What's next for minimalist houses? How about a subdivision of tiny houses in Eastern Oregon? | OregonLive.com

What's next for minimalist houses? How about a subdivision of tiny houses in Eastern Oregon? | OregonLive.com: "Now the 50-year-old builder has come up with an idea that may prove both brilliant and quixotic: a subdivision for 50 to 100 pint-sized homes geared to folks hurt by the real estate bust, jobless or on fixed incomes. Increasingly, he's approached by people desperate to cut their living expenses, he said."
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Yes, I think an 8 1/2 foot wide house qualifies as tiny.

Arizona lawmaker proposes barring HOA "auto liens," foreclosures to secure fines

A local homeowners association’s management company is pushing state lawmakers to defeat a legislative bill that would make it impossible to foreclose on a home for non-payment of assessment fines.

The Arizona Association of Community Management (AACM), the HOA political arm of Associated Asset Management (AAM), is lobbying the state Legislature to defeat House Bill 2307, sponsored by Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, R-Gilbert, which is designed to restrict HOAs from foreclosing on a property owner’s home for non-payment of assessment fines using a legal tool called an “auto-lien.”

The auto-lien is a provision in the Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs under Arizona real estate law. The CC&R is a document that is signed during the closing of sale of a home and states that a homeowner who buys a home in a deed-restricted property must join an HOA. AAM and AACM are also dues-paying members of the Community Association Institute, a national HOA membership organization that oversees the operations of HOAs.
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This is an ongoing battle in the Grand Canyon State dating back to at least the mid 1990s involving a familiar legislator (Eddie Farnsworth, who argues the bar on HOAs placing automatic liens for fines protects property rights) longtime HOA member rights advocate Pat Haruff and of course the usual wall of opposition from the private local government lobby. Read the story here.

A California Bankruptcy, Dictatorship, and the Guarantee Clause - ProfessorBainbridge.com

A California Bankruptcy, Dictatorship, and the Guarantee Clause - ProfessorBainbridge.com
Great post by Professor Bainbridge.

Lakemoor woman can use toilets as planters - Chicago Breaking News

Lakemoor woman can use toilets as planters - Chicago Breaking News
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Justice prevails in McHenry County, IL.

Why I haven't been posting for the last few weeks

I am sicker than I have ever been in my life. I've been sick since about November 20. I have pertussis, better known as "whooping cough." And yes, I was vaccinated when I was a kid. But I have learned that these vaccinations wear off, so by the time you are in your teens you need a booster. My shot wore off long ago, I never had a booster, and I was hit so hard that I spent two days in the hospital. I am recovering now but recovery from pertussis takes some time.

If you haven't had a pertussis booster shot, my advice is: run, don't walk, to your local medical center and ask for one. This was once practically eradicated and now it's going around. There are outbreaks in Ohio, Illinois, Texas, and California, and perhaps elsewhere.

Believe me--you do not, repeat DO NOT, want to get pertussis. Just take my word for it.

Virginia HOA locked into long term contract with telecom provider; Congressman writes FCC

In a letter dated Tuesday, Dec. 7, U.S. Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-10-VA) reached out to Julius Genachowski, chairman of the FCC, about the informal complaint filed by lawyers on behalf of the 1,117 residents of Southern Walk at Broadlands and its homeowners association. The residents first reached out to Wolf's office in the fall, and have been in communication with him regarding their concerns and their legal efforts since that time.

Wolf's letter states that the concerns of a residents "merit serious consideration" by the commission. "The complaint raises serious concerns about the fairness of a developer committing my constituents to a multi-generational obligation with a pre-selected communications provider," the letter reads.

Leesburg Today has the rest of the story.
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There is a way to avoid these kinds of locked in deals. Developers can build open access fiber networks owned by the homeowners rather than a private vendor. Apparently the developer of the HOA involved here didn't go that route -- most likely because there was more money for the developer in having a for profit company provide the service. Another example of why privatizing local government is poor public policy.

Mounting State Debts Stoke Fears of a Looming Crisis

Mounting State Debts Stoke Fears of a Looming Crisis

Municipal bankruptcies or defaults have been extremely rare — no state has defaulted since the Great Depression, and only a handful of cities have declared bankruptcy or are considering doing so.

But the finances of some state and local governments are so distressed that some analysts say they are reminded of the run-up to the subprime mortgage meltdown or of the debt crisis hitting nations in Europe.

Analysts fear that at some point — no one knows when — investors could balk at lending to the weakest states, setting off a crisis that could spread to the stronger ones, much as the turmoil in Europe has spread from country to country.
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Governments in Europe and at all levels in the U.S. are reeling in red ink. While economic observers note consumer confidence and retail spending are up, reports like these as well as continued high unemployment demonstrate the ongoing powerful gravitational drag exerted by the implosion of the real estate bubble into a massive financial black hole in 2008.

First responders delayed by padlocked gates of Privatopian enclave

HOUSTON – A group of northeast Houston residents say they are holding a rally to protest the mismanagement of their neighborhood’s homeowners association.

The resident’s main concern is the locks that were placed on the subdivision’s gates that possibly created a delay for first responders.

Blouis Gipson, who recently lost his wife to a heart attack, said he wonders what would have happened if the Pine Village North subdivision had a different lock on the gates.

“I tried CPR and I called 911 immediately,” said Gipson.

But help was held up because the homeowners association had the gate chained shut with a lock, he said. A report from the fire department said the crew had to cut the lock off of the gate.

“By the time EMS got here, she had died,” said Gipson

There was a fire a few months ago that destroyed several town homes and the fire department was locked out, the residents said.
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Rest of the story here.

Sovereign Privatopia: Arizona HOAs claim jurisdiction over public streets

Homeowners and HOA Headaches

State Representative Nancy Barto describes HOAs as quasi-governments with deep pockets, lots of authority and little oversight. She tried to pass a bill to clarify who owns public streets: cities or HOAs.

"A lot of HOAs are run very well. This is not about most HOAs. This is about many HOAs," says Barto. "It becomes very evident that there's not enough oversight whenever there's a dispute, because homeowners have nowhere to go to solve these problems."

Attorney Scott Carpenter represents 3,000 HOAs and worked against Nancy Barto's bill.

"There is no story or evidence or statistics that I've seen that back up the assertion that associations are using fines for vehicles parked in public streets as a revenue generator," says Carpenter.

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This is one of the most nonsensical circumstances I've read emanating from Privatopia. A bill to determine whether municipalities or HOAs own public streets? Clearly the former; curious minds want to know why the state Legislature would be called upon to resolve that question. And why the munis don't take overreaching HOAs asserting bogus claims of jurisdiction over public rights of way to court and get a judge to order them to butt out.

HOA Activist Phil Testa murders wife, kills himself

Vegas Man Dies After Shooting Wife, Self - Las Vegas News Story - KVVU Las Vegas: "A Las Vegas man who shot himself after killing his wife was identified Monday as 74-year-old Phil Testa.
Testa died at University Medical Center after he was rushed to the hospital Saturday night.
Authorities said Testa shot his 79-year-old wife, Angelina, at the couple’s home on Maryland Parkway near Flamingo Road. He then called 911, saying he had killed his wife and was going to kill himself, according to police."
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And then he did kill himself.

Phil Testa was a long-time Las Vegas area HOA activist who at one time had a radio show there. He was fond of calling people crooks and other names, making thinly veiled threats, and claiming to have some sort of organized crime background. He liked to bum rush the stage whenever he could and snatch microphones from people's hands--things like that.

UPS Has Homeowners Upset In Seminole Neighborhood - News Story - WFTV Orlando

UPS Has Homeowners Upset In Seminole Neighborhood - News Story - WFTV Orlando: "SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. -- Some Seminole County residents are furious that a major U.S. corporation set up shop right in the middle of their neighborhood.
Homeowners in Deer Run say the UPS delivery service has leased a house along Augusta way (see map). The delivery company is now using the home to collect and deliver packages for the entire neighborhood.
You wouldn't know it from the outside but neighbors say the owner of the home might as well put up a big UPS sign right out front."
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How convenient. And yes, there is an HOA, and yes, it seems to be a violation of the governing documents. Ho, ho, ho. Merry Christmas!

Chicago set coyotes loose on the streets to hunt for rats

Chicago set coyotes loose on the streets to hunt for rats

Still, it seems a rather desperate throwback to frontier-style husbandry for a major American metropolis to unleash sharp-fanged predators to roam freely through its streets to contain the growing rat menace. But that's what the city of Chicago has done with its latest, innovative effort in rat control: the coyote solution.

The city's program evidently came to light when numerous concerned citizens reported seeing a coyote running down one of the city's main drags, weaving in, out and around passing vehicles. But the city's animal welfare department told a local media outlet that there was nothing out of the ordinary about this at all.
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Somehow I doubt this would fly in Privatopia.

Is Your New Neighbor a Squatter? | NBC Los Angeles

Is Your New Neighbor a Squatter? | NBC Los Angeles: "Prosecutors say this is happening across Southern California.
They've caught squatters illegally living in homes in Bel-Air, Marina Del Rey and Winnetka.
'It's a huge problem and growing every day,' says Los Angeles City Attorney Maureen Rodriguez."
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New homes sales in another big dip - Nov. 24, 2010

New homes sales in another big dip - Nov. 24, 2010: "New home sales dropped to an annual pace of just 283,000, according to the Commerce Department. That was down 8.1% from a slow September and 28.5% from 12 months ago when the annualized sales rate was at 430,000."
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That's pathetic. If we were in a real recovery, instead of this fake one we are being asked to believe in, it would be at least a million units per year.

Think you've read the worst about foreclosures? Read this | McClatchy

Think you've read the worst about foreclosures? Read this | McClatchy: "Hall's foreclosure defense lawyers, in what has become a booming -- and sometimes predatory -- business, charged her more than $20,000 while regularly failing to show up in court. One lawyer charged Hall $2,800 for work he did trying to withdraw himself from the case.

Law enforcement officers are scheduled to come to Hall's house to evict her and her family next week, nearly five years after a mortgage broker showed up on her doorstep unannounced, pitching a stress-free refinance."
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According to the story, this woman has fallen into every one of a long series of pitfalls that lie in wait for those who took out subprime loans. If you want to read a real-life horror story, check out Our Lot: How Real Estate Came to Own Us, by Alyssa Katz. She tells the whole story of the subprime catastrophe.

ACLU Announces Free Speech Settlement with Association | Articles & Archives | Community Association Management Insider

ACLU Announces Free Speech Settlement with Association | Articles & Archives | Community Association Management Insider: "The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has reached a settlement on behalf of a San Francisco condo resident who challenged an attempt by a homeowner's association to force him to remove political signs from his windows."
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California Bond Woe Bodes Ill for States - WSJ.com

California Bond Woe Bodes Ill for States - WSJ.com
The normally staid market has grown volatile the past week, posting its sharpest selloff in nearly two years, as investors demand higher interest rates to buy paper issued by states, cities and counties to finance their operations. Localities have been hammered by a drop in tax revenue amid the downturn—and unlike the federal government, most are barred constitutionally from running deficits.
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This means state and local governments will be making more service cuts and raising whatever taxes and charges they can.

Stern's DAL Enters Forbearance Agreement With Bank of America Over Credit - Bloomberg

Stern's DAL Enters Forbearance Agreement With Bank of America Over Credit - Bloomberg: "A business run by David Stern, the Florida foreclosure lawyer who is under investigation by the state’s attorney general, entered a forbearance agreement with lender Bank of America NA.

The bank agreed not to take action in the period ending Nov. 26 over a default on a revolving line of credit by DAL Group LLC, a unit of Stern’s foreclosure-processing company, DJSP Enterprises Inc., according to a regulatory filing. The credit line, entered into in March, has an outstanding principal balance of about $12 million, DAL said."
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I'll let the irony just work its way through the system.

Condo associations may be coming to an end | WBEZ

Condo associations may be coming to an end | WBEZ
Hear crazed professor McKenzie on Chicago public radio today.

Dejected House Dems wipe away tears as GOP celebrates victory - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

Dejected House Dems wipe away tears as GOP celebrates victory - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room: "Freshman Rep. Debbie Halvorson (D-Ill.), who lost her reelection bid, wiped away tears as she hugged fellow members of the class of 2008, many of whom lost on Nov. 2.

Less than three feet away, ousted Nevada freshman Rep. Dina Titus (D) appeared to brush away some tears in a less obvious manner."
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Heart-breaking. To think that these fledgling members of Congress are being evicted from their seats after only two years, before they could dig themselves in like ticks and become unaccountable, perpetually re-elected incumbents like the rest of the House.