On the other hand, Ms. Boucher blames the County for this situation because she says they don't have an animal shelter. I guess you could call this a form of privatization after all...

Arizona Capitol Times: George Starapoli assesses the legislative accomplishments of this session
George is the honcho of Citizens Against Private Government, and was heavily involved in the AZ legislative goings-on this year, and moderator of the HOAs group on Yahoo. Here's his opinion on the various things that did and did not pass:

Legislature Responds With HOA Reforms – Or Did It?

There were some 16 homeowner association “reform” bills submitted in this year’s legislative session after only two last year and one two years before. Many, including some advocates, are shouting “Fantastic! Arizona has seen the light.”

Is this a step forward?

The answer is yes. Progress has been made because the Legislature realized that it could no longer ignore advocates’ demands for reform after years of industry-backed bills that only purported to aid homeowners.

But, what was asked of the legislators? More association/industry-favored bills or HOA reform bills? What was the mix, or quality, of these bills? Were only good bills passed and harmful bills killed? Of the 16 bills, nine were passed (56 per cent). Was that good or bad?

Some examples of bad bills:

• H2402 was watered down to permit the loss of homestead exemption and draconian foreclosure methods.

• H2377 was a “due process” bill that would have required a justice of the peace’s ruling on the legitimacy of HOA violations.

• H2381 allows the director to vote after declaring a conflict his interest.

Some examples of better bills:

• S1137 did away with the need for a quorum of homeowners to sue the board.

• S1125 requires registration of HOAs.

• H2380 requires “truth in home buying” with written disclosure to the buyer.

The main failing with most of these bills remains the lack of enforcement by rogue boards who, today, ignore the laws, and we believe will continue to ignore the laws because there is no “motivation” in terms of penalties.

In general, advocates are pleased with the results of this year’s legislative session. After three years of failing to enact any HOA reform legislation we now have the beginnings of reform activity.

Still, many feel that more needs to be done to bring justice and the equal protection of the laws to homeowners living in HOAs.

We will be back next year, and the next year until there is justice and the equal treatment of homeowners living in HOAs.

(by George K. Staropoli, Citizens Against Private Government, HOAs Scottsdale)

San Bernardino County Sun: Rialto watches condo cleanup--Decaying complexes might be targeted for potential legal action
By BRAD A. GREENBERG, Staff Writer

RIALTO - The city has 12 troubled multiple-family residences, where walls crumble, ceilings sag, trash piles up and safety wanes. A run-down Eucalyptus Avenue condo complex is being used as a testing ground by city housing officials for a more authoritative method of achieving building rehabilitation. If Foothill Terrace continues to improve, the city might take legal action on some of the other troubled complexes, officials said.
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"It looks like a third-world country,' said John Walton, a building inspector with Rialto's Economic Redevelopment Agency.
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People keep asking me for specifics when I say that there is an increasing risk of many more failed HOAs in the near future. Here's one example-12 complexes in one city.

Yahoo! News - Gasoline Price Drops Below $2 a Gallon
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The average price U.S. drivers pay for gasoline dropped below $2 a gallon for the first time in five weeks, with costs in some cities falling more than 10 cents, the government said on Monday. The national price for regular unleaded gasoline fell 4.9 cents over the last week to $1.985 a gallon, according to a weekly survey of gasoline stations by the Energy Information Administration


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Still more good news.

Yahoo! News - Mortgage Delinquencies Lowest in 4 Years
By Richard Leong

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage delinquencies slipped in the first quarter of 2004 to their lowest level in nearly four years, helped by a robust housing market and improving job conditions, a U.S. mortgage industry group said on Monday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its measure of outstanding mortgages that were delinquent fell to 4.33 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the first quarter from 4.49 percent in the fourth quarter and 4.85 percent a year ago. The first-quarter delinquency reading is lowest since 4.11 percent for the second quarter 2000, according to a spokesman for the group.

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There's some good news. Now how will Kerry, et al., spin this into the worst economy since Herbert Hoover?

Yahoo! News - Holy Condominiums, Batman!

Churches Selling As Luxury Condominiums
By DENISE LAVOIE, Associated Press Writer

BOSTON - When St. Peter and Paul's Church was sold to a developer, there was a lot of resistance in South Boston. Not only was the beloved church closing, it was being turned into something that was an anathema to the working-class neighborhood: luxury condominiums.
As the Boston Archdiocese prepares to put 60 churches up for sale, developers and real estate brokers predict they will be scooped up and converted into condos because the market is hot for trendy, distinctive real estate.

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This is a fascinating story. It seems that all the publicity about priestly dalliances with young parishioners has cut into church attendance and funds, which has led to church closures. What to do with empty churches? Sell them to developers. This should lead to some interesting community dynamics. The area residents are used to thinking of the place as their church. The yuppies who now live there think of it as, let's say hypothetically, Priestly Acres, with the coolest hot tub in the neighborhood. Hard to reconcile those two perceptions, don't you think?

REALTOR: Calif.: Illegal Condo Conversions Brings Headaches, Lawsuits

Fred Pilot sent me this link to the latest developments in a story I posted on some time ago:
The City of Huntington Beach, Calif., has started a criminal probe to find the reason for up to 120 illegal condominium conversions in the Orange County city. Among the latest victims of an allegedly fraudulent conversion are Scott and Renee Tarnow, who learned earlier this year that their condominium hadn't been legally converted after spending $80,000 in improvements to the unit, according to The Los Angeles Times.

TheDenverChannel.com - News - Here's why people move to gated communities...
Accused Arsonist Mugs For Camera
DA: Dinsmore Wandered Neighborhood Setting Cars On Fire

POSTED: 1:23 pm MDT June 11, 2004

DENVER -- A 21-year-old Denver man was formally charged with arson Friday after police said he wandered around a Denver neighborhood, setting fire to cars.
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By all means, follow the link and take a look at the mug shot.

California Supreme Court ruling in Terifaj case coming on Monday
VILLA v. TERIFAJ
S109123 (E029449; Riverside County Superior Court No. 1NC13318)
Argued in Los Angeles 4-06-04
This case includes the following issues: (1) Is a restriction on the keeping of
pets that is adopted by a homeowners association and is recorded after the purchase of
a unit in a common interest development enforceable against the owner of the unit as
an equitable servitude under Civil Code section 1354? (2) What is the proper
standard that governs the validity of such a restriction, and is the restriction at issue
here valid?
Opinion(s) in the above case(s) will be filed on:
Monday, June 14, 2004 at 10:00 a.m.

Financial Times:Greenspan says Fed ready to act on inflation
Alan Greenspan, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, on Tuesday indicated that interest rates might have to rise faster than expected to keep inflationary pressures under control. Speaking from Washington via satellite link to a conference in London, Mr Greenspan said he remained confident that the Fed could afford to remove monetary stimulus from the US economy gradually but that he was ready to take stronger action if necessary. Although the reaction in financial markets was muted, economists said the comments marked a significant shift in Fed rhetoric, with inflation starting to take centre stage.


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So, those of you with adjustable rate mortgages might wish to sprint for the nearest finance company without stopping Go or paying 9% interest.