Malibu church to stop helping the homeless because city tells them it "lures the needy"

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/malibu-church-homeless-free-meals-stopped-too-many-needy-people-order-latest-a8075891.html

The United Methodist Church, one of many churches that provides food and help, has been offering free meals twice a week. But it said it was going to stop after being told the meal servicewas luring too many homeless people.

Dawn Randall, a member of the church, said it recently received an email from city officials. “Very succinctly, they claimed we are increasing homelessness,” she told CBS.

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Malibu is a ritzy beach suburb north of Los Angeles. I guess the city wants the homeless to go back to East Third Street in downtown LA. 

South African gated communities socked for "draconian" practices

https://www.iol.co.za/sunday-tribune/news/gatedestates-a-victory-against-arrogant-draconian-rules-12065349

DURBAN - Property tycoon Niemesh Singh is prepared to fight the Mount Edgecombe Country Club Estate in the highest court should they appeal against a landmark high court judgment against gated estates.

On Friday, Singh successfully contested the “draconian rules”, including restrictions placed on the movement of domestic workers at the swish estate, in court this week. He said he was prepared for the “journey against arrogance”.

Residents were fined when their domestic workers were found walking on the pristine pathways, or when motorists failed to adhere to the 40km/h speed limit when driving on the estate’s roads.

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Malaysian criminals operating from gated communities

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/free-from-cops-criminals-now-running-business-from-gated-communities#FCDsJeOyw5lm9J73.97

JOHOR BARU, Nov 25 ― Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed revealed today that criminals are now operating from the safety of gated and guarded residential areas.

The deputy home minister said there have been cases of telephone scams, online gambling, human trafficking and also drug labs there since the police cannot go after them inside.

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CondoGate: Is there a Scandal in your Community Association? - Realty Times

CondoGate: Is there a Scandal in your Community Association? - Realty Times

Attorney Benny Kass weighs in on a matter that people ask me about frequently.

Condos out, apartments in | Articles | News | OakPark.com

Condos out, apartments in | Articles | News | OakPark.com

"It was a golden age for condo conversions in the Chicago area in the 1980s and 90s, but the financial crash of 2008, changing demographics and a hot market for rental units has sent the pendulum swinging in the other direction. The real estate trend is now toward condo deconversions or bulk sales – where condo buildings are being converted back into rentals – also is taking place in Oak Park."

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And in addition to a stronger market for rentals, the trend toward deconversion is driven by the failure of condo associations:  "The challenge we see now on the condo side are non-functioning condo associations," he said, adding that they often "don't have the money to pay for the work that's needed." Hess said CIC is in the early stages of determining whether to establish a fund to lend to these troubled condo associations."
Another interviewee, an attorney, pointed out other problems:  "Planek said tenants are steering away from condos in favor of rentals for a number of reasons: high taxes and assessments; increased desire for mobility; and lack of interest in being involved in condo associations."

Saudi Arabia Just Announced Plans to Build a Mega City That Will Cost $500 Billion - Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia Just Announced Plans to Build a Mega City That Will Cost $500 Billion - Bloomberg:



"Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced plans to build a new city on the Red Sea coast, promising a lifestyle not available in today’s Saudi Arabia as he seeks to remake the kingdom in a time of dwindling resources. The prince said the city project, to be called “NEOM,” will operate independently from the “existing governmental framework” with investors consulted at every step during development. The project will be backed by more than $500 billion from the Saudi government, its sovereign wealth fund and local and international investors, according to a statement released on Tuesday at an international business conference in Riyadh."

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The Saudi government is trying to diversity their economy as they plan for a post-oil world. They are using a $2 trillion (!) sovereign wealth fund to get involved in many investments, including infrastructure projects all over the world. 

Local HOA finds large sum of unclaimed money, 10 News Find...

Local HOA finds large sum of unclaimed money, 10 News Find...:

"A Blacksburg homeowners association that has more than 100 members recently discovered it had a six-figure paycheck it never knew about."

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It seems that a previous treasurer from ten years ago put stocks and CDs in a safe deposit box, then left, and nobody knew about it.

Fire, death leads to Bay Pointe HOA tussle in Mason with Rentz Management

Fire, death leads to Bay Pointe HOA tussle in Mason with Rentz Management:

I won't try to summarize this saga, but it is an awful story. A more accurate headline is in USA Today: "Phoenix condo owners fight $15,000 plus HOA assessments--and win."

The Remunicipalisation of Water Services in Paris, France - futurepolicy.org

The Remunicipalisation of Water Services in Paris, France - futurepolicy.org:



"On 24 November 2008, against exponentially rising water prices, a severe lack of transparency, and poor accountability, the City Council of Paris decided not to renew its municipal water supply contracts with the private companies Veolia and Suez (two of the French powerhouses in global water services), instead remunicipalising water to be under public control.  The production and supply of Paris’ water was unified under the public entity Eau de Paris, which assumed operations of the whole system from 2010 onwards. Despite the major financial, labour and logistical challenges that the city faced, the transition was managed on time with no difference in terms of service to the end user and impressive financial savings for the people of Paris, and surplus profits have been reinvested for the further development of the city’s water infrastructure. This policy has shown that remunicipalisation of water services can be successful on a grand scale."

Phoenix Landmark condo owners fight HOA assessments — and win

Phoenix Landmark condo owners fight HOA assessments — and win: "The HOA assessment for a new HVAC system would have cost each of them at least $15,000 per condo. Many other owners in the 236-condo high-rise said the same thing as Hardaway: They could not afford the assessment, and it could cost them their home."

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They got a judge to overturn the assessment, but this isn't over. Apparently the work still needs to be done. There is an ongoing issue of what work, how much, and how to pay for it. But it is yet another example of huge special assessments that seem to be more and more common.

Op-Ed: New York Needs a New Deal - News | Planetizen

Op-Ed: New York Needs a New Deal - News | Planetizen

From water mains to public buildings, much of the infrastructure in use in the city today is 60-80 years old, Chaban explains. New York would need to spend $47 billion just to reach a state of good repair across the board, he writes, noting that "any major expansion or sweeping modernization would cost billions more."

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The whole country is in a similar situation, especially every big city. We have two infrastructure crises--one is public and the other is private. The crisis of public infrastructure is well-documented, and people are trying to find ways to solve it. But there is a little-known crisis of private infrastructure. Some of that private infrastructure is in HOAs and condo associations, where there isn't enough money to repair or replace it. There are also some big privatized pieces of infrastructure, such as toll highways, bridges, and many other systems. They are in the hands of private corporations that, in most cases, leased it for 75-99 years. And when it starts to go bad, these corporations don't want to pay for it. They want to sell off their lease or go bankrupt. All this private infrastructure has to be maintained and eventually rebuilt. It seems to me that this crisis of private infrastructure is not being thought about or planned for. 

Man wants to keep squirrel in his condo as pet

Man wants to keep squirrel in his condo as pet.
It's Florida.

The Deep Question Behind Rand Paul's 'Trivial' Dispute - Bloomberg

The Deep Question Behind Rand Paul's 'Trivial' Dispute - Bloomberg: "If Skaggs is accurately representing the senator’s views (not to mention the cause of the dispute), Paul has a highly selective idea of property rights. His get-out-of-my-face version of libertarianism doesn’t seem to respect the crucially important freedom to make, and responsibility to respect, contracts.


Your property rights don’t give you the freedom to violate your homeowners association contract specifying how to maintain your lawn any more than my free-expression rights give me the freedom to violate the Bloomberg contract saying I can’t write for The Wall Street Journal. If you can’t live with the restrictions, you don’t sign the contract. And if your neighbor isn’t sticking to the rules, you don’t go after him with your fists. You take it up with the homeowners association -- that most local version of politics."

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The problem with this argument is that in most cases HOA and condo association buyers don't "sign" any contract to join the association. They just buy the home, and membership is automatic, so these associations are mandatory-membership organizations, not voluntary associations. It is increasingly common for buyers to find that all the good options are in private communities.The law uses a legal fiction to classify them as voluntary, but in fact that isn't completely true for many people.

Rand Paul may be one of those people who believes that he has the full bundle of property rights and can do whatever he chooses. But is it because he didn't know what he was getting into?  I doubt it. Rand Paul may be one of the few people who really did know and bargain for what he got, but who wants to act as he chooses. He isn't the average person. He is very rich and well educated and powerful. He can live wherever he chooses, and he built his own house in a gated community, where everybody is restricted. So if he wants his neighbors to be restricted, but doesn't want to be restricted himself, then there is a problem.

Then there is the supreme irony that he's a libertarian. Libertarians have been raving about how great HOAs are for the last fifty years. They love the idea that there is a "private" substitute for local governments. They think private, contract-based local government is utopia. 

So, even though I don't normally find that "freedom of choice" argument very persuasive, for somebody like Rand Paul, maybe it carries more weight.

Atlas Shrubbed - POLITICO Magazine

Atlas Shrubbed - POLITICO Magazine:

I love this. Application of the libertarian's favorite, the Coase Theorem, to Rand Paul's leaf-blowing dispute with his neighbor.

America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning

America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning: "The root cause is that many of these long-standing chains are overloaded with debt—often from leveraged buyouts led by private equity firms. There are billions in borrowings on the balance sheets of troubled retailers, and sustaining that load is only going to become harder—even for healthy chains. The debt coming due, along with America’s over-stored suburbs and the continued gains of online shopping, has all the makings of a disaster. The spillover will likely flow far and wide across the U.S. economy. There will be displaced low-income workers, shrinking local tax bases and investor losses on stocks, bonds and real estate. If today is considered a retail apocalypse, then what’s coming next could truly be scary."

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They are talking about big retail chains with stores in cities all over the country that may close. For example, the map that goes with this story says that 26.8% of retail loans in Pittsburgh are delinquent. A number of big chains have filed for bankruptcy, including Toys R Us, Payless Shoes, Sports Authority, Radio Shack, and Circuit City.

Rand Paul not a perfect neighbor, developer says

Rand Paul not a perfect neighbor, developer says: "While there's no official word on what caused the fight, Skaggs suggested it might have stemmed from Paul allegedly blowing lawn trimmings into his neighbor's yard. 

There have been disagreements in the past, Skaggs said, over lawn clippings or who should cut down a tree branch when it stretched over a property line. The two men live on different streets but their lots join and their homes are 269 feet apart, according to Google Maps.

Skaggs described Boucher as a "near-perfect" neighbor, but he said the libertarian politician is a different story.

Paul "was probably the hardest person to encourage to follow the (homeowner's association regulations) of anyone out here because he has a strong belief in property rights," said Skaggs, who is the former chairman of the Warren County Republican Party. 

Skaggs noted the 13 pages of regulations are extensive. But even from the start of Paul's residence in Rivergreen, Skaggs said Paul has been difficult to work with. 

"The major problem was getting the house plans approved," Skaggs said. "He wanted to actually own the property rights and build any kind of house he wanted. He didn't end up doing that, but it was a struggle." "

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There's irony for you. Libertarian writers have been waxing poetic about the virtues of homeowner associations and gated communities for decades. But here we have the most famous libertarian politician in the USA who apparently doesn't fully appreciate the nirvana of private rules that he has freely chosen, as they keep insisting. Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.

Condo disputes can now be resolved online | Toronto Star

Condo disputes can now be resolved online | Toronto Star: "Ontario's 1.6 million condo residents have a new avenue for settling disputes in their buildings and neighbourhoods. Last week, the province launched its first online tribunal to help resolve the complaints that arise in 10,000 condo corporations.

The Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT) provides direct access to mediators and adjudicators in a stepped process that begins with a $25 fee, although to start, it is only looking at issues related to accessing condo records."

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There are so many condo disputes that treating them like other civil matters through the judicial system is prohibitively expensive. That's why there are so many proposals to send them off into some form of alternative dispute resolution. Putting the process online is a fairly dramatic step, it seems.

Crime Trackers: HOA treasurer accused of stealing more than $200 - KVOA | KVOA.com | Tucson, Arizona

Crime Trackers: HOA treasurer accused of stealing more than $200 - KVOA | KVOA.com | Tucson, Arizona: "GREEN VALLEY - A trusted member of the community is accused of ripping off a home owner's association in Green Valley.

79-year-old Wendell Byram allegedly stole more than $200,000, leaving homeowners in the lurch.

In April, Byram showed up at the Pima County Sheriff's department in Green Valley, admitted to the theft and turned himself in, investigators said.

A homeowner, who wants to remain anonymous, said they are very familiar with the case. They live in the neighborhood where Byram was the treasurer for the home owner's association for the last seven years. 

“He apparently had the full trust of the board members," the neighbor said. "They never asked to look at bank statements, and he kept two sets of books.”"

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Yet another one of these. When are state governments going to accept that HOA and condo association finances must be monitored in some fashion?

Nampa homeowners share their story after ugly HOA fight | KTVB.COM

Nampa homeowners share their story after ugly HOA fight | KTVB.COM: "NAMPA - It has been the center of attention in a Nampa neighborhood for over a year, but the days of a black wrought-iron fence will soon be coming to an end.

"The lawsuit has been settled, we are selling our home, and moving to a new subdivision, the fence is coming down," said Nampa homeowner Bekah Graves.

Bekah and her husband, Eric, have spent hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars battling the Shalimar Terrace homeowners association for the right to keep their powder-coated black ornamental steel fence around their property.

"It got to the point that financially, and emotionally, we just couldn't do it anymore," said Bekah Graves."

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And that's the way it usually goes. Homeowners decide at some point that it isn't worth fighting the association.

Subdivision easily approves HOA in step toward reclaiming lakes | News-Gazette.com

Subdivision easily approves HOA in step toward reclaiming lakes | News-Gazette.com: "CHAMPAIGN — Members of a northwest Champaign subdivision voted to form a homeowners association Monday night, putting them closer to regaining ownership of two retention basins that the county auctioned off without their knowledge.

The next step in the saga, which began in May, comes with a choice — attempt to legally reverse the auction sale or buy the basins back.

A packed room of Timberline Valley South residents voted 94-11 in favor of creating an HOA. The vote comes six months after Nasty Joe's LLC bought the two large retention basins for about $1,800 in a county auction, surprising many residents who didn't know the basins' drainage taxes hadn't been paid for years."

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These tax auctions are just bizarre.