CNN "Open House" show on HOAs to air on Saturday at 9:30 am Eastern
I'm about to head over to a studio to be interviewed by CNN for this. Don't miss it. The link to CNN's Open House program web site is:
http://money.cnn.com/ontv/openhouse/
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Law loses its way
Every HOA activist on Planet Earth has sent me a link to this article so here it is for all to read. A retired judge denounces the legal system and the legal profession.
Every HOA activist on Planet Earth has sent me a link to this article so here it is for all to read. A retired judge denounces the legal system and the legal profession.
Monday, March 28, 2005
Two bills divide homeowner, condo groups on foreclosures and state regulation
Fred Pilot found this good article that lays out the upcoming legislative battle in Florida. High stakes all around...
Two statewide organizations will duke it out on Wednesday in Tallahassee over the laws that affect millions of Floridians who live in association-run communities. The sides disagree on two bills that would ban boards from foreclosing on owners who owe less than $2,500 (SB 2632), and would require mandatory training for board members, mandatory audits of association books, and state regulation of homeowner association boards (HB 1229).
Fred Pilot found this good article that lays out the upcoming legislative battle in Florida. High stakes all around...
Two statewide organizations will duke it out on Wednesday in Tallahassee over the laws that affect millions of Floridians who live in association-run communities. The sides disagree on two bills that would ban boards from foreclosing on owners who owe less than $2,500 (SB 2632), and would require mandatory training for board members, mandatory audits of association books, and state regulation of homeowner association boards (HB 1229).
Sunday, March 27, 2005
BUILDER Online: The top 100 builders
It's interesting to note that all these folks talk about is how many housing units they sold and how much revenue they generated. They never have much to say about the consequences of all the private governments they are creating along with the homes they build. I guess that's what economists call an "externality" to them--something they don't consider as part of their cost-benefit equation.
It's interesting to note that all these folks talk about is how many housing units they sold and how much revenue they generated. They never have much to say about the consequences of all the private governments they are creating along with the homes they build. I guess that's what economists call an "externality" to them--something they don't consider as part of their cost-benefit equation.
CNN.com - Exurb growth challenges U.S. cities - Mar 27, 2005
University of Denver geography professor Paul Sutton opines on growth of the exurbs:
The West is the fastest-growing region of the country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and Colorado's population grew by about 30 percent from 1990 to 2000.
Sutton said he believes urban growth everywhere is happening even faster than people realize.
Using satellite photos of nighttime lights to measure sprawl, he has concluded that his family, and a third of all Americans, are living in "exurbia" -- places just beyond the suburbs where the country looks like country again, beyond the limits of most studies of urban growth.
"I think a lot of the old ideas of suburban living are now in exurbia," Sutton said. "There is a natural environment; kids are not going to get run over by a bus. "I don't lock my house," Sutton said. "There's no crime." So people live better for less money, a little farther away. Why does that matter? First, Sutton said, because fire and police protection, school bus routes, water lines, phone service and electricity must be available for such homes -- all of which is costly. Second, he said, many who live in exurbia still work in cities, adding to traffic and pollution, and demanding services there, rather than forming independent small towns with self-sustaining economies. In effect, cities get stuck paying bills run up by people who live in the exurbs.
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He makes some good points, but nothing in the article explains that in the West and practically everywhere else where this rapid growth is occurring, CIDs are the low-cost way that municipalities grow. I think the "cities get stuck paying bills" for the exurbs line, which is now a staple of Democratic Party rhetoric, is questionable. You need to add up all the taxes and assessments exurbanites pay to all levels of public and private government, not just the ones that go to municipalities.
University of Denver geography professor Paul Sutton opines on growth of the exurbs:
The West is the fastest-growing region of the country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and Colorado's population grew by about 30 percent from 1990 to 2000.
Sutton said he believes urban growth everywhere is happening even faster than people realize.
Using satellite photos of nighttime lights to measure sprawl, he has concluded that his family, and a third of all Americans, are living in "exurbia" -- places just beyond the suburbs where the country looks like country again, beyond the limits of most studies of urban growth.
"I think a lot of the old ideas of suburban living are now in exurbia," Sutton said. "There is a natural environment; kids are not going to get run over by a bus. "I don't lock my house," Sutton said. "There's no crime." So people live better for less money, a little farther away. Why does that matter? First, Sutton said, because fire and police protection, school bus routes, water lines, phone service and electricity must be available for such homes -- all of which is costly. Second, he said, many who live in exurbia still work in cities, adding to traffic and pollution, and demanding services there, rather than forming independent small towns with self-sustaining economies. In effect, cities get stuck paying bills run up by people who live in the exurbs.
-----------------
He makes some good points, but nothing in the article explains that in the West and practically everywhere else where this rapid growth is occurring, CIDs are the low-cost way that municipalities grow. I think the "cities get stuck paying bills" for the exurbs line, which is now a staple of Democratic Party rhetoric, is questionable. You need to add up all the taxes and assessments exurbanites pay to all levels of public and private government, not just the ones that go to municipalities.
Journal Gazette | 03/27/2005 | Suckers for sociopaths can learn avoidance
Every homeowner needs to be able to tell if any of the neighbors are sociopaths, don't you think?
The person living next door to you may look normal but could actually be about as benign as a pod person in “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” so you had better avoid him or risk having your life ruined. That is the intriguing core of Martha Stout’s “The Sociopath Next Door,” a self-help guide to the detection and avoidance of sociopaths?– or people without consciences.
Every homeowner needs to be able to tell if any of the neighbors are sociopaths, don't you think?
The person living next door to you may look normal but could actually be about as benign as a pod person in “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” so you had better avoid him or risk having your life ruined. That is the intriguing core of Martha Stout’s “The Sociopath Next Door,” a self-help guide to the detection and avoidance of sociopaths?– or people without consciences.
Gated community update: Many Germans want Berlin Wall back
BERLIN (Reuters) - Nearly a quarter of western Germans and 12 percent of easterners want the Berlin Wall back -- more than 15 years after the fall of the barrier that split Germany during the Cold War, according to a survey.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Nearly a quarter of western Germans and 12 percent of easterners want the Berlin Wall back -- more than 15 years after the fall of the barrier that split Germany during the Cold War, according to a survey.
Your tax dollars at work: House OKs $37 million for Wal-Mart H.Q. road
BENTONVILLE, Ark. - The U.S. House has approved a federal highway bill that includes $37 million for widening and extending the Bentonville street that provides the main access to the headquarters of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.The company says it asked U.S. Rep. John Boozman, R-Ark., to help get federal money for the proposed project. U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, added an amendment that put the work into the $284 billion bill, which is now before the Senate.
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I guess Wal-Mart didn't have enough money to pay for this itself, so the taxpayers will have to do it. I mean, with all that surplus money lying around in the US Treasury that nobody needs, why not shovel $37 million in the direction of one of the world's largest and most profitable corporations?
BENTONVILLE, Ark. - The U.S. House has approved a federal highway bill that includes $37 million for widening and extending the Bentonville street that provides the main access to the headquarters of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.The company says it asked U.S. Rep. John Boozman, R-Ark., to help get federal money for the proposed project. U.S. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, added an amendment that put the work into the $284 billion bill, which is now before the Senate.
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I guess Wal-Mart didn't have enough money to pay for this itself, so the taxpayers will have to do it. I mean, with all that surplus money lying around in the US Treasury that nobody needs, why not shovel $37 million in the direction of one of the world's largest and most profitable corporations?
Saturday, March 26, 2005
Ridgeland may enforce neighborhood standards - The Clarion-Ledger
Fred Pilot found this piece about a city that is doing the bidding of HOA residents by becoming more like an HOA...
Parking your car in the front yard or encircling your back yard with cyclone fencing may become taboo in Ridgeland. And forget about plastering the front of your home with a mural or placing that portable wading pool in your front yard. The city of Ridgeland is considering creating overlay districts to preserve and protect its neighborhoods from these and other types of perceived offenses. If approved, the ordinance would offer a "laundry list" of items to be addressed in what will be called Neighborhood Preservation Overlay Districts. The ordinance will govern issues like parked vehicles, including recreational vehicles, fence sizes and types, house paint and shingle types. The Wheatley Ridge Neighborhood Association, comprised of Greenbrook, Brookfield, Squirrel Hill and Wheatley Place, championed the proposed ordinance after learning that covenants in their neighborhoods had expired, said Ward 3 Alderman Mike Crook, who lives in the Greenbrook subdivision.
Fred Pilot found this piece about a city that is doing the bidding of HOA residents by becoming more like an HOA...
Parking your car in the front yard or encircling your back yard with cyclone fencing may become taboo in Ridgeland. And forget about plastering the front of your home with a mural or placing that portable wading pool in your front yard. The city of Ridgeland is considering creating overlay districts to preserve and protect its neighborhoods from these and other types of perceived offenses. If approved, the ordinance would offer a "laundry list" of items to be addressed in what will be called Neighborhood Preservation Overlay Districts. The ordinance will govern issues like parked vehicles, including recreational vehicles, fence sizes and types, house paint and shingle types. The Wheatley Ridge Neighborhood Association, comprised of Greenbrook, Brookfield, Squirrel Hill and Wheatley Place, championed the proposed ordinance after learning that covenants in their neighborhoods had expired, said Ward 3 Alderman Mike Crook, who lives in the Greenbrook subdivision.
Friday, March 25, 2005
BBC NEWS | UK | England | Merseyside | Asbo family banned from borough
Take a look at these mug shots and see if you want them for neighbors. I think they are looking for a new place to live...and how about this "anti-social behavior order"? I can think of some HOAs that would love to have that power.
A family of five have been banned from harassing anyone in England and Wales and also banned from their home borough of Wirral. A court was told the Bridge family's neighbours in Grosvenor Road, New Brighton, had "lived in fear" of them. District Judge Nick Sanders issued the anti-social behaviour order on Thursday at Birkenhead Magistrates Court.
Take a look at these mug shots and see if you want them for neighbors. I think they are looking for a new place to live...and how about this "anti-social behavior order"? I can think of some HOAs that would love to have that power.
A family of five have been banned from harassing anyone in England and Wales and also banned from their home borough of Wirral. A court was told the Bridge family's neighbours in Grosvenor Road, New Brighton, had "lived in fear" of them. District Judge Nick Sanders issued the anti-social behaviour order on Thursday at Birkenhead Magistrates Court.
Township hiring is a family affair
While I'm on the topic of dysfunctional local government...
When Wayne Township Trustee Dan Gammon needed someone to manage the township's firefighter training center, he didn't recruit statewide or even take out a classified ad. He awarded a $30,000 contract to his wife. And when Decatur Township Assessor Charles Coleman filled his eight-person office, he didn't look far. His staff includes his wife, son and daughter -- and he pays them a total of more than $143,000 a year. A review of the hiring practices of Marion County's nine townships by The Indianapolis Star revealed that elected trustees and assessors have relied heavily on their family members as employees and contractors.
While I'm on the topic of dysfunctional local government...
When Wayne Township Trustee Dan Gammon needed someone to manage the township's firefighter training center, he didn't recruit statewide or even take out a classified ad. He awarded a $30,000 contract to his wife. And when Decatur Township Assessor Charles Coleman filled his eight-person office, he didn't look far. His staff includes his wife, son and daughter -- and he pays them a total of more than $143,000 a year. A review of the hiring practices of Marion County's nine townships by The Indianapolis Star revealed that elected trustees and assessors have relied heavily on their family members as employees and contractors.
"Best Living Argument for Privatization Award" goes to...
Sheriff Myron E. Freeman said Thursday that he expects to ask the Fulton County Commission for more money to provide security at the county's courthouse and jail.
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This is the brain-truster who delegated a 51 year old, five-foot-tall, grandmother to escort rapist/murderer Brian Nichols to court, all by herself. Here's another great line from the "sheriff":"You can't discriminate based on gender," Freeman said. "A deputy sheriff is a deputy sheriff."
No. You can't. But that isn't the point. The point is that this mini-deputy, alone, obviously was not physically capable of restraining the 200 pound defendant if he decided to resist while his hands were free. Which is what he did, leading to four deaths and injuries to others. And the point is also that the judge and prosecutor had already requested extra security because Nichols had been caught trying to smuggle two shanks into the courtroom in his shoes. And the sheriff's response is that he didn't do anything wrong. Just give us more money.
This is why people give up on government and decide that privatization, with virtual secession from the public realm, is the only way to live a sane existence. Public officials like this are just walking, talking ads for privatization.
Sheriff Myron E. Freeman said Thursday that he expects to ask the Fulton County Commission for more money to provide security at the county's courthouse and jail.
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This is the brain-truster who delegated a 51 year old, five-foot-tall, grandmother to escort rapist/murderer Brian Nichols to court, all by herself. Here's another great line from the "sheriff":"You can't discriminate based on gender," Freeman said. "A deputy sheriff is a deputy sheriff."
No. You can't. But that isn't the point. The point is that this mini-deputy, alone, obviously was not physically capable of restraining the 200 pound defendant if he decided to resist while his hands were free. Which is what he did, leading to four deaths and injuries to others. And the point is also that the judge and prosecutor had already requested extra security because Nichols had been caught trying to smuggle two shanks into the courtroom in his shoes. And the sheriff's response is that he didn't do anything wrong. Just give us more money.
This is why people give up on government and decide that privatization, with virtual secession from the public realm, is the only way to live a sane existence. Public officials like this are just walking, talking ads for privatization.
Legal Affairs: Home Is Where the Heart Is*
*Provided your dog's weight does not exceed 30 pounds, your shutters are painted a tasteful hue, and your lawn is in accordance with the standards mandated by the architectural-control committee
This is Ross Guberman's excellent article on HOAs. I don't think I linked to this when it first came out.
*Provided your dog's weight does not exceed 30 pounds, your shutters are painted a tasteful hue, and your lawn is in accordance with the standards mandated by the architectural-control committee
This is Ross Guberman's excellent article on HOAs. I don't think I linked to this when it first came out.
10 Things a Homeowners Association Won't Tell You
Here's a blast from the past--still a good piece that bears reading.
Here's a blast from the past--still a good piece that bears reading.
Times Community Newspapers - Top Stories - 03/22/2005 - HOAs turn to private security, request more deputies
As the Sheriff's Office struggles to keep up with the growing demands of Loudoun's ever-growing population, some homeowner associations are turning to volunteer neighborhood watch programs and even private security firms to supplement the sense of community presence they say overextended Sheriff's deputies cannot always provide. Representing more than 12,000 families in eastern Loudoun, the HOA presidents of Ashburn Farm, Ashburn Village and Broadlands recently appeared at a county budget public hearing to support full funding of the Sheriff's Office. The speakers named the hiring of more deputies as a top priority for the county, citing their private efforts to reduce vandalism as an indication that the Sheriff's Office needs more people to patrol the streets.
As the Sheriff's Office struggles to keep up with the growing demands of Loudoun's ever-growing population, some homeowner associations are turning to volunteer neighborhood watch programs and even private security firms to supplement the sense of community presence they say overextended Sheriff's deputies cannot always provide. Representing more than 12,000 families in eastern Loudoun, the HOA presidents of Ashburn Farm, Ashburn Village and Broadlands recently appeared at a county budget public hearing to support full funding of the Sheriff's Office. The speakers named the hiring of more deputies as a top priority for the county, citing their private efforts to reduce vandalism as an indication that the Sheriff's Office needs more people to patrol the streets.
Yahoo! News - Family Asked To Remove Giant Yellow Ribbon From Yard
Saul's brother constructed an 8-foot by 4-foot yellow ribbon sign just one month after he was deployed and put it in the front of the home. But, the managing agent for the Villas at Ingram Hills sent a notice to the family, stating that it was against homeowner violations and asked them to remove it.
Saul's brother constructed an 8-foot by 4-foot yellow ribbon sign just one month after he was deployed and put it in the front of the home. But, the managing agent for the Villas at Ingram Hills sent a notice to the family, stating that it was against homeowner violations and asked them to remove it.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Landslide victims get more bad news | The San Diego Union-Tribune
CARLSBAD – The view from the swimming pool at the Marbella condominiums in La Costa is a breathtaking sight of rolling hills with a lagoon in the distance. But the more than 35 residents who crowded the pool area in yesterday morning's drizzle and who had perhaps moved into their homes with the view in mind were paralyzed with grim news. The earth is still moving because of incessant rains, several of the condominiums are uninhabitable and the owners are likely to incur more costs than they can afford. "I don't know if you're going to have to take out a loan or borrow money from your mom," attorney David Peters told the group of worried faces. "At this moment in time, we're on our own."
[more]
CARLSBAD – The view from the swimming pool at the Marbella condominiums in La Costa is a breathtaking sight of rolling hills with a lagoon in the distance. But the more than 35 residents who crowded the pool area in yesterday morning's drizzle and who had perhaps moved into their homes with the view in mind were paralyzed with grim news. The earth is still moving because of incessant rains, several of the condominiums are uninhabitable and the owners are likely to incur more costs than they can afford. "I don't know if you're going to have to take out a loan or borrow money from your mom," attorney David Peters told the group of worried faces. "At this moment in time, we're on our own."
[more]
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