The Next Foreclosure Fight
Excellent news feature from CNBC on HOA foreclosures including CAI's Tom Skiba and attorney Bill Davis, who is the fellow being sued by John Carona's corporate entities (see below). Tom says HOA foreclosure should be used as a last resort, but that the power to foreclose is necessary to make sure the association is funded and the other owners don't have to pay their share. Bill says the purpose isn't to get money for the association but as an excuse to "shake down the homeowners for the benefit of the HOA vendors," mainly the lawyers and property managers.
Thanks to George Starapoli for the link.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
A Needless Housing Collapse
A Needless Housing Collapse
"The success of a pioneering program for moderate-income buyers proves that the subprime disaster was not the fault of homeowners...The answer, quite simply, is that borrowers who had fixed-rate loans without hidden costs were far likelier to hold on to their homes. Subprime borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgages have cumulatively faced a "serious delinquency" rate approaching 40 percent, meaning that four out of 10 borrowers ended up at least three months late on their mortgages. From there, it's usually very hard for them to avoid foreclosure. By contrast, only 8.5 percent of Self-Help borrowers -- in the same cities and with the same financial profiles -- have fallen into such deep trouble, and fewer than 5 percent have ended up losing their homes to foreclosure."
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The article is by Alyssa Katz, whose book Our Lot: How Real Estate Came to Own Us is the best thing I've read on the housing crisis. Here she talks about a program that shows how it was the terms of the mortgages that doomed so many people to foreclosure.
"The success of a pioneering program for moderate-income buyers proves that the subprime disaster was not the fault of homeowners...The answer, quite simply, is that borrowers who had fixed-rate loans without hidden costs were far likelier to hold on to their homes. Subprime borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgages have cumulatively faced a "serious delinquency" rate approaching 40 percent, meaning that four out of 10 borrowers ended up at least three months late on their mortgages. From there, it's usually very hard for them to avoid foreclosure. By contrast, only 8.5 percent of Self-Help borrowers -- in the same cities and with the same financial profiles -- have fallen into such deep trouble, and fewer than 5 percent have ended up losing their homes to foreclosure."
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The article is by Alyssa Katz, whose book Our Lot: How Real Estate Came to Own Us is the best thing I've read on the housing crisis. Here she talks about a program that shows how it was the terms of the mortgages that doomed so many people to foreclosure.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
DA looks into Channelview complaints | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
DA looks into Channelview complaints | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle
I don't know much about John Carona's businesses or how they conduct their affairs. Everything I have to say in this post is about Texas State Senator John Carona, human being. The man is a public figure who is actively making and influencing public policy in the area I have specialized in since 1985, and I have an obvious and legitimate reason to comment on his activities.
This article from the Houston Chronicle back in 2009 details some of the things that people were saying about Carona. I was quoted in the article on the general issue, although I was (and still am) unfamiliar with the details of these Texas incidents.
The picture that is shaping up is something like this. John Carona is a state senator who had a lot to say about the content of Texas laws on HOAs and the businesses that serve them. He is also a powerhouse in the property management field, being the principal in a complicated network of management firms in multiple states, that has expanded rapidly in recent years. These management firms are also connected with other businesses that serve HOA in other ways. As the article says,
"Carona, a five-term senator who chairs the Homeland Security and Transportation Committee, is Associa's founder, president and chief executive officer. He serves on the boards of dozens of other companies that provide banking, insurance, Web sites and other services to homeowners associations, according to his latest personal financial disclosure statements filed with the Texas Ethics Commission. Carona authored legislation in 2001 that preserved and modified homeowners associations' controversial authority to foreclose on homes based on delinquent assessments. He said he sees no conflict of interest in his involvement with legislation affecting the industry that provides much of his livelihood."
So--he is a public official, and he has a lucrative career. He has become a legislative specialist in the field where he has his business interests. These are all public facts and in and of themselves don't create any impropriety. The reporter raises the potential of a conflict of interest, and asked Carona about it, and he denies it. One can see how that could potentially happen with specific pieces of legislation, but no legislative-business conflict of interest is spelled out in the article as nearly as I can tell.
But here's the problem: when somebody, such as the homeowner/BOD member in this article, Sam Campbell, raises questions about the details of practices engaged in by Carona's firms, they get threatened by Carona's attorneys. Back to the 2009 article:
"In April, Campbell began sending information to the district attorney's office, which issued subpoenas for four Sterling Green South bank accounts. Assistant District Attorney Kelli Johnson said it will take months to analyze the records. Johnson declined to say whether the subpoenas were issued to PMG or to the banks. Carona said no one at his companies had received subpoenas related to Sterling Green South. Campbell also has sent numerous e-mail and written correspondence to PMG employees and attorneys detailing accusations that the company used Sterling Green South funds improperly. On July 31, PMG fired back. Benjamin D. Wood, a Washington, D.C., attorney representing the company, threatened to sue Campbell for defamation and business disparagement if he continues his campaign."
Now, I have no sympathy for people who maliciously libel people on the internet or anyplace else. People should be able to earn a living or serve in public office without having their character impugned. But where is the evidence that there was any defamation? It appears from the story that all Mr. Campbell did here was try to get to the bottom of some complicated transactions that he thought raised some questions about how his association's money was handled and spent. As a BOD member or even an ordinary HOA member, what is wrong with that? Isn't that an appropriate activity for somebody who has a fiduciary duty to the members? Nothing in that Houston Chronicle article looks like defamation to me. Why wouldn't Carona simply have his company or companies produce the records and explain the transactions?
And what about this new suit against Bill Davis? I have now read the petition that Carona's lawyers filed in the new case that led to the subpoena for my blog records. Again--where is the evidence of defamation? There is not one single specific act of defamation spelled out in the entire complaint. It just claims that between 2008 and 2010 Davis defamed Carona's companies (and Carona's name doesn't even appear in the entire complaint!) on "various news and information web sites," including the Dallas Morning News and city-data.com. The petition says that Davis claimed these firms "engaged in illegal behavior and unethical business practices," but there are no quotations of what was supposedly said. That's right: a defamation suit that fails even to quote a single allegedly defamatory statement...and that also fails to mention that the actual human being behind all the corporate plaintiff entities is a public figure. Why does that matter? Because in the USSC case of New York Times v. Sullivan, the court said that public officials and other public figures can't recover for libel unless they can prove "actual malice," which requires that the defendant either knew the statement was false or acted with reckless disregard for whether it was true or not. The petition pleads the elements of actual malice, but again--doesn't say what facts support the claim that Davis knew his unspecified statements were false.
I don't know Texas law, but here in Illinois I am confident that wouldn't be enough to state a valid claim.
Three questions for you:
1. Does the case against Bill Davis sound like a viable defamation suit to you? Where's the beef?
2. Is Carona using his lawyers to prevent people like Mr. Campbell and Mr. Davis from raising issues of public concern? Issues that relate directly to the very things he works on in his capacity as a legislator? If so, why is he doing that?
3. And isn't that a question that should be addressed to him, as a public official of the State of Texas, by the press?
I don't know much about John Carona's businesses or how they conduct their affairs. Everything I have to say in this post is about Texas State Senator John Carona, human being. The man is a public figure who is actively making and influencing public policy in the area I have specialized in since 1985, and I have an obvious and legitimate reason to comment on his activities.
This article from the Houston Chronicle back in 2009 details some of the things that people were saying about Carona. I was quoted in the article on the general issue, although I was (and still am) unfamiliar with the details of these Texas incidents.
The picture that is shaping up is something like this. John Carona is a state senator who had a lot to say about the content of Texas laws on HOAs and the businesses that serve them. He is also a powerhouse in the property management field, being the principal in a complicated network of management firms in multiple states, that has expanded rapidly in recent years. These management firms are also connected with other businesses that serve HOA in other ways. As the article says,
"Carona, a five-term senator who chairs the Homeland Security and Transportation Committee, is Associa's founder, president and chief executive officer. He serves on the boards of dozens of other companies that provide banking, insurance, Web sites and other services to homeowners associations, according to his latest personal financial disclosure statements filed with the Texas Ethics Commission. Carona authored legislation in 2001 that preserved and modified homeowners associations' controversial authority to foreclose on homes based on delinquent assessments. He said he sees no conflict of interest in his involvement with legislation affecting the industry that provides much of his livelihood."
So--he is a public official, and he has a lucrative career. He has become a legislative specialist in the field where he has his business interests. These are all public facts and in and of themselves don't create any impropriety. The reporter raises the potential of a conflict of interest, and asked Carona about it, and he denies it. One can see how that could potentially happen with specific pieces of legislation, but no legislative-business conflict of interest is spelled out in the article as nearly as I can tell.
But here's the problem: when somebody, such as the homeowner/BOD member in this article, Sam Campbell, raises questions about the details of practices engaged in by Carona's firms, they get threatened by Carona's attorneys. Back to the 2009 article:
"In April, Campbell began sending information to the district attorney's office, which issued subpoenas for four Sterling Green South bank accounts. Assistant District Attorney Kelli Johnson said it will take months to analyze the records. Johnson declined to say whether the subpoenas were issued to PMG or to the banks. Carona said no one at his companies had received subpoenas related to Sterling Green South. Campbell also has sent numerous e-mail and written correspondence to PMG employees and attorneys detailing accusations that the company used Sterling Green South funds improperly. On July 31, PMG fired back. Benjamin D. Wood, a Washington, D.C., attorney representing the company, threatened to sue Campbell for defamation and business disparagement if he continues his campaign."
Now, I have no sympathy for people who maliciously libel people on the internet or anyplace else. People should be able to earn a living or serve in public office without having their character impugned. But where is the evidence that there was any defamation? It appears from the story that all Mr. Campbell did here was try to get to the bottom of some complicated transactions that he thought raised some questions about how his association's money was handled and spent. As a BOD member or even an ordinary HOA member, what is wrong with that? Isn't that an appropriate activity for somebody who has a fiduciary duty to the members? Nothing in that Houston Chronicle article looks like defamation to me. Why wouldn't Carona simply have his company or companies produce the records and explain the transactions?
And what about this new suit against Bill Davis? I have now read the petition that Carona's lawyers filed in the new case that led to the subpoena for my blog records. Again--where is the evidence of defamation? There is not one single specific act of defamation spelled out in the entire complaint. It just claims that between 2008 and 2010 Davis defamed Carona's companies (and Carona's name doesn't even appear in the entire complaint!) on "various news and information web sites," including the Dallas Morning News and city-data.com. The petition says that Davis claimed these firms "engaged in illegal behavior and unethical business practices," but there are no quotations of what was supposedly said. That's right: a defamation suit that fails even to quote a single allegedly defamatory statement...and that also fails to mention that the actual human being behind all the corporate plaintiff entities is a public figure. Why does that matter? Because in the USSC case of New York Times v. Sullivan, the court said that public officials and other public figures can't recover for libel unless they can prove "actual malice," which requires that the defendant either knew the statement was false or acted with reckless disregard for whether it was true or not. The petition pleads the elements of actual malice, but again--doesn't say what facts support the claim that Davis knew his unspecified statements were false.
I don't know Texas law, but here in Illinois I am confident that wouldn't be enough to state a valid claim.
Three questions for you:
1. Does the case against Bill Davis sound like a viable defamation suit to you? Where's the beef?
2. Is Carona using his lawyers to prevent people like Mr. Campbell and Mr. Davis from raising issues of public concern? Issues that relate directly to the very things he works on in his capacity as a legislator? If so, why is he doing that?
3. And isn't that a question that should be addressed to him, as a public official of the State of Texas, by the press?
Pending home sales plummet in April
Pending sales of previously owned homes took a tumble in April, according to data from an industry group, a foreboding sign that the key spring shopping season is off to a weak start.
The National Assn. of Realtors said Friday that its index for pending home sales, which is based on the number of contracts signed each month, fell 11.6% from March and was down 26.5% from the same month last year. The drop in the index was another indicator that buyers are scarce.
"Really the housing market is still in the doldrums," said Gerd-Ulf Krueger, principal economist at Housingecon.com. "I think what's really holding it back is an utter lack of confidence that this will turn around soon."
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April is traditionally considered a good month for home sales.
It's looking like the economy is once again in danger of falling into last year's late spring/start of summer doldrums when one also considers reports this week that GDP growth and consumer spending are trending well below expectations for the first quarter of this year. Note also the interest rate on 10-year T-notes. It's pushing downward and testing 3 percent -- a decidedly bearish indicator.
The National Assn. of Realtors said Friday that its index for pending home sales, which is based on the number of contracts signed each month, fell 11.6% from March and was down 26.5% from the same month last year. The drop in the index was another indicator that buyers are scarce.
------------------------------------------------
April is traditionally considered a good month for home sales.
It's looking like the economy is once again in danger of falling into last year's late spring/start of summer doldrums when one also considers reports this week that GDP growth and consumer spending are trending well below expectations for the first quarter of this year. Note also the interest rate on 10-year T-notes. It's pushing downward and testing 3 percent -- a decidedly bearish indicator.
HOA reform group targets law that allows Texas associations to repossess homes over HOA rules | Texas Watchdog
HOA reform group targets law that allows Texas associations to repossess homes over HOA rules | Texas Watchdog
So here is what appears to be the explanation the lawsuit that produced the subpoena (see below), according to one source:
--------------------
"The HOA-reform groups continue to be irritated by the man who helped craft and pass some of those laws, state Sen. John Carona, who heads Associa, a national company that refers to itself in press releases as “the leader in community association management.”
It’s an old fight – at least since 2006 disgruntled homeowners have been angered by Carona’s influence and operations. Carona has recently fought back in a civil lawsuit filed in Hays County against Bill Davis, a Friendswood lawyer and advocate for HOA reform. Carona’s Associations Inc. also names “ICDELIGHT” as a defendant, referring to an online handle that Davis used in speaking out against HOAs and Carona, whom he has called a “shakedown artist” in interviews. Davis calls the action a “SLAPP suit” designed to intimidate him and his colleagues from speaking out against Carona."
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The term SLAPP suit means "Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation," used by corporations to intimidate critics.
I still don't get what this weblog has to do with the lawsuit. The fact that my weblog is targeted is ironic, given that from time to time I have warned anonymous commenters about the importance of avoiding defamatory remarks, and I delete them whenever I notice them. That's because I knew that sooner or later the community association industry would retaliate against its critics with this sort of lawsuit.
For what it's worth--my understanding of Google's policies is that they will divulge 6 months worth of IP addresses. Anything older than that is purged. You can read about those policies at this website, which goes to a firm that helps people sue for internet defamation.
So here is what appears to be the explanation the lawsuit that produced the subpoena (see below), according to one source:
--------------------
"The HOA-reform groups continue to be irritated by the man who helped craft and pass some of those laws, state Sen. John Carona, who heads Associa, a national company that refers to itself in press releases as “the leader in community association management.”
It’s an old fight – at least since 2006 disgruntled homeowners have been angered by Carona’s influence and operations. Carona has recently fought back in a civil lawsuit filed in Hays County against Bill Davis, a Friendswood lawyer and advocate for HOA reform. Carona’s Associations Inc. also names “ICDELIGHT” as a defendant, referring to an online handle that Davis used in speaking out against HOAs and Carona, whom he has called a “shakedown artist” in interviews. Davis calls the action a “SLAPP suit” designed to intimidate him and his colleagues from speaking out against Carona."
-----------------
The term SLAPP suit means "Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation," used by corporations to intimidate critics.
I still don't get what this weblog has to do with the lawsuit. The fact that my weblog is targeted is ironic, given that from time to time I have warned anonymous commenters about the importance of avoiding defamatory remarks, and I delete them whenever I notice them. That's because I knew that sooner or later the community association industry would retaliate against its critics with this sort of lawsuit.
For what it's worth--my understanding of Google's policies is that they will divulge 6 months worth of IP addresses. Anything older than that is purged. You can read about those policies at this website, which goes to a firm that helps people sue for internet defamation.
Look what I just got in my in box...
Hello,
Google has received a subpoena for information related to your Google account in a case entitled Associations, Inc., d/b/a, Associa, Principal Management Group, Inc., and Alliance Association Management, Inc. v.
William Donald Davis, a/k/a ICdeLight a/k/a/ IC_deLight, District Court of Hays County, Texas, 22nd Judicial District, Case No. 10-2312 (Internal Ref. No. 139950).
To comply with the law, unless you provide us with a copy of a motion to quash the subpoena (or other formal objection filed in court) via email at google-legal-support@google.com by 5pm Pacific Time on June 16, 2011, Google may provide responsive documents on this date.
For more information about the subpoena, you may wish to contact the party seeking this information at:
Kelly P. Chen
Munck Carter, LLP
12770 Coit Rd Ste 600
Dallas, TX 75251
(972)628-3600
Google is not in a position to provide you with legal advice.
If you have other questions regarding the subpoena, we encourage you to contact your attorney.
Thank you,
Google Legal Support
-------------------
I don't know what information John Carona's lawyer (Kelly Chen) is trying to get. I have never met William Davis or John Carona. For those who aren't up on these things, Associa is a property management firm run by John Carona, the Texas legislator/property manager whose name keeps popping up in connection with foreclosures and legislation. I have emailed Carona's lawyer and google legal to find out what they want. If anybody knows, clue me in.
Google has received a subpoena for information related to your Google account in a case entitled Associations, Inc., d/b/a, Associa, Principal Management Group, Inc., and Alliance Association Management, Inc. v.
William Donald Davis, a/k/a ICdeLight a/k/a/ IC_deLight, District Court of Hays County, Texas, 22nd Judicial District, Case No. 10-2312 (Internal Ref. No. 139950).
To comply with the law, unless you provide us with a copy of a motion to quash the subpoena (or other formal objection filed in court) via email at google-legal-support@google.com by 5pm Pacific Time on June 16, 2011, Google may provide responsive documents on this date.
For more information about the subpoena, you may wish to contact the party seeking this information at:
Kelly P. Chen
Munck Carter, LLP
12770 Coit Rd Ste 600
Dallas, TX 75251
(972)628-3600
Google is not in a position to provide you with legal advice.
If you have other questions regarding the subpoena, we encourage you to contact your attorney.
Thank you,
Google Legal Support
-------------------
I don't know what information John Carona's lawyer (Kelly Chen) is trying to get. I have never met William Davis or John Carona. For those who aren't up on these things, Associa is a property management firm run by John Carona, the Texas legislator/property manager whose name keeps popping up in connection with foreclosures and legislation. I have emailed Carona's lawyer and google legal to find out what they want. If anybody knows, clue me in.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Sen. John Carona defends controversial HOA rule | wfaa.com Dallas - Fort Worth
Sen. John Carona defends controversial HOA rule | wfaa.com Dallas - Fort Worth
Interesting viewing, because you get to see Carona deny that his policy is to have the attorney fees paid first and the association get its money sixth, then when the reporter tries to show him his own company's documents stating that policy, Carona flees, and has the reporter thrown out.
Interesting viewing, because you get to see Carona deny that his policy is to have the attorney fees paid first and the association get its money sixth, then when the reporter tries to show him his own company's documents stating that policy, Carona flees, and has the reporter thrown out.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Contingency fee construction defect lawsuit settlement comes up short
“The community is in a situation where they have less than enough money to do the repairs they need to make. So they need to do so as efficiently as possible,” said HOA Attorney Jerry Orton.
Orton said a third of the settlement went to lawyers from another firm that handled the case. Homeowners aren’t happy.
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Thirty-three percent attorney contingency fee contracts may work well in personal injury cases, but can be disastrous in condo construction defect lawsuits. Condo complexes like this one face the prospect of falling into Tyler Berding's death spiral in future years.
Orton said a third of the settlement went to lawyers from another firm that handled the case. Homeowners aren’t happy.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Thirty-three percent attorney contingency fee contracts may work well in personal injury cases, but can be disastrous in condo construction defect lawsuits. Condo complexes like this one face the prospect of falling into Tyler Berding's death spiral in future years.
I-TEAM: HOA foreclosures draw attention in Austin
“Property owners associations are there to preserve property value. In terms of whether the fees that we charge are large or not, they are reasonable for the kind of work that we do.”
But the payment plans these attorneys are using have captured the attention of Austin lawmakers.
HOA/homeowner relationships have spawned nearly 60 bills filed this session.
Janet Ahmad of the group Home Owners for Better Building said, “They have been gouging people, with all of these fees. They are losing their homes; they are pricing people out of the market.”
The score at the top of the ninth: HOA bar, 60. Consumers, 0.
But the payment plans these attorneys are using have captured the attention of Austin lawmakers.
HOA/homeowner relationships have spawned nearly 60 bills filed this session.
Janet Ahmad of the group Home Owners for Better Building said, “They have been gouging people, with all of these fees. They are losing their homes; they are pricing people out of the market.”
But Ahmad said no bills have made it through…and there are only two days left in the session.
---------------------------------------------------The score at the top of the ninth: HOA bar, 60. Consumers, 0.
HOA shadenfreude
A study conducted by Nevada psychology professor Gary Solomon suggested that oversight over a homeowner’s living conditions creates a two-tailed psychiatric disorder called “HOA Syndrome.”
Talking about his experience inside an HOA in Las Vegas, Solomon said, “I learned that residents, primarily principal homeowners, were living in a war zone, not identifiable by bombs, guns and burning buildings. Rather, a war zone masterfully orchestrated by a few fellow homeowners attempting to control their companion neighbors while making a few bucks on the side and gaining sadistic pleasure from watching their neighbors live in pain.”
Talking about his experience inside an HOA in Las Vegas, Solomon said, “I learned that residents, primarily principal homeowners, were living in a war zone, not identifiable by bombs, guns and burning buildings. Rather, a war zone masterfully orchestrated by a few fellow homeowners attempting to control their companion neighbors while making a few bucks on the side and gaining sadistic pleasure from watching their neighbors live in pain.”
See the Berding and McKenzie discussion at ECHO on June 18!
Booth 319, Santa Clara Convention Center. And on Saturday, June 18, we have our public discussion about whether common interest housing can survive the challenges of the 21st century.
Be there!
Be there!
Illinois legislature addresses foreclosure costs to cities
Springfield, Ill. —
Banks and lending institutions responsible for foreclosures in Illinois would pay for the maintenance of thousands of vacant houses, rather than putting that financial burden on municipalities statewide under a plan in the Illinois House.
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Good idea. Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link.
Banks and lending institutions responsible for foreclosures in Illinois would pay for the maintenance of thousands of vacant houses, rather than putting that financial burden on municipalities statewide under a plan in the Illinois House.
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Good idea. Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link.
Why Does the NYT Want the Government to Make Housing Unaffordable? | Beat the Press
Why Does the NYT Want the Government to Make Housing Unaffordable? | Beat the Press
"Actually no; it never looked like "things were improving" to people who follow the housing market. It looked like the tax credits were temporarily delaying the deflation of the housing bubble. This delay allowed banks and investors to have hundreds of billions of dollars in mortgages, which would be underwater today, taken off their books and replaced by Fannie and Freddie guaranteed loans, through sales or refinancing."
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This blog post is by Dean Baker, who I think is a very bright guy with a record of accurate predictions. He seems to think that housing is still overpriced by historical measures.
"Actually no; it never looked like "things were improving" to people who follow the housing market. It looked like the tax credits were temporarily delaying the deflation of the housing bubble. This delay allowed banks and investors to have hundreds of billions of dollars in mortgages, which would be underwater today, taken off their books and replaced by Fannie and Freddie guaranteed loans, through sales or refinancing."
----------------
This blog post is by Dean Baker, who I think is a very bright guy with a record of accurate predictions. He seems to think that housing is still overpriced by historical measures.
Monday, May 23, 2011
HOA scuffle in the Senate | Trail Blazers Blog | dallasnews.com
HOA scuffle in the Senate | Trail Blazers Blog | dallasnews.com
Two republicans argue about who is more anti-homeowner. Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.
Two republicans argue about who is more anti-homeowner. Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.
Continued real estate deflation making foreclosures unappealing to HOAs
HOAs file foreclosure notices “fairly regularly, but in 99% of the cases, the property is worth less than the underlying debt. Just because you get a house for $6,000 doesn’t mean you get a bargain on the home,” says Kurt De Meire, CEO of countyrecordsresearch.com, a foreclosure processing company.
“This is why it’s rare that associations follow through with their own foreclosures,” he says. “They don’t want the burden of the senior debt.”
In fact, most associations don’t even bother starting the foreclosure process, he says. “It’s a waste of their money to pursue a property for unpaid dues.”
De Meire says sometimes homeowners associations foreclose, evict the residents, then decide not to keep the senior loan or loans current. But using a foreclosure notice as a tool to persuade a homeowner to pay fees or force them out, he says, costs HOAs “several thousand dollars.”
--------------------------------------------
As residential real estate prices continue to deflate, foreclosure becomes an increasingly impractical means to recoup delinquent HOA assessments -- at least from the perspective of this foreclosure processing company head.
“This is why it’s rare that associations follow through with their own foreclosures,” he says. “They don’t want the burden of the senior debt.”
In fact, most associations don’t even bother starting the foreclosure process, he says. “It’s a waste of their money to pursue a property for unpaid dues.”
De Meire says sometimes homeowners associations foreclose, evict the residents, then decide not to keep the senior loan or loans current. But using a foreclosure notice as a tool to persuade a homeowner to pay fees or force them out, he says, costs HOAs “several thousand dollars.”
--------------------------------------------
As residential real estate prices continue to deflate, foreclosure becomes an increasingly impractical means to recoup delinquent HOA assessments -- at least from the perspective of this foreclosure processing company head.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Strategic defaults on mortgages - chicagotribune.com
Strategic defaults on mortgages - chicagotribune.com
"Strategic default — opting to walk away from a mortgage you can afford — isn't a new phenomenon in the housing crisis. But with home values continuing to decline, more owners are finding themselves in a position where they may see it as a savvy business decision to destroy their credit rather than wait years for prices to recover."
--------------------------
This recovery is just storming along. I know--why don't we give more tax cuts to rich people?
"Strategic default — opting to walk away from a mortgage you can afford — isn't a new phenomenon in the housing crisis. But with home values continuing to decline, more owners are finding themselves in a position where they may see it as a savvy business decision to destroy their credit rather than wait years for prices to recover."
--------------------------
This recovery is just storming along. I know--why don't we give more tax cuts to rich people?
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Vegas HOA Charged With Discrimination - Las Vegas News Story - KVVU Las Vegas
Vegas HOA Charged With Discrimination - Las Vegas News Story - KVVU Las Vegas
"A Las Vegas homeowners association is accused of restricting its housing to residents older than 55, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The agency on Friday charged Lakeside Village Homeowners Association and its management company, Castle Management and Consulting, LLC, with discriminating against families with children through illegal age requirements."
-----------------------
Thanks to Rodney Gray for this pointer.
"A Las Vegas homeowners association is accused of restricting its housing to residents older than 55, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The agency on Friday charged Lakeside Village Homeowners Association and its management company, Castle Management and Consulting, LLC, with discriminating against families with children through illegal age requirements."
-----------------------
Thanks to Rodney Gray for this pointer.
HOA Syndrome Is Real, Nevada Professor Claims - Phoenix News Story - KPHO Phoenix
HOA Syndrome Is Real, Nevada Professor Claims - Phoenix News Story - KPHO Phoenix
"What is the treatment for HOA Syndrome?
It's pretty simple, said Solomon. Just do what Lantry and his family did, move out and never move into an HOA neighborhood again.
"Why would I want another incompetent level of government standing in judgment of me?" said Lantry.
HOA Syndrome is not recognized as an anxiety disorder by the psychology community. However, Solomon said that it's only a matter of time."
---------------------------
Well, at least there is a treatment. Thanks to Fred Fischer for this link.
"What is the treatment for HOA Syndrome?
It's pretty simple, said Solomon. Just do what Lantry and his family did, move out and never move into an HOA neighborhood again.
"Why would I want another incompetent level of government standing in judgment of me?" said Lantry.
HOA Syndrome is not recognized as an anxiety disorder by the psychology community. However, Solomon said that it's only a matter of time."
---------------------------
Well, at least there is a treatment. Thanks to Fred Fischer for this link.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Arizona SWAT Team Shoots Latino Former Marine Dozens of Times - COLORLINES
Arizona SWAT Team Shoots Latino Former Marine Dozens of Times - COLORLINES
This is a very disturbing story. I am going to keep track of it and see if it is as bad as it looks from this initial report.
This is a very disturbing story. I am going to keep track of it and see if it is as bad as it looks from this initial report.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
HOA Tries To Evict Woman Dying Of Cancer - Phoenix News Story - KPHO Phoenix
HOA Tries To Evict Woman Dying Of Cancer - Phoenix News Story - KPHO Phoenix
The Florence Gardens Mobile Home Association is trying to evict Carolyn and her husband because they don't meet the minimum age requirement.
It's a 55 and older community.
Carolyn is 51. Her husband 53.
"Where am I supposed to go?" said Silvia. "I have cancer. Where am I supposed to go? This is my home."
---------------
HOA attorney Charles Maxwell won't stand for having Carolyn stay in the subdivision. Claims its a covenant violation. Read the whole thing and see if you agree. Thanks to Fred Fischer for the link.
The Florence Gardens Mobile Home Association is trying to evict Carolyn and her husband because they don't meet the minimum age requirement.
It's a 55 and older community.
Carolyn is 51. Her husband 53.
"Where am I supposed to go?" said Silvia. "I have cancer. Where am I supposed to go? This is my home."
---------------
HOA attorney Charles Maxwell won't stand for having Carolyn stay in the subdivision. Claims its a covenant violation. Read the whole thing and see if you agree. Thanks to Fred Fischer for the link.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Property owner battles HOA in courts of law, public opinion
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Timothy Adams isn't backing down.
The Omaha resident has turned a dispute with his neighborhood association into a public battle, putting up billboards, launching a website and taking to social media to publicize a lawsuit filed against him over the installation of solar panels on the roof of his home near Lake Zorinsky.
"It's not about money," said Adams, 49. "It's about sticking up for principles. If it's about spending tens of thousands of dollars educating people, I will do it."
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Ron Paul: I Would Not Have Voted For The 1964 Civil Rights Act (VIDEO) | TPMDC
Ron Paul: I Would Not Have Voted For The 1964 Civil Rights Act (VIDEO) | TPMDC
"Just about a year after his son Rand Paul stepped in it when he told Rachel Maddow he was opposed to provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) told Chris Matthews Friday he wouldn't have voted for the law in the first place had he been in Congress at the time."
-----------------
These father and son cranks are great examples the libertarian movement. Libertarians dress, walk, and talk like normal people so people don't realize how outlandish their ideas are. Rand and Ron look like plain old folks, but if they dressed to suit their ideas they'd be wearing purple velvet leisure suits and propeller beanies.
"Just about a year after his son Rand Paul stepped in it when he told Rachel Maddow he was opposed to provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) told Chris Matthews Friday he wouldn't have voted for the law in the first place had he been in Congress at the time."
-----------------
These father and son cranks are great examples the libertarian movement. Libertarians dress, walk, and talk like normal people so people don't realize how outlandish their ideas are. Rand and Ron look like plain old folks, but if they dressed to suit their ideas they'd be wearing purple velvet leisure suits and propeller beanies.
A pattern of HUD projects stalled or abandoned - The Washington Post
A pattern of HUD projects stalled or abandoned - The Washington Post
"The federal government’s largest housing construction program for the poor has squandered hundreds of millions of dollars on stalled or abandoned projects and routinely failed to crack down on derelict developers or the local housing agencies that funded them.
Nationwide, nearly 700 projects awarded $400 million have been idling for years, a Washington Post investigation found. Some have languished for a decade or longer even as much of the country struggles with record-high foreclosures and a dramatic loss of affordable housing."
------------------------
Federal housing policy has been one disaster after another since the 1960s.
"The federal government’s largest housing construction program for the poor has squandered hundreds of millions of dollars on stalled or abandoned projects and routinely failed to crack down on derelict developers or the local housing agencies that funded them.
Nationwide, nearly 700 projects awarded $400 million have been idling for years, a Washington Post investigation found. Some have languished for a decade or longer even as much of the country struggles with record-high foreclosures and a dramatic loss of affordable housing."
------------------------
Federal housing policy has been one disaster after another since the 1960s.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Thinking about rights and liberties
The other day I ended up talking with a neighbor of mine. When I told him that I was about to start teaching a basic American Government course this summer, he launched into a political rant about constitutional rights, seen from what I would call a far-right perspective. I think, though, that even for someone with a different political orientation these observations might have some relevance. What struck me was the difference between the way he conceived of a constitutional right and the way I think about rights and liberties. As a non-lawyer, for him rights and liberties are absolute and the ones he doesn't like don't exist at all. So, for example, he think there is an absolute right to private property, but he thinks there is no right to privacy. He think "The Founding Fathers" intent binds us today, and that they (he believes) created an absolute right to private property, but that judges invented that whole right to privacy thing, so it doesn't exist at all. These liberties are like light switches--either on or off.
People with legal educations generally don't think about rights and liberties this way, because it doesn't work very well in practice. Rights and liberties frequently come into conflict with each other. If they are all absolute, there is no way to decide which one trumps the other. The Founders didn't give us a priority list to decide whether freedom of speech trumps private property. And using the Founders intent as a guide has been so thoroughly discredited as an impossible way to do things that nobody with any legal experience even tries. What did the founders intend about regulation of the internet, or genetic engineering, or nuclear energy? Nothing. That's why right wing judges like Scalia speak of original meaning, not original intent. They look at the text of the constitution and of legislation and try to figure out what they call the original meaning, not the intent, as expressed by the people who wrote it. There is too much compromise, logrolling, and ambiguity to ever discern a single "intent" among all the people who wrote something or voted for it. I don't find that particularly satisfactory either, in most cases, but it is a whole lot more sensible than the hopeless search for the unicorn of original intent.
But my main point is this: making decisions involving conflicting rights and liberties, and powers and duties, is hard and conflictual, and even the professionals disagree about how to do it. HOA and condo association governance puts individuals in charge of administering mini-governments where conflicts of rights and obligations occur all the time, often involving very complicated issues that implicate not only the association's governing documents, but state laws and even constitutional rights. Unfortunately, right now little attention is paid to educating people in how to make these decisions. To the extent that is done at all, it is usually done by lawyers and managers who are working for the BOD (or hoping to, using one of their "free educational seminars" that are actually fishing expeditions for clients). These folks tend to offer self-serving interpretations, such as the "obey the board" perspective. Why? Because they become the Board's lawyer or manager, and don't represent the individuals.
I hate to dump more responsibilities on governments, but who else will do it? In an article that I have coming out soon in Public Administration Review, I ask whether maybe public administration professionals and educators should be doing this. Maybe it's a pipe dream, but it is worth a thought.
People with legal educations generally don't think about rights and liberties this way, because it doesn't work very well in practice. Rights and liberties frequently come into conflict with each other. If they are all absolute, there is no way to decide which one trumps the other. The Founders didn't give us a priority list to decide whether freedom of speech trumps private property. And using the Founders intent as a guide has been so thoroughly discredited as an impossible way to do things that nobody with any legal experience even tries. What did the founders intend about regulation of the internet, or genetic engineering, or nuclear energy? Nothing. That's why right wing judges like Scalia speak of original meaning, not original intent. They look at the text of the constitution and of legislation and try to figure out what they call the original meaning, not the intent, as expressed by the people who wrote it. There is too much compromise, logrolling, and ambiguity to ever discern a single "intent" among all the people who wrote something or voted for it. I don't find that particularly satisfactory either, in most cases, but it is a whole lot more sensible than the hopeless search for the unicorn of original intent.
But my main point is this: making decisions involving conflicting rights and liberties, and powers and duties, is hard and conflictual, and even the professionals disagree about how to do it. HOA and condo association governance puts individuals in charge of administering mini-governments where conflicts of rights and obligations occur all the time, often involving very complicated issues that implicate not only the association's governing documents, but state laws and even constitutional rights. Unfortunately, right now little attention is paid to educating people in how to make these decisions. To the extent that is done at all, it is usually done by lawyers and managers who are working for the BOD (or hoping to, using one of their "free educational seminars" that are actually fishing expeditions for clients). These folks tend to offer self-serving interpretations, such as the "obey the board" perspective. Why? Because they become the Board's lawyer or manager, and don't represent the individuals.
I hate to dump more responsibilities on governments, but who else will do it? In an article that I have coming out soon in Public Administration Review, I ask whether maybe public administration professionals and educators should be doing this. Maybe it's a pipe dream, but it is worth a thought.
Privatized mail delivery in the Netherlands
LRB · James Meek · In the Sorting Office
"Every week Dutch households and businesses are visited by postmen and postwomen from four different companies. There are the ‘orange’ postmen of the privatised Dutch mail company, trading as TNT Post but about to change their name to PostNL; the ‘blue’ postmen of Sandd, a private Dutch firm; the ‘yellow’ postmen of Selekt, owned by Deutsche Post/DHL; and the ‘half-orange’ postmen of Netwerk VSP, set up by TNT to compete cannibalistically against itself by using casual labour that is cheaper than its own (unionised) workforce. TNT delivers six days a week, Sandd and Selekt two, and VSP one. From the point of view of an ardent free-marketeer, this sounds like healthy competition. Curiously, however, none of the competitors is prospering."
----------------
Privatized postal delivery in the Netherlands, with the competition the libertarians and other free-marketers extol, and yet it isn't all the theory promises.
"Every week Dutch households and businesses are visited by postmen and postwomen from four different companies. There are the ‘orange’ postmen of the privatised Dutch mail company, trading as TNT Post but about to change their name to PostNL; the ‘blue’ postmen of Sandd, a private Dutch firm; the ‘yellow’ postmen of Selekt, owned by Deutsche Post/DHL; and the ‘half-orange’ postmen of Netwerk VSP, set up by TNT to compete cannibalistically against itself by using casual labour that is cheaper than its own (unionised) workforce. TNT delivers six days a week, Sandd and Selekt two, and VSP one. From the point of view of an ardent free-marketeer, this sounds like healthy competition. Curiously, however, none of the competitors is prospering."
----------------
Privatized postal delivery in the Netherlands, with the competition the libertarians and other free-marketers extol, and yet it isn't all the theory promises.
Texas Legislature Online - 82(R) History for SB 142
Texas Legislature Online - 82(R) History for SB 142
Here is a request to get the word out that this bill is out of committee and headed for floor vote in the Texas House of Reps:
Please support SB142
Senate Bill 142 will be heard on the House floor on Thursday. Rep. Solomons has amended this bill, those amendments will help homeowners tremendously. The Industry is in a panic, if 142 passes, they will have to start playing NICER and attorneys that represent homeowners will have an equal opportunity to receive their fees. We need to protect the good things in this bill, priority of payments, payment plan, equal OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE ATTORNEY FEES, restrictions on resale certificates (no more surprises at closing), and the right to have solar power. Yes, there are still some problems, but this is the first bill in ten years that would give much needed help to homeowners and the attorneys that represent them. We must protect the integrity of this legislation!! This Industry consists of developers, builders, HOA attorneys and management companies...they will fight to kill this bill and keep their lucrative cash flow. We need your voice more than ever before.
HOA Reform can charter a bus for 40-50 people, or we will help set up carpools ...please let me know. For those that won't be able to attend, we will be sending form letters with phone numbers and e-mail addresses, for you to send, and your voice will be heard.
---------------------
I am not sure which Texas HOA reform group sent me this message, so here are links to both:
Texas Homeowners for HOA Reform
HOA Reform Coalition
There were a bunch of HOA/condo bills in the TX leg this session. In addition to SB 142, they include: HB 1639, 2761, 2779, 2869, 3347, 3348, and SB 472.
-----------------
Update 5/15/11: I received this info:
A message from Janet Ahmad:
Important Bill To Be Heard – Your Help Is Needed At The Texas Capitol
The Texas Legislative session is quickly coming to an end. The Committee hearings agendas have been filled with over 60 HOA Reform proposed legislative bills. Many of us have attended and testified in Business and Industry every Monday and Intergovernmental Relation (IGR) every Wednesday.
This week a very special bill will be considered on the House floor and we need your help. We need your help to personally pass out important information to both Senators and Representative asking them to vote for CSSB 142, a substitute HOA Reform bill sponsored by House Representative Burt Solomons.
We realize some of you can not make it to the Capitol so we are asking for you to join by sending e-mails to lawmaker and making phone calls to their offices. Your help is so important. Go to http://hoareformcoalition.org/ to learn more about CSSB 142 and other bills.
Our civil and constitutional rights are being eroded by an industry that for too long has blocked consumer’s access to the courts for any and all responsibility; foreclosed on homesteads from families non-judicially, despite our constitutional protections of homesteads. For the past decade homebuilders and developers have crafted self-serving Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs) and its business of lucrative HOA management with the intent to impose astonishing controls, fees and divisive methods to prohibit residents from electing their own board members, airing legitimate concerns about defective drainage and shoddy home construction practices within communities. In collaboration with their management companies and their affiliate attorneys, builders are empowered in ways unimagined, such as implementing NON-Judicial foreclosures in as little as 28 day, without any formal notice to the homeowner. It’s frightening how the powers of HOAs have grown out of control.
In as week and a half the 2011 Legislative Session will end, so please join us this Wednesday, May 18, 2011 at the Capitol to make history.
IT'S TIME FOR CHANGE! Join the Coalition on the steps of the Capitol in Austin. Please try to arrive at 10:00 AM so that we may gather for instructions and materials. Handouts will be available for homeowners to take to their legislators listing legislative changes needed. Please respond as soon as possible. Let us know that we can count on you.
For those of you who can not attend please pledge to make calls and send e-mail messages. More instructions and Senator and Representative contact information to follow soon.
In the meantime find your legislators at "Who Represents Me?" on: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/ and contact them asking them to Support CSSB 142.
Tens of thousands of homeowners have suffered non-judicial and judicial foreclosure filings, exorbitant fines, fees and other harassments for frivolous and capricious citations. We need you help.
Be sure and read the latest news updates:
Help us to help you by keeping in touch. Tell your story through HOBB, and to your elected officials. Please post your comments on the many news reports below.
Thank you,
Janet Ahmad, President
Home Owners for Better Building
*************************************************
Here is a request to get the word out that this bill is out of committee and headed for floor vote in the Texas House of Reps:
Please support SB142
Senate Bill 142 will be heard on the House floor on Thursday. Rep. Solomons has amended this bill, those amendments will help homeowners tremendously. The Industry is in a panic, if 142 passes, they will have to start playing NICER and attorneys that represent homeowners will have an equal opportunity to receive their fees. We need to protect the good things in this bill, priority of payments, payment plan, equal OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE ATTORNEY FEES, restrictions on resale certificates (no more surprises at closing), and the right to have solar power. Yes, there are still some problems, but this is the first bill in ten years that would give much needed help to homeowners and the attorneys that represent them. We must protect the integrity of this legislation!! This Industry consists of developers, builders, HOA attorneys and management companies...they will fight to kill this bill and keep their lucrative cash flow. We need your voice more than ever before.
HOA Reform can charter a bus for 40-50 people, or we will help set up carpools ...please let me know. For those that won't be able to attend, we will be sending form letters with phone numbers and e-mail addresses, for you to send, and your voice will be heard.
---------------------
I am not sure which Texas HOA reform group sent me this message, so here are links to both:
Texas Homeowners for HOA Reform
HOA Reform Coalition
There were a bunch of HOA/condo bills in the TX leg this session. In addition to SB 142, they include: HB 1639, 2761, 2779, 2869, 3347, 3348, and SB 472.
-----------------
Update 5/15/11: I received this info:
A message from Janet Ahmad:
Important Bill To Be Heard – Your Help Is Needed At The Texas Capitol
The Texas Legislative session is quickly coming to an end. The Committee hearings agendas have been filled with over 60 HOA Reform proposed legislative bills. Many of us have attended and testified in Business and Industry every Monday and Intergovernmental Relation (IGR) every Wednesday.
This week a very special bill will be considered on the House floor and we need your help. We need your help to personally pass out important information to both Senators and Representative asking them to vote for CSSB 142, a substitute HOA Reform bill sponsored by House Representative Burt Solomons.
We realize some of you can not make it to the Capitol so we are asking for you to join by sending e-mails to lawmaker and making phone calls to their offices. Your help is so important. Go to http://hoareformcoalition.org/ to learn more about CSSB 142 and other bills.
Our civil and constitutional rights are being eroded by an industry that for too long has blocked consumer’s access to the courts for any and all responsibility; foreclosed on homesteads from families non-judicially, despite our constitutional protections of homesteads. For the past decade homebuilders and developers have crafted self-serving Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs) and its business of lucrative HOA management with the intent to impose astonishing controls, fees and divisive methods to prohibit residents from electing their own board members, airing legitimate concerns about defective drainage and shoddy home construction practices within communities. In collaboration with their management companies and their affiliate attorneys, builders are empowered in ways unimagined, such as implementing NON-Judicial foreclosures in as little as 28 day, without any formal notice to the homeowner. It’s frightening how the powers of HOAs have grown out of control.
In as week and a half the 2011 Legislative Session will end, so please join us this Wednesday, May 18, 2011 at the Capitol to make history.
IT'S TIME FOR CHANGE! Join the Coalition on the steps of the Capitol in Austin. Please try to arrive at 10:00 AM so that we may gather for instructions and materials. Handouts will be available for homeowners to take to their legislators listing legislative changes needed. Please respond as soon as possible. Let us know that we can count on you.
For those of you who can not attend please pledge to make calls and send e-mail messages. More instructions and Senator and Representative contact information to follow soon.
In the meantime find your legislators at "Who Represents Me?" on: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/ and contact them asking them to Support CSSB 142.
Tens of thousands of homeowners have suffered non-judicial and judicial foreclosure filings, exorbitant fines, fees and other harassments for frivolous and capricious citations. We need you help.
Be sure and read the latest news updates:
Help us to help you by keeping in touch. Tell your story through HOBB, and to your elected officials. Please post your comments on the many news reports below.
Thank you,
Janet Ahmad, President
Home Owners for Better Building
*************************************************
Court: No right to resist illegal cop entry into home
Court: No right to resist illegal cop entry into home"INDIANAPOLIS | Overturning a common law dating back to the English Magna Carta of 1215, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Hoosiers have no right to resist unlawful police entry into their homes.
In a 3-2 decision, Justice Steven David writing for the court said if a police officer wants to enter a home for any reason or no reason at all, a homeowner cannot do anything to block the officer's entry."
--------------------
Wow. So much for your home being your castle. Thanks to Jeff Hammond for the link.
In a 3-2 decision, Justice Steven David writing for the court said if a police officer wants to enter a home for any reason or no reason at all, a homeowner cannot do anything to block the officer's entry."
--------------------
Wow. So much for your home being your castle. Thanks to Jeff Hammond for the link.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Want More “Neighborly Love”? In An HOA?
Is “neighborly love” a “possible dream” within homeowner associations?
Are those members on the David Berman Blog who play “whack a mole” against so-called “malcontent” members believing they are ADDING to the chances of harmony in Sun City Anthem? Why would an “adult” homeowner posting on that site believe that hateful attacks and ordering fellow homeowners to “shut up or move” could produce any positive effects?
Unfortunately, “neighborly love” is rapidly being lost in Sun City Anthem due to increasingly dictatorial board behavior and mismanagement. The trend shows the problem is getting worse and the “malcontent” members are striking back through public media channels because SCA boards are doing nothing to resolve disputes.
-----------------------------------
The commandment to love thy neighbor as oneself is being sacrificed on the altar of the golden calf of Privatopia.
Are those members on the David Berman Blog who play “whack a mole” against so-called “malcontent” members believing they are ADDING to the chances of harmony in Sun City Anthem? Why would an “adult” homeowner posting on that site believe that hateful attacks and ordering fellow homeowners to “shut up or move” could produce any positive effects?
Unfortunately, “neighborly love” is rapidly being lost in Sun City Anthem due to increasingly dictatorial board behavior and mismanagement. The trend shows the problem is getting worse and the “malcontent” members are striking back through public media channels because SCA boards are doing nothing to resolve disputes.
-----------------------------------
The commandment to love thy neighbor as oneself is being sacrificed on the altar of the golden calf of Privatopia.
Last year's bottom of housing market "just branches on the way down."
Zillow, which operates a popular real estate market website, now predicts that home prices nationally won't hit bottom until 2012 at the earliest.
Locally, the Sacramento Association of Realtors this week released April home sales figures for Sacramento County and West Sacramento.
The area saw the median resale price for a single-family home drop to $169,900 in April – down 8.2 percent from April 2010. It was the ninth straight month without a year-over-year increase.
The April median was slightly higher than the March figure of $166,000 – the lowest monthly median sale price since March 2001.
------------------------------------------
Residential real estate deflation continues as the air keeps escaping the Big Bubble of the 2000s.
Locally, the Sacramento Association of Realtors this week released April home sales figures for Sacramento County and West Sacramento.
The area saw the median resale price for a single-family home drop to $169,900 in April – down 8.2 percent from April 2010. It was the ninth straight month without a year-over-year increase.
The April median was slightly higher than the March figure of $166,000 – the lowest monthly median sale price since March 2001.
------------------------------------------
Residential real estate deflation continues as the air keeps escaping the Big Bubble of the 2000s.
The Chicago Reporter Despair over disrepair
The Chicago Reporter Despair over disrepair
"In 2008, the city devised a way to keep neighborhoods from turning into junkyards as the nation’s foreclosure crisis roared on. The city passed an ordinance forcing owners of vacant properties—mostly financial institutions—to register them with the city. That way, the city could inspect the properties to make sure they weren’t falling into disrepair.
But an analysis by The Chicago Reporter found that many financial institutions aren’t registering the properties."
-------------------------------
Is anybody surprised? The banksters engaged in utterly irresponsible lending practices that encouraged millions of Americans to take insane risks that led to foreclosure and bankruptcy, then they created bizarre and horribly risky derivative investments that amounted to institutional suicide. When the industry went under in 2008, we, the taxpayers, bailed them out with our money. Now they have all this money and refuse to lend it to people. They are creating slums by letting their foreclosed properties deteriorate, refusing to pay HOA and condo assessments and property taxes, and generally behaving like corporate sociopaths.
And where is Congress in all this?
"In 2008, the city devised a way to keep neighborhoods from turning into junkyards as the nation’s foreclosure crisis roared on. The city passed an ordinance forcing owners of vacant properties—mostly financial institutions—to register them with the city. That way, the city could inspect the properties to make sure they weren’t falling into disrepair.
But an analysis by The Chicago Reporter found that many financial institutions aren’t registering the properties."
-------------------------------
Is anybody surprised? The banksters engaged in utterly irresponsible lending practices that encouraged millions of Americans to take insane risks that led to foreclosure and bankruptcy, then they created bizarre and horribly risky derivative investments that amounted to institutional suicide. When the industry went under in 2008, we, the taxpayers, bailed them out with our money. Now they have all this money and refuse to lend it to people. They are creating slums by letting their foreclosed properties deteriorate, refusing to pay HOA and condo assessments and property taxes, and generally behaving like corporate sociopaths.
And where is Congress in all this?
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
How Lightning fan outwitted petty HOA over playoff sign - Puck Daddy - NHL Blog - Yahoo! Sports
How Lightning fan outwitted petty HOA over playoff sign - Puck Daddy - NHL Blog - Yahoo! Sports
This is creative and funny. Thanks to Jason Zubia for the link.
This is creative and funny. Thanks to Jason Zubia for the link.
On the Commons with yours truly
Here is the link to Shu Bartholomew's site where you can listen to Shu and me talking about my new book and other things.
Monday, May 09, 2011
Can’t We Dump Some of Our 3300 Special Districts? | California Progress Report
Can’t We Dump Some of Our 3300 Special Districts? | California Progress Report
"Even if Gov. Jerry Brown doesn’t succeed in shutting down California’s redevelopment agencies, hardly a sure thing, he might usefully turn his attention to the state’s costly tangle of special districts.
There are some 3300 of them, depending on who’s counting -- fire districts, park districts, community services districts, mosquito abatement districts, water districts, transit districts, sanitation districts, cemetery districts, etc. Don’t tell me we really need them all.
Despite the huge sums they spend, the essential services many provide, and the big piles of cash they sit on, most of them are nearly invisible to the media and the voters, except in cases of scandal."
------------
Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link to a commentary piece on the proliferation of special districts. We have decentralized the taxing power to the point where we are getting nibbled to death by ducks.
"Even if Gov. Jerry Brown doesn’t succeed in shutting down California’s redevelopment agencies, hardly a sure thing, he might usefully turn his attention to the state’s costly tangle of special districts.
There are some 3300 of them, depending on who’s counting -- fire districts, park districts, community services districts, mosquito abatement districts, water districts, transit districts, sanitation districts, cemetery districts, etc. Don’t tell me we really need them all.
Despite the huge sums they spend, the essential services many provide, and the big piles of cash they sit on, most of them are nearly invisible to the media and the voters, except in cases of scandal."
------------
Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link to a commentary piece on the proliferation of special districts. We have decentralized the taxing power to the point where we are getting nibbled to death by ducks.
News from The Associated Press
News from The Associated Press"WASHINGTON (AP) -- Fannie Mae asked the government Friday for an additional $8.5 billion in aid after declining home prices caused more defaults on loans guaranteed by the mortgage giant.
The company said it lost $8.7 billion in the first three months of the year. Those losses led Fannie to request more than three times the federal aid it sought in the previous quarter. The total cost of rescuing the government-controlled mortgage buyer is nearing $100 billion - the most expensive bailout of a single company."
---------------------
These continued losses are driving the plan to privatize Fannie and Freddie. What will happen to the mortgage market if Congress follows through with that plan? I think home ownership rates will go down, never to go back up again.
The company said it lost $8.7 billion in the first three months of the year. Those losses led Fannie to request more than three times the federal aid it sought in the previous quarter. The total cost of rescuing the government-controlled mortgage buyer is nearing $100 billion - the most expensive bailout of a single company."
---------------------
These continued losses are driving the plan to privatize Fannie and Freddie. What will happen to the mortgage market if Congress follows through with that plan? I think home ownership rates will go down, never to go back up again.
Sunday, May 08, 2011
Proposed HOA foreclosure reforms stall in North Carolina
Foreclosures and other practices have drawn the scrutiny of state lawmakers, but legislation proposing changes so far is languishing in committee this session as state budget negotiations have taken priority.
Rep. Susi Hamilton, D-New Hanover, signed on as a primary sponsor to a bill that would limit the foreclosure power of associations. It would alter the law so that an association couldn't foreclose on a lien made up of unpaid dues or costs associated with unpaid dues, such as late fees and interest. The bill has not yet been heard in subcommittee, Hamilton said in an email.
Half dozen Arizona bills limiting HOA powers become law
Arizona homeowners associations are losing a few more of their powers.
They can no longer ban political and real-estate signs, flagpoles or parking on public streets, according to six bills signed into law by Gov. Jan Brewer. And association boards can't restrict political activity in public areas, force residents to buy "approved" signs, ban the "tea party's" Gadsden flags or charge more than $400 in HOA "transfer" fees on a home sale.
They can no longer ban political and real-estate signs, flagpoles or parking on public streets, according to six bills signed into law by Gov. Jan Brewer. And association boards can't restrict political activity in public areas, force residents to buy "approved" signs, ban the "tea party's" Gadsden flags or charge more than $400 in HOA "transfer" fees on a home sale.
Real estate downturn produces rental income for HOAs
When a homeowner association forecloses and takes title to a home, the idea is the board will be able to rent it out until the bank forecloses as the primary lien holder. With banks taking years to foreclose on some properties, the board can potentially collect thousands of dollars
-------------------------------------------------------
Apparently there's a silver lining in the real estate crash for HOAs. While they hold junior title under mortgagees, in the meantime HOAs can milk properties they seize in foreclosure for rental income until the mortgage lender takes back the property.
-------------------------------------------------------
Apparently there's a silver lining in the real estate crash for HOAs. While they hold junior title under mortgagees, in the meantime HOAs can milk properties they seize in foreclosure for rental income until the mortgage lender takes back the property.
Saturday, May 07, 2011
Signs of the times: HOA threatens to sue over unsanctioned sign
In January, following Corey Burr's deployment to Afghanistan, Burr and her husband, Timothy, put up a large multi-colored banner with their 20-year-old son's Marine Corps portrait and the phrase "Our son defends our freedom" in front of their south Bossier home.The couple received a letter a month later from the Gardens of Southgate Association stating the banner was in violation of the neighborhood's covenants. The covenants specify only real estate signs are permitted.
Beyond Foreclosuregate - It Gets Uglier | Truthout
Beyond Foreclosuregate - It Gets Uglier | Truthout
"The ForeclosureGate scandal poses a threat to Wall Street, the big banks, and the political establishment. If the public ever gets a complete picture of the personal, financial, and legal assault on citizens at their most vulnerable, the outrage will be endless."
"The ForeclosureGate scandal poses a threat to Wall Street, the big banks, and the political establishment. If the public ever gets a complete picture of the personal, financial, and legal assault on citizens at their most vulnerable, the outrage will be endless."
Osama bin Laden hideout 'worth far less than US claimed' | World news | guardian.co.uk
Osama bin Laden hideout 'worth far less than US claimed' | World news | guardian.co.uk
So Bin Laden is underwater in more ways than one.
So Bin Laden is underwater in more ways than one.
Friday, May 06, 2011
California’s Secret Government: Redevelopment agencies blight the Golden State.
"In theory, RDAs spearhead blight removal. In fact, they divert billions of dollars from traditional services, such as schools, parks, and firefighting; use eminent domain to seize property for favored developers; and run up California’s debt to pay those developers to construct projects of dubious public value, such as stadiums and big-box stores. Most Californians have long been unaware that these agencies exist. As the activist group Municipal Officials for Redevelopment Reform puts it, RDAs constitute an “unknown government” that “consumes 12 percent of all property taxes statewide,” is “supported by a powerful Sacramento lobby,” and is “backed by an army of lawyers, consultants, bond brokers and land developers.”
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And Gov. Jerry Brown wants to eliminate all 400 of them as part of saving California from becoming Greece. Good for him.
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And Gov. Jerry Brown wants to eliminate all 400 of them as part of saving California from becoming Greece. Good for him.
Thursday, May 05, 2011
What?! Prince in foreclosure?!
I know the foreclosure crisis has been super-bad, but now it's even badder, given that it's knocking on the door of the baddest, most ridiculously funky musician to ever emerge from the frozen north: the Minnesota Landowner Currently Known as Prince. Or MLCKP, if you prefer.
The Carver County Sheriff's Office reports that the multitalented, multiplatinum Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has fallen behind $368,382 on the mortgage to his 20-acre former manse in Chanhassen, the Minneapolis suburb that he's called home since 1980. A sheriff's auction is set for May 13.
The Carver County Sheriff's Office reports that the multitalented, multiplatinum Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has fallen behind $368,382 on the mortgage to his 20-acre former manse in Chanhassen, the Minneapolis suburb that he's called home since 1980. A sheriff's auction is set for May 13.
UI Press | Beyond Privatopia: Rethinking Residential Private Government
UI Press | Beyond Privatopia: Rethinking Residential Private Government:
This book is now available for order directly from the publisher by using this link. It's also listed on Amazon, but they probably won't have more than a few on hand, so if you want it quickly go to Urban Institute Press by clicking the title of this post.
This book is now available for order directly from the publisher by using this link. It's also listed on Amazon, but they probably won't have more than a few on hand, so if you want it quickly go to Urban Institute Press by clicking the title of this post.
Sunday, May 01, 2011
The Snow Crashing of America
"The evidence is mounting day by day that the real GOP plan for America is the privatization of everything."
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Snowcrash is a great novel. And maybe it will turn out to be prophetic.
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Snowcrash is a great novel. And maybe it will turn out to be prophetic.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
The Big Thirst: Nothing’s Quite So Thirsty As A Las Vegas Golf Course | Fast Company
"It's illegal now to have a front lawn in any new home in Las Vegas. The water authority will pay people who already have lawns to take them out--$40,000 an acre-- and replace them with native desert landscaping. They pay golf courses to do the same thing.
It is illegal to let your sprinkler spray water on a sidewalk or street, and Las Vegas specifies the kind of hose nozzle you can use to wash your car (trigger style, so it doesn't simply pour water out when you're not using it)."
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But, as the article says, "A single, 18-hole round of golf at a typical Las Vegas golf course requires 2,507 gallons of water." Golf courses in the desert: monuments to the arrogance and stupidity of an empire in decline?
It is illegal to let your sprinkler spray water on a sidewalk or street, and Las Vegas specifies the kind of hose nozzle you can use to wash your car (trigger style, so it doesn't simply pour water out when you're not using it)."
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But, as the article says, "A single, 18-hole round of golf at a typical Las Vegas golf course requires 2,507 gallons of water." Golf courses in the desert: monuments to the arrogance and stupidity of an empire in decline?
Third Time's the Charm? Right to Rent Reintroduced in Congress
I noted below that allowing owners who are foreclosed on to become renters instead of just evicting them would solve a lot of problems. It turns out that there is a piece of legislation called the Right to Rent Act that would do that. Economist Dean Baker came up with this proposal, and this link goes to his blog at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, where it is announced that the bill was just re-introduced. It didn't clear the House Financial Services Committee in 2010, when Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi could have green-lighted it, and it had 23 co-sponsors including many members of the Progressive Caucus. I don't know the story on that yet. Now, of course, it is in a GOP-controlled House. In any event, I think Rep. Grijalva has the right idea in pushing it.
Friday, April 29, 2011
SWAT team evicts granny from her house because bank refuses to take payments after her husband's death
Thanks to Mystery Reader for this infuriating link. I just came from a lawyer's education course where we spent a long time hearing from judges and attorneys about mortgage foreclosure. Here's a question for you that nobody could answer:
If a bank forecloses on a mortgage, why can't the former owner stay on as a tenant and pay market rate rent if they want to, instead of being evicted? What is the point of kicking somebody out of the home and leaving it vacant? Many, probably most, people would gladly stay in their home as a renter. The bank would be getting income, the property would be maintained, there would be no disruption to the neighborhood, and the bank would own the property and could sell it to whoever they chose. If the former owner, now a renter, didn't pay the rent they could evict him like any other tenant.
Why don't banks do that instead of whining about how much vacant REO they have on their books? And why don't we have a federal law requiring them to accept that arrangement if the owner is willing and able to pay monthly rent, even if they can't pay the arrears, penalties, property tax, etc.?
If a bank forecloses on a mortgage, why can't the former owner stay on as a tenant and pay market rate rent if they want to, instead of being evicted? What is the point of kicking somebody out of the home and leaving it vacant? Many, probably most, people would gladly stay in their home as a renter. The bank would be getting income, the property would be maintained, there would be no disruption to the neighborhood, and the bank would own the property and could sell it to whoever they chose. If the former owner, now a renter, didn't pay the rent they could evict him like any other tenant.
Why don't banks do that instead of whining about how much vacant REO they have on their books? And why don't we have a federal law requiring them to accept that arrangement if the owner is willing and able to pay monthly rent, even if they can't pay the arrears, penalties, property tax, etc.?
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Judge doubtful of Righthaven’s right to sue over R-J material - VEGAS INC
Judge doubtful of Righthaven’s right to sue over R-J material - VEGAS INC: "One of the judges most critical of newspaper copyright infringement lawsuit filer Righthaven LLC said in an order Thursday that Righthaven does not appear to have the right to sue over Las Vegas Review-Journal material."
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Good.
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Good.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Supreme Court Arbitration Ruling: Courts for the Wealthy and Wall Street
SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today's U.S. Supreme Court decision in AT&T Mobility, LLC v. Concepcion, invalidating California's protections against unfair provisions in contracts effectively eliminates the right of consumers to join together to fight powerful corporations in court and will lead to enormous abuses of consumers by corporations, Consumer Watchdog, a California non-profit consumer advocacy organization, said today.
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You can read the opinion in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion by following this link to SCOTUSBLOG.
Here's what happened and why it matters. The Concepcions were entitled to "free" cell phones under their contract. Then AT&T charged them thirty bucks for "sales tax." They joined a class action with others who got shafted the same way. Everybody's claim was too small to litigate alone, but together they had something worth a lawyer's time.
But their contract contained a clause saying disputes had to go to arbitration, and could not be joined with a class action.
Under California case law that term in the contract was unenforceable because it is unconscionable. The Discover Bank case, decided by the California Supreme Court, held that such class action waivers contained in adhesion contacts are unenforceable.
AT&T argued that the Discover Bank ruling was pre-empted by the Federal Arbitration Act, which provides that arbitration agreements are "valid, irrevocable, and enforceable, save upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract." The conservative voting bloc of the US Supreme Court (Scalia, Roberts, Alito, Thomas, and Kennedy) agreed with the big corporation and screwed the little consumer (what a surprise!)
Why does this matter? I expect to see such arbitration clauses and class action waivers in every single contract we get in our hands, from now on. The Supreme Court just gave corporate America a way to slam the door to the courthouse in our faces. No lawyer will litigate a thirty dollar case against a giant corporation. Now orporations can strip us of our class action rights just by inserting a term in a non-negotiable adhesion contract.
Will this include condominium or HOA declarations? I am sure it will be tried.
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You can read the opinion in AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion by following this link to SCOTUSBLOG.
Here's what happened and why it matters. The Concepcions were entitled to "free" cell phones under their contract. Then AT&T charged them thirty bucks for "sales tax." They joined a class action with others who got shafted the same way. Everybody's claim was too small to litigate alone, but together they had something worth a lawyer's time.
But their contract contained a clause saying disputes had to go to arbitration, and could not be joined with a class action.
Under California case law that term in the contract was unenforceable because it is unconscionable. The Discover Bank case, decided by the California Supreme Court, held that such class action waivers contained in adhesion contacts are unenforceable.
AT&T argued that the Discover Bank ruling was pre-empted by the Federal Arbitration Act, which provides that arbitration agreements are "valid, irrevocable, and enforceable, save upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract." The conservative voting bloc of the US Supreme Court (Scalia, Roberts, Alito, Thomas, and Kennedy) agreed with the big corporation and screwed the little consumer (what a surprise!)
Why does this matter? I expect to see such arbitration clauses and class action waivers in every single contract we get in our hands, from now on. The Supreme Court just gave corporate America a way to slam the door to the courthouse in our faces. No lawyer will litigate a thirty dollar case against a giant corporation. Now orporations can strip us of our class action rights just by inserting a term in a non-negotiable adhesion contract.
Will this include condominium or HOA declarations? I am sure it will be tried.
Affluent Kings Point Plans Extensive Surveillance Network: License Readers, 44 Cameras To See Who Comes And Goes
To protect its 3.3 square miles, Kings Point plans to install 44 cameras and license plate readers at each of the 19 points of entry. The devices will take pictures of every vehicle and license plate and compare them to data bases.
“It will alert us to suspended registrations, felonies, stolen cars, order of protection, sex offenders, things like that,” Kings Point Police Commissioner Jack Miller said.
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Things like that. Sure. Whatever. And this is a municipality.
“It will alert us to suspended registrations, felonies, stolen cars, order of protection, sex offenders, things like that,” Kings Point Police Commissioner Jack Miller said.
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Things like that. Sure. Whatever. And this is a municipality.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Municipal M&A: Budget Woes May Force Cities Like Detroit, Hamtramck To Combine
Local officials in Michigan, Indiana, New Jersey, California and other states are considering municipal mergers, which some see as the only way to preserve services amid a historic economic downturn. Zionsville, Ind., combined with two townships last year, and political and economic pressures are pushing other communities in that direction. In California, some cities are outsourcing services to their counties. In Michigan, politicians in Detroit and neighboring Hamtramck say merging the two governments might save the dollars needed to stay afloat.
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Libel per se
I love generating comments, but if you don't see your comment getting published, perhaps it is because I think it is libelous. I keep having to delete comments that are obviously libelous, and I wish people would give some thought to this before sending them. There is something called "libel per se," which means statements that are automatically considered libel without any evidence of their damaging effect on the person's reputation needed. The law just presumes that they were injurious. There are four main categories of libel per se:
1. Accusing somebody of committing a crime.
2. Claiming they have an infections, contagious, or "loathsome" disease.
3. Injuring the person in his or her profession, trade or business, by saying they are unqualified to practice, or otherwise saying things that would tend to hurt their profits (this is called "trade libel").
4. Accusing somebody of being of an "unchaste" character.
I haven't had to delete any accusations about disease or lack of chastity yet, but I get many comments that accuse particular people of crime and that are intended to besmirch their professional reputations by calling them unethical or something similar. I delete these comments, of course, because I don't want to expose myself to the risk of a libel suit for publishing them. In nearly every case, the person who wants me to post their comments is anonymous. They want to make their libelous statements, have me publish them, and remain safely concealed behind a veil of anonymity. No, thanks.
1. Accusing somebody of committing a crime.
2. Claiming they have an infections, contagious, or "loathsome" disease.
3. Injuring the person in his or her profession, trade or business, by saying they are unqualified to practice, or otherwise saying things that would tend to hurt their profits (this is called "trade libel").
4. Accusing somebody of being of an "unchaste" character.
I haven't had to delete any accusations about disease or lack of chastity yet, but I get many comments that accuse particular people of crime and that are intended to besmirch their professional reputations by calling them unethical or something similar. I delete these comments, of course, because I don't want to expose myself to the risk of a libel suit for publishing them. In nearly every case, the person who wants me to post their comments is anonymous. They want to make their libelous statements, have me publish them, and remain safely concealed behind a veil of anonymity. No, thanks.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Lee Farkas Convicted In $3 Billion Mortgage Fraud Case
Lee Farkas Convicted In $3 Billion Mortgage Fraud Case: "ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A jury has convicted the majority owner of what had been one of the nation's largest mortgage companies on all 14 counts in a $3 billion fraud trial that officials have said is one of the most significant prosecutions to arise from the nation's financial crisis."
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And on it goes. Large institutions just screwing the middle class. The banksters, the mortgage companies, the oil companies, the insurance companies, the lawyers...and it seems that neither political party has much interest in doing anything about it. In the meantime, the public gets angrier by the day. The 2012 election outcome will favor whichever party is best able to channel this incoherent, unfocused rage. The Republicans will try to blame government and the Democrats will try to blame corporate America. The problem with that choice? Both parties are right.
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And on it goes. Large institutions just screwing the middle class. The banksters, the mortgage companies, the oil companies, the insurance companies, the lawyers...and it seems that neither political party has much interest in doing anything about it. In the meantime, the public gets angrier by the day. The 2012 election outcome will favor whichever party is best able to channel this incoherent, unfocused rage. The Republicans will try to blame government and the Democrats will try to blame corporate America. The problem with that choice? Both parties are right.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Attorneys say new evidence shows fraud by Righthaven
"Defense attorneys in at least two Righthaven LLC copyright infringement lawsuits filed motions to dismiss over the weekend, citing new evidence they say shows Righthaven has perpetrated a fraud on the federal court in Nevada. The evidence cited is the newly-unsealed Strategic Alliance agreement covering copyright assignments from Stephens Media LLC, owner of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, to Righthaven. In motions filed Sunday, attorneys with Randazza Legal Group said this contract shows Righthaven’s lawsuits are based on "sham’’ copyright claims since Stephens Media maintains control of the material covered by the copyrights."
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You may recall that the Las Vegas Review Journal set up an arrangement with the copyright trolls at Righthaven to sue bloggers for quoting or reproducing LVRJ articles. Righthaven claimed to have been assigned the copyright to the articles in question and filed 264 lawsuits without warning. Now some of the defendants claim that Righthaven doesn't really own the copyrights after all, and that the assignment was "a transparent sham."
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You may recall that the Las Vegas Review Journal set up an arrangement with the copyright trolls at Righthaven to sue bloggers for quoting or reproducing LVRJ articles. Righthaven claimed to have been assigned the copyright to the articles in question and filed 264 lawsuits without warning. Now some of the defendants claim that Righthaven doesn't really own the copyrights after all, and that the assignment was "a transparent sham."
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Texas homeowners call for state AG investigation of community association industry
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.
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.
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?"
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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?"
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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.
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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.
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."
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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."
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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.
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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.
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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."
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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."
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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?
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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.
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