Austin – As Incidences of possible attorney malfeasance and hostile actions by property management associations are being reported almost daily, the need for more than legislative change is clear.
Home Owners for Better Building will be asking the House Business and Industry committee as well as other lawmakers to request Attorney General Greg Abbott to investigate Home Owners Associations (HOA’s), the property management industry and its attorneys.
As HOA foreclosures rise substantially and the economy worsens, the property management industry seeks to further enrich themselves during this session on the backs of homeowners with clever legislative lobbying ideas that expand unearned transfer fees, processing fees, and mandatory contributions to developer foundations, etc
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This is a shot across the bow of Privatopia in the Lone Star State that could gain momentum on anti-corporate and lawyer sentiment.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Hands off my property, man tells HOA
Busch put a sign on his garage stating he should have property rights and there should not be an HOA. He's been fighting with the Sand Lake Hills homeowners association since 2008. He sued the HOA and 99 homeowners because he claims the HOA was formed illegally.
Each homeowner is supposed to agree to form an HOA, but he says that did not happen."This is property rights. How can they come on my property and assess me for anything they want?"
-------------------------------------------------------
The plaintiff's attorney is also contending the HOA "dumped trash" on his client's title with dubious liens.
Each homeowner is supposed to agree to form an HOA, but he says that did not happen."This is property rights. How can they come on my property and assess me for anything they want?"
-------------------------------------------------------
The plaintiff's attorney is also contending the HOA "dumped trash" on his client's title with dubious liens.
Post hailstorm email from HOA ticks off residents
PROSPER — An e-mail sent by a homeowners' association in Prosper is angering victims of Sunday night's thunderstorms. Neighbors in the Preston Lakes subdivision worry that community rules outlining homes' appearance may slow their rebuilding from damage caused by the violent storm that pelted properties with golf ball-sized hailstones.
"You don't say that less than 24 hours after something like this hits you," said Cindy Stuver, who lost nearly half her windows to the hailstorm. "That's wrong!" She and others are furious about the e-mail blast sent out by the local homeowners' association.
"This e-mail is to just make sure that everyone in our community is OK," HOA board member Shelly Van Blarcum wrote. The message went on to remind residents of the neighborhood guidelines that dictate homes' appearance — including the type of windows used and the color of shingles.
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This story shows how HOAs are not viewed by their constituents as a helpful entity but instead as intrusive and over controlling.
"You don't say that less than 24 hours after something like this hits you," said Cindy Stuver, who lost nearly half her windows to the hailstorm. "That's wrong!" She and others are furious about the e-mail blast sent out by the local homeowners' association.
"This e-mail is to just make sure that everyone in our community is OK," HOA board member Shelly Van Blarcum wrote. The message went on to remind residents of the neighborhood guidelines that dictate homes' appearance — including the type of windows used and the color of shingles.
---------------------------------------------------
This story shows how HOAs are not viewed by their constituents as a helpful entity but instead as intrusive and over controlling.
Beyond Privatopia: Rethinking Residential Private Government
To be released on May 2. You can pre-order it by using the link.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
HOA that prohibited hoarding now talks smoking restrictions
"LAGUNA WOODS – The largest homeowners association in Laguna Woods Village that recently prohibited residents from hoarding, will consider a policy that would limit where residents can smoke. The board of directors for United Mutual, a cooperative housing association that governs 6323 units, will meet Tuesday to consider a policy that could prohibit smoking inside all or a portion of units and in common areas."
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Can't hoard, can't smoke...how's a neurotic supposed to have any fun?
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Can't hoard, can't smoke...how's a neurotic supposed to have any fun?
Monday, April 11, 2011
Center for American Progress: The Perils of Privatizing our Mortgage Finance System
With links to reports on the subject.
HOA Information Office and Resource Center
HOA Information Office and Resource Center:
"The HOA Information Office and Resource Center provides information on the rights and duties of homeowners and associations under the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act. The Office is responsible for tracking inquiries and complaints."
-----------------------
I received this link from somebody who wishes to remain anonymous. If you live in Colorado and want to register a complaint about your HOA, this is the way to do it.
"The HOA Information Office and Resource Center provides information on the rights and duties of homeowners and associations under the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act. The Office is responsible for tracking inquiries and complaints."
-----------------------
I received this link from somebody who wishes to remain anonymous. If you live in Colorado and want to register a complaint about your HOA, this is the way to do it.
Saturday, April 09, 2011
HOA goes after woman's garage as 'community center'
A Tierrasanta homeowners association is cracking down on a 70-year-old woman whose garage has become a neighborhood gathering place of sorts, with folding chairs, a television and ample Chargers paraphernalia. The Villa Portofino association has fined Marylin Weber $120, saying she can’t use her garage as living space. Weber is refusing to pay the fine or back down, saying her garage is the community center in her neighborhood. The door is often open and neighbors stop by to knit, watch Jeopardy or celebrate birthdays.
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One of the basic principles of Privatopia is HOAs serve to build community spirit. After all, the private local government industry markets them as "community associations." However when community evolves naturally as this story illustrates, HOAs can be decidedly anti-community.
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One of the basic principles of Privatopia is HOAs serve to build community spirit. After all, the private local government industry markets them as "community associations." However when community evolves naturally as this story illustrates, HOAs can be decidedly anti-community.
HOA foreclosures come with price tag in troubled real estate market
As for the Leiders' former Brier Creek home, while the HOA foreclosed on them back in 2009, two years later the HOA still has the deed on it.
The HOA has now paid thousands on the home insuring it and maintaining it all while the home sits empty, because Bank of America still holds the mortgage on the home. The bank is still owed all the money from the mortgage and has a lien on the property preventing it from being sold until it's paid off.
-----------------------------------------------------------
HOAs like the county tax collector foreclose when property levies go unpaid. But with properties heavily burdened with mortgage debt and difficult to liquidate in the current real estate market, HOA foreclosures don't necessarily result bringing accounts current and instead increase the liability side of the ledger.
The HOA has now paid thousands on the home insuring it and maintaining it all while the home sits empty, because Bank of America still holds the mortgage on the home. The bank is still owed all the money from the mortgage and has a lien on the property preventing it from being sold until it's paid off.
-----------------------------------------------------------
HOAs like the county tax collector foreclose when property levies go unpaid. But with properties heavily burdened with mortgage debt and difficult to liquidate in the current real estate market, HOA foreclosures don't necessarily result bringing accounts current and instead increase the liability side of the ledger.
Homebuilder Pasquinelli files for bankruptcy
"The bankruptcy petition is a dramatic turn of events for Pasquinelli, which started building homes in the Chicago market in 1956, and whose business expanded under the Pasquinelli and Portrait names to Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, George, Florida and Texas. A civil lawsuit filed against the company last year said as of 2006, the company's annual revenues had surpassed $580 million...The filing adds Pasquinelli to the list of longtime local homebuilders whose names have disappeared from the Chicago area residential construction scene. Competitors like Kirk Homes and Kimball Hill Homes also enjoyed the housing market's bubble before it burst and they were forced to fold."
-------------
Until the big collapse in 2008, Chicago was the main exception to the dominance of national home builders. In this area, there were lots of strong local home building companies and developers. But they didn't survive the collapse of the market, so if the new housing market ever comes back (and I don't assume that it will) it will be national, publicly traded firms that do the building. Just as family farms gave way to huge corporate farming conglomerates, so the home building industry seems to have turned into a mega-market where corporate goliaths swat away at each other like Transformers. Where does that leave the home buyer? Tons of relatively meaningless choices about carpets and windows and no choice about whether you will have an HOA.
-------------
Until the big collapse in 2008, Chicago was the main exception to the dominance of national home builders. In this area, there were lots of strong local home building companies and developers. But they didn't survive the collapse of the market, so if the new housing market ever comes back (and I don't assume that it will) it will be national, publicly traded firms that do the building. Just as family farms gave way to huge corporate farming conglomerates, so the home building industry seems to have turned into a mega-market where corporate goliaths swat away at each other like Transformers. Where does that leave the home buyer? Tons of relatively meaningless choices about carpets and windows and no choice about whether you will have an HOA.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
CCHAL announces progress on SB 561
Evan -- please post news of our victory in California's Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday. SB561 is legislation that protects both homeowners and associations from the predatory business practices of debt collectors during the assessment collection process. The bill is sponsored by the Center for California Homeowner Association Law in partnership with the California Alliance for Retired Americans. California State Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett is carrying the measure.
Marjorie Murray, President
Center for California Homeowner Association Law
Oakland, CA 94612
www.calhomelaw.org
From: info@calhomelaw.org
To: online@calhomelaw.org
Sent: 4/5/2011 6:32:58 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time
Subj: Senate Judiciary Approves SB561 4-1: Bill Protects both Homeowners and Associations
The California Senate Judiciary Committee voted 4-1 this
afternoon to approve SB561, legislation targeting the
predatory practices of association debt collectors. The
author of the bill is Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett
[D-San Leandro.] AYE votes were Noreen Evans [D-Santa
Rosa], Mark Leno [D-San Francisco], Sam Blakeslee [R-San
Luis Obispo] and Corbett.
The bill voids any foreclosure action based on contracts
that violate the state laws protecting the rights of the
homeowner or the duties of the association board during
assessment collection. The bill targets in particular
contracts that violate existing law (Civil Code 1367.1(b)
prescribing how homeowner payments are to be applied to
the debt: assessments FIRST and debt collector profits
LAST – and only after the assessments are paid in full.
This consumer protection law was created by Congresswoman
Jackie Speier when she was in the California Assembly.
Seniors – with a lot of equity in their homes – are
especially vulnerable to these predatory practices. Debt
collectors coerce seniors into signing contracts under
which the homeowner “agrees” that his payments will go
into the debt collector’s wallet instead of to paying down
assessments owed as required by EXISTING law (Civil Code
1367.1(b). Because the debt collector isn’t paying down
the assessments, the homeowner is catapulted into the
foreclosure process.
“This is irrational behavior on the part of HOAs,” said
Marjorie Murray, President of the Center for California
Homeowner Association Law. “Why do associations hire a
debt collector to go after the assessments but then allow
the debt collector to keep the money instead of turning it
over to the association that hired them? This makes no
sense.”
SB561 also targets debt collector contracts that prohibit
boards from meeting with homeowners to work out a payment
plan or to let the homeowner dispute the debt. The
typical contract penalizes boards that communicate with
the homeowner after the account has been turned over to
the debt collector: the association becomes liable for all
the collection costs.
Associations and debt collectors have been sued repeatedly
for these practices: Fuller v Association Lien Services,
Santaella v Angius & Terry, Chen v Association Lien
Services among many others.
Co-sponsors of SB561 are the Center for California
Homeowner Association Law and the California Alliance for
Retired Americans (CARA). Supporters are Congresswoman
Jackie Speier, AARP, Consumer Attorneys of California,
OWL, Consumers Union, nonprofit publisher of Consumer
Reports; Consumer Federation of California; Gray Panthers,
Californians for Disability Rights, among others.
A fact sheet on SB561 is on the CCHAL website at
http://www.calhomelaw.org/doc.asp?id=1313
The bill goes next to the Senate floor.
CCHAL NewsBrief
April 5, 2011
Marjorie Murray, President
Center for California Homeowner Association Law
Oakland, CA 94612
www.calhomelaw.org
From: info@calhomelaw.org
To: online@calhomelaw.org
Sent: 4/5/2011 6:32:58 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time
Subj: Senate Judiciary Approves SB561 4-1: Bill Protects both Homeowners and Associations
The California Senate Judiciary Committee voted 4-1 this
afternoon to approve SB561, legislation targeting the
predatory practices of association debt collectors. The
author of the bill is Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett
[D-San Leandro.] AYE votes were Noreen Evans [D-Santa
Rosa], Mark Leno [D-San Francisco], Sam Blakeslee [R-San
Luis Obispo] and Corbett.
The bill voids any foreclosure action based on contracts
that violate the state laws protecting the rights of the
homeowner or the duties of the association board during
assessment collection. The bill targets in particular
contracts that violate existing law (Civil Code 1367.1(b)
prescribing how homeowner payments are to be applied to
the debt: assessments FIRST and debt collector profits
LAST – and only after the assessments are paid in full.
This consumer protection law was created by Congresswoman
Jackie Speier when she was in the California Assembly.
Seniors – with a lot of equity in their homes – are
especially vulnerable to these predatory practices. Debt
collectors coerce seniors into signing contracts under
which the homeowner “agrees” that his payments will go
into the debt collector’s wallet instead of to paying down
assessments owed as required by EXISTING law (Civil Code
1367.1(b). Because the debt collector isn’t paying down
the assessments, the homeowner is catapulted into the
foreclosure process.
“This is irrational behavior on the part of HOAs,” said
Marjorie Murray, President of the Center for California
Homeowner Association Law. “Why do associations hire a
debt collector to go after the assessments but then allow
the debt collector to keep the money instead of turning it
over to the association that hired them? This makes no
sense.”
SB561 also targets debt collector contracts that prohibit
boards from meeting with homeowners to work out a payment
plan or to let the homeowner dispute the debt. The
typical contract penalizes boards that communicate with
the homeowner after the account has been turned over to
the debt collector: the association becomes liable for all
the collection costs.
Associations and debt collectors have been sued repeatedly
for these practices: Fuller v Association Lien Services,
Santaella v Angius & Terry, Chen v Association Lien
Services among many others.
Co-sponsors of SB561 are the Center for California
Homeowner Association Law and the California Alliance for
Retired Americans (CARA). Supporters are Congresswoman
Jackie Speier, AARP, Consumer Attorneys of California,
OWL, Consumers Union, nonprofit publisher of Consumer
Reports; Consumer Federation of California; Gray Panthers,
Californians for Disability Rights, among others.
A fact sheet on SB561 is on the CCHAL website at
http://www.calhomelaw.org/doc.asp?id=1313
The bill goes next to the Senate floor.
CCHAL NewsBrief
April 5, 2011
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
To save houses from HOA foreclosure, bill would offer up what's inside
This is like the old saying about a litigant being somebody who gives up his skin in the hope of saving his bones.
Monday, April 04, 2011
Senator wrote HOA bills while working for HOA - Sunday, April 3, 2011 | 2:01 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun
Senator wrote HOA bills while working for HOA - Sunday, April 3, 2011 | 2:01 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun: "Carson City — Sen. Allison Copening has introduced seven bills to regulate homeowners associations this session, the product of nearly 18 months working with industry experts. During hours of hearings on her bills over six weeks, Copening, D-Las Vegas, did not disclose that she is also employed by an HOA. On Friday, after the Las Vegas Sun contacted her with questions about the bills, she disclosed that she works for a homeowners association for Del Webb, a subsidiary of one of the country’s largest builders, which has taken an active role in shaping the legislation she introduced. "
-------------------
Thanks to Fred Pilot and others who sent me this. Having a conflict of interest is bad enough without adding to that the failure to disclose the conflict.
-------------------
Thanks to Fred Pilot and others who sent me this. Having a conflict of interest is bad enough without adding to that the failure to disclose the conflict.
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Empty houses taking toll on Valley
On a typical block in metro Phoenix, there's at least one empty home, often several. Overbuilding during the housing boom, record foreclosures during the subsequent crash and a significant drop in population growth have led to more than 100,000 vacant homes across the region, five times what was once considered normal. With an average of three people per residence, the swath of vacant homes is equivalent to a city bigger than Chandler sitting empty.
------------------------------------------------------------------
This is deep in the heart of Privatopia. These vacant homes demonstrate how excess leverage and irrational exuberance can decimate an entire industry, spurring overbuilding and creating tons of excess inventory by packing what would normally be 15 years of growth into five. It's no wonder new home starts are at their lowest levels since the late 1940s.
------------------------------------------------------------------
This is deep in the heart of Privatopia. These vacant homes demonstrate how excess leverage and irrational exuberance can decimate an entire industry, spurring overbuilding and creating tons of excess inventory by packing what would normally be 15 years of growth into five. It's no wonder new home starts are at their lowest levels since the late 1940s.
Feathers fly
Feathers fly Saturday as Sacramento celebrates International Pillow Fight Day at Fremont Park. From Topeka, Kan., to Tunis, Tunisia, cities posted events on Facebook. It's part of the Urban Playground Movement, which aims to get people off the couch and into the urban living room.
--------------------------------------------------
This looks like it would be a great way to blow off steam in Privatopia. But surely all of those feathers would violate some HOA rule.
HOA Wants To Ban Kids From Playing Outside - News Story - WFTV Orlando
HOA Wants To Ban Kids From Playing Outside - News Story - WFTV Orlando:
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. -- A neighborhood homeowner's association in Volusia County is causing some controversy after it proposed banning kids from playing outside in their own yards.
Officials at the Persimmon Place subdivision in Edgewater are pushing a measure to ban kids from outdoor playing in the community, unless they have an adult with them at all times.
-----------------
It has become impossible to satirize HOAs. Every absurd and oppressive thing you can imagine has actually been done. Thanks to Rodney Gray for the link.
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. -- A neighborhood homeowner's association in Volusia County is causing some controversy after it proposed banning kids from playing outside in their own yards.
Officials at the Persimmon Place subdivision in Edgewater are pushing a measure to ban kids from outdoor playing in the community, unless they have an adult with them at all times.
-----------------
It has become impossible to satirize HOAs. Every absurd and oppressive thing you can imagine has actually been done. Thanks to Rodney Gray for the link.
Saturday, April 02, 2011
Las Vegas judge blocks foreclosure by HOA collection agency
Nevada Association Services (NAS) is at the center of legal and political battles over how much homeowners -- and investors in foreclosed homes -- should be required to pay for past-due HOA assessments, fines, fees and collection costs.
Several lawsuits are pending involving NAS and other collection agencies including a proposed class-action case in federal court in Las Vegas claiming NAS has violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and other counts.
-------------------
It seems that Steve Green of the Las Vegas Sun is well-informed on this issue.
Several lawsuits are pending involving NAS and other collection agencies including a proposed class-action case in federal court in Las Vegas claiming NAS has violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and other counts.
-------------------
It seems that Steve Green of the Las Vegas Sun is well-informed on this issue.
Citation over front yard toilet planter dismissed
Flush with success, Terry told the Knoxville News Sentinel he might celebrate by flanking his driveway with two more commodes.
------------------------------------------
Someone call the HOA.
------------------------------------------
Someone call the HOA.
Testy in Texas over HOAs
Calling associations “at least quasigovernmental,” Rep. Dwayne Bohac, R-Houston, said that “the scales are still tilted to HOA protections.”
And Rep. Helen Giddings, D-DeSoto, bemoaned a decade and a half of lawmaker discussions with little progress.
“This committee is really challenged,” said Giddings, the longest-serving member of the Business and Industry Committee. “The House could name a standing committee just to deal with HOA issues. That’s how many we have. And it seems like we just don’t move on.”
----------------------------------------------
Texas legislators according to this article from The Dallas Morning News are wrangling about 40 bills involving HOAs this session. Some are voicing frustration that HOA issues keep coming back year after year without meaningful resolution.
And Rep. Helen Giddings, D-DeSoto, bemoaned a decade and a half of lawmaker discussions with little progress.
“This committee is really challenged,” said Giddings, the longest-serving member of the Business and Industry Committee. “The House could name a standing committee just to deal with HOA issues. That’s how many we have. And it seems like we just don’t move on.”
----------------------------------------------
Texas legislators according to this article from The Dallas Morning News are wrangling about 40 bills involving HOAs this session. Some are voicing frustration that HOA issues keep coming back year after year without meaningful resolution.
Friday, April 01, 2011
7 reasons why the mortgage crisis is dragging down the entire economy
Some dramatic charts that put the magnitude of this thing in perspective.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
HOA tears down lost doggy signs
PHOENIX -- An adventurous Yorkshire terrier took off Tuesday morning, sending panic through the Malley family of Cave Creek.
They frantically placed posters around the neighborhood to help find Baby Boy, but said someone from the Tatum Ranch Homeowners Association started tearing them down because the posters were against HOA rules.
---------------------------------------
What was the perfessor just saying about HOAs hanging "give us some bad publicity" kick me signs on themselves? Here's yet another example.
They frantically placed posters around the neighborhood to help find Baby Boy, but said someone from the Tatum Ranch Homeowners Association started tearing them down because the posters were against HOA rules.
---------------------------------------
What was the perfessor just saying about HOAs hanging "give us some bad publicity" kick me signs on themselves? Here's yet another example.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
America's Foreclosure Ghost Towns
Huffington Post is asking for people to submit photos of the foreclosure crisis.
Kids' lemonade stand curtailed by their homeowners association
HOAs: the only institution in our society that makes its own "Kick Me!" sign and ties it around its own neck, week after week.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
A Boom Behind Bars: Private jail operators like the Corrections Corporation of America are making millions off the crackdown on illegal aliens
The private prison system runs parallel to the U.S. prisons and currently accounts for nearly 10 percent of U.S. state and federal inmates, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Those numbers rise and fall in response to specific policies, and CCA has been accused of lobbying for policies that would fill its cells—such as the increase in enforcement of regulations like the one that snagged Cardenas. Tougher policies have been good for CCA. Since the company started winning immigrant detention contracts in 2000, its stock has rebounded from about a dollar to $23.33, attracting investors such as William Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management, which is now its largest shareholder.
--------------
You always hear Republicans complaining about public employee unions. But look what happens when you privatize. The corporations who provide the privatized service get organized to influence the political process.
Now...where have we seen that happen before?
--------------
You always hear Republicans complaining about public employee unions. But look what happens when you privatize. The corporations who provide the privatized service get organized to influence the political process.
Now...where have we seen that happen before?
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Lips Unsealed: Third Circuit Ruling on Privilege Worries Defense Bar
Lips Unsealed: Third Circuit Ruling on Privilege Worries Defense Bar: "Corporate executives may need to be more careful about what they say to outside counsel during internal company probes. And they'll want to make sure that the lawyers they talk to are representing them personally, and not just their company.
That’s the implication of a Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruling (link to pdf) on Wednesday in the case of Ian Norris, one-time CEO of the Morgan Crucible Co. in the United Kingdom."
-----------------
I'm wondering how this case might apply to employees or contractors for HOAs and condo associations who speak with the corporation's lawyer, where there are questions about improprieties...
That’s the implication of a Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruling (link to pdf) on Wednesday in the case of Ian Norris, one-time CEO of the Morgan Crucible Co. in the United Kingdom."
-----------------
I'm wondering how this case might apply to employees or contractors for HOAs and condo associations who speak with the corporation's lawyer, where there are questions about improprieties...
Some residents not embracing roundabouts: Communities seeking safer intersections find resistance from those unfamiliar with the circular roadways
"I've never been on one in America," said Alice Zator, whose business sits at the planned roundabout site on Oak Park Avenue and 183rd Street. "My concern is, are there other options? Why would we do something that's not familiar to the Midwest?"
----------------
This is funny. Roundabouts make left turns unnecessary. Left turns are dangerous and cause delay. Roundabouts are used all over the world. But here in the midwest, some people are freaked out at the idea. Apparently they envision being stuck in the middle, going around and around until they run out of gas.
----------------
This is funny. Roundabouts make left turns unnecessary. Left turns are dangerous and cause delay. Roundabouts are used all over the world. But here in the midwest, some people are freaked out at the idea. Apparently they envision being stuck in the middle, going around and around until they run out of gas.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Avoiding defamatory material in posts
I just deleted a couple of comments that would have been well worth reading except that the anonymous poster decided to include names of people and subdivisions along with the accusation of criminal behavior. If you want to talk about corruption, extortion, shakedowns, fraud, etc., in the CID industry, fine. That's an important topic. But please leave the identifying material out of it. I'm not going to expose myself to a libel suit so somebody who doesn't even dare to put their real name on their post can get a cheap thrill at my expense.
Las Vegas HOA collection agencies sue critics - Monday, March 21, 2011 | 5:09 p.m. - Las Vegas Sun
Las Vegas HOA collection agencies sue critics - Monday, March 21, 2011 | 5:09 p.m. - Las Vegas Sun: "New allegations of wrongdoing are flying pitting Las Vegas-area collection agencies for homeowner associations against homeowners and investors in foreclosed properties."
-------------------------
Thanks to Cynthia Stephens for this link.
-------------------------
Thanks to Cynthia Stephens for this link.
Detroit's population drops to lowest level in 100 years
Detroit's population dropped 25 percent over the last decade to its lowest level in a century, according to U.S. Census figures released on Tuesday. The city's population fell to 713,777 last year from 951,270 in 2000 when the last census was taken as the region suffered from a struggling automotive industry, plant closures and job losses. In the same period, the state of Michigan's population dropped 0.6 percent to 9.88 million.
-----------------------
Chicago lost 7%, Cleveland 17%. But Detroit is back to the size it was before the creation of the automobile industry.
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Chicago lost 7%, Cleveland 17%. But Detroit is back to the size it was before the creation of the automobile industry.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
If we abolish HOAs and condos, what then?
I have a few questions for the HOA and condo abolitionists. I have been thinking about what a non-CID America would look like, and what the options are. I'm asking these questions seriously because I presume that those of you who want to abolish CIDs have given some serious thought to what that would entail.
I'm hoping to see something other than ALL CAPS RANTING and continued criticism of the status quo. We all know about the problems. I am interested in real solutions that could be implemented in the real world, and that go beyond the reform laws the abolitionists are always denouncing. Let's see something other than sanctimonious bombast, insults, and bomb-throwing, OK? I will delete all that stuff.
So--here are the questions:
1. If you could have your way right now and enact a law that would dissolve all existing HOAs, what would you do about the millions of homes that are now in HOAs? What would happen to the common areas? Who would own them, maintain them, and pay for their maintenance, and how would the money to do that be collected? What would become of their Declarations? Would every word be stricken from the records?
2. If you could dissolve all existing condominium associations, what would you do about the existing condominium properties and their millions of unit owners?
3. Would you also dissolve all the housing cooperatives in the country?
4. If we abolish the institutions of common interest housing as we know them, how do you envision new housing being built in the future? How will the structural considerations that drove the CID craze be addressed in new non-CID housing? These include the high cost of suburban land, the very high cost of urban land, and local governments being in dire fiscal condition. All this led to the current conspiracy between developers and local governments to spread common interest housing everywhere by mandate. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, please read up on it before commenting).
I'm hoping to see something other than ALL CAPS RANTING and continued criticism of the status quo. We all know about the problems. I am interested in real solutions that could be implemented in the real world, and that go beyond the reform laws the abolitionists are always denouncing. Let's see something other than sanctimonious bombast, insults, and bomb-throwing, OK? I will delete all that stuff.
So--here are the questions:
1. If you could have your way right now and enact a law that would dissolve all existing HOAs, what would you do about the millions of homes that are now in HOAs? What would happen to the common areas? Who would own them, maintain them, and pay for their maintenance, and how would the money to do that be collected? What would become of their Declarations? Would every word be stricken from the records?
2. If you could dissolve all existing condominium associations, what would you do about the existing condominium properties and their millions of unit owners?
3. Would you also dissolve all the housing cooperatives in the country?
4. If we abolish the institutions of common interest housing as we know them, how do you envision new housing being built in the future? How will the structural considerations that drove the CID craze be addressed in new non-CID housing? These include the high cost of suburban land, the very high cost of urban land, and local governments being in dire fiscal condition. All this led to the current conspiracy between developers and local governments to spread common interest housing everywhere by mandate. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, please read up on it before commenting).
Please don't post huge chunks of copyrighted material in the comments section
I just deleted a comment that was mainly a huge block of text from the newspaper article I linked to. Can't do that. These articles are copyrighted material and there are plenty of cases in the courts right now over bloggers taking more than the "fair use" exception allows. A brief quotation is all that can be posted in a weblog.
The comments section is for your comments, not for posting another 250 words from the article itself. If people want to read the article, they can follow the link.
The comments section is for your comments, not for posting another 250 words from the article itself. If people want to read the article, they can follow the link.
Richmond students get ready for new whooping cough vaccine requirement
"In September 2010, the California legislature passed a law requiring all students in grades seven through 12 who are in private and public schools to show proof they received the “Tdap” vaccine that protects against pertussis. The shot also protects against tetanus and diphtheria."
--------------------
Thanks to Fred Pilot for sending me this. I was very sick with pertussis from mid-November through mid-February, and I'm still coughing in the morning. It was the sickest I have ever been in my life. Whooping cough is serious and highly contagious, and it is making a huge comeback thanks to these moron parents who think vaccinations are dangerous.
If you haven't had a pertussis booster within the last ten years, you have no protection. Better get one, because believe me--you do not want to get this. Trust me.
--------------------
Thanks to Fred Pilot for sending me this. I was very sick with pertussis from mid-November through mid-February, and I'm still coughing in the morning. It was the sickest I have ever been in my life. Whooping cough is serious and highly contagious, and it is making a huge comeback thanks to these moron parents who think vaccinations are dangerous.
If you haven't had a pertussis booster within the last ten years, you have no protection. Better get one, because believe me--you do not want to get this. Trust me.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Righthaven loses second fair use ruling over copyright lawsuits - Friday, March 18, 2011 | 4:56 p.m. - Las Vegas Sun
Righthaven loses second fair use ruling over copyright lawsuits - Friday, March 18, 2011 | 4:56 p.m. - Las Vegas Sun: "An Oregon nonprofit did not infringe on copyrights when it posted without authorization an entire Las Vegas Review-Journal story on its website, a judge ruled Friday.
U.S. District Judge James Mahan said during a hearing he planned to dismiss, on fair use grounds, a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against the Center for Intercultural Organizing (CIO), in Portland, Oregon."
-----------------
Good. I don't post or link anything from the Las Vegas Review-Journal because they allowed Righthaven, a copyright troll firm, to sue bloggers who made fair use of their stories. Now judges are showing them the door.
U.S. District Judge James Mahan said during a hearing he planned to dismiss, on fair use grounds, a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against the Center for Intercultural Organizing (CIO), in Portland, Oregon."
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Good. I don't post or link anything from the Las Vegas Review-Journal because they allowed Righthaven, a copyright troll firm, to sue bloggers who made fair use of their stories. Now judges are showing them the door.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Homeownership may be for the few, not the many
Yale economist Robert Shiller, whose book "Irrational Exuberance" accurately predicted the stock market collapse in 2000, notes that U.S. housing prices posted roughly a zero percent gain between 1890 and 1990, after adjusting for inflation.
--------
You mean shoehorning yourself into a $350,000 condo isn't a wise investment? Heresy.
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You mean shoehorning yourself into a $350,000 condo isn't a wise investment? Heresy.
Fuzzy Privatization Math from New Jersey Privatization Task Force
Fuzzy Privatization Math: "On page 14 the report says it did no analysis “due not only to the fact that the actual cost of a privatized alternative will often not be known until the end of a full fledged competitive bidding process, but also because New Jersey state government agencies have difficulty calculating with precision the full cost of functions currently performed at the state level.” So, the sunny claims of big savings for the people of New Jersey are a guestimate, at best. and “To Be Decided” is the most accurate statement in the report."
---------------
Governor Christie's privatization task force made a highly-publicized claim that privatization will save $210 million for the state of New Jersey. But it turns out that they did no real number-crunching to come up with that figure. Here is what they say (at p. 14.):
The necessarily short time the Task Force has had to complete its work has not always permitted the exhaustive vetting and cost‐benefit analysis that it recommends in this Report for all privatization initiatives.
Nor has the Task Force been able to calculate precise savings for the proposals that follow. This is due not only to the fact that the actual cost of a privatized alternative will often not be known until the end of a full‐fledged competitive bidding process, but also because New Jersey state government agencies have difficulty calculating with precision the full cost of functions currently performed at the state level.
The Task Force, given these constraints, has done its best to estimate the monetary savings, if any, of each of the privatization opportunities identified.
This is typical of privatization advocates. They are ideologically motivated (government bad, corporations good) and/or driven by the profit motive. The Chamber of Commerce seems to have been one of the driving forces behind the report. Some things can be done quite well by private contractors, but there are so many examples of failed privatization efforts, some at enormous public cost, that these sweeping claims have to be treated with great caution, because they are basically vaporware.
---------------
Governor Christie's privatization task force made a highly-publicized claim that privatization will save $210 million for the state of New Jersey. But it turns out that they did no real number-crunching to come up with that figure. Here is what they say (at p. 14.):
The necessarily short time the Task Force has had to complete its work has not always permitted the exhaustive vetting and cost‐benefit analysis that it recommends in this Report for all privatization initiatives.
Nor has the Task Force been able to calculate precise savings for the proposals that follow. This is due not only to the fact that the actual cost of a privatized alternative will often not be known until the end of a full‐fledged competitive bidding process, but also because New Jersey state government agencies have difficulty calculating with precision the full cost of functions currently performed at the state level.
The Task Force, given these constraints, has done its best to estimate the monetary savings, if any, of each of the privatization opportunities identified.
This is typical of privatization advocates. They are ideologically motivated (government bad, corporations good) and/or driven by the profit motive. The Chamber of Commerce seems to have been one of the driving forces behind the report. Some things can be done quite well by private contractors, but there are so many examples of failed privatization efforts, some at enormous public cost, that these sweeping claims have to be treated with great caution, because they are basically vaporware.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Countryway residents stage a coup after brouhaha over money, management
What started out as one homeowner's concern over spending and a 51 percent dues increase led to accusations of mismanagement, an appeal to the state, legal fees and the exit of four members on Countryway's master board.
--------------
HOA Wars, Episode Fifty Thousand.
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HOA Wars, Episode Fifty Thousand.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Nearly 20% of Florida homes are vacant
You mean grotesque overbuilding of overpriced condominium complexes on mosquito-infested swamp land hasn't worked as a long-term land use strategy? I'm shocked.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Man sets townhome on fire trying to oust squirrels
Hughes said he previously had contacted the townhome management company, Royster Property Management, about the squirrels and the hole in his home but he was told he had to have the squirrels removed before it could repair the hole. Royster Property Management president Benita Royster confirmed that Hughes called March 4 and said he was referred to a local animal trapper because company policy makes homeowners responsible for having wildlife removed. It would cost $175 for the trapper to come out plus $75 for each squirrel ensnared, she said.
-----------------
So he put a smoke bomb in the gutter and set the place on fire. Sure, he's probably living in a motel now, but hey--I'll bet he scared the daylights out of those squirrels.
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So he put a smoke bomb in the gutter and set the place on fire. Sure, he's probably living in a motel now, but hey--I'll bet he scared the daylights out of those squirrels.
Monday, March 14, 2011
California's Inland Empire wants to attract employers
Chino Mayor Dennis Yates said the Inland Empire needs to find a way to entice businesses to the area. One way to do so, he says, is to create upscale neighborhoods.
"The objective for cities in areas like the Inland Empire is to somehow entice these high-tech folks to move to the Inland Empire. We would have to create some type of Brentwood or Coto de Caza atmosphere to get them to move here," Yates said.
"And trust me, they will relocate their business. The Inland Empire is a beautiful place to live - Suburbia USA - but we have very few places like a Coto de Caza or Brentwood. ... So I think that is the problem."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
But, Mr. Mayor, can you or will you work to create these places with public funding and governance without privatizing them via mandatory membership homeowner associations? We'll take your answer in the comments section of this post.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Industry attorney: Public policy on local govenment privatization contradictory
Given the list of benefits homeowners associations provide to local governments, it is easy to question why government is so rarely a friend to homeowners associations. Healthy homeowners associations feed tax coffers and ease budget strain for cities and counties, yet cities (and especially the state) often act as though they believe homeowners associations are an untoward restriction on individual freedom. The inherent contradiction in the local governments’ requirement that homeowners associations exist versus the state’s increasingly strict regulation of homeowners associations is the source of many difficulties the industry faces. Realizing this contradiction exists and informing our legislators of the contradiction are two important steps towards eliminating it.
If the government wants homeowners associations, it should allow them to function pursuant to their CC&Rs with minimal governmental intervention. If the government believes homeowners associations threaten individual liberty, it should not require their existence and let the market dictate their fate.
----------------------------------------------------------
So asserts Mark Holmgren of the law firm of Carpenter Hazelwood in a post this week on the firm's blog. Holmgren's commentary is notable in that it shows at least some degree of acceptance within community association industry circles that privatization of local government is public policy and not simply a market-driven "lifestyle" or "housing" choice.
About a decade and a half ago, an Arizona industry spokeswoman with an outfit that goes by the acronym CAI castigated the owner of this blog as a "tabloid journalist "for suggesting as much in his 1994 book Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Government.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Barney Frank wants the big banks we bailed out to pay for mortgage assistance programs
House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said Friday that he would reintroduce legislative language next week that would require large financial institutions to pay for federal mortgage assistance programs.
---------------
Good for him. These are some of the institutions that wrecked the economy by abusing the government-sponsored mortgage securitization process. Then we, the taxpayers, bailed out the financial industry. Then the banks we bailed out put the money in their pockets and have consistently refused to lend and get the economy going. So, how about at least paying for the mortgage relief programs?
---------------
Good for him. These are some of the institutions that wrecked the economy by abusing the government-sponsored mortgage securitization process. Then we, the taxpayers, bailed out the financial industry. Then the banks we bailed out put the money in their pockets and have consistently refused to lend and get the economy going. So, how about at least paying for the mortgage relief programs?
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Property tax revenues finally begin to decilne
National property tax revenues rose through Q3 2010, according to the Rockefeller Institute. Nevada, epicenter for housing's boom and bust, enjoyed higher property tax revenues well into last year, according to the Fed study.
But property tax receipts have begun to roll over and will likely keep falling until well after real estate prices recover, which may still be a ways off.
--------------
Most properties haven't been reassessed yet at their dramatically lower values. Now that is beginning to happen. See the quote from my colleague Mike Pagano--it will hit harder in 2 or 3 years, at which time cities and counties will have to make some hard choices about what to pay for and "who subsidizes whom."
But property tax receipts have begun to roll over and will likely keep falling until well after real estate prices recover, which may still be a ways off.
--------------
Most properties haven't been reassessed yet at their dramatically lower values. Now that is beginning to happen. See the quote from my colleague Mike Pagano--it will hit harder in 2 or 3 years, at which time cities and counties will have to make some hard choices about what to pay for and "who subsidizes whom."
"Save My Mortgage Interest Deduction"
Just received this from Ruth Potter, with whom I am not acquainted, who asked me to post it. Ms. Potter doesn't say so in her email, but from what I can see at the linked sites, this initiative emanates from the National Association of Home Builders. So--here it is:
----------------------------
Hello
Congress and the Administration are looking into scaling back or eliminating the Mortgage Interest Deduction. The consequences would be devastating to the recovering housing market and the tens of millions of home owners who benefit from the deduction.
The House recently introduced a resolution to retain the mortgage interest deduction and I hope that you'll help spread awareness about it on The Privatopia Papers. We created http://SaveMyMID.org to support this initiative and I've also created a useful site for bloggers and journalists to borrow resources from:
http://savemymid.info
Please let me know if you have any questions or need more information. If you are able to post about this, I'd love to get the link and share it with my team.
Thank you,
Ruth
--
Ruth Potter
Ruth@SaveMyMID.info
www.SaveMyMID.info
----------------------------
Hello
Congress and the Administration are looking into scaling back or eliminating the Mortgage Interest Deduction. The consequences would be devastating to the recovering housing market and the tens of millions of home owners who benefit from the deduction.
The House recently introduced a resolution to retain the mortgage interest deduction and I hope that you'll help spread awareness about it on The Privatopia Papers. We created http://SaveMyMID.org to support this initiative and I've also created a useful site for bloggers and journalists to borrow resources from:
http://savemymid.info
Please let me know if you have any questions or need more information. If you are able to post about this, I'd love to get the link and share it with my team.
Thank you,
Ruth
--
Ruth Potter
Ruth@SaveMyMID.info
www.SaveMyMID.info
Monday, March 07, 2011
Is the Florida Foreclosure King Abdicating? David J. Stern Will Close His Law Firm « Above the Law: A Legal Tabloid - News, Gossip, and Colorful Commentary on Law Firms and the Legal Profession
Is the Florida Foreclosure King Abdicating? David J. Stern Will Close His Law Firm « Above the Law:
The article says that there has been an investigation concerning the possibility of some falsified paperwork.
The article says that there has been an investigation concerning the possibility of some falsified paperwork.
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Nevada Lawmakers Discuss Homeowners Assoc. Bills
A commission on common interest communities had set caps on those fees, but Copening said Governor Brian Sandoval lifted those caps when he took office. "The governor put a cap on all regulations, so it never went into effect."
Copening is not alone in her effort. Republican Assemblyman John Hambrick.
"We have all heard of horror stories of huge fees," said Hambrick. "A $20 late bill, turning into a $5,600 penalty and all that money goes to the collective agencies. Those stories need to stop."
Copening wants a $1,950 cap on homeowners association fees. However, Hambrick said he isn't prepared to put a number on it. "I would like to see a cap, but I don't want to put a specific dollar amount on it yet."
From Fred Fischer: Nevadans share horror stories of HOAs.
Nevadans Share Horror Stories of HOAs
When HOAs are created to satiate government bureaucrats, rather than homeowners, it shouldn't be surprising that many HOA communities are neither well-crafted nor homeowner-friendly. But, the solution to the HOA problem is not more government intervention. It is less. The first step is for government to stop mandating and subsidizing the creation of HOAs. Nick Dranias, Goldwater Institute
State legislators for many years have been getting an earful from property owners over housing association contract governance yet they fail to understand the root causes of the conflicts and act accordingly. It’s the same issues that faced early colonial America until they finally acted and abandoned charter Board governance in favor of something better where “we the people” have a place and vote at the creation table and legislators should do the same.
Privatizing services is one thing but privatizing housing is a whole other animal and without a doubt most likely unconstitutional. Because it first represents the delegation of inalieable rights to others which clearly violates constitutional law. Second it gives the developer and industry member professionals who sit at the contract creation table the right to dictate what they want the behavioral and social standards of the eventual owners to be. Even though they themselves most often do not, will not or ever live in the housing association that they create with voting standards so high that it assures that changes by eventual owners will not likely occur !!!
Mr. Drains is correct that the substantial reforms needed concerning these contractually-created associations probably won’t come from State legislation for two primary reasons. 1) The housing association trade group lobby, which is fully funded by the housing association members has the most access and greatest economic influence upon State legislators. The initial CID legislation of forty years ago that includes a large number of today’s accompanying housing association legislation was authored by the housing association trade members and supported by municipalities. Consequently neither party has an economic or social incentive to either abandon or move away from what they have exclusively created and control for their own benefit. In fact the more conflicts and problems that occur with their created “corporate product” the more the industry prospers economically and politically. 2) The very foundation of the CID housing model is its governance which is based on private contracts. Except are housing associations valid contracts when mandated and created by others as compared to if owners voluntarily create them after development build out ? When did “a meeting of the minds” between the developer and the buyers occur to create the contract? Why are the contracts (declarations) devoid of important disclosures of information that potential buyers into these nonprofit corporations are in titled to know ? When potential buyers consider signing a housing sales contract, is the attached HOA contract genuinely voluntary since refusal to accept its provisions and authority leaves the buyer with only one choice, to walk away? How can this be a “voluntary act” when neither the association nor the homeowners had actual notice or meaningful reflection to accept or reject such a contract given the fact that it was drafted by the developer as required by municipal mandate and then imposed upon the association before the homeowners existed or took control of the Board ?
The endless and “fundamentally unworkable” issues that surround privatized housing when under the authority of private contract governance created by others will continue. Until the property owners have a place, voice and vote at the governance creation table and their constitutional property and other rights returned. Because when housing is privatized, owners are reduced to being renters and only owners in name and this needs to change since contract governance is not the only or best way to govern CID housing !!
Thanks, Fred Fischer
When HOAs are created to satiate government bureaucrats, rather than homeowners, it shouldn't be surprising that many HOA communities are neither well-crafted nor homeowner-friendly. But, the solution to the HOA problem is not more government intervention. It is less. The first step is for government to stop mandating and subsidizing the creation of HOAs. Nick Dranias, Goldwater Institute
State legislators for many years have been getting an earful from property owners over housing association contract governance yet they fail to understand the root causes of the conflicts and act accordingly. It’s the same issues that faced early colonial America until they finally acted and abandoned charter Board governance in favor of something better where “we the people” have a place and vote at the creation table and legislators should do the same.
Privatizing services is one thing but privatizing housing is a whole other animal and without a doubt most likely unconstitutional. Because it first represents the delegation of inalieable rights to others which clearly violates constitutional law. Second it gives the developer and industry member professionals who sit at the contract creation table the right to dictate what they want the behavioral and social standards of the eventual owners to be. Even though they themselves most often do not, will not or ever live in the housing association that they create with voting standards so high that it assures that changes by eventual owners will not likely occur !!!
Mr. Drains is correct that the substantial reforms needed concerning these contractually-created associations probably won’t come from State legislation for two primary reasons. 1) The housing association trade group lobby, which is fully funded by the housing association members has the most access and greatest economic influence upon State legislators. The initial CID legislation of forty years ago that includes a large number of today’s accompanying housing association legislation was authored by the housing association trade members and supported by municipalities. Consequently neither party has an economic or social incentive to either abandon or move away from what they have exclusively created and control for their own benefit. In fact the more conflicts and problems that occur with their created “corporate product” the more the industry prospers economically and politically. 2) The very foundation of the CID housing model is its governance which is based on private contracts. Except are housing associations valid contracts when mandated and created by others as compared to if owners voluntarily create them after development build out ? When did “a meeting of the minds” between the developer and the buyers occur to create the contract? Why are the contracts (declarations) devoid of important disclosures of information that potential buyers into these nonprofit corporations are in titled to know ? When potential buyers consider signing a housing sales contract, is the attached HOA contract genuinely voluntary since refusal to accept its provisions and authority leaves the buyer with only one choice, to walk away? How can this be a “voluntary act” when neither the association nor the homeowners had actual notice or meaningful reflection to accept or reject such a contract given the fact that it was drafted by the developer as required by municipal mandate and then imposed upon the association before the homeowners existed or took control of the Board ?
The endless and “fundamentally unworkable” issues that surround privatized housing when under the authority of private contract governance created by others will continue. Until the property owners have a place, voice and vote at the governance creation table and their constitutional property and other rights returned. Because when housing is privatized, owners are reduced to being renters and only owners in name and this needs to change since contract governance is not the only or best way to govern CID housing !!
Thanks, Fred Fischer
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
BBC News - South Africa: Toxic water 'threatens Johannesburg'
BBC News - South Africa: Toxic water 'threatens Johannesburg': "Rapidly rising acidic water in the abandoned gold mines under Johannesburg in South Africa could leak out early next year, the water ministry warns."
-----------
Thanks to David McKenzie for the link. Water pollution and water scarcity will be enormous problems in many places in the years to come. Phoenix and Las Vegas, for examples...
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Thanks to David McKenzie for the link. Water pollution and water scarcity will be enormous problems in many places in the years to come. Phoenix and Las Vegas, for examples...
FT.com / FT Magazine - Aerotropolis
FT.com / FT Magazine - Aerotropolis: "“[The Koreans] tracked us down, wanted us to build a city in the ocean, and no one else was interested. What was going on here?” Gale said. “Their vision scared everyone else away. It wasn’t until I saw the airport that I understood where they wanted to go with this.” The answer: to China. The sales pitch to prospective tenants is simple: move here and you’re only a two-hour flight away from Shanghai or Beijing. You’re four hours away at most from cities you’ve never heard of, such as Changsha, which happens to be larger than Atlanta or Singapore. Nearly one billion people are a day trip away.
“China alone needs 500 cities the size of New Songdo,” Gale told me, and he hopes to break ground on the next one in Chongqing sometime this year. How many will be umbilically connected to the nearest airport? “All of them.” "
------------------
Thanks to David McKenzie for this link.
“China alone needs 500 cities the size of New Songdo,” Gale told me, and he hopes to break ground on the next one in Chongqing sometime this year. How many will be umbilically connected to the nearest airport? “All of them.” "
------------------
Thanks to David McKenzie for this link.
Investors snap up cheap homes, new buyers miss out - Yahoo! News
Investors snap up cheap homes, new buyers miss out - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON – Home sales are starting to tick up after the worst year in more than a decade. But the momentum is coming from cash-rich investors who are scooping up foreclosed properties at bargain prices, not first-time home-buyers who are critical for a housing recovery.
The number of first-time buyers fell last month to the lowest percentage in nearly two years, while all-cash deals have doubled and now account for one-third of sales."
----------------------
And I hear that condo units are popular with this type of buyer. They form a syndicate and buy up many units in the same building so they can control the association and do whatever they want with the property.
The number of first-time buyers fell last month to the lowest percentage in nearly two years, while all-cash deals have doubled and now account for one-third of sales."
----------------------
And I hear that condo units are popular with this type of buyer. They form a syndicate and buy up many units in the same building so they can control the association and do whatever they want with the property.
When Will the Housing Recession End? A Graphical Illustration Why the Downturn Will Persist Through 2013
This is an interesting web site that offers a pointed opinion on the causes of the current "affordable mortgage depression," as the author calls it.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Condo deals die in shadows of financially distressed buildings
It's not just the borrower who has to be up to snuff, it's the building, too, and in the Chicago area there are plenty of buildings that lenders won't touch.
Among the deal killers: too many renters in a building, pending litigation, inadequate association reserves and delinquent assessments. Those are some of the criteria lenders must look at in order to sell the loan to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, the troubled, government-sponsored entities, and the Federal Housing Administration, the first choice for many first-time homebuyers. Combined, the three agencies account for about 90 percent of the secondary loan market.
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But the problem is not that the GSE's won't buy or insure the loan. The problem is that developments like this are in trouble, and the lenders know it, and the buyers should have sense enough to realize that, but they want to buy anyway. Who in his or her right mind would buy a condo unit in a building that has no reserves?
Among the deal killers: too many renters in a building, pending litigation, inadequate association reserves and delinquent assessments. Those are some of the criteria lenders must look at in order to sell the loan to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, the troubled, government-sponsored entities, and the Federal Housing Administration, the first choice for many first-time homebuyers. Combined, the three agencies account for about 90 percent of the secondary loan market.
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But the problem is not that the GSE's won't buy or insure the loan. The problem is that developments like this are in trouble, and the lenders know it, and the buyers should have sense enough to realize that, but they want to buy anyway. Who in his or her right mind would buy a condo unit in a building that has no reserves?
Sunday, February 27, 2011
California Proposed legislation
This just in from Marjorie Murray:
SB561/Corbett Targets Illegal Debt Collector Contracts
California Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett has introduced SB 561, a bill designed to
protect both homeowners and association boards during the assessment collection process.
HOA debt collectors routinely strike contracts with associations – or their agents -- that void the
board’s assessment collection DUTIES under EXISTING law. The debt collector then coerces the homeowner into signing a payment plan that voids his RIGHTS under EXISTING law.
SB561 targets both practices. Voiding either board duties or homeowner rights via these
contracts puts the association at legal risk.
How do these debt collection contracts work?
The debt collector coerces the homeowner into “agreeing” that, when s/he makes a payment,
the debt collector can pay himself instead of paying down the assessments owed, as required
by EXISTING law (Civil Code 1367(a). Because the debt collector is paying himself first, the
association typically gets paid last. This is irrational, given that the purpose of hiring the debt
collector in the first place is to recover assessments and give them to the HOA.
Not applying the homeowner payment to the assessment debt --obviously -- puts the owner at
risk of foreclosure.
CCHAL has documented numerous cases in which the homeowner was forced into a
payment plan, because homeowner “consent” is a condition of getting one. SB 561 clarifies
that these practices are prohibited by EXISTING law.
SB561 further specifies that the association cannot foreclose if the foreclosure is based on such
contracts. The bill says: “A waiver by an owner of his or her rights or a waiver by an association
of the association’s responsibilities under the act is void as contrary to public policy, and would
prohibit a foreclosure proceeding from being initiated or proceeding if it is based on an
agreement that is void.”
SB 561 applies to “Any debt collector, agent, or third party acting to collect payments or
assessments on behalf of an association.” This element of the bill is crucial, since debt
collectors often subcontract with other vendors during the collection process; the bill clarifies
that these parties too are bound by California’s assessment collection laws.
CCHAL urges all homeowners, board directors, and advocates to carefully read Senator
Corbett’s legislation at http://leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_0551-
0600/sb_561_bill_20110217_introduced.pdf
Reading and understanding the bill will enable homeowners and board directors in California’s
49,000 associations to counter any campaigns mounted by opponents of SB561 that distort
either its language or intent.
In 2010, the Community Associations Institute (CAI) built its statewide opposition campaign
against the Brownley bill (AB2502) around the fraudulent statement that the bill REQUIRED
homeowners wanting to negotiate a payment plan with the board to meet with the board in an
open meeting to discuss – or dispute – their debt. (AB2502 also dealt with the business
practices of association debt collectors.)
The bill said no such thing.
What AB2502 said was “IF REQUESTED BY THE HOMEOWNER, (this bill would)
require a meeting to discuss a payment plan to be held in an open session.” In other words, if
the homeowner wanted SUNSHINE shed on the negotiations, then s/he could request an open
session; if not, then the homeowner could meet privately with the board in executive session.
It was the HOMEOWNER who made the decision, but CAI claimed AB2502 forced the
negotiations out in the open.
Not true.
A Fact Sheet on SB561 -- prepared by Senator Corbett’s office -- is posted on the CCHAL
website: http://www.calhomelaw.org/doc.asp?id=1312. Use this as a guide to the bill, especially
if you are a board director, so you know what the bill says – and does.
But again, there is no substitute for reading the legislation itself. You can study it at
http://leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_0551-0600/sb_561_bill_20110217_introduced.pdf
Letters of support for the bill can be faxed to Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett, fax
916.327.2433. Please also thank Senator Corbett for carrying SB561 because it protects both
homeowners and associations.
Do fax (510.272.9830) a copy of your letter to CCHAL or email a pdf of it to
info@calhomelaw.org
SB561 is co-sponsored by the Center for California Homeowner Association Law (CCHAL) and
the California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA).
SB561 specifically calls out the devastating effects of the debt collector’s predatory practices on
seniors. These cases have been documented in many NewsBriefs on the CCHAL website, e.g.
Curry v Association Lien Services; Fuller v Association Lien Services; Dacumos v Sunrise
Assessment; Santaella v Angius & Terry, etc.
A contract that one homeowner was forced into signing is on the CCHAL website:
http://www.calhomelaw.org/doc.asp?id=1156. Actually, the debt collector didn’t even demand
that the homeowner sign it: the plan says that just mailing a payment meant the homeowners
was ”consenting” to the debt collector’s plan to collect his profits first before paying down the
assessments.
A downloadable flyer of homeowner rights under EXISTING Californbia law during assessment
collection is on the website at http://www.calhomelaw.org/doc.asp?id=1315. It also lists legal
resources for homeowners.
We will keep CCHAL members posted on SB561 as it goes through the policy committees in
Sacramento.
CCHAL NewsBrief
February 27, 2011
© 2011
SB561/Corbett Targets Illegal Debt Collector Contracts
California Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett has introduced SB 561, a bill designed to
protect both homeowners and association boards during the assessment collection process.
HOA debt collectors routinely strike contracts with associations – or their agents -- that void the
board’s assessment collection DUTIES under EXISTING law. The debt collector then coerces the homeowner into signing a payment plan that voids his RIGHTS under EXISTING law.
SB561 targets both practices. Voiding either board duties or homeowner rights via these
contracts puts the association at legal risk.
How do these debt collection contracts work?
The debt collector coerces the homeowner into “agreeing” that, when s/he makes a payment,
the debt collector can pay himself instead of paying down the assessments owed, as required
by EXISTING law (Civil Code 1367(a). Because the debt collector is paying himself first, the
association typically gets paid last. This is irrational, given that the purpose of hiring the debt
collector in the first place is to recover assessments and give them to the HOA.
Not applying the homeowner payment to the assessment debt --obviously -- puts the owner at
risk of foreclosure.
CCHAL has documented numerous cases in which the homeowner was forced into a
payment plan, because homeowner “consent” is a condition of getting one. SB 561 clarifies
that these practices are prohibited by EXISTING law.
SB561 further specifies that the association cannot foreclose if the foreclosure is based on such
contracts. The bill says: “A waiver by an owner of his or her rights or a waiver by an association
of the association’s responsibilities under the act is void as contrary to public policy, and would
prohibit a foreclosure proceeding from being initiated or proceeding if it is based on an
agreement that is void.”
SB 561 applies to “Any debt collector, agent, or third party acting to collect payments or
assessments on behalf of an association.” This element of the bill is crucial, since debt
collectors often subcontract with other vendors during the collection process; the bill clarifies
that these parties too are bound by California’s assessment collection laws.
CCHAL urges all homeowners, board directors, and advocates to carefully read Senator
Corbett’s legislation at http://leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_0551-
0600/sb_561_bill_20110217_introduced.pdf
Reading and understanding the bill will enable homeowners and board directors in California’s
49,000 associations to counter any campaigns mounted by opponents of SB561 that distort
either its language or intent.
In 2010, the Community Associations Institute (CAI) built its statewide opposition campaign
against the Brownley bill (AB2502) around the fraudulent statement that the bill REQUIRED
homeowners wanting to negotiate a payment plan with the board to meet with the board in an
open meeting to discuss – or dispute – their debt. (AB2502 also dealt with the business
practices of association debt collectors.)
The bill said no such thing.
What AB2502 said was “IF REQUESTED BY THE HOMEOWNER, (this bill would)
require a meeting to discuss a payment plan to be held in an open session.” In other words, if
the homeowner wanted SUNSHINE shed on the negotiations, then s/he could request an open
session; if not, then the homeowner could meet privately with the board in executive session.
It was the HOMEOWNER who made the decision, but CAI claimed AB2502 forced the
negotiations out in the open.
Not true.
A Fact Sheet on SB561 -- prepared by Senator Corbett’s office -- is posted on the CCHAL
website: http://www.calhomelaw.org/doc.asp?id=1312. Use this as a guide to the bill, especially
if you are a board director, so you know what the bill says – and does.
But again, there is no substitute for reading the legislation itself. You can study it at
http://leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_0551-0600/sb_561_bill_20110217_introduced.pdf
Letters of support for the bill can be faxed to Senate Majority Leader Ellen Corbett, fax
916.327.2433. Please also thank Senator Corbett for carrying SB561 because it protects both
homeowners and associations.
Do fax (510.272.9830) a copy of your letter to CCHAL or email a pdf of it to
info@calhomelaw.org
SB561 is co-sponsored by the Center for California Homeowner Association Law (CCHAL) and
the California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA).
SB561 specifically calls out the devastating effects of the debt collector’s predatory practices on
seniors. These cases have been documented in many NewsBriefs on the CCHAL website, e.g.
Curry v Association Lien Services; Fuller v Association Lien Services; Dacumos v Sunrise
Assessment; Santaella v Angius & Terry, etc.
A contract that one homeowner was forced into signing is on the CCHAL website:
http://www.calhomelaw.org/doc.asp?id=1156. Actually, the debt collector didn’t even demand
that the homeowner sign it: the plan says that just mailing a payment meant the homeowners
was ”consenting” to the debt collector’s plan to collect his profits first before paying down the
assessments.
A downloadable flyer of homeowner rights under EXISTING Californbia law during assessment
collection is on the website at http://www.calhomelaw.org/doc.asp?id=1315. It also lists legal
resources for homeowners.
We will keep CCHAL members posted on SB561 as it goes through the policy committees in
Sacramento.
CCHAL NewsBrief
February 27, 2011
© 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Wants a Six-Foot Security Wall Erected Around His Mansion
It's called the Getty House, and apparently, its stumpy rectangular bushes -- all manicured and Tudor-styled -- are not sufficient protection from the, er, elements of the surrounding neighborhood, described by Wikipedia as "small, historic and wealthy."
But no 'hood is small or wealthy enough to protect his royal highness. Much to the dismay of the Windsor Square Association, whose residents generally abide by the city's 42-inch yard-wall limit, Villaraigosa just applied for a six-footer:
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This lefty man of the people (he even went to People's College of the Law, after which he failed the bar exam four times) has decided that living in a ritzy community isn't enough. He needs a six foot fence to keep out the proletariat.
But no 'hood is small or wealthy enough to protect his royal highness. Much to the dismay of the Windsor Square Association, whose residents generally abide by the city's 42-inch yard-wall limit, Villaraigosa just applied for a six-footer:
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This lefty man of the people (he even went to People's College of the Law, after which he failed the bar exam four times) has decided that living in a ritzy community isn't enough. He needs a six foot fence to keep out the proletariat.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Nevadans Share Horror Stories Of HOAs
CARSON CITY, Nev. -- Heather Spaniol said she loved living in a neighborhood with a homeowner's association. But she described the past three years as harassment. Her car was towed twice and she was penalized for putting the trash cans out too early.Spaniol was among dozens of witnesses who testified before the Nevada Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday. She and others characterized association boards as "The Gestapo" and "cartels."At least 19 bills addressing homeowner associations have been requested this session.
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Reforms are also under consideration in Arizona where longtime HOA reform activists George Staropoli and Pat Haruff are once again working to counter community association industry lobbying efforts. In California, two bills that would overhaul the Davis Stirling Common Interest Development Act have been introduced.
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Reforms are also under consideration in Arizona where longtime HOA reform activists George Staropoli and Pat Haruff are once again working to counter community association industry lobbying efforts. In California, two bills that would overhaul the Davis Stirling Common Interest Development Act have been introduced.
The (mandatory) green grass of Privatopia
Homeowners who suffer from brown lawns are being told to dye their lawn green. If they don't, they are in violation of the homeowners association's rules and restrictions, and there could be consequences.
Neighborhood resident Bev McLain said, "We were very surprised that we would have to do this. I've never heard of dying your lawn green. This is our second notice; with the third they threaten to take you to court."
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As the perfessor said, you can't make this stuff up. It really happens. Looks like another HOA -- this one in Arizona -- is going to get its turn in the harsh glare of negative media coverage.
Neighborhood resident Bev McLain said, "We were very surprised that we would have to do this. I've never heard of dying your lawn green. This is our second notice; with the third they threaten to take you to court."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the perfessor said, you can't make this stuff up. It really happens. Looks like another HOA -- this one in Arizona -- is going to get its turn in the harsh glare of negative media coverage.
News Brief from California Center for Homeowner Association Law re foreclosure prevention workshop
This just came in from Marjorie Murray at the California Center for Homeowner Association Law:
Hi, Evan: Please post CCHAL’s NewsBrief on its foreclosure prevention workshop held Thursday at the University of California Riverside. We had a great turnout!
More than 60 homeowners, Legal Services and private bar attorneys, homeowners, housing counselors and federal officials from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) came to CCHAL's workshop “Protecting Homeowners from Association Debt Collectors and Foreclosure” on Thursday. Also in attendance was an attorney from one of the biggest association industry law firms in the state -- Fiore Racobs Powers.
The workshop focused on the nuts-and-bolts of the association lien: who records it and why. The association lien has now become an obstacle to homeowners attempting to get a loan modification on their first mortgage. Big lenders like Chase and Bank of America are telling homeowners that unless they get the assessment lien removed, they can’t even get in line to request a loan modification.
A key tool for getting the lien removed can be an affordable payment plan. But one HUD housing counselor reported that she couldn’t get the association lawyer to respond to her multiple requests for a payment plan, much less to give the homeowner an affordable one.
CCHAL routinely gets requests for one-on-one tutorials in the assessment lien from housing counselors and Legal Services attorneys working with HOA homeowners. The goal of Thursday’s workshop was to educate both homeowners and counselors as a group in strategies for removing the lien and/or negotiating an affordable payment plan.
Assessment liens are also an obstacle to short sales [Keyword: SHORT SALES on the CCHAL website.]
What few people understand – whether homeowners or counselors – is that the assessment lien may come to haunt the owner even if the bank forecloses. Workshop trainer Attorney Dan Mulligan explained that, if left unpaid, the assessment debt becomes a personal debt of the homeowner long after the home has been lost.
CCHAL sent a NewsBrief recently about the homeowner sued by Angius & Terry Collections for $11,000 in assessments and collection costs on a home she lost to foreclosure two years ago. The bulk of the figure is actually collection costs – not assessments due the association.
Association debt collectors routinely levy collection costs that are 5-10 times the amount of the assessments owed. There are no statutory caps on collection costs and assessment debt collectors are not regulated.
We hope that the attorney from Fiore Racobs Powers brings this message back to the HOA industry as a whole: its collection practices are injuring homeowners and creating more obstacles to economic recovery. If they themselves don’t reform their business practices, then somebody else might do it for them.
The workshop was held at the University of California Riverside Extension Center. We will soon be posting photos from the workshop on the CCHAL website: www.calhomelaw.org in the photo gallery.
CCHAL foreclosure defense workshops are made possible through the support of the California Attorney General's office.
CCHAL NewsBrief
February 20, 2011
Hi, Evan: Please post CCHAL’s NewsBrief on its foreclosure prevention workshop held Thursday at the University of California Riverside. We had a great turnout!
More than 60 homeowners, Legal Services and private bar attorneys, homeowners, housing counselors and federal officials from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) came to CCHAL's workshop “Protecting Homeowners from Association Debt Collectors and Foreclosure” on Thursday. Also in attendance was an attorney from one of the biggest association industry law firms in the state -- Fiore Racobs Powers.
The workshop focused on the nuts-and-bolts of the association lien: who records it and why. The association lien has now become an obstacle to homeowners attempting to get a loan modification on their first mortgage. Big lenders like Chase and Bank of America are telling homeowners that unless they get the assessment lien removed, they can’t even get in line to request a loan modification.
A key tool for getting the lien removed can be an affordable payment plan. But one HUD housing counselor reported that she couldn’t get the association lawyer to respond to her multiple requests for a payment plan, much less to give the homeowner an affordable one.
CCHAL routinely gets requests for one-on-one tutorials in the assessment lien from housing counselors and Legal Services attorneys working with HOA homeowners. The goal of Thursday’s workshop was to educate both homeowners and counselors as a group in strategies for removing the lien and/or negotiating an affordable payment plan.
Assessment liens are also an obstacle to short sales [Keyword: SHORT SALES on the CCHAL website.]
What few people understand – whether homeowners or counselors – is that the assessment lien may come to haunt the owner even if the bank forecloses. Workshop trainer Attorney Dan Mulligan explained that, if left unpaid, the assessment debt becomes a personal debt of the homeowner long after the home has been lost.
CCHAL sent a NewsBrief recently about the homeowner sued by Angius & Terry Collections for $11,000 in assessments and collection costs on a home she lost to foreclosure two years ago. The bulk of the figure is actually collection costs – not assessments due the association.
Association debt collectors routinely levy collection costs that are 5-10 times the amount of the assessments owed. There are no statutory caps on collection costs and assessment debt collectors are not regulated.
We hope that the attorney from Fiore Racobs Powers brings this message back to the HOA industry as a whole: its collection practices are injuring homeowners and creating more obstacles to economic recovery. If they themselves don’t reform their business practices, then somebody else might do it for them.
The workshop was held at the University of California Riverside Extension Center. We will soon be posting photos from the workshop on the CCHAL website: www.calhomelaw.org in the photo gallery.
CCHAL foreclosure defense workshops are made possible through the support of the California Attorney General's office.
CCHAL NewsBrief
February 20, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Annandale civic association elects dog as president
Annandale civic association elects dog as president:
Dogs have many good qualities. Most of them are loyal, like people, and are housebroken. Can the same be said for all the humans who serve on boards like this?
I wish the Hillbrook-Tall Oaks Civic Association a good year under their new canine overlord. Woof.
Dogs have many good qualities. Most of them are loyal, like people, and are housebroken. Can the same be said for all the humans who serve on boards like this?
I wish the Hillbrook-Tall Oaks Civic Association a good year under their new canine overlord. Woof.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Homeownership loses its luster
The economic downturn and stricter mortgage standards are driving much of that decline, but economists say there's also a growing belief among many that they can live better by renting rather than straining their finances to buy a house.
Adding to that is a sense among many younger adults that they will need to move for their careers, making them hesitant to buy lest they be forced to sell at a loss.
"We're becoming more of a renting/sharing society," said David Sleeth-Keppler, a psychologist who tracks consumer sentiment for Strategic Business Insights. "People are staying less bogged down, in case something bad happens."
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The pundits are saying people are so traumatized by the enormous volatility in residential real estate during the previous decade that they see homeownership as too risky an investment. However, as long as mortgage interest remains income tax deductible, that tax policy will provide an abiding incentive to own rather than rent and a hedge against downside investment risk.
Adding to that is a sense among many younger adults that they will need to move for their careers, making them hesitant to buy lest they be forced to sell at a loss.
"We're becoming more of a renting/sharing society," said David Sleeth-Keppler, a psychologist who tracks consumer sentiment for Strategic Business Insights. "People are staying less bogged down, in case something bad happens."
-----------------------------------------------------------
The pundits are saying people are so traumatized by the enormous volatility in residential real estate during the previous decade that they see homeownership as too risky an investment. However, as long as mortgage interest remains income tax deductible, that tax policy will provide an abiding incentive to own rather than rent and a hedge against downside investment risk.
Nevada PAC wants cap on HOA collection fees
A Nevada organization called CHAMP (Concerned Homeowners Association Members PAC) describes itself as "a broad-based group of concerned Nevadans that includes homeowner associations, residents, investors, credit counselors, business organizations, labor unions, chambers of commerce, minority groups, and many others" and advocates a cap on fees charged by HOA collection companies.
The name CHAMP seems familiar and the organization may not be a new one. It appears connected to an issue that exploded this past summer in Las Vegas, where investors looking for good deals on foreclosed properties within HOAs complained they were being hit up with excessive collection fees levied by HOA collection companies for delinquent assessments unpaid by the erstwhile owners. The fight is in the courts as noted on this blog in September.
Nevada HOA inmates rally against "bully boards," call for legislative curbs
Used to be some odd symbol of “belonging”—or for some, status—to be a part of an HOA (no trailer trash here!) neighborhood. What with all the cookie cutter neatness, lack of individuality and security gates, it’s the facade of a picture perfect community. And a mere facade it’s seemingly become for some folks in Nevada—with a rather ugly behind-the-scenes picture.
An article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal shares what basically boils down to a case of schoolyard bullying—only the playground is now the development, and the bullies are the HOA boards. Those who feel they’ve been bullied (e.g., one homeowner was unjustly fined for the transgression of erecting a fence for which the HOA had previously approved the plans) have now joined voices, if not forces, to rally last Monday against HOA “bully boards”. They’re mad as hell and they want the folks in Carson City to do something about it.
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After several years of silence, Silver State HOA inmates are letting their voices be heard in Carson City. I imagine Phil "The Ghostbuster" Testa, who organized a similar revolt a dozen years ago, is cheering them on from the grave.
Friday, February 18, 2011
HOA reform group targets law that allows Texas associations to repossess homes over HOA rules
Activists seeking to retool the way homeowner associations operate in the state headed to Austin today to do their thing like so many other special interests do.
But this group is particularly cohesive and adamant about current state laws that allow associations or lenders to repossess a home for infractions of association rules.
“And we now have our first lobbyist, Robert Doggett, who is helping us pro bono,” Beanie Adolph, who has been a tireless solider in the battle, said in an interview with Texas Watchdog. Among the things that the group is fighting for this session is to make HOAs subject to the state’s open records and open meetings laws.
The state effort is part of a national move to police HOAs, which activists allege have become political fiefdoms and sometimes profitable machines for real estate and development companies.
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For the rest of the story by Texas Watchdog and to learn the identity of the HOA inmate activist sued by a community assocation industry plaintiff and solon, click here.
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For the rest of the story by Texas Watchdog and to learn the identity of the HOA inmate activist sued by a community assocation industry plaintiff and solon, click here.
Modesto Neighborhood May Hire Armed Guards To Cut Down On Crime « CBS Sacramento
Modesto Neighborhood May Hire Armed Guards To Cut Down On Crime « CBS Sacramento: MODESTO (CBS13) – Residents in a Modesto neighborhood are so concerned about crime they may bring in armed security guards.
The residents are members of the College Area Neighborhood Alliance.
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I gather that this "alliance" is a voluntary neighborhood association. Normally this sort of thing fails because of the free rider problem: not enough people contribute to pay for the services. The free rider problem gets solved in HOAs by mandatory membership, the power to assess for common expenses, and the sometimes-Draconian assessment collection methods. That solution, however, leads to all the abuse of power issues that we see so often.
The residents are members of the College Area Neighborhood Alliance.
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I gather that this "alliance" is a voluntary neighborhood association. Normally this sort of thing fails because of the free rider problem: not enough people contribute to pay for the services. The free rider problem gets solved in HOAs by mandatory membership, the power to assess for common expenses, and the sometimes-Draconian assessment collection methods. That solution, however, leads to all the abuse of power issues that we see so often.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Philly Homeowner Declares He's 'Foreclosed' on Wells Fargo - The Consumerist
Philly Homeowner Declares He's 'Foreclosed' on Wells Fargo - The Consumerist:
Thanks to Mystery Reader for this "man bites bank" story. We need more of this.
Thanks to Mystery Reader for this "man bites bank" story. We need more of this.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Facing Foreclosure Without Missing A Payment: One Couple's Housing Nightmare
Facing Foreclosure Without Missing A Payment: One Couple's Housing Nightmare: "No one, the Parkers say, told them their loan had been sold. With no word from the new servicer, New Jersey-based PHH Mortgage, the Parkers sent their first payment to the original bank, which mailed the check to PHH, according to documents the Parkers provided to The Huffington Post. But that check went missing. The Parkers say that despite the fact that they made every other payment, that missing check led to foreclosure proceedings, and a wrecked Kendra Parker's credit rating.
Soon, the mortgage company informed the Parkers that they were three months past due and owed over $3,000."
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Nice system we have in place here. Maybe we could prevent things like this by making it a crime to foreclose without cause and putting some of these bankers in jail. Just a thought.
Soon, the mortgage company informed the Parkers that they were three months past due and owed over $3,000."
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Nice system we have in place here. Maybe we could prevent things like this by making it a crime to foreclose without cause and putting some of these bankers in jail. Just a thought.
Monday, February 14, 2011
California Attorney Fees in HOA actions
Here's a link to a blog on California attorney fee cases concerning HOAs. Who gets their fees paid?
Daniels 1, Obama 0 - The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan
Daniels 1, Obama 0 - The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan:
Mitch Daniels may run for the Republican presidential nomination, and he is combining fiscal responsibility with moderation on social issues. Once upon a time there were quite a few Republicans like that. It will be interesting to see how he fares in the primaries. There are plenty of right-wingers lining up.
Mitch Daniels may run for the Republican presidential nomination, and he is combining fiscal responsibility with moderation on social issues. Once upon a time there were quite a few Republicans like that. It will be interesting to see how he fares in the primaries. There are plenty of right-wingers lining up.
Villagers outraged after police order them not to protect garden sheds | Mail Online
Villagers outraged after police order them not to protect garden sheds | Mail Online: "Residents in Surrey and Kent villages have been ordered by police to remove wire mesh from their windows as burglars could be injured."
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Property rights don't count for much in the UK anymore...
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Property rights don't count for much in the UK anymore...
Sunday, February 13, 2011
The HOA Murders by Leon Robertson in Mystery & Crime
The HOA Murders by Leon Robertson in Mystery & Crime: Thanks to Fred Pilot for letting me know about this new novel. Haven't seen it yet.
Obama proposals on mortgages worry real estate pros | McClatchy
Obama proposals on mortgages worry real estate pros | McClatchy: "MIAMI — Mortgage rates could rise and the federal government would play a much smaller role in the housing market, according to proposals outlined in a much-anticipated report released Friday by the U.S. Treasury Department.
In South Florida, foreign investors and all-cash buyers have played a disproportionate role in the housing market in the past year, as a tight credit market, high unemployment and a foreclosure crisis have turned traditional home buyers into a minority."
----------------
And elsewhere around the country, other unconventional, all-cash buyers such as newly-formed real estate syndicates are buying up many properties. They are purchasing blocks of condo units and taking over associations. This is creating some interesting situations for the remaining owners who actually live there.
Aside from those problems, consider how disrupted the housing market still remains, going on five years after prices began to tank and three years after the economic crash began. Housing prices are still falling. Mortgage rates are rising. Banks are reluctant to lend, despite having been given access to virtually free money from the Fed. New housing starts are near historic lows around the country. Unprecedented numbers of owners are underwater on their mortgages. Sales of foreclosed properties make up the bulk of the market in many places, and there are many more foreclosures to come this year. The real estate development industry is in disarray. There are zombie HOA subdivisions and condo buildings, unfinished and largely empty, all over the nation. Untold (because there are no public records) thousands of condo associations and HOAs around the country are failing. Local governments still haven't awakened to the reality that mandating CID housing is a bad idea and no doubt plan on continuing to do it when they can.
I am not opposed in principle to re-privatizing Fannie and Freddie in some fashion. I see how it would limit taxpayer exposure to loss from bad mortgages, which is a good thing. But I don't see how it will fix the horrific situation of the housing market, and it could very well make things worse if it causes mortgage interest rates to spike, which I think it will.
And consider recent history. From 1995 to 2008, the relationship between public and private entities in real estate is exactly what crashed the housing market and the economy.
Now, what exactly do the Obama people want Fannie and Freddie to do? What do they want private corporations to do? How are they going to get them to do it? What is the model? They don't know. They have three different proposals, all of them equally vague.
I see only a few certainties:
1. As it stands, the taxpayers still will have to bail out Fannie and Freddie to the tune of at least $150 billion, on top of all the other bailouts we are responsible for (and will spend a generation or two paying off). Depending on how long this redesign takes (and I think it will be much longer than the 5-7 years they are talking about), that amount could grow enormously.
2. If private banks and mortgage companies are going to be operating with less of a federal safety net, they will raise mortgage interest rates and other charges. This is inevitable.
3. This is a long-term policy. It will take many years for risk-averse private lending institutions to get into the business of buying mortgages from the initial lenders and doing all the other insurance and securitizing and off-loading things that Fannie and Freddie do.
4. Therefore, the policy will not be coherent. It will eventually be taken over by Republicans, who will want to push it in different directions than the Democrats. It will end up being a huge political football. This is an $11 trillion dollar market.
5. And all of that means there will be many unintended consequences, and we are headed into a Brave New World in which the federal role in the housing market is being completely reconsidered.
In South Florida, foreign investors and all-cash buyers have played a disproportionate role in the housing market in the past year, as a tight credit market, high unemployment and a foreclosure crisis have turned traditional home buyers into a minority."
----------------
And elsewhere around the country, other unconventional, all-cash buyers such as newly-formed real estate syndicates are buying up many properties. They are purchasing blocks of condo units and taking over associations. This is creating some interesting situations for the remaining owners who actually live there.
Aside from those problems, consider how disrupted the housing market still remains, going on five years after prices began to tank and three years after the economic crash began. Housing prices are still falling. Mortgage rates are rising. Banks are reluctant to lend, despite having been given access to virtually free money from the Fed. New housing starts are near historic lows around the country. Unprecedented numbers of owners are underwater on their mortgages. Sales of foreclosed properties make up the bulk of the market in many places, and there are many more foreclosures to come this year. The real estate development industry is in disarray. There are zombie HOA subdivisions and condo buildings, unfinished and largely empty, all over the nation. Untold (because there are no public records) thousands of condo associations and HOAs around the country are failing. Local governments still haven't awakened to the reality that mandating CID housing is a bad idea and no doubt plan on continuing to do it when they can.
I am not opposed in principle to re-privatizing Fannie and Freddie in some fashion. I see how it would limit taxpayer exposure to loss from bad mortgages, which is a good thing. But I don't see how it will fix the horrific situation of the housing market, and it could very well make things worse if it causes mortgage interest rates to spike, which I think it will.
And consider recent history. From 1995 to 2008, the relationship between public and private entities in real estate is exactly what crashed the housing market and the economy.
Now, what exactly do the Obama people want Fannie and Freddie to do? What do they want private corporations to do? How are they going to get them to do it? What is the model? They don't know. They have three different proposals, all of them equally vague.
I see only a few certainties:
1. As it stands, the taxpayers still will have to bail out Fannie and Freddie to the tune of at least $150 billion, on top of all the other bailouts we are responsible for (and will spend a generation or two paying off). Depending on how long this redesign takes (and I think it will be much longer than the 5-7 years they are talking about), that amount could grow enormously.
2. If private banks and mortgage companies are going to be operating with less of a federal safety net, they will raise mortgage interest rates and other charges. This is inevitable.
3. This is a long-term policy. It will take many years for risk-averse private lending institutions to get into the business of buying mortgages from the initial lenders and doing all the other insurance and securitizing and off-loading things that Fannie and Freddie do.
4. Therefore, the policy will not be coherent. It will eventually be taken over by Republicans, who will want to push it in different directions than the Democrats. It will end up being a huge political football. This is an $11 trillion dollar market.
5. And all of that means there will be many unintended consequences, and we are headed into a Brave New World in which the federal role in the housing market is being completely reconsidered.
A ray of hope in Arizona for HOA abolitionists
For at least the last dozen years or so, there have been two camps of displeased Privatopians: Those who want to take on the community association industry and try to reform HOAs to make them more democratic and more accountable to those owning property within their jurisdiction. And those who see HOAs as essentially FUBAR with abolition the only way to deal with them.
The latter group will undoubtedly be pleased to learn proposed amendments to an Arizona bill, S.B. 1326 this week would ban new detached unit CIDs going forward. (Condos are not within the scope of the bill). This is a very important development because to my knowledge, it is the first piece of state legislation that would bar future formation of CIDs with mandatory membership HOAs -- and the restrictive covenants upon which they are based.
This is also an important development because it could be a harbinger of an emerging realization in Sunbelt states like Arizona -- where practically all new freestanding homes built of the past 15-20 years are within CIDs with mandatory HOAs -- that privatizing local government may be great in theory but suffers from inherent defects in the real world.
The chances of S.B. 1326 moving forward are slim given that it would likely face a solid wall of opposition from residential developers, local governments and of course the so-called "community association" industry. But the fact that legislation that would effectively close the door on the future expansion of Privatopia in Arizona is even being considered shows "the times they are a changin."
Thanks to Pat Haruff for the link.
The latter group will undoubtedly be pleased to learn proposed amendments to an Arizona bill, S.B. 1326 this week would ban new detached unit CIDs going forward. (Condos are not within the scope of the bill). This is a very important development because to my knowledge, it is the first piece of state legislation that would bar future formation of CIDs with mandatory membership HOAs -- and the restrictive covenants upon which they are based.
This is also an important development because it could be a harbinger of an emerging realization in Sunbelt states like Arizona -- where practically all new freestanding homes built of the past 15-20 years are within CIDs with mandatory HOAs -- that privatizing local government may be great in theory but suffers from inherent defects in the real world.
The chances of S.B. 1326 moving forward are slim given that it would likely face a solid wall of opposition from residential developers, local governments and of course the so-called "community association" industry. But the fact that legislation that would effectively close the door on the future expansion of Privatopia in Arizona is even being considered shows "the times they are a changin."
Thanks to Pat Haruff for the link.
Donald Bren's legacy
Donald Bren's legacy
The L.A. Times profiles one of the founding fathers of Privatopia and the creator of the one of the earliest and biggest mass market CIDs in the nation.
The L.A. Times profiles one of the founding fathers of Privatopia and the creator of the one of the earliest and biggest mass market CIDs in the nation.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Obama housing plan to end Fannie, Freddie - The Hill's On The Money
Obama housing plan to end Fannie, Freddie - The Hill's On The Money: "Under the administration's plan, there would be no future Fannie and Freddie providing broad, full guarantees in the housing market, according to senior administration officials.
While the administration's report calls for the winding down of Fannie and Freddie, it does not reach a single conclusion as to what the housing market should look like at the end of the transition. Rather, it provides three options, with varying roles for the government to play."
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I notice once again that the Obama administration is big on proposing sweeping changes to huge sectors of the economy, but small on saying exactly how they expect it to be done. Same thing with health care reform--they left it up to Congress. The House passed one version, the Senate passed a different one, and then when Scott Brown got elected and the Democrats lost their filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, they passed up conference committee entirely and had the House ram through the flawed Senate bill (it doesn't even have a severability clause). Now, here they go with this huge plan to "wind down" Fannie and Freddie, but there is a menu of approaches for doing it. Somebody else is supposed to take responsibility for deciding how this can be done.
And how about that great mortgage reformation plan the Administration came up with that didn't work?
Geithner's casual la-de-da attitude toward this is typical of him.
If I made major decisions this way, people would say I was nuts. If you decide to do something, the "how" is everything. It isn't an afterthought. If you have decided to do away with the current massive federal government role in the housing market, you need first to know exactly HOW you are going to do it. If there isn't a clear "how," then it is time to go back to the drawing board--not to start the process of change.
This is like having a surgeon who says, "I am going to do an operation on you that has never been done before. We have come up with three different ways to do it. We will start the operation, and then I will let the surgical team decide which one of them to use." Wouldn't you suspect that the surgeon actually doesn't know how to do this at all? And that maybe the whole thing will result in muddling through and maybe causing a disaster?
While the administration's report calls for the winding down of Fannie and Freddie, it does not reach a single conclusion as to what the housing market should look like at the end of the transition. Rather, it provides three options, with varying roles for the government to play."
-----------------
I notice once again that the Obama administration is big on proposing sweeping changes to huge sectors of the economy, but small on saying exactly how they expect it to be done. Same thing with health care reform--they left it up to Congress. The House passed one version, the Senate passed a different one, and then when Scott Brown got elected and the Democrats lost their filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, they passed up conference committee entirely and had the House ram through the flawed Senate bill (it doesn't even have a severability clause). Now, here they go with this huge plan to "wind down" Fannie and Freddie, but there is a menu of approaches for doing it. Somebody else is supposed to take responsibility for deciding how this can be done.
And how about that great mortgage reformation plan the Administration came up with that didn't work?
Geithner's casual la-de-da attitude toward this is typical of him.
If I made major decisions this way, people would say I was nuts. If you decide to do something, the "how" is everything. It isn't an afterthought. If you have decided to do away with the current massive federal government role in the housing market, you need first to know exactly HOW you are going to do it. If there isn't a clear "how," then it is time to go back to the drawing board--not to start the process of change.
This is like having a surgeon who says, "I am going to do an operation on you that has never been done before. We have come up with three different ways to do it. We will start the operation, and then I will let the surgical team decide which one of them to use." Wouldn't you suspect that the surgeon actually doesn't know how to do this at all? And that maybe the whole thing will result in muddling through and maybe causing a disaster?
Friday, February 11, 2011
Obama Calls For End Of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
Obama Calls For End Of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac: "NEW YORK -- The Obama administration plans to wind down bailed-out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the next five to seven years, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Friday.
The taxpayer-owned mortgage giants, which were effectively nationalized in 2008, guarantee nine of every 10 new mortgages along with other government agencies. Delinquencies on home loans backed by the two companies have cost taxpayers more than $150 billion."
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As I said below, this is a herculean task. "Winding down" Fannie and Freddie? Somehow the private sector is just going to take over the multi-trillion dollar responsibility of buying, securitizing, and "guaranteeing" 90% of the mortgages in the US?
Well, at least it will be a good practice round in case nationalization of health insurance collapses and they have to get the private insurance industry to take it back.
The taxpayer-owned mortgage giants, which were effectively nationalized in 2008, guarantee nine of every 10 new mortgages along with other government agencies. Delinquencies on home loans backed by the two companies have cost taxpayers more than $150 billion."
--------------
As I said below, this is a herculean task. "Winding down" Fannie and Freddie? Somehow the private sector is just going to take over the multi-trillion dollar responsibility of buying, securitizing, and "guaranteeing" 90% of the mortgages in the US?
Well, at least it will be a good practice round in case nationalization of health insurance collapses and they have to get the private insurance industry to take it back.
Fannie, Freddie reform won't halt more huge taxpayer losses - Feb. 11, 2011
Fannie, Freddie reform won't halt more huge taxpayer losses - Feb. 11, 2011: "NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- When the dust settles, the federal bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be the most expensive government rescue of the financial crisis -- it already stands at $153 billion and counting."
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The Obama administration is considering ways to have private corporations take over most of what Fannie and Freddie are doing, which right now amounts to backing up 90% of the housing market. Good luck. This is going to be a major challenge.
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The Obama administration is considering ways to have private corporations take over most of what Fannie and Freddie are doing, which right now amounts to backing up 90% of the housing market. Good luck. This is going to be a major challenge.
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