Manhattan parking spot�going for $225,000 - Jul. 12, 2007

Churchill dropped from England's history syllabus - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Sir Winston, who was British prime minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955, was famous for his defiance to the Nazis, stirring oratory and trademark cigar and "V for victory" sign. In 2002, a BBC poll with more than one million votes saw him voted the Greatest Briton of all time.

N.J. senator proposes toy gun ban--Would make it illegal for anyone under 18 to purchase toy gun7Online.com: New York City and Tri-State News from WABC-TV

"The margin between a child's stupid mistake and a tragic ending is far too thin," said Sen. Nicholas Scutari.

OK, but what is the margin between a legislator's stupid idea and a nanny state?

cbs4.com - Homeowners Fees Turns Into Foreclosure Nightmare
Fred Pilot sends this example of what we have been told doesn't really happen: impending foreclosure over an unpaid $106 maintenance fee and $4000 in HOA attorney fees. Check out the video.

East Valley/ Scottsdale Tribune: Mesa HOA's towing prompts lawsuit
Fred Pilot sent this account of a strange public/private connection: in Mesa, AZ, where HOAs are mandatory in new construction by government policy, HOAs are towing cars from public streets and dunning the owners for payments. A state legislator tried to ban the practice but failed.

FT.com / Capital markets - US mortgage problem fears spark sell-off

This may lead to higher interest rates for home loans.

Fears of further problems in the US mortgage industry and the broader economy flared on Tuesday, triggering a sell-off in credit markets as investors sought safe havens. Markets were rattled when Standard & Poor’s, the ratings agency, threatened to downgrade the credit ratings on some $12bn of bonds backed by US subprime home loans. This raised concerns of a broader repricing of risk in credit markets, leading to heavy losses for some investors, particularly in derivative markets.

Global warming strikes again: Buenos Aires sees rare snowfall

Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, has seen snow for the first time in 89 years, as a cold snap continues to grip several South American nations. Temperatures plunged to -22C (-8F) in parts of Argentina's province of Rio Negro, while snow fell on Buenos Aires for several hours on Monday. Two deaths from exposure were reported in Argentina and one in Chile. In Bolivia, heavy snowfall blocked the nation's main motorway and forced the closure of several airports. In Argentina, several provinces in the Andes have been placed under a storm alert, according to the national weather centre.

This fence makes angry neighbors | floridatoday.com | Serving Brevard County and Florida’s Space Coast

The "Space Coast"?

Residents in Wickham Forest are fuming about a 10-foot-tall stockade fence erected recently by Melbourne businessman Larry Dennison. Paralleling a shared property line, the 48-foot-long fence comes within inches of the homeowners' association's century-old oak tree. Moreover, the barrier likely would keep northbound motorists from seeing the association's planned $20,000 entrance sign.

Top Global Warming Advocate: Jupiter & Saturn Closer To Sun Than Earth
No wonder people are skeptical. He really said this:

ALEX JONES: "The polar icecaps of Mars are receding at several miles a year, much faster than ours and that the moons of Saturn and Jupiter are melting, in fact several of their moons were ice and are now liquid seas - how are SUV's causing that David Rothschild?

ROTHSCHILD: "Because those planets are closer to the sun, my friend."

Fast-Growing Common Interest Developments Spurring
Cottage Industry for Homeowner Advocacy: Northwest Reporter
Fred Pilot sent this piece, which has a plug for Joyce Starr's self-help book, and also a few choice comments from yours truly if you keep reading:

Love 'em or loathe 'em – homeowner associations (HOAs) are a part of the everyday lives for a rising number of Americans. The growth of Common Interest Developments (CIDs) and "managed communities" is spurring the emergence of homeowner advocacy groups, watchdogs, legal specialists, books, blogs and other resources aimed at helping individual owners assert their constitutional and property rights. One such book is described by its author as "the first self-defense guide for condo and homeowner association members." Not surprisingly, Dr. Joyce Starr, the author/publisher, was inspired to share her experiences and insights after winning a two-year legal battle with her condo board involving toxic mold, whistle blowing and pets. "Defend Your Condo & Homeowners Rights! What You Must Do When the Board Turns Your Life Upside Down" is sold separately or as part of a trio of works on "homeowner defense strategies." In addition to the "Defend" title, the 3-part set includes "Creating Home Owner and Condo Association Documents: How to Protect Your HOA and Con-Dough" by David Goldenberg, Ph.D., and "Condo Board Elections Revolt," by Valmore Lucier, "the first Condominium Ombudsman in America." (For ordering information: www.drjoycestarr.com)

Condo boards, residents tangle | Home News Tribune Online
Fred Pilot found this. But I thought these things were "isolated incidents"?

In July 2002, Vastola had put up a white Pella Midview storm door, pretty much the same style she had seen around her complex — one was even in teal blue. Members of the condo association told Vastola the association's rules prohibit that style of storm door, and hers would have to be removed. They were right. Vastola's case is hardly an isolated incident. In fact it's one of a legion of conflicts on record for residents of condominiums throughout the nation — residents who often find themselves fighting grievances with condo boards that some residents believe have too much power and too little accountability. Those who live in condominiums sometimes buy their units without reading the regulations that can contain strict rules. Conflicts arise, and owners are frequently stunned to find themselves in violation of such provisions as the design of a storm door, or their ability to put political sign on the lawn in front of their dwelling.

And note the summary of where things stand on the legislative front in New Jersey:

Vastola credits the Common-Interest Homeowners Association for helping her through her fight with her condo association. The C-IHC is an independent, nonprofit organization that was founded to bring reform to residential associations. Measures designed to address problems between condo association boards and their homeowner members have stalled in the state legislature. State Sen. Ron Rice, D-Essex, said he is working on getting a homeowners' bill of rights out of his Senate Urban and Community and Affairs Committee this year. The bill (S1608), called the "Owners Rights in Common Interest Developments Act," or ORCID, seeks to bolster existing laws in the areas of condo board elections, improve ease of access to records of condo boards and establish a mechanism for alternative dispute resolution. Rice's bill is at odds with another bill (A798), called the "Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act," or UCIOA. Its acronym is pronounced "yew-KWI-ah," and it was sponsored by Assemblyman Wilfred Caraballo, D-Newark. UCIOA has already passed the Assembly, and its backers are hoping now for its passage in the Senate in the form of S805, sponsored by Sen. Joseph Doria, D-Jersey City, and Sen. Nicholas Asselta, R-Vineland.

Boing Boing: First Amendment mob of photogs hit Silver Spring on July 4
Thanks to Mystery Reader for this amazing photo of photographer civil disobedience, a followup to the news about Silver Spring, MD, privatizing public space and the first amendment going bye-bye, from Boing Boing.

Officer suspended after arresting woman in clash over dry lawn in US - International Herald Tribune
Fred Pilot sent this. Here is another municipality acting like an HOA. These requirements to water your lawn during drought conditions are a point of contention in many HOAs out west. Here is a municipal ordinance to the same effect.

The mysterious case of the disappearing plastic men
More signs of impending anarchy in Maryland. You'd think with all those HOAs around that people would have learned to behave themselves.

Barking fines as noisy New York repents | International News | News | Telegraph
A better headline would be, "Fussbudget Mayor Runs for President...and not of his condo association." This just proves what I've been saying: cities are emulating HOAs.

Barking dogs and lawn mowers are among the main targets of anti-noise laws which have just come into force in New York. Having cleaned up the city's smoking and eating habits, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's civilising tendencies have turned to its famous din. From now on construction companies will have to put up "noise mitigation plans" at building sites explaining how they intend to minimise machinery and other noise. Rubbish trucks must stay at least 50ft from residential buildings between 11pm and 7am while ice cream vans can only play their jingles when the vehicle is moving.Noisy dogs will be penalised whether moving or not. Pets that bark continuously for more than five minutes at night or 10 minutes during the day could leave their owners with fines ranging from $50 to $175 for a first offence. Lawn mowers cannot be used before 8am and after 7pm on weekdays, or before 9am and after 6pm on weekends and public holidays. Loud music will be subject to fines ranging from $50 for a portable stereo offender up to $24,000 for a restaurant which ignores a first warning.

Boing Boing: Silver Spring's downtown is "private property" - no photos allowed
Amazing story from Mystery Reader about privatization run amuck. Who was that crazy guy who said that privatizing public space was leading to loss of civil liberties?

The town of Silver Spring, Maryland gave a private company $100,000,000 to redevelop its downtown area. Now the company claims that the entire downtown is a shopping mall, under its absolute control, without any civil rights. It has barred photography by the public, and insists that it has the right to treat citizens as mere customers.

Headlines: Owners ordered to vow HOA support or face suit | board, hoa, covenants - Gazette.com
Fred Pilot sent this charming story of HOA combat:

BLACK FOREST - Along the trickling headwaters of Cherry Creek, just beyond the pine trees of Black Forest, homeowners are squaring off against each other. A judge will decide who runs the Cherry Creek Springs Homeowners Association and its three-member board of directors. In the meantime, the HOA board is trying to force residents to take sides. Many residents of the upscale homes on 5-acre lots are outraged. “They are making us sign a loyalty oath,” said Haze Hutmacher, who built his home in 1998 and is among the original owners in the subdivision.

Telluride Daily Planet -At Ski Ranches, a subdivision divided
Fred Pilot sent this along:
This is your neighborhood, the Ski Ranches, an idyllic subdivision riven by boiling rhetoric, complaints about spending and charges that the homeowners’ board has been illegally seated. Welcome home. Of course, not everyone’s leaping into the lobster pot. Many of the residents, part-timers and investors who make up this community of 148 homes and 55 lots, are staying out of the fray. Board members blame a “vocal minority” for sparking the turmoil. Still, the conflict has left bruises, residents said. Finding volunteers has gotten harder, and one board member is stepping down to get out of shooting range. Some owners are even reluctant to build, and real-estate agents are hesitant to show homes in the Ranches.

Todays Local News for Logan Utah and Cache County
Thanks to alert reader Neil A. who found this article addressing the issue parking on one's lawn, noted below in a post on Houston TX. This one is from Utah.

Notes on HOAs in China
Since Friday, June 22, I have been in Beijing, China, attending the “International Conference on Community Governance: Multicultural Perspectives.” The conference was held at Renmin University, which translates as “People’s University,” an institution that has traditionally been the place where future Communist Party officials are educated. The conference was organized by the University of Southern California’s School of Policy, Planning, and Development, which was formed fairly recently in a merger of the School of Public Administration and the School of Urban Planning. These are my unedited and hasty thoughts on the conference, started in the Beijing Fellowship Hotel and finished back home in Lindenhurst, IL.

The actual purpose of the conference is to come to a better understanding of the rise of private communities in China. The conference brought together a variety of American, British, and Chinese scholars of political science, law, and urban planning; a number of Chinese practicing attorneys and community organizers; and many Chinese homeowner association members, consumer activists, and other concerned citizens. We spent two long days, running from 8:15am until late in the evening in formal and informal presentations and meetings. The USC delegation visited the homes of some Chinese homeowner association members and leaders. All told, we have learned a great deal about events in China, and I hope we have been able to convey a good understanding of the US and British experience. I am setting this out descriptively, but in truth this has been an intense experience with some dramatic testimony. I am going to summarize what I have learned without attributing particular statements to individuals.

It is important to understand that the current situation, while far from perfect, is probably an enormous improvement over the past, and the country is making progress. Hundreds of millions of people are now able to become owners of property (that means something different than in the US—see below), and to use that property as a financial asset that they can sell down the road. Also, millions of people have moved from the countryside and the hard agricultural life to work in cities, where they are saving money and thus accumulating wealth, even though by American standards it might seem that the wages are very low. Keep in mind that nearly all these folks are buying units in high-rise condominium buildings.

However, there are some pretty significant problems, and that is why this conference was organized and a lot of western social scientists and planners were brought over to talk about the situation.

From my standpoint, it has been important to understand how private communities work here in China. There are similarities and differences as compared with the US experience. Let me first explain who the players are and then try to explain how they interact. There are basically six key participants:

1. Local government: also referred to as “subdistrict” government
2. Real estate developers: these are private entities, but many of them were government and/or Communist Party officials in the past
3. Property management companies: these entities manage the private communities and have a great deal of power. Many of them were in the past government employees charged with managing public housing projects on behalf of the state.
4. Resident councils or committees: these are officially recognized organizations that are supposed to be owner organizations, but in reality they are an arm of local government, and they are for the most part led by Communist Party members.
5. Homeowners: the owners are struggling to be recognized as such. They pay assessments to the management company. They do not chafe at living under restrictions, as many Americans do. But they are very concerned about the way their money and property are being (mis)used in many cases.
6. Homeowner associations: these are voluntary organizations set up by owners to assert their rights as owners collectively.

In China, people do not actually own land. Agricultural land is owned by agricultural collectives. All urban land is owned by the state, and where residential land is concerned it is owned by the local government, which has the power to sell the right to use the land to real estate developers for a term of years. The developer in turns sells that right to the homeowners. Recent changes to the law at the national level provide for renewal of those rights, but it remains unclear what the term of renewal is to be, and whether those who have purchased housing units from the developers will have to pay the local government again for that renewal.

Clearly the national government wants to create a genuine real estate market. The hitch is that local government is making money off some practices that may make it harder to get there. The local governments want to attract developers, many of whom are former government officials. That’s fine in itself, but the opportunity for local officials to profit from that situation is obvious. The developer hires the property management company which runs the development, and in theory you have the government-affiliated resident council to represent the owners. No problem, if everybody took their job seriously. But they have the problem of what seems to be fairly widespread corruption, where people use their positions as local official, developer, or property manager to profit handsomely at the expense of the owners, who are at the bottom of the ladder in terms of political influence and economic power.

What about the HOAs? Well, these are voluntary organizations, for real, that are actually created by the owners to represent their real concerns as property owners, because they feel that the resident councils are part of the government, the government is eager to keep the developer happy, and the management company is an extension of the developer. The HOAs do not have the power to enforce the rules and regulations, which is done instead by the PM. These PM firms are very powerful and politically connected. They also control the ubiquitous private security firms that police the projects. Some of the HOAs, though, have filed and even won lawsuits to enforce their rights as owners.

Here are some examples of practices that Chinese HOAs complain about:
a. The property manager and/or developer convert 16 residential units to rental units that they lease to commercial enterprises and pocket the money
b. The PM and/or developer sell the common area, such as open space, to somebody and pocket the money.
c. The developer sells most of the units and then never finishes the building to the point where it can be occupied, so the owners can’t move in. The developer disappears.
d. The owner of a top floor unit in a 25 story building knocks out the roof and adds a story to the building, giving himself a two-story unit. The PM doesn’t do anything about it, presumably because he/she was greased in advance.
e. The owner of a unit knocks out load-bearing walls to enlarge his unit. The roof of the floor below begins to crack badly and water leaks in. The owner of that unit is afraid to complain for fear of being beaten (see below). An engineer recommends putting somebody on the roof if it snows to sweep off the snow so the weight doesn’t make the building collapse.
f. When owners complain or get involved with their HOA, the property management firm has the private security guards beat them up.
g. Owners can’t get to see the records of their own development, which are kept by the management firm. So they have no idea how their money is being spent. It seems that often some of it being pocketed by the PM and/or developer.
h. Owners can’t fire the developer’s property management company and hire one they trust without a difficult court fight.
i. Owners with the right connections don’t pay their monthly fees and get away with it.

The HOAs have a problem getting people to become involved because they are afraid of physical violence and they believe they have no chance of success. However, it seems that they have in fact rung up some lawsuit wins, and we heard from one attorney who specializes in representing HOAs in these fights (interestingly, he said when he was in the US he couldn’t find any lawyers who represent the owners—a familiar story). Some of the present and former HOA leaders we met are very impressive people.

Obviously there is room for this situation to improve. The single most important improvement, I think, would be to professionalize the property management firms so that they do their jobs instead of profiteering on their own behalf and that of the developer. They should not be extensions of the developer at all, but should be independent and guided by standards of professional responsibility. Beyond that, somehow the general problem of corruption has to be addressed. It undermines the integrity of the whole institution of property ownership. Everybody knows this, but making it happen will take some time.

Yet, somehow people are so determined to become home owners that they brave all this and put their capital at risk. In China people do not like to borrow money to buy homes, so they save and put cash into it. They find our 10% down and 90% loan arrangements absolutely bizarre. So, we have a lot of owner enthusiasm despite a level of risk that would probably deter most American buyers.

I will try to post more on this, but here you have the big picture.