Calverton homeowners sue Suffolk over sewage system demands | Newsday

Calverton homeowners sue Suffolk over sewage system demands | Newsday:

"Homeowners at a Calverton town house complex have filed a federal lawsuit against Suffolk County in a dispute over a sewage treatment system that serves the development’s homes. Leaders of the Calverton Hills Homeowners Association say the county is requiring residents to install a new wastewater plant that would cost about $7 million — far more than many residents can afford. Landlords said about half of the complex’s approximately 1,000 residents are on some form of public assistance, and some units are in foreclosure. “It’s going to be a financial hardship for a lot of families that have an income less than the median income,” said Michelle Janlewicz, who owns and rents out three units. “Most people already owe more than the property is worth.”"

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It appears that this sewer system was installed by the developer in 1973. In 2005, the country told them that the system doesn't meet discharge standards and it was the HOA's responsibility to pay for replacing it. The HOA got a $2 million estimate on replacing the sewer system, but didn't do it, and now there are additional requirements that led to today's estimate of about $7 million. The HOA has raised $500,000-$600,000, but all they did is raise the assessments by $30 per month, which is small change compared to what associations typically do when they have to specially assess for major expenditures. Now they are suing to force the county--i.e., the taxpayers of the whole country--to pay for a new sewer system for this subdivision, which I suspect is unlikely to work. The county is saying that if the HOA doesn't pay for this and get it installed, they will close the subdivision.

I have been saying forever that many associations are going to go under because they don't have enough money in reserves to pay for inevitable repair and replacement of major private infrastructure for which they are responsible. People buy into associations with no understanding of the financial risk. Eventually things wear out, and the people who happen to own the units when that happens get stuck with the bill. This is why associations are supposed to get reserve studies done. It's tragic to see these situations, but unfortunately we will be seeing a lot more as the years go by. And this is why the whole subject of private infrastructure needs to be viewed as a public policy issue.

A libertarian utopia was actually tried here — and it failed miserably

A libertarian utopia was actually tried here — and it failed miserably:

Ayn Rand was wrong?  Somebody tell Paul Ryan because he hasn't heard the news yet.

Disabled veteran kicked out of heated HOA meeting - KTNV.com Las Vegas

Disabled veteran kicked out of heated HOA meeting - KTNV.com Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) - A meeting to discuss the future of a popular park in the northwest part of the valley ended with two people being kicked out after things got heated.

Pop Squires Park is part of an HOA, but many in the public also enjoy it.  It's why many people were interested in a meeting hosted by Councilwoman Michele Fiore at the YMCA to discuss saving the park from being redeveloped into apartments.

Some at the meeting claimed as the meeting began, Fiore was hostile from the start, explaining that her staff was bullied and attacked at a previous meeting, and that this was a private HOA meeting and anyone there being disrupted would be removed.

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Insane right winger Michele Fiore, who made news for her coziness with the Bundy "ranch" anarchists, went full fascist at an HOA meeting and ordered public law enforcement officers to eject people from a private HOA meeting. 

Reclaiming Public Services | Transnational Institute

Reclaiming Public Services | Transnational Institute:

There is something called "remunicipalization," which means deprivatizing public services, and it is going on around the world where people decided that privatization wasn't working. One example is Paris, where they deprivatized their water system.  You can find many examples on a map if you follow that first link.

South Boston Condo Manager Accused Of Taking $200K in Missing Funds « CBS Boston

South Boston Condo Manager Accused Of Taking $200K in Missing Funds  « CBS Boston:

 There is just no end to this.

Who is the new face of American homeownership?

Who is the new face of American homeownership?: "New homeowners in 2015 were noticeably older than those in 2001, when the median age of new owners was 34 (Figure 1). Some of this is due to the general aging of the U.S. population–renters and established owners were also older in 2015 than the same groups in 2001–but the age distribution has changed more dramatically for new owners. In particular, the share of new homeowners under age 30 declined from 29 percent in 2001 to about 15 percent in 2015. During the same time, the share of all households under age 30 declined slightly from 13 percent to just under 10 percent..In 2015, 7.5 percent of new homeowners and 3.3 percent of all households lived in newly built housing. By contrast, in 2001, 25 percent of new homeowners lived in newly built housing, as did 8.5 percent of all households..Despite much media attention to millennials’ supposed preference for high-density urban living, the data suggests that most new homeowners still purchase single-family houses. The dearth of new housing development during the Great Recession and recovery–and the scarcity of new single-family homes in particular–may constrain both first-time homeowners and established homeowners looking to trade up."

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Housing construction virtually stopped during the recession, when it started again there were more apartments, lending standards became tougher, the job market for young people hasn't been all that great, and many of the ones with higher earning potential are paying off student loans. Experts keep predicting the end of the suburban dream and the return to the city, but people keep wanting to buy single-family homes in the suburbs.

'Housing Is Everybody's Problem'

'Housing Is Everybody's Problem': "Concord Park was Morris Milgram’s initial venture as a professional homebuilder. His motivations were idealistic: Milgram wanted to prove that multiracial suburbs were not only practical but also superior to segregated developments. From its groundbreaking in 1954 and well into the 1960s, Concord Park’s fortunes were closely tracked by progressive activists, scholars, and journalists (most friendly, but not all). Milgram would devote the rest of his career to building, promoting, and managing integrated housing. Although he is largely forgotten today, he counted among his supporters Martin Luther King, Jr. and Eleanor Roosevelt, as well as other humanitarian leaders of the era. By the time of his death, in 1997, he could rightly claim to have provided some 20,000 units of housing across the nation while adhering to staunch anti-discrimination — and actively pro-integration — policies."

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Ironically, a lot of what Milgram did in order to promote integration is illegal today because it was race-conscious.

Los Angeles Expects to Turn Away 96 Percent of Subsidized Housing Applicants – Mother Jones

Los Angeles Expects to Turn Away 96 Percent of Subsidized Housing Applicants – Mother Jones: "When Los Angeles opens applications to join its waitlist for subsidized housing vouchers in a couple of weeks, the city’s housing authority expects that it will receive more than 600,000 applications. According to the Los Angeles Times, the waitlist’s capacity is just 20,000, which means that 580,000 of those who apply will be told, more or less, ‘Sorry, better luck next time.’

The lucky 20,000 then stand to wait a up to a decade for a voucher to become available."

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I think we can safely call that a housing crisis, don't you? LA has what some say is the least affordable housing prices in the US. Some cities are higher in dollars, but not necessarily relative to income.

“Instant neighborhoods” don’t make for great cities, but DC insists on them – Greater Greater Washington

“Instant neighborhoods” don’t make for great cities, but DC insists on them – Greater Greater Washington: "In certain corners of DC, flocks of construction cranes are busy assembling dozens of apartment towers from scratch – while other neighborhoods look much the same as they have for decades. This imbalance is quietly undermining the character and continuity of DC's urban fabric by eroding the physical, economic, and social diversity within neighborhoods. Yet DC's planning policies explicitly encourage this pattern when they single out a few areas to develop all at once, while exempting other areas from growth."

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This kind of planning is not conducive to having any sense of community. Jane Jacobs would be protesting.

Beverly Hills Homeowners Band Together Against Justin Bieber | Vanity Fair

Beverly Hills Homeowners Band Together Against Justin Bieber | Vanity Fair:

I guess his reputation has preceded him. The neighborhood is organizing to keep him from renting a home.

Arizona HOA managers accused of stealing nearly $1.3M from groups

Arizona HOA managers accused of stealing nearly $1.3M from groups: "Federal prosecutors are accusing the owners of Phoenix-based Eagle Property Management of taking almost $1.3 million from several Valley homeowners associations."

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Why does this happen so often? Perhaps because of the lack of regulation and oversight of the property management industry, and the fact that HOA/condo association directors and officers are often not willing or able keep an eagle eye on things.

Manhattan Condos Are Barely Yielding More Than Government Treasuries - Bloomberg

Manhattan Condos Are Barely Yielding More Than Government Treasuries - Bloomberg:

"Manhattan condo buyers who rent out their apartments are getting little more yield than they would with government debt. Newly purchased condos that were listed for lease in the second quarter brought their owners a median return of 2.5 percent, according to an analysis released Monday by property-listings website StreetEasy. It’s been stuck at that level since the end of last year, the lowest in data going back to 2010. The median yield on relatively risk-free 10-year Treasury notes was 2.25 percent in the second quarter. “This is the lowest point we’ve seen in history,” Grant Long, a senior economist at StreetEasy, said in an interview. “It’s a steady downward trend.”

HOA fight over World War II tank in River Oaks | khou.com

HOA fight over World War II tank in River Oaks | khou.com

"Attorney Tony Buzbee bought a fully functional World War II tank overseas last year for $600,000. Now he's temporarily parked it outside his multi-million dollar home in River Oaks. "Took a year to get here but now it's on River Oaks Boulevard," said Buzbee. "This particular tank landed at Normandy. It liberated Paris and ultimately went all the way to Berlin. There's a lot of history here." But now the River Oaks Property Owners group isn't happy about it. "It's not violating any ordinance, but for some people it makes the homeowners association uncomfortable," said Buzbee. They sent Buzbee a letter saying the tank "impedes traffic", causes a "safety issue" and is causing "serious concerns for neighbors". "If you're offended just lighten up, my goodness it isn't hurting anyone," said Buzbee."

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You just knew it had to be an attorney, right?

Portland Condo Owners Toss Out Homeowners Association Board That Imposed High Fees - Willamette Week

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?

Deerfield condominium association treasurer charged with stealing $18K | masslive.com

Deerfield condominium association treasurer charged with stealing $18K | masslive.com:



Here we go again.

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.

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.

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.

Homeowners file lawsuit over odor from portable toilet facility | KOMO

Homeowners file lawsuit over odor from portable toilet facility | KOMO: "PACIFIC, Wash. -- Some homeowners in Pacific are pursuing legal action to try to stop the stink that sometimes fills the air around their homes, they said. They claim Northwest Cascade, Inc., a nearby company that cleans and stores portable toilets, is to blame."

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They "claim"??  How could that be in dispute, considering that the company cleans and stores porta-potties?

HOA, Sun City Grand residents clash over painted driveway borders

HOA, Sun City Grand residents clash over painted driveway borders:

People have been painting their driveway borders for years, and now suddenly the world will come to an end unless they paint over it the same uniform shade of grayish beige. Because everybody knows that nobody wants to buy a house unless it has a grayish beige driveway.