Irish Protest Against Household Tax As Austerity Pain Bites Further : The Two-Way : NPR

Irish Protest Against Household Tax As Austerity Pain Bites Further : The Two-Way : NPR

This weekend, Ireland's 1.65 million householders were supposed to register to pay a new tax; an annual household charge of 100 Euros. That's about $133. By the time the deadline expired at midnight Saturday, only about half had done so.

Hundreds of thousands now face the prospect of penalties and, potentially, prosecution. Is a tax revolt in the making, that could disupt the government's strategy for getting the economy back on its feet — and make it still harder to implement future austerity measures?

Trayvon Martin: homeowners could pay in Trayvon Martin case - Orlando Sentinel

Trayvon Martin: homeowners could pay in Trayvon Martin case - Orlando Sentinel
This story is taking off. Now it is being picked up by the powerhouse site Findlaw:

Homeowners May Have to Pay in a Trayvon Civil Action

Thanks to Fred Pilot for the Findlaw link.

Colorado HOA: Chickens must go

Then Vidia’s dad built a nice coop for them and fenced the yard so they could run around freely.

Pow! That newfound freedom led to the neighbor complaint and now an order from the HOA to evict the chickens.

“We didn’t realize we were breaking the covenants,” said Maya Hurdowar, mother of Vidia. “City regulations say you can have chickens. We didn’t know it was against HOA rules. We wrote them. But they said they are allowed to be stricter than the city law.

“We wrote them and asked them for a variance, for my daughter’s sake. These are her pets.”

The variance was not granted. On a 2-1 vote, the HOA board voted to enforce the covenants.
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It's easier to get a variance from a municipality than an HOA as these HOA inmates discovered with their domestic poultry. That's because HOA boards see CC&Rs as set in stone giving them no flexibility. That lack of accommodation often leads to frivolous litigation that wastes money and judicial resources.

Homeowners, legislators want HOA rules to move forward for Myrtle Beach area

For Pat Howard, a Murrells Inlet homeowner, it’s been one issue after another with his homeowners’ association.

From money being spent on items the community wasn’t aware of, to an increase in late fees, to an insurance amendment without homeowners’ approval -- the list of complaints goes on and on.

It’s time, he says, for the state to step up and start overseeing homeowners associations.

Howard’s situation is one of numerous complaints some residents have about homeowners associations and how those groups use their power. They and local legislators say there’s a need to govern HOAs in South Carolina, which doesn’t oversee the groups.
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It's the same story that has been playing out in various states for at least the past two decades. HOA reform is stuck the familiar wash, rinse, repeat cycle.

'There is nothing to scrutinize' - Lowell Sun Online

'There is nothing to scrutinize' - Lowell Sun Online

"In other states, courts are scrutinizing whether the foreclosing party has the right to foreclose and concluding that in most cases (they haven't) demonstrated that right with proper documentation,

---

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said Debra Fortenberry, a Colorado Springs attorney who helped draft the initiative with Brunette and the Colorado Progressive Coalition. "In Colorado, there is nothing to scrutinize," she said.
No other state allows for a foreclosure without the lender first proving it is the right entity to do so. Colorado allows foreclosure lawyers to sign a "statement of qualified holder," which basically says they think their client owns the note or mortgage without ever actually seeing it -- a practice some states have labeled as "robo-signing."
Colorado law allows a foreclosure to continue even if the lawyer gets it wrong -- and doesn't hold anyone accountable for the mistake. It's a crime in Nevada, one of the states to use deeds of trust like Colorado. 
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Great example of public policy makers letting the banks and mortgage servicers make whatever public policy they want. Now maybe the people will change it.

Read more: http://www.lowellsun.com/business/ci_20297412/there-is-nothing-scrutinize?source=rss#ixzz1qi7Sckbw

Is Conservatism Our Default Ideology? - Miller-McCune

Is Conservatism Our Default Ideology? - Miller-McCune
 “When effortful, deliberate responding is disrupted or disengaged, thought processes become quick and efficient,” the researchers write in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. “These conditions promote conservative ideology.”
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This explains a lot. If you stop to think about it.

Don't question your HOA or you might get arrested - Friday, March 30, 2012 | 2 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun

Don't question your HOA or you might get arrested - Friday, March 30, 2012 | 2 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun

Frank and Stebbins accused two board members of “forgery” — essentially knowingly signing a false statement — which was probably also imprudent. According to a police affidavit, Frank told the investigator a “flagrantly false” board resolution related to the surplus was “used to deceive the community membership and government agencies concerning the improper disposition of millions of dollars of overcharged/surplus homeowner assessments.”
After an investigation, Henderson Police exonerated the board members and then arrested … Frank and Stebbins.

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Thanks to Rodney Gray and others for sending me this link.  It turned out that Frank and Stebbins were right about the position the IRS would take on the surplus, although that issue, amounting to a tax liability of $1.35 million, is disputed and is still being negotiated. In the meantime, the cops arrested them and they were charged with making a false police report. Say what?  Eventually the case against Frank and Stebbins was dropped, but as reporter Coolican says, "This seems to be a curious use of government resources." What is the nature of the relationship between the HOA board of directors and the Henderson police and city government, that such a thing would happen? Strange days, indeed.

Gazette.Net: Lawsuit could impede HOA debt collection

Gazette.Net: Lawsuit could impede HOA debt collection

Fontell, a former accountant who now is unemployed and past president of the Norbeck Grove I Condominium Association, has been fighting a $236.71 condominium fee that dates back to 2003 — ignoring letters and calls claiming she had to pay, according to court records. She said she already had paid the assesment and The Management Group, Inc., which oversees operations of the Norbeck Condominiums, made a billing error. In 2008, the Norbeck condominium association successfully sued Fontell in a Montgomery County District Court, a ruling she successfully appealed in circuit court, where the condominium association filed the lien against her in hopes of collecting its debt, according to court records. Circuit Court Judge Robert A. Greenberg ruled in 2010 the association had waited too long to seek its money, violating the state’s three-year statute of limitations on such claims.
Since the 2010 lien, Fontell said she’s been unable to work as an accountant, a field where credit checks often are part of job applications, or sell her Olney condominium.
Last year, staff with the state’s Attorney Grievance Commission informed Fontell the lien against her and the other liens filed by The Management Group Associates, Inc.’s president, Jeff Gatling, constitute an unauthorized practice of law as they should have been filed by an attorney, not Gatling.
Fontell, who is representing herself after being unable to find a lawyer willing to take on her case pro bono, is seeking compensation under the U.S. Fair Debt Collections Practice Act.
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Very interesting case, now before a federal court.  Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.

HOA could be sued in Trayvon Martin civil suit | wtsp.com

HOA could be sued in Trayvon Martin civil suit | wtsp.com

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The residents who live in the gated community where Trayvon Martin was killed could soon find themselves in a legal battle.
Several attorneys say if Martin's parents file a civil suit, the homeowners association for the Retreat at Twin Lakes could be named in the case, meaning residents of the community could end up paying big money for the 17-year-old's death.
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Fred Pilot sent some links along on this issue. As you can imagine, I've been thinking about this possibility since I first heard that the case involved some sort of alleged neighborhood watch program in a gated community.   It seems likely that such a lawsuit will happen unless Zimmerman is prosecuted and acquitted.  If so, I don't know how this will play out because the facts aren't clear yet., and I don't want to prejudge it.  The critical issue is the nature of the relationship between Zimmerman and the HOA.  Another story says this:


A civil lawsuit in the Martin case, legal experts said, would be predicated on establishing a relationship between Zimmerman and the Retreat at Twin Lake association, as well as establishing a relationship between Twin Lakes homeowners and a crime watch group that Zimmerman led. The homeowners association acknowledged Zimmerman and the neighborhood crime watch in a February newsletter, according to the Associated Press. The newsletter encouraged residents to contact Zimmerman in case of an incident, it said. "If you've been the victim of a crime within the community, after calling the police, please contact our captain, George Zimmerman ... so we can be aware and help address the issue with other residents," the newsletter said.

That suggests a connection between Zimmerman and the HOA.  There are several questions that have been raised or that come to mind:

• What documentation, if any, exists that confirms or defines the nature of this "captain" role that Zimmerman was playing?
• Did the HOA know that Zimmerman was armed when we was out and about acting as "captain"?
• What training, if any, did Zimmerman have to do this? And what steps did the HOA take to make sure that their "captain" was trained properly?
• Neighborhood Watch programs are registered with the National Sheriff's Association.  This one wasn't. Why was this HOA operating an unregistered program? . Here's what they have to say about this:  "The alleged action of a “self-appointed neighborhood watchman” last month in Sanford, FL significantly contradicts the principles of the Neighborhood Watch Program,” stated NSA Executive Director Aaron D. Kennard, Sheriff (ret.). “NSA has no information indicating the community where the incident occurred has ever even registered with the NSA Neighborhood Watch program.” 
• Had there been any complaints brought to the HOA about Zimmerman's behavior in this role? What did they know?
• What should they have known?  What level of supervision or oversight did the HOA have over Zimmerman, and was it consistent with the standard of care and practice that prevails in this industry.
• The industry, by the way, has already taken steps in the wake of this tragedy to advise associations that they should avoid any such responsibilities.  Here's what CAI has to say, in a press release: "I would not advise board members to inject themselves into the role of telling members how to set up a neighborhood watch. The board cannot be the eyes and ears that the owners or neighbors can be," says Beth A. Grimm, a Pleasant Hill, Calif., attorney who is a member of CAI's College of Community Association Lawyers (CCAL).

And that leads to another question.  If it turns out that the HOA is civilly liable in this case, who would pay the judgment?  If the HOA has a liability insurance policy, which I assume they do, undoubtedly they will turn to that carrier for a defense and indemnification up to the policy limits, which is usually $1 million.  But does that policy cover the actions of volunteers, or just directors and officers of the association?  As association attorney Donna Berger says, "The vast majority of homeowner associations do not have insurance policies that cover the acts of their volunteers, according to Berger. If that is the case with Retreat at Twin Lakes, the residents could be responsible for satisfying any judgment against the association, said Berger, the community associations lawyer not involved in the case."

 That would leave the association potentially facing an uninsured judgment that could involve a great deal of money.  Who would pay that judgment?  Some readers of this blog know that I have been writing about this for some time.  The answer is, "the unit owners." This situation has come up several times in California in the Le Parc case, and in the Oak Park Calaveras saga. I talk about these cases in my latest book, Beyond Privatopia. 

By the way--try and find that responsibility in your CC&Rs. We constantly hear from the industry and the courts that you are stuck with the terms of the governing documents because you should have read and understood them. Fine. But here is an obligation that nobody knows about:  responsibility for uninsured debts and judgments of the association.

Don’t question your HOA or you might get arrested

Frank and Stebbins believed the board was piling up excess reserves -- more than $3 million -- when that money should have been returned to homeowners. Not returning it placed the money at risk of IRS tax liability, they insisted.

Frank and Stebbins built their case and then sought advice from friends in the legal community to avoid a boomerang lawsuit from the HOA board. They were advised to bring the issue to local law enforcement, meaning Henderson Police. Bad advice.

Frank and Stebbins accused two board members of “forgery” -- essentially knowingly signing a false statement -- which was probably also imprudent.
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Indeed. It's understandable that most HOA inmates can't afford to lawyer up to go after the board or don't have the inclination or ability to file a pro se court petition. But calling the cops to sort out HOA issues probably isn't the best move.

Homeowner's Association: Remove Our Name From Facebook Page Or We'll Sue - The Consumerist

Homeowner's Association: Remove Our Name From Facebook Page Or We'll Sue - The Consumerist
 A Tennessee woman says she's being bullied by her homeowner's association, all because she used the name of her subdivision to create a private Facebook page for residents. 

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Thanks to Mystery Reader for this example of what happens to anybody who tries to create a sense of community in a "community" association. 

Bank of America Sold Card Debts to Collectors Despite Faulty Records - American Banker Article

Bank of America Sold Card Debts to Collectors Despite Faulty Records - American Banker Article
 Bank of America has sold collections agencies rights to sue over credit card debts that it has privately noted were potentially inaccurate or already repaid.
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The biggest domestic problem this country faces is not the federal budget deficit or overall government debt.  It is the crushing debt burden that has been imposed on the middle class and the poor.  And nobody is doing anything about it.  The Obama administration is desperately concerned about the health of the big banks, the Republicans are shamelessly flacking for the rich and powerful, and the Democrats are floundering around trying to decide whether they should be Republican Lite or make a teensy-weensy move back from the moderate right to what used to be the center. In the meantime, home mortgage debt (secured by homes that aren't worth a damn), consumer debt, medical bills, and student loans leave most of us struggling and one layoff away from filing Chapter 13. 

HOA scandal: FOUR 'commit suicide' after probe into Nevada homeowners association fraud | Mail Online

HOA scandal: FOUR 'commit suicide' after probe into Nevada homeowners association fraud | Mail Online
Guess what is making news across the pond?

Man tags own home: Neighbors dislike graffiti — and message | kens5.com San Antonio

Man tags own home: Neighbors dislike graffiti — and message | kens5.com San Antonio

KENS 5 asked McClain if he would say that he tagged his own home. "Yes I did," answered McClain.
The message reads "To the mother f----- that stole my truck. You are a dead man."
McCain says he didn't mean it as a death threat. "I would just like my stuff back," he added.
The message also reads "2K NQA." McClain explained that means he is offering a cash reward of $2,000 for information, no questions asked...According to the San Antonio Police Department, McClain is not breaking the law. SAPD spokesman Matt Porter said McClain did not use profanity, because he did not spell out the expletive. Also, he says according to homicide detectives, McClain did not threaten anyone specifically. Finally, the city is not allowed to regulate what people paint on their homes.
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 For some reason the neighbors have a problem with this.

Condo Owner In Fight Over Mezuzah On Doorpost - Courant.com

Condo Owner In Fight Over Mezuzah On Doorpost - Courant.com

A homeowner who faces a fine of $50 a day for hanging a glass mezuzah on her doorpost, and who is threatening to take legal action against her Stratford-based condo association, has gained the support of the Anti-Defamation League.

The California Condo Association, 40 California St., allows unit owners to display religious items on the outside of doors, but not on their doorposts, the frame around the door.
The Connecticut branch of the Anti-Defamation League says such a by-law is an attack against the Jewish faith.
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Crosses:  OK.  Mezuzah?  No way.  Now--you tell me how you think this will play out in court.

Jury Awards Couple $3.8M in Molokai Condo Dispute

http://hawaii.money.blogs.civilbeat.com/post/19993111658/jury-awards-couple-3-8m-in-molokai-condo-dispute

"A Maui jury has awarded a couple $3.87 million in damages for enduring what their attorney described as “the equivalent of a John Ford Western where an isolated town is run by a villain and his collection of thugs” at a West Molokai condominium."
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Thanks to Shu Bartholomew for this link. 

Another Attorney Connected to HOA Scandal Found Dead

Another Attorney Connected to HOA Scandal Found Dead
 LAS VEGAS -- David Amesbury, the attorney who cut a deal with federal prosecutors in a far-reaching homeowner's association scandal, was found dead Sunday at his brother's home near Sacramento...Amesbury and [Nancy] Quon are the third and fourth people connected to the HOA investigation to be found dead. Former Metro Lieutenant Chris Van Cleef killed himself shortly after he was named in the investigation, and late last year, former Vistana HOA board member Robbie Castro died from an apparent suicide in Northern Nevada.
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I have never heard of an investigation with four suicides.  Have you?  What is going on here?  Thanks to Shu Bartholomew for this link.

JPMorgan Claims No. 1 for Government Debt After Jefferson County - Bloomberg

JPMorgan Claims No. 1 for Government Debt After Jefferson County - Bloomberg

"JPMorgan, which emerged from the worst financial crisis since the 1930s as the most profitable U.S. bank, has parlayed crisis-era loans to cities and states and a willingness to outbid other firms in local government bond auctions into becoming the top underwriter of municipal debt last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It was the first time the firm held that rank.
The turnaround was a milestone for JPMorgan’s municipal- bond department, which has been marred by its involvement in two of the biggest scandals in the history of U.S. public finance: a so-called pay-to-play scheme in Jefferson County, Alabama, that contributed to the biggest-ever U.S. municipal bankruptcy, and a federal probe that uncovered bid rigging of municipal-bond investment products. It also underscores state and local officials’ willingness to overlook bankers’ past abuses when they set out to borrow money in debt markets."
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As Matt Taibbi says,  "A friend of mine sent this article from Bloomberg, along with the simple comment: "Perfect." What's perfect? That the banks that have been caught repeatedly ripping off communities and munipalities -- banks that have paid hefty settlements for rigging bids, bribery and other sordid misdeeds -- keep winning the most public business. Apparently, our public officials aren't concerned about whom they hire to serve as the people's investment bankers."

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/gangster-banks-keep-winning-public-business-why-20120322#ixzz1qAQQQGpX

Few condo associations certified for FHA loans - Lansner on Real Estate : The Orange County Register

Few condo associations certified for FHA loans - Lansner on Real Estate : The Orange County Register
" William Sasser is chairman and CEO of The Management Trust in Tustin, which manages more than 1,600 homeowner associations in California and five other Western states. In Southern California, the firm does business as TransPacific Management. Sasser says that as of September, fewer than 10% of U.S. condo associations were FHA certified so that members could get FHA loans."
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Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link. This is part of what one law professor called the "death spiral" of many associations.

Struggling Izumi-Sano plans to lease its name : National : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri)

Struggling Izumi-Sano plans to lease its name : National : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri)

IZUMI-SANO, Osaka--The municipal government of Izumi-Sano, Osaka Prefecture, which is on the verge of bankruptcy, has decided to lease the naming rights for the city and a range of public works.
Companies will be able to change the city name under a contract that will last from one to five years. The city will accept applications from domestic and foreign companies from June to the end of November. Applicants will be required to propose the amount they will pay the city for naming rights.
The sale of naming rights began in the United States in the 1990s to raise funds for the operation of sports facilities. In 2003, Tokyo Stadium in Chofu, Tokyo, had its name changed to Ajinomoto Stadium, after the food company Ajinomoto Co., the first such case in the country. Recently, the naming rights to other public works, such as pedestrian overpasses and dams, have been sold to companies. 
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 So once again the US leads the way.  Sure, we lead the way in letting corporations turn the world into one great big repulsive billboard, but still...

NH Woman Plants Flowers, Gets Sued - Kimberly Bois battles her condo board

NH Woman Plants Flowers, Gets Sued - Kimberly Bois battles her condo board
  "The grounds around Kimberly Bois' condo are filled with daisies, bearded irises, lavender, and hydrangeas … a piece of floral serenity that's getting Bois sued. The Atlantic Pointe condo association wants her to pull up the perennials, and since Oct. 24 has been fining her first $25 per day and then $50 per day for every day the flowers remain. But the New Hampshire woman says she planted the flowers with permission from the developer, before there was a condo board at the Portsmouth complex."
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Sure. Why not? Here's another article with a photo of the nightmarish defilement of the sacred common areas. Definitely worth a $4500 lien--fines, attorney fees...you know the drill. 

Welcome to Wonderland

I had a fascinating conversation yesterday with a lawyer who has set up a huge business just making short sales happen--where the bank OKs a sale for less than the amount they are owed on the note.  He says that Wells Fargo intends to count their losses on short sales against the amount they are supposed to take in reducing the principal on loans, pursuant to the $25 billion settlement the big banks made with the state attorney's general. That means that a program designed to keep people in their homes with new, affordable loans will be used to get them out.  Welcome to Wonderland, Alice.

Baum Firm Reaches Settlement With Attorney General

Baum Firm Reaches Settlement With Attorney General

Steven J. Baum, who led what was once New York's largest foreclosure firm before it closed its doors last year, has agreed not to handle foreclosure cases for lenders and servicers for two years under a settlement agreement with the New York Attorney General's Office.
Mr. Baum, his managing partner Brian Kumiega, the Baum firm and Pillar Processing will also pay $4 million under the deal.
According to the attorney general's office, between 2007 and 2010, the Baum Firm filed over 100,000 foreclosure proceedings and represented many of the largest servicers of residential mortgage loans. Pillar was formed by the firm to handle the bulk of the foreclosure processing.
The attorney general's office claimed that the Baum firm "repeatedly" filed legal papers in foreclosure and bankruptcy proceedings "without taking appropriate steps to verify the accuracy of" allegations, the lender's right to foreclose or to file a bankruptcy proof of claim.
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 It's interesting to see what happens when a foreclosure mill's actions fall under close scrutiny.  It would be nice to see more of this kind of investigation, and to see it spread to the HOA/condo collection agency law firms. Let's turn over some rocks.

Condo and HOA Law: Trayvon Martin tragedy in Central Florida HOA highlights need to know what association volunteers are doing!

Condo and HOA Law: Trayvon Martin tragedy in Central Florida HOA highlights need to know what association volunteers are doing!
Donna Berger asks some good questions about the Trayvon Martin killing. It appears that the killer claimed to be some sort of Neighborhood Watch in his gated HOA-run neighborhood. What did the HOA  know about his activities? What did they authorize or try to stop, if anything? And what should they have done or said?  As Berger notes, "In the coming weeks and months, more attention might turn to this Central Florida HOA especially in any civil actions the Martin family may bring."
Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.

The New Suburban Poverty - NYTimes.com

The New Suburban Poverty - NYTimes.com
" In many of America’s once pristine suburbs, harbingers of inner-city blight — overgrown lots, boarded up windows, abandoned residences — are the new eyesores. From the Midwestern rust-belt to the burst housing bubbles of Nevada, California and Florida, even in small pockets of still affluent regions like Du Page County, Ill., the nation’s soaring poverty rates are visibly reclaiming last century’s triumphal “crabgrass frontier.” In well-heeled Illinois towns like Glen Ellyn and Elgin, unkempt, weedy lawns blot the formerly manicured, uniform and tidy landscape...One recent study conducted by Sean Reardon and Kendra Bischoff of Stanford University documented the spatial sorting by income that is going on, with the wealthy flocking together in new exurbs as well as gentrifying pockets of urban centers. "
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This is a more nuanced statement of the case that David Rusk and Myron Orfield have been making for about 20 years:  inner ring suburbs are getting increasing population of poor people but have no systems in place for addressing their needs, and the affluent are moving out of inner ring suburbs to the new gated exurban subdivisions and fortified urban compounds. Then along came the recession, and now astronomical gas prices, and you have the makings for a political realignment of the suburbs...to the left.

U.S. Completes Sale of Mortgage-Backed Securities - NYTimes.com

U.S. Completes Sale of Mortgage-Backed Securities - NYTimes.com
 Treasury Department announced on Monday that it had finished selling the $225 billion in mortgage-backed securities it bought to help stabilize the markets during the worst of the financial crisis.

The government ended up making a $25 billion profit on the securities, which are guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-owned mortgage finance companies. The profit came from interest payments, principal and rising prices for the securities, the department said. 

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Fines pile up for Wilton Manors home damaged by Wilma - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Fines pile up for Wilton Manors home damaged by Wilma - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
"City code violation fines have risen as fast as the water filling the buckets in Kenneth Dorsey's home, which is covered with disintegrating tarps for leaks that occurred even before a towering ficus crushed the roof during Hurricane Wilma.
The city has placed six liens totaling more than $1.3 million on the Northeast Second Avenue home, valued at $117,300, which Dorsey's parents bought brand new in 1951 and where he and his seven siblings were raised.
"The property is in deplorable condition," Mayor Gary Resnick said. "It's not an issue of money. It's an issue of safety."
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Yes, but Bigfoot has to live someplace. If you don't believe me, check it out for yourself.

George Zimmerman Neighbors Complained About Aggressive Tactics Before Trayvon Martin Killing

George Zimmerman Neighbors Complained About Aggressive Tactics Before Trayvon Martin Killing

A volunteer community watch captain who shot an unarmed Florida teenager to death last month had been the subject of complaints by neighbors in his gated community for aggressive tactics, a homeowner said.
George Zimmerman has not been charged in the Feb. 26 shooting of Trayvon Martin, 17, who was walking home from a convenience store in Sanford, Fla., near Orlando. Zimmerman, who patrolled the Retreat at Twin Lakes development in his own car, had been called aggressive in earlier complaints to the local police and the homeowner's association, according to a homeowner who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
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This shooting is being investigated, but so far Zimmerman hasn't been charged with anything. If the local prosecutors decide to let him off, I think the Department of Justice may take up the case.  Somehow this man decided he had the authority to "patrol" the streets of his private gated community and confront people he considered "suspicious."  He even freaked out his own neighbors to the point that they complained to the homeowners' association.  He made 46 calls to the police from 1/1/11 on. Read the list of bullet points of his behavior here:
 http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/03/18/446768/what-everyone-should-know-about-about-trayvon-martin-1995-2012/

So is this an example of a privatopian vigilante who decides he is the law in that gated community?  This case is desperately in need of a full investigation.

The price of order: Pros and cons of homeowners associations

The price of order: Pros and cons of homeowners associations
 About 15 percent of housing developments in Berks have some form of homeowners association, said Glenn R. Knoblauch, executive director of the county planning commission. The biggest growth in planned communities with associations is in communities that will accept only residents age 55 and older.

In most cases the rules and regulations do preserve order, said Tom Campisi, executive director of the Community Association Institute of Pennsylvania, an industry group that advocates for such associations.

"You don't want your neighbors putting a junk car on blocks in their front yard," Campisi said. "An important thing to remember is that both sides, the association and the homeowner, have rights. They also have responsibilities."

Campisi said most disputes between homeowners and association boards involve a lack of communication and reasonableness. While not wanting to comment on the Yergers' case specifically, he said doing the reasonable thing and communicating your intentions before taking action often will prevent a dispute. 
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Fred Pilot sent me this piece from the Reading Eagle in Reading, PA.  It is ironic that I wrote Privatopia while I was living in Reading and teaching at Albright College.  Didn't change a thing in Reading, though, did it?  That was in 1993-94. And here in the Reading Eagle we have the sort of thing that provincial journalist used to write in the 1990s --a silly, ignorant, one-sided puff piece for CAI and the CID industry, published as if it were a real feature article.  Today, of course, the news media are much more educated on this subject, and even a quick Google search will produce some insight into the actual situation owners face with this industry, the huge volume of reform legislation, the tsunami of association insolvencies, etc.  But in a cultural backwater like Reading, which is still in a 1950s time warp in every way, somebody with a job on a newspaper can still produce claptrap like this and have an editor sign off on it.  

$100 to Fly Through the Airport - WSJ.com

$100 to Fly Through the Airport - WSJ.com
 Hate the full-body scans, pat-downs and slow going at TSA airport security screening checkpoints? For $100, you can now bypass the hassle.
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The way things are headed in this country, soon there will be two ways to do any governmental task. One will be according to the rules and laws. It will be arduous. The other will be the streamlined route of the wealthy, lubricated by all their money. There will be a private bypass for every public function.

Developer can't have it both ways, HOA residents argue

Esther Epstein has resided in the Beachwalk community for nearly 20 years.

She says when the area’s lake, also considered a common area, flooded in 2009, Moss told her the water was the responsibility of the Homeowners Association, which paid for the required pumping of the lake.

“There was water in my basement for over a month,” she said.

But her son, Jim Epstein, says Moss recently declared the lake is his, and that the Homeowner’s Association must pay him $56,000 to be allowed to use it.
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Privatize the gains, socialize the losses. Indeed.

Built by forced labor, German bunkers become homes - Yahoo! News

Built by forced labor, German bunkers become homes - Yahoo! News

BREMEN, Germany (Reuters) - German architect Rainer Mielke lives in a luxurious, light-filled penthouse atop a Nazi bunker that his elderly neighbors remember sheltering in during World War Two.

The architect has pioneered the art of converting the grim structures into bright living or working spaces, and his work is set to increase as Germany ramps up sales of the above-ground forts, originally designed as air-raid shelters.

Late Night FDL: Privatopia | Firedoglake

Late Night FDL: Privatopia | Firedoglake
It's nice when you invent a word and it gets picked up in the language, but it would be nicer if people acknowledged where it came from.

Three in 10 young adults live with parents, highest level since 1950s - CSMonitor.com

Three in 10 young adults live with parents, highest level since 1950s - CSMonitor.com
But is this altogether a bad thing? I love my kids and if they want to live with me while they get their lives launched, and that takes a little longer than it did twenty years ago, I don't see myself complaining about it. If they get married and have kids and are still living in their childhood bedroom I'll start getting concerned.

Mayor, unions at odds over fixes for Fresno budget - Politics - fresnobee.com

Mayor, unions at odds over fixes for Fresno budget - Politics - fresnobee.com


In an afternoon meeting with The Bee's editorial board, Swearengin and Scott moved the talk far away from the fiscal-emergency declarations and Chapter 9 bankruptcy threats that have made the city of Stockton a national example of financial incompetence.
At the same time, Swearengin and Scott drew a line in the sand for the city's 3,200 employees, implying that the Stockton scenario isn't far-fetched for Fresno for these reasons:
Three years of incessant layoffs, service reductions and penny-pinching haven't done the trick.
The city will struggle to close a $2.1 million general fund budget gap in the fiscal year ending June 30, let alone the huge gap projected over the next five years.
The revenue picture is flat -- sales-tax proceeds up a bit more than expected, property-tax proceeds down a bit more -- and Fresno is stuck in a farm-based economy traditionally slow to come out of recessions.

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/03/12/2757376/fresno-mayor-lays-out-financial.html#storylink=cpy#storylink=cpy

Will home prices fall 20% more? - 1 - housing & recession - MSN Money

Will home prices fall 20% more? - 1 - housing & recession - MSN Money
 The truth is, a combination of factors is set to push national home prices down an additional 10% or so before a hard bottom is found. And if Europe's debt mess and fiscal bickering in Washington result in another recession, the drop could be double that.
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See below. And the realtors I know are, as always, telling people what a great time it is to BUY, BUY, BUY.

More Boomers Selling Homes, but Who Will Buy Them? - US Business News - CNBC

More Boomers Selling Homes, but Who Will Buy Them? - US Business News - CNBC
 "As boomers downsize because of retirement, finances, health or death, they're expected to release some 26 million homes onto the market by 2030, according to the Policy Center paper. The problem is that echo-boomers, or Generation Y—those born between 1982 and 1995—may not be buying up the inventory, says Pendall, whose retired mother is trying to sell a home and downsize." --- 
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How can anybody expect them to buy homes? They owe a bazillion dollars in student loans and credit card debt and they just watched the price of housing fall through the floor and stay there. Now they should borrow $250K to buy a McMansion in the suburbs? Say what?

Legislators want fewer HOA rules on streets

Lawmakers have for a number of years proposed legislation that would stop HOAs from setting rules regarding public streets. The bills stem from resident complaints about being fined for parking their own vehicles on public streets in front of their own homes.

"The reason this bill keeps coming back year after year is because there's a problem we're trying to solve," said Sen. Nancy Barto, R-Phoenix, who proposed one of this year's bills. "HOA communities do not have regulating authority over public roadways."
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As I said previously in this space, I've never understood the need for this bill. How can a private corporation assert jurisdiction over a public right of way? Have Privatopian principalities as George Staropoli refers to them gotten so powerful they believe they can annex or declare public roads within their sphere of influence?

Corrections Corporation Of America Sues Florida Town For Blocking New Detention Center

Corrections Corporation Of America Sues Florida Town For Blocking New Detention Center

The nation's largest private prison corporation sued a South Florida town this week, arguing that city officials are trying to "disrupt and derail" plans to build one of nation's largest immigrant-detention centers northwest of Miami.
Corrections Corporation of America's federal lawsuit claims that city officials in Pembroke Pines, Fla., are interfering with the company's "advantageous business relationship" with federal immigration authorities. Corrections Corp. reached a tentative deal with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last summer to build a 1,500-bed detention facility in Southwest Ranches, a quiet suburban enclave near the Everglades.
But residents and immigrant-rights groups have waged a battle against the company and elected officials who support construction of the jail.
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All must kneel before our privatizing overlords.  Apparently not everybody is falling in line, though. How inconvenient.

Banks foreclosing on churches in record numbers | Reuters

Banks foreclosing on churches in record numbers | Reuters

"Since 2010, 270 churches have been sold after defaulting on their loans, with 90 percent of those sales coming after a lender-triggered foreclosure, according to the real estate information company CoStar Group.
In 2011, 138 churches were sold by banks, an annual record, with no sign that these religious foreclosures are abating, according to CoStar. That compares to just 24 sales in 2008 and only a handful in the decade before.
The church foreclosures have hit all denominations across America, black and white, but with small to medium size houses of worship the worst. Most of these institutions have ended up being purchased by other churches.
The highest percentage have occurred in some of the states hardest hit by the home foreclosure crisis: California, Georgia, Florida and Michigan."
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Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Set to Default on $5.27 Million GO Bond Payments - Bloomberg

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Set to Default on $5.27 Million GO Bond Payments - Bloomberg


"Harrisburg (9661MF), Pennsylvania’s insolvent capital, says it will miss general-obligation bond payments for the first time next week as its receiver seeks approval for a plan to sell assets.
The city, carrying a debt load of more than five times its general-fund budget, will miss $5.27 million in bond payments due March 15 on $51.5 million of bonds issued in 1997, according to a notice its receiver posted on the Electronic Municipal Market Access system, a database for filings by debt issuers."
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 Harrisburg was not allowed to go bankrupt under Chapter 9. Instead the city's finances were put in the hands of a receiver. And now all kinds of bad things loom on the horizon for the city and its employees.

Vietnam vet says he's being singled out; Local man fights HOA over soldier cut out

Eggleston also feels he's being a victim because there are other signs in the neighborhood—political signs that no one's asked for to be taken down.

Saahir said those homeowners have received similar letters to take down their signs, but short of police showing up or a court order, Eggleston said he won't be taking down his soldier.

"I'm going to leave it up until somebody of a higher authority than a homeowner's president tells me to take it down."
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Like I was saying a few months ago here, HOAs aren't viewed by some as legitimate forms of local government but rather nebbish neighbors with too much time on their hands. And more bad media coverage for Privatopia in this latest kerfuffle over patriotic displays. Film at 10.

The End of Ownership: Why Aren't Young People Buying More Houses? - Derek Thompson - Business - The Atlantic

The End of Ownership: Why Aren't Young People Buying More Houses? - Derek Thompson - Business - The Atlantic

Fewer young people are finding jobs. Fewer young people are getting married. Fewer young people are buying homes.
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A trillion dollars in student loan debt is one reason. Add in the unfolding disaster that is the housing market. How can anybody expect them to go out and get married, buy a house, and have kids? Rick Santorum would no doubt blame it on single mothers.

Mayor lists Montana town and its population of 681 for sale at $1.4M | Mail Online

Mayor lists Montana town and its population of 681 for sale at $1.4M | Mail Online
Slightly used, but still serviceable.

Real estate deflation, municipal anti-blight efforts delay foreclosures

In addition, states and municipalities have grown more aggressive in the last few months in trying to force banks to maintain foreclosed properties, which have become blights on neighborhoods from coast to coast. Last month, lawmakers in Florida and courts in New York considered new ways to require lenders to alter loans to keep people in their homes or complete foreclosures more quickly.

“Under normal circumstances, the banks would be able to cover the cost of maintenance, upkeep and property taxes by just reselling the property, but these are desperate times, and banks are resorting to somewhat desperate measures in some cases,” said Daren Blomquist, a vice president at RealtyTrac, a real estate analysis firm. “It is more of a factor now because property values have come down and will not cover all these costs when the banks resell the property, if they can resell the property.
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Foreclosure loses its utility when lenders can't make the numbers pencil out and leaving the homeowner in place can stave off local governments targeting REOs that aren't being maintained.

Will HOAs become target of small claims suits?

You've paid your HOA assessments yet the common areas are unmaintained and the pool is closed, having turned into urban pond that's a mosquito breeding ground. It's not fair.

Might people who might feel that way toward their HOAs -- which as the perfessor and I have noted aren't winning popularity contests and continue to receive negative media attention -- take them to court and demand a refund or credit of their assessments?

If they do, the might become part of a fledgling trend to sue deep pocketed defendants who might otherwise have them legally outgunned in court in the no-lawyer courtroom: small claims. This story reports on how large companies such as Honda and AT&T are getting sued in small claims and facing judgments.

THE KANGAROO STAYS! | Weird News - Y100 - Miami's Hit Music Station

THE KANGAROO STAYS! | Weird News - Y100 - Miami's Hit Music Station

A local family has won a battle with their HOA over an unusual pet.

The Dreis family has a 6-month-old kangaroo, Mike.

But they didn’t get Mike just for fun – he’s actually there to help the family’s 16-year-old special-needs daughter, Kala.

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Nice to hear that the HOA changed its mind. It seems that Mike will only be living in the HOA for a year or so and then he is off to a wild animal park. This article has some cute kangaroo photos. Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.

Capitol Alert: Housing meltdown dropped California's home ownership rate

Capitol Alert: Housing meltdown dropped California's home ownership rate

The housing industry meltdown in California sharply reversed a trend of steadily increasing homeownership, a new statistical compilation by the Census Bureau reveals.

The result: The percentage of Californians who live in homes that they and their families own dipped to 55.3 percent in 2011, the second lowest rate of any state, just ahead of New York's 53.6 percent.

The current California level is just about where it was during the 1980s and 1990s before climbing to as high as 60.2 percent in 2006, just before the housing market implosion.

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Wow. This is a national trend, but a drop of almost five percentage points is huge. Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link

Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2012/02/housing-meltdown-dropped-californias-home-ownership-rate.html#storylink=cpy

Condo Complex Walls Collapse In January, Still Not Fixed - Denver News Story - KMGH Denver

Condo Complex Walls Collapse In January, Still Not Fixed - Denver News Story - KMGH Denver
LAKEWOOD, Colo. -- Gaping holes in walls, sunlight streaming in through electrical sockets, a bathtub exposed.This is the way it has been for almost two months now at the Snowbird Condos on Zang Street in Lakewood. Brick walls collapsed on two of the buildings during a wind storm at the beginning of January.
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Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link to yet another collapsing condo. In this case the word "collapse" is used literally.

Stockton's options nearly all bad - Bee Editorials - Modbee.com

Stockton's options nearly all bad - Bee Editorials - Modbee.com

"Every local elected official should be paying close attention to what is happening in the city of Stockton today. Our neighbor to the north, California's 13th largest city with a population of approaching 300,000 people, is flirting with bankruptcy. The City Council is expected to approve an eight-point plan this evening that calls for the city to suspend approximately $2 million in bond payments through the end of the current fiscal year. The plan also calls for the city to embark on two months of private discussions with its bond holders, city employee unions and any other creditors with at least $5 million in claims against the city to determine if parties can reach accommodations that will allow Stockton to avoid bankruptcy. If the council agrees — and it really has no other viable option — Stockton will become the first city in the state to undergo the AB 506 process, a formalized mediation period designed to help jurisdictions restructure their debts and avoid municipal bankruptcy."

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This is a grim situation, obviously. As the headline points out, Stockton's unemployment rate is almost 16% and they are second only to Las Vegas in their foreclosure rate. It is hard to see how this city can strike a deal that will hold off Chapter 9 proceedings for very long.

Read more here: http://www.modbee.com/2012/02/27/2088700/stocktons-options-are-nearly-all.html#storylink=cpy#storylink=cpy

Calculated Risk: New Home Sales: 2011 Still the Worst Year, "Distressing Gap" remains very wide

Calculated Risk: New Home Sales: 2011 Still the Worst Year, "Distressing Gap" remains very wide
"Even with the upward revisions to new home sales in October, November and December, 2011 was the worst year for new home sales since the Census Bureau started tracking sales in 1963. The three worst years were 2011, 2010, and 2009 with sales of 304, 323 and 375 thousand respectively."
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People keep trying to talk up the market by finding a single statistic here or there that looks like it is going up. But the unavoidable fact is that the new housing market is getting worse, year by year.

Rocklin Considering Banning Residents From Smoking Outside Their Own Homes « CBS Sacramento

Rocklin Considering Banning Residents From Smoking Outside Their Own Homes « CBS Sacramento

ROCKLIN (CBS13) – A Rocklin resident has asked the City Council to consider a ban on smoking that some say goes way too far.

The Rocklin City Council was asked to consider making it against the law for smokers to smoke anywhere outside on their property.

Rocklin City Manager Rick Horst said the city has “no intention of considering the matter.”

One homeowner complained about smoke coming from a neighbors’ backyard, saying it caused health problems for their kids.

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At last. A city official with common sense. There is hope.

Wyoming House advances doomsday bill

Wyoming House advances doomsday bill

"CHEYENNE — State representatives on Friday advanced legislation to launch a study into what Wyoming should do in the event of a complete economic or political collapse in the United States. House Bill 85 passed on first reading by a voice vote. It would create a state-run government continuity task force, which would study and prepare Wyoming for potential catastrophes, from disruptions in food and energy supplies to a complete meltdown of the federal government. The task force would look at the feasibility of Wyoming issuing its own alternative currency, if needed. And House members approved an amendment Friday by state Rep. Kermit Brown, R-Laramie, to have the task force also examine conditions under which Wyoming would need to implement its own military draft, raise a standing army, and acquire strike aircraft and an aircraft carrier."

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Where to begin? First, note how far the craziness on the right has gone. Now we have elected Republicans legislating for the post-apocalypse. Second, they keep telling us how much they revere the US Constitution, but they can't wait to re-institute the Articles of Confederation when the states could act like nations. Third, if Wyoming had an aircraft carrier, where within the borders of the great nation of Wyoming would they put it? Fourth, if you want to see where these elected wing nuts got the idea, check this out.

Foreclosure settlement a failure of law, a triumph for bank attorneys - The Washington Post

Foreclosure settlement a failure of law, a triumph for bank attorneys - The Washington Post
We never want to see an innocent party “accidentally” evicted from a home. The legal system has evolved so this has become a “legal impossibility.” Imagine returning home from work or vacation to find the front door padlocked, the belongings strewn all over the block, a big orange sticker screaming “FORECLOSED” on the garage door, with an auction sign in the front lawn. Now imagine that this occurred even though you are not in default or even delinquent on payments. Thanks to the robosigning banks, this legal impossibility has happened repeatedly, even to homeowners who paid cash for their houses and had no mortgages. Imagine that — foreclosed with no mortgage.
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Barry Ritholtz nails it. Here's the #1 reason why the foreclosure settlement (the "terms" of which are still a secret) is so awful.

The "robo-signing" settlement won’t help homeowners, and it doesn’t hurt the banks. - Slate Magazine

The "robo-signing" settlement won’t help homeowners, and it doesn’t hurt the banks. - Slate Magazine
The main motivation behind the administration’s indulgence of serious criminality evidently is fear of the consequences of taking tough action on individual bankers. And maybe officials are right to be afraid, given the massive size of the banks in question relative to the economy...The message to bank executives today is simple: build your bank to be as big as possible—and then keep growing. If you manage to become big enough, you and your employees are not just too big to fail, but also too big to jail.
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This explanation makes sense to me. These big banking corporations are above the law.

Insider Says Wells Fargo’s Independent Foreclosure Review for OCC is “a Sham” - Mandelman Matters

Insider Says Wells Fargo’s Independent Foreclosure Review for OCC is “a Sham” - Mandelman Matters
"“I was hired as one of those “Independent File Review Specialist” at a company called Promontory working on Wells Fargo Bank. I have 15 years industry experience in all facets of the mortgage & title industry, and just needed a job at the moment. I must say the whole project is a mess, and a terrible joke on the victims of foreclosure and the American people. It’s a total sham.”
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Case shines light on how much power private security has when policing neighborhoods - chicagotribune.com

Case shines light on how much power private security has when policing neighborhoods - chicagotribune.com
"It's a massive, ad hoc privatization of government services," said Evan McKenzie, a University of Illinois at Chicago associate professor of political science and critic who has written two books on the topic. "That's why you get these weird situations.

"It makes sense to (homeowners groups) from a property-management perspective," he said. "But if you view it another way, the actions of any government are supposed to be limited by concepts of civil liberties. Civil liberties don't always apply here."

An Illinois appeals court in a strongly worded ruling last month found that Lake Holiday's practice of stopping and detaining drivers for violating homeowners association rules was unlawful. The court also found that the association's use of amber-colored flashing lights on its vehicles was unlawful and that the association could be held liable for Poris' false imprisonment claim.

A LaSalle County judge had previously ruled in favor of the homeowners association.
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Indeed. I couldn't have said it better myself.

Here's the meat of the opinion:

 "As set forth above, the Association's security department's practices of stopping and detaining drivers for violating Association rules and using amber flashing and oscillating lights on its security vehicles are unlawful. Thus, the trial court erred in granting summary judgment to the Association on those issues. We affirm the court's grant of summary judgment to the Association on plaintiff's claims that the Association's use of recording equipment and radar violate Illinois law. However, we reverse and remand for the trial court to grant summary judgment to plaintiff on his claims that the Association's practices of stopping and detaining drivers for rule violations and of using amber lights on their security vehicles are unlawful...Because Podnar restrained plaintiff for violating an Association rule, not a criminal law, plaintiff established the elements necessary for his false imprisonment claim. The trial court erred in granting summary judgment to the Association on that count. We reverse and remand to the trial court to enter summary judgment in favor of plaintiff on the liability portion of his false imprisonment cause of action and to determine plaintiff's damages."
The case is:

2012 Ill. App. LEXIS 42, *; 2012 IL App (3d) 110131, **

KENNETH E. PORIS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. LAKE HOLIDAY PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., GEORGE LEIDOLF, JAMES MORAN, STEVEN CONDON, DOROTHY FLEMING, JAMES BYRNE, MICHAEL IVANAUSKAS, CINDY KAMINKY and MATTHEW CLIFFORD, Defendants-Appellees.
No. 3-11-0131
APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS, THIRD DISTRICT
2012 Ill. App. LEXIS 42; 2012 IL App (3d) 110131

January 24, 2012, Opinion Filed--------------- 

Man admits embezzling from Wisconsin, other homeowner groups - TODAY'S TMJ4

Man admits embezzling from Wisconsin, other homeowner groups - TODAY'S TMJ4

Palmer owned and operated Home Owner Association Services, which provided management services and managed accounts for homeowner associations in Missouri, Kansas, Wisconsin, and Illinois.

Prosecutors say when Palmer closed the company's Kansas City office in March 2011, $751,302 was missing from the accounts of 32 homeowner associations.

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Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link to yet another of the dozens and dozens of HOA/condo manager frauds that have taken place in recent years. But remember: all of them are isolated instances that do not point to the need for government oversight of this industry.

Courts order demolition of $1.1 million Macomb County mansion built too close to property line | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

Courts order demolition of $1.1 million Macomb County mansion built too close to property line | Detroit Free Press | freep.com
The Michigan Court of Appeals has told a couple they have to tear down all or part of their $1.1 million mansion because they built it too close to their property lines.
The order came in a lawsuit a neighboring couple filed in 2004 against Simon and Saca Palushaj over their 9,000-square-foot house in Macomb County’s Washington Township, 25 miles north of Detroit...The Thoms’ attorney, Thomas Kalas, said he was not surprised by the ruling because courts already have determined deed restrictions are legally enforceable. “These are not new or novel issues,” Kalas said. “Deed-restriction law is pretty much settled. You have to abide by them.”
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Don Nordeen sent this link to a pretty extreme example of the way US courts view deed restrictions. Historically British courts were somewhat dubious about deed restrictions because they thought over time use restrictions would accumulate and reduce the value of property, but as we know the US judiciary buys the argument that restrictions are good for property values because they prevent unwanted uses of land. The truth is not that simple--either way--but of course now the real estate development industry has taken this simple tool and injected it with steroids and growth hormones and created the homeowner association-run subdivision.

Foreclosure abuse rampant across U.S., experts say | Reuters

Foreclosure abuse rampant across U.S., experts say | Reuters

A report this week showing rampant foreclosure abuse in San Francisco reflects similar levels of lender fraud and faulty documentation across the United States, say experts and officials who have done studies in other parts of the country.

The audit of almost 400 foreclosures in San Francisco found that 84 percent of them appeared to be illegal, according to the study released by the California city on Wednesday.

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Incredible, isn't it? Where are the criminal prosecutions of these people?

Condo Relief -- Extension of the Florida Distressed Condominium Relief Act ? | The National Law Review

Condo Relief -- Extension of the Florida Distressed Condominium Relief Act ? | The National Law Review
See my post below below for the reference to Florids HB 319, which includes a three-year extension of this act. As explained by attorney Alexander Dobrev:

"As a reminder, the Distressed Condominium Relief Act marked a dramatic shift in Florida law, encouraging the bulk acquisition of condominium projects by protecting the acquirer against some significant liabilities which could be inherited from the original developer (a.k.a. "successor developer" liabilities), while allowing the acquirer to retain certain useful and valuable rights with respect to the operations, repositioning and eventual disposition of the assets.

"As the Act's sunset date of July 1, 2012 approaches, liability concerns relating to statutory warranties on units and common elements, unfunded reserves, past due assessments or deficit funding obligations, the acts and/or omissions of the prior developer's board of directors, and the like, are likely to increase and to add downward pressures on the still distressed condominium market."

Suburbs May be Losing Their Luster to Home Buyers - Yahoo! Finance

Suburbs May be Losing Their Luster to Home Buyers - Yahoo! Finance

With gas prices hitting record highs the past few years, long commutes into city centers are becoming pricier, and current and future homeowners are thinking more about proximity to work and play when looking for housing. There's a new emphasis on smaller, better located homes, Morici says, prompting more construction of multi-family residences closer to cities.

The legacy of the housing bubble and the still-unsteady jobs market has also played a role. "Many young workers may need to move to stay employed and are wary of being tied to a house they may not be able to sell," Morici says. "Hence, more young families are opting to rent."

All of this adds up to more challenges for the housing market when it comes to selling through the enormous overhang of supply, and calls into the question the dynamics of the housing market going forward. After all, rental housing tends to be concentrated in urban areas, not the suburbs.

So does a new preference (and in some cases necessity) to rent mean an end to suburbs and a revival of downtown, city living?

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Thanks to Fred Pilot for sending this link. James Howard Kunstler has been making this point for years now, but in much more scathing terms. He thinks that instead of our young people learning how to make cities more livable they should be learning how to take care of the mules they will soon be riding.

Arizona Senators debate HOA legal status « HOA Constitutional Government

Arizona Senators debate HOA legal status « HOA Constitutional Government
Take a look at this remarkable post by George Staropoli, and the even more remarkable video that he links to, where you hear Arizona legislators actually discussing whether private corporations should be able to enforce their rules on...public roads. The bill in question is SB 1113.

Read this. How does subsection B grab you?

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 33, chapter 16, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 33-1817, to read:

33-1817. Community authority over public roadways; exemption

A. Notwithstanding any provision in the community documents, after the period of declarant control, an association has no authority over and shall not regulate any roadway for which the ownership has been dedicated to or is otherwise held by a governmental entity.

B. This section does not apply to a planned community located in an unincorporated area of a county.

H 319 -- REPRESENTATIVE GEORGE MORAITIS MALARKEY

H 319 -- REPRESENTATIVE GEORGE MORAITIS MALARKEY
"To be very honest I have barely ever seen more malarkey than the excuses Representative George Moraitis offered to defend his House Bill 319 in the Sun Sentinel last Tuesday, especially after adding amendments to this bill which clearly made it an anti-owner bill."
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That is Jan Bergemann's take on the huge bill that is making its way through the Florida legislature. Read Jan's analysis to see why he believes that a bill that had potential is now a turkey. He is reacting to an op-ed that Moraitis wrote in which he defends a bank goodie contained in the bill (see below) and claims that he is "clarifying" existing law. I love it when legislators dump a ton of complicated verbiage on the public and claim they are clarifying things for us. The current full text of the bill, 75 pages in length, is here.

I have also linked to the latest legislative analysis of the bill.

The bill covers many different issue, several of which are discussed in Jan's post. There is a nice little goodie for the banks: letting them off the hook for paying attorney fees, interest, costs, and late fees on foreclosed units. That's the provision Moraitis is defending in his op-ed. There is also an extension of the Distressed Condominium Relief Act to 2015. It would have expired this year. That Act is intended to make it easier and less risky for bulk buyers of condo units in failed/failing projects to do so. The Act allows them to assume some developer rights without assuming all the developer responsibilities.

To me, the moral of the story is that the condominium as a form of ownership is so fragile that it can't survive without all this endless "clarification" that is really complication, and constant gimmes and goodies for banks, vulture capitalists, developers, lawyers, managers, and so forth to induce them to somehow keep this institution held more or less together with duct tape and baling wire. When you look through all the verbiage, all these schemes come back to one strategy: more responsibilities and less power and freedom for the unit owners. If you don't believe, me, check out Moraitis' next project, which is to make it easier for associations to foreclose on owners when the banks won't:

"The root cause of many associations' current financial problems is the number of unit owners not paying their fair share of assessments. I am co-sponsoring legislation that will give courts greater flexibility to move foreclosures forward when the lenders fail to pursue cases to the financial detriment of our associations. Through this, units will be able to be resold to new paying owners more quickly, improving the financial condition of our homeowners associations."

How Citibank Dumped Lousy Mortgages on the Government - ProPublica

How Citibank Dumped Lousy Mortgages on the Government - ProPublica
"Citigroup agreed yesterday to pay $158 million to settle a lawsuit over bad loans that the bank passed on to the Federal Housing Administration to insure. The whistle-blower who originally brought the case, Sherry Hunt, an employee of Citi's mortgage department, said the company actively undermined the process that was supposed to check for fraud in order to push through reckless loans and get higher profits."
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Yet another ripoff by a "too big to fail" bank. Pay some money, nobody goes to jail.

Mortgage settlement with banks sparks new scam - WTOP Mobile

Mortgage settlement with banks sparks new scam - WTOP Mobile

WASHINGTON - Scammers are trying to take advantage of the multi-state mortgage service settlement announced last week.

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said the calls and emails about scams began very soon after the settlement was announced. The scammers try and convince consumers that, for a fee, they can get some of that money announced in the settlement with major banks.

"It's unbelievable how scammers prey on people who are vulnerable and have already been hurt," said Cuccinelli's spokesman, Brian Gottstein. "These people have no souls."

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Well, you would have a hard time finding a soul in anybody throughout this entire process, from the mortgage originators to the investment banks that created the garbage mortgage backed securities, and on to the ratings agencies that called it AAA and right through the whole line of policy makers who deregulated the industry and left consumers completely vulnerable to predators, and then on to the phony "mortgage rescue" fraudsters, the mortgage foreclosure mills with their sleazy robosigners, and on and on. It is no surprise that yet another bunch of con artists are preying on people.

Cash in as yet another housing bubble bursts - MoneyWeek

Cash in as yet another housing bubble bursts - MoneyWeek
Canada’s housing market is plagued by “overvaluation, speculation and over supply”, says Merrill Lynch. The Economist conducts a survey that compares house prices with the rents that property owners can charge. On this basis, Canadian residential property is overvalued by more than 70%. Even the central bank admits there’s a problem. In short, the country’s property prices won’t be able to defy gravity for much longer.
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Eh?

After Mortgage Settlement, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Face Renewed Pressure On Principal Reduction

After Mortgage Settlement, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Face Renewed Pressure On Principal Reduction

Top law enforcement officials in several states are signaling they will pressure Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to correct what is widely seen as one of the biggest deficiencies of the $25 billion mortgage settlement announced on Thursday: It simply doesn't help that many homeowners.

Borrowers whose loans are backed by the government-controlled mortgage giants -- nearly half of all outstanding mortgages in the United States -- are not eligible for payouts under the deal. State officials who negotiated the deal say they could not convince Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, or the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees the loan giants, to join onto the settlement because they are steadfastly opposed to principal reductions -- loan write-downs for borrowers whose homes are at risk of foreclosure.

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I believe the mystery quasi-settlement is supposed to cover less than 8% of the nation's mortgages. What is all the publicity about, if the GSE's aren't going to help out underwater owners?

Incomplete subdivisions face dangerous conditions | www.wsbtv.com

Incomplete subdivisions face dangerous conditions | www.wsbtv.com

LOVEJOY, Ga. —

Communities left incomplete by the housing bust are causing more problems than just empty and overgrown lots, according to homeowners. Some residents in Clayton County said they're also leading to potentially dangerous conditions. Melanie Scott, a homeowner in the Lovejoy Crossing subdivision, said she and her neighbors have had to fight for basic services, including street lights. Scott said residents also had to go to the city of Lovejoy to get a dark, undeveloped corner of their own neighborhood barricaded after a stream of illegal activity.

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Another chapter in the accellerating failure of private communities. I wonder if municipalities have learned anything from this experience. One would think they would realize that putting their financial future in the hands of real estate developers is risky business. But on the other hand, you can't underestimate the effectiveness of developer dog-and-pony shows that promise city leaders that there will be rainbows, pots of gold, and new village halls in exchange for the development permit.

Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.

Horror stories prompt industry group to ask Colorado to regulate HOA managers - The Denver Post

Horror stories prompt industry group to ask Colorado to regulate HOA managers - The Denver Post

"Colorado legislators received so many complaints about HOAs that in 2010, they voted to create an HOA Information Office and Resource Center to gather complaints and help homeowners Through Dec. 1, the center had collected 478 complaints, a third of which named managers. Many of the rest centered on poor management practices — from a lack of transparency to ignoring homeowners' concerns About 2 million people in Colorado live under more than 8,000 HOAs, according to state estimates.

"At the CAI's request, the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies is conducting a "sunrise review" to determine whether HOA managers should be regulated. Nine states and the District of Columbia license or regulate community managers."

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When CAI starts asking for regulation, you know the situation is bad. I think many of the mom and pop property management firms are struggling these days. Financial problems trickle up from the owners to the association to the professionals. If the owners can't fund the association, the association can't hire professional management. I realize managers and lawyers do everything possible to sign up associations as clients and start the fee machine, but with all the unfinished subdivisions and foreclosures eventually owners just can't afford management fees. Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.

Outsourcing Gym Class - The Bay Citizen

Outsourcing Gym Class - The Bay Citizen
The school district can't afford enough gym teachers, so the Parent-Teacher Organization is paying private contractors. Privatizing gym class--thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.

Mind-Blowing Charts From the Senate's Income Inequality Hearing | Mother Jones

Mind-Blowing Charts From the Senate's Income Inequality Hearing | Mother Jones
Just take a look at this and you can see who our public policy makers have been serving these last 30 years or so.

Cities Turn to a Crop for Cash - Medical Marijuana - NYTimes.com

Cities Turn to a Crop for Cash - Medical Marijuana - NYTimes.com
OAKLAND, Calif. — As the stubborn economic downturn has forced this city to take painful steps to balance its budget in recent years, it has increasingly turned to one of its newer industries to raise much-needed revenues: medical marijuana dispensaries. The city has raised taxes on marijuana dispensaries several times in the past few years, and last year it collected $1.4 million in taxes from them — nearly 3 percent of all the business taxes it collected. Now Oakland plans to double the number of dispensaries it licenses, to eight from the current four, in the hopes that it can collect even more revenue.
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My, my. How things have changed. I still remember when people went to jail for selling weed. Oh, wait. They still do. But they aren't the City of Oakland. The city becomes an indirect drug peddler to balance the budget, and that's just sound fiscal policy. But if Joe Schmoe living in Oakland decided to balance his own budget the same way, why, it's a completely different thing, don't you see?


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Exclusive: Mortgage problems? Turn your house into a billboard | Reuters

Exclusive: Mortgage problems? Turn your house into a billboard | Reuters

In return for allowing the front of their four-bedroom house to become a garish advertisement, the Hostetlers are getting their nearly $2,000 monthly mortgage paid by the marketing company behind the project, Brainiacs From Mars.

In a residential neighborhood without heavy traffic, cars passing by the house slowed and drivers gawked at the vivid colors and a giant Brainiacs From Mars billboard.

Romeo Mendoza, the company's founder and CEO, told Reuters that his ultimate goal is to turn 1,000 homes across the United States into giant advertisements for his marketing firm.

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I'm sure the HOAs will find this worthy of their attention.

Mortgage Settlement as Attorney General Sellout: Deal is Not Done, and Final Version Guaranteed to be Worse Than Advertised « naked capitalism

Mortgage Settlement as Attorney General Sellout: Deal is Not Done, and Final Version Guaranteed to be Worse Than Advertised « naked capitalism
"The Administration and the banks both want a pro-bank deal (the only minor point of difference is how much in populist gestures the banks have to submit to in order to get the much more valuable bennies they want). The only parties that cared to any degree about ordinary citizens were the dissident AGs. But they now have now given up any bargaining leverage over how this deal turns out.

The only power any party has in a negotiation is his threat to leave the bargaining table. The AGs can no longer do that. They’ve taken star turns, made ringing pronouncements of how great this pact is. They can’t possibly reverse themselves mere weeks down the road and say, whoops, this deal isn’t go great after all."

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Great analysis. When the real deal surfaces, the AGs who were holding things up will have no way to back out of it. They have already gone on record with their victory laps.

Walker, Van Hollen: Chunk of mortgage settlement going to state budget - JSOnline

Walker, Van Hollen: Chunk of mortgage settlement going to state budget - JSOnline

But of a $31.6 million payment coming directly to the state government, most of that money - $25.6 million - will go to help close a budget shortfall revealed in newly released state projections. Van Hollen, whose office said he has the legal authority over the money, made the decision in consultation with Walker.

"Just like communities and individuals have been affected, the foreclosure crisis has had an effect on the state of Wisconsin, in terms of unemployment. . . . This will offset that damage done to the state of Wisconsin," Walker said.

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Scott Walker is the Koch Brothers-funded tool who ambushed the public employee unions after he became governor. Now he is stealing a bunch of the mortgage foreclosure settlement to balance the budget. It is too early to say for sure, but I think when all the facts are in a few years from now, Walker, Kasich, Daniels, and Scott will turn out to have been as bad for their respective states' economies as David Cameron has been for the UK, which remains mired in recession.