The Modern Day HOA

The Modern Day HOA
This program just aired live on WUNC, a public radio station in North Carolina. I was on with three other guests.
(I corrected the link--thanks to George Staropoli for the correction.)

Trade Groups Push FHA to Reconsider Condo Loan Guidelines | Reverse Mortgage Daily

Trade Groups Push FHA to Reconsider Condo Loan Guidelines | Reverse Mortgage Daily
Community Associations Institute, the President of Institute of Real Estate Management, National Association of Home Builders, and National Association of REALTORS® jointly wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Housing and Development suggesting several “enhancements” to the Federal Housing Administration’s condominium requirements.
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And CAI has some specific criticisms here.

Saddlebrook residents claim HOA board withheld documents, rigged elections

Homeowners under HOAs may find themselves at the mercy of a board that uses their dues to finance protracted legal battles that silence opposition, Bergemann said.

"It becomes a literal dictatorship in a country that is supposed to be the land of the free," he said. "You only have recourse if you can wake up a majority of the owners, which is really difficult, and if you can pay to fight the lawyers."
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In Privatopia, the right to petition for redress of grievances often means filing a costly petition in the courts.

Mortgage Servicers Latest Troubles: Homeowners Association Fees - American Banker Article

Mortgage Servicers Latest Troubles: Homeowners Association Fees - American Banker Article
Florida is the "lion's den" when it comes to problems with homeowners associations, says White, who has seen HOA fees in excees of $100,000. He estimated that 15% of properties with an HOA have some type of "escalated issue, whether it's the HOA actually foreclosing or charging junk fees or holding the bank liable for assessments before they were responsible for the property."
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It seems that condos and HOAs, and their lawyers and managers, are getting a bad reputation with a wider circle of people. Now the mortgage servicers are getting fed up with the grasping behavior that has long aggravated many home owners.

Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.

Family fights HOA for their precious pet, Wilbur the pig

HOUSTON—A local homeowner is fighting to keep her precious pet.

Wilbur the pig is beloved by his owner, but not so popular with some neighbors.

"It’s really emotional, because we’ve gotten attached to him," said Wilbur’s owner, Missy Sardo.

The Sardo family’s home is located in the 3400 block of Fir Forest Dr. in The Thicket subdivision.

Last week, they received a letter from their homeowner’s association informing them their 60-pound, 8-month-old pot-bellied pig would have to go. They were given 30 days to find him a new home.
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The HOA versus pot bellied pig is a frequently reported story in Privatopia but not as common as HOA versus American flags flapping on flagpoles or HOA versus solar panels.

Rejoining the 21st century

We here in Lake County, IL, were hit by a major storm at 8am on Monday. I have been without electrical power in my home and my office for two days, and the power just came on at home. In the meantime I have been unable to attend to some very pressing work. Until I get caught up I won't be able to post much here.

Courts award $400,000 for botched renovation by condo president

A Boca Raton condo owner has won a $400,000 court judgment against an unlicensed contractor who allegedly falsified invoices and violated the terms of his contract by charging triple what he was paying his subcontractors.

But what made owner Don Nadick's case unusual: The contractor, Richard Pettoni, was Nadick's condo board president. Nadick said that fact made him figure he had nothing to worry about when Pettoni approached him in 2009, claimed to be a general contractor and offered to handle Nadick's $120,000 renovation job.

But Pettoni never had a contracting license, state records show, a violation of the condo rules he had been elected to uphold.

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Oh, how can we fleece thee? Let us count the ways!

Neighbor vs. neighbor as homeowner fights get ugly

The Inlet House condo complex in Fort Pierce, Fla., was once the kind of place the 55-and-older set aspired to. It was affordable. The pool and clubhouse were tidy, the lawns freshly snipped. Residents, push-carts in tow, walked to the beach, the bank, the beauty parlor, the cinema and the supermarket. In post-crash America, this was a dreamy little spot. Especially on a fixed income.

But that was Inlet House before the rats started chewing through the toilet seats in vacant units and sewage started seeping from the ceiling. Before condos that were worth $79,000 four years ago sold for as little as $3,000. And before the homeowners' association levied $6,000 assessments on everyone — and then foreclosed on seniors who couldn't pay the association bill, even if they didn't owe the bank a dime.

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How's this for protecting property values? A $6,000 special assessment on a unit purchased for $79,000 and now valued at $3,000. The idea of "carefree living" can be very appealing but here is one of the risks associated with putting Charlie neighbor in charge, especially in a lower income property.

ps from Evan: Don't forget this: "But today, encouraged by a new industry of lawyers and consultants, boards are increasingly foreclosing on people 60 days past due on association fees, says Evan McKenzie, a former homeowner association attorney who is now a University of Illinois political science professor and the author of the book "Beyond Privatopia: Rethinking Residential Private Government."

Letter: We plan to picket over dispute with homeowner's association

White "picket fence" takes on a new meaning in Privatopia.

State Offers New Options For HOA Help

DENVER (CBS4)- There are more than 7,500 homeowners’ associations in Colorado. They govern more than 2 million people. HOA’s are big business. And when neighbors are governing neighbors there are bound to be problems.

“Spending my money for other people’s expenses, didn’t sit well,” Karen Templeton said of her homeowners’ association.

“They wouldn’t let me see the books… could not see the books. I questioned financial statements, they wouldn’t tell me answers,” Jim Burneson said of his HOA.

“Where did the money go? What’s going on?” said Sue Williams about her HOA

A group of homeowners met with CBS4 to discuss their problems with their various homeowner’s associations. They represent several neighborhoods but describe the same sort of issues. Conflicts in homeowner’s associations can get petty and personal.
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That's because private local government -- i.e. mandatory membership HOAs -- has a weak or nonexistent culture of governance. Instead, it's rule by Joe, Mary and Bob on the board. And when constituents demand the accountability to which they are entitled, the request is taken personally -- not surprisingly since it's government by personality.

By the same token, expenditures are also taken personally as Karen Templeton's comment illustrates. Rather than benefiting all constituents, they're seen as Joe, Mary's or Bob's pet projects financed with other people's money -- their money.

Not exactly a model for a sustainable form of local government over the long run but for now serves to generate short term revenues for the CID bar when the conflicts head to court.

Former Brigantine condo officials charged with theft, fraud

Brigantine police charged two former Spartan Harbour Condominium officials and a local contractor with theft and conspiracy in an alleged fraudulent billing scheme against the city, police said.

The charges allege that from 2004 to 2008, former Spartan Harbour property manager Walter Czyzewicz, former Spartan Harbor board President Richard DeBenedetto, and Robert Musumeci, the operator of the Moose’s Cans dumpster service in Brigantine, conspired to defraud the city of Brigantine of more than $75,000.

“The city reimburses all condo associations in town for their trash removal based on a certain formula,” Lt. James Bennett said in a release, “and according to reports, there was a marked increase in the amount the Spartan Harbour Association was submitting from a company known as Moose’s Cans.”

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The Spartan has since been renamed Dolphin Cove Condo

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No one is safe, not even the city.

96-Year-Old Being Forced Out Over Storm Preps

Sarah Eisenberg has lived through many storms in her 96 years, but the ominous forecast she faces these days comes from the association that runs her condominium.

Eisenberg said that she has been told that if she doesn't pay to upgrade to hurricane windows and doors, the association will foreclose on her Fort Lauderdale unit.

The cost is $6,500, a price tag too expensive for a senior citizen on a fixed income, Eisenberg said. She gets $1,500 per month from her Social Security check.

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Associaions just plain have too much power.

Experts: Pinellas lawyer takes foreclosure fight to ethical edge

Pinellas County lawyer Robert L. Tankel advocates showing no mercy toward property owners who fall behind on their homeowners association fees.

"If you have to sue some people, that's life," Tankel advised associations in a YouTube video.
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How charming. A lawyer who prides himself on exploring the outer reaches of ethical behavior in his pursuit of owners who are behind on their assessments.
Thanks to Robert Racansky for the link.

SA homeowner says HOA forced him to plant a yard in a drought .

SAN ANTONIO --With 100-degree, hot, dry days, Armando Urdiales decided to plant a new lawn.

Well, not really. It was his HOA, he said, that suggested it, after they found patches of dirt amongst the withered blades in his front yard.

Urdiales said, "That was the kicker for me. Really? You're going to tell me to grow grass in a drought."

The social studies teacher says after receiving two, threatening letters in the last 60-days, he planted $150 worth of sod and started watering it.

"Isn't there a better use of our resource--of our precious resource of water--other than maintaning grass?” he said.

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"And so, Dear Homeowner, unless you do as we say we can fine and then foreclose to collect that fine. Don't forget you agreed so no going back now."

Yep, I can see long lines of people clamoring to be part of this wonderful regime, where the abuses and fines flow like cheap wine- since water is at a premium.

Thanks to Beanie Adolph for the link.

Complex system leaves foreclosure properties to become eyesores

TAMPA — Standing at the end of a quiet suburban cul-de-sac, Gene Minkel surveyed one tiny battleground in a nationwide fight that often pits local governments against Wall Street.

The veteran Hillsborough County code enforcement officer looked over 7501 Woodland Oaks Ct. and wished Bank of America would mow the waist-high weeds. Or patch the shattered windows. Or get rid of the wasps that have taken up residence.

The 1,300-square-foot home has sat largely vacant since falling into foreclosure more than two years ago, racking up $55,372 in code violations while the case lingers in court. A tattered sign out front informs visitors that BAC Field Services, a subsidiary of the megabank, “intends to protect this property from deterioration.”

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There is something to be said for returning to the simpler way of homeownership. We seem to have created too many victims in this complex and complicated mess we have made in residential America.

George Will Spreads Some Lies About the Economic Crisis | Beat the Press

George Will Spreads Some Lies About the Economic Crisis | Beat the Press
It really is incredible to see such a concerted effort to rewrite history in front of our faces. There is not much ambiguity in the story of the housing bubble. The private financial sector went nuts. They made a fortune issuing bad and often fraudulent loans which they could quickly resell in the secondary market. The big actors in the junk market were the private issuers like Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Lehman Brothers. However, George Will and Co. are determined to blame this disaster on government "compassion" for low-income families.
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That's the start of Dean Baker's demolition of George Will's latest Tory pontificating in the Washington Post.

Vietnam War Veteran Wins Fight to Fly American Flag on Front Lawn

Quigley's fight was buoyed by an outpouring of popular support. Sympathetic fellow citizens in the U.S. rallied to his cause, but people all around the world took his side. His plight got worldwide coverage. He heard from supporters in London and in India. "I've gotten calls from Macedonia," the surprised retiree said. "I don't mean from Macedonia, Ohio. I mean from Macedonia."

According to ABC News, the American Legion will return to Quigley’s home on July 4 at 11 a.m. to conduct a second flag-raising. "We expect quite a large turnout," Legion commander John J.C. Sullivan said. "A lady called from California who's a singer of patriotic songs. She'll be there [to] sing."

"Somebody should have been a little smarter about it, in particularly the homeowners association. They brought tremendous negative publicity upon themselves," said John Sullivan, president of the American Legion Post 801.
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Another HOA flag flap ends as the HOA wilts in the hot glare of global media attention and outrage.

HOAs and Hawaiian shirts

And while you can expect a judge to keep a straight face while you describe how the neighbor kids like to congregate at 2:30 a.m. at the basketball hoop next door to dribble and carom the ball off the rim hard and loudly 315 times in a row, it’s quite difficult to expect the same when you testify that your neighbor’s phony saguaro is keeping you up nights.

Playing the property values card is pretty silly even during times of rising home prices. Few if any real estate appraisers are willing to state for the record that they downgraded a house’s value because the people across the street had a metal saguaro in the front yard.

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But the HOA nevertheless sees that metal saguaro as the first step on the path to neighborhood ruination.

Mistake costs Leisure World Seal Beach nearly $273,000

The retirement community was penalized after its management company failed to pay the majority of a total of $3.5 million in property taxes on time.
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Ouch..

The story of Dune, recreated with Gummi worms

The story of Dune, recreated with Gummi worms
This has nothing to do with anything, but it is cool beyond belief.