Bradenton couple finds thousands of bees in their backyard

Bradenton couple finds thousands of bees in their backyard

The homeowners association said they plan to check on all the trees to make sure there aren't any more of those hives.
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And a letter will likely be issued to property owners harboring giant beehives warning of daily fines if the hives remain.

Freddie Mac posts $4.1B loss for Q3 - Business - msnbc.com

Freddie Mac posts $4.1B loss for Q3 - Business - msnbc.com
And on it goes. If you want to see where the whole housing market catastrophe started, here it is.

The Monkey Cage: The Forecasts and The Outcome

The Monkey Cage: The Forecasts and The Outcome
How all the political scientists fared in predicting the election results.

News Brief From Center for California Homeowner Association Law

From Marjorie Murray at CCHA:

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Since we’re going to the polls today,   we thought this would be a good time to post the lawsuit brought two weeks ago by the ACLU to force a homeowner association and its property manager to keep their mitts off the HOA resident exercising his constitutional right to post political signs.

Here’s the link to the ACLU lawsuit on the CCHAL website: http://www.calhomelaw.org/doc.asp?id=1246.  Keep this link handy in case someone tells you that you can’t post a political sign during an election.

Hassling homeowners over political signs could easily happen again.  The entire association industry was opposed to the Longville bill, AB1525, when it was going through the policy committees in the California Legislature.  Here’s the list of registered opponents from the Senate analysis right before the bill went to the Governor’s desk: http://leginfo.ca.gov/pub/03-04/bill/asm/ab_1501-1550/ab_1525_cfa_20030902_095635_sen_floor.html

OPPOSITION: (Verified  8/25/03)

Community Associations Institute, unless amended

Executive Council of Homeowners, unless amended

California Association of Community Managers

On the list are the three trade groups that collect homeowner money and then use it to lobby against homeowner rights in Sacramento – like homeowners’ right to constitutionally protected free speech.

If the trade groups want to lobby in Sacramento on behalf of their members, we absolutely support their constitutional right to political free expression.  

But we sure wish they’d quit using homeowner money in Sacramento to dismantle the Bill of Rights.  

CCHAL NewsBrief

November 2, 2010

Marjorie Murray, President

Center for California Homeowner Association Law

1305 Franklin Street, Suite 201

Oakland, California 94612

www.calhomelaw.org

HOAs don't enjoy blanket immunity for maintenance decisions, California Court of Appeal rules

In a ruling filed filed Oct. 29 in Affan et al v. Portofino Cove Homeowners Association, G041379, the Fourth District of the California Court of Appeal overturned a trial court ruling dismissing claims brought against a condo HOA and its management company by an owner alleging the defendants breached their duty to maintain and repair the common area plumbing, causing sewage to back up into the plaintiff's unit.

The trial court dismissed the suit citing a 1999 ruling by the California Supreme Court in Lamden v. La Jolla Shores Clubdominium Homeowners Assn. (1999) 21 Cal.4th 249. In that case, the California high court applied the business judgment rule to HOAs, holding that courts are to defer to the "presumed expertise" of HOA boards when it comes to their decisions on maintaining common areas. That means these decisions by HOA boards are not subject to second guessing by the courts when owners challenge them.

But in Affan, the Court of Appeal found the HOA failed to establish the factual prerequisites for applying the deference rule. In addition, it held, since the HOA manager is not the HOA, the rule does not apply to the manager.

Here's a key excerpt from the ruling:

It is important to note the narrow scope of the Lamden rule. It is a rule of deference to the reasoned decisionmaking of homeowners association boards concerning ordinary maintenance. It does not create a blanket immunity for all the decisions and actions of a homeowners association. The Supreme Court's precise articulation of the rule makes clear that the rule of deference applies only when a homeowner sues an association over a maintenance decision that meets the enumerated criteria.

The full decision can be read here.

Team 4: Debt Collectors Accused Of Fake Courtroom, Judge - News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh

Team 4: Debt Collectors Accused Of Fake Courtroom, Judge - News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh

I expect this idea may catch on soon with the HOA/condo bill collector law firms.

'Halloween House' in Surprise drawing boos from neighbors, HOA

'Halloween House' in Surprise drawing boos from neighbors, HOA

Neat house, although it has so many lights that it looks like it's on fire.

Getting balmy in Palm Beach

PALM BEACH GARDENS — To some people they were just ducks. To Robert and Blain Aymond they were feces-spewing, orchid-eating disease bags with wings.

The webbed-foot menaces tore up the lawn and pool screens at their lakefront home in the Frenchman's Landing community near Palm Beach Gardens, defecating, copulating and squawking with brazen aplomb.

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The horror! If it seems that people who live in Privatopia have too much time on their hands and need to get a life, this story only reinforces that perception. Where else do neighbors fight each other over a bunch of ducks?

Read the rest of this story here.

There better be skin: Nudist HOA claims resident clothed too much

LUTZ, Fla., Oct. 25 (UPI) -- The homeowners association of a Florida nudist park wants to evict a disabled resident said to be disruptive and not nude often enough.
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You can't make up some of the stuff like this that comes out of Privatopia. Read the rest of the story here.

Residential mortgage market meltdown: the Halloween sequel

The first part of this story involved lenders issuing mortgages without adequate underwriting, producing a lot of non-performing loans. When those loans were packaged and sold as securities, financial markets realized that lots of paper bags filled with excrement were ablaze on their doorstep. That largely prompted the financial market meltdown in 2008 from which the economy is still struggling to recover.

Just in time for Halloween comes the sequel in this financial horror story. As this New York Times article points out, the devil is in trying to unwind these bad debts and repossess the underlying properties. No easy feat considering that those stinky sacks of crap passed through a lot of hands, making it very difficult to sort out the individual notes in each bag.

Update 10/29: American Public Media's Marketplace radio program did a segment on today's show on the difficulty matching the notes in these troubled mortgage backed securities to the actual properties securing them, effectively rendering these securities worthless "zombie bonds" and setting the stage for litigation brought by understandably unhappy investors. Check out Marketplace's story here accompanied by lots of Halloween screams and howls.

Psychologist defines the HOA Syndrome caused by oppressive HOAs � HOA Constitutional Government

Psychologist defines the HOA Syndrome caused by oppressive HOAs � HOA Constitutional Government

Sounds like a pandemic. But is it contagious? I also see that some Florida HOA attorney is making fun of this situation. George Staropoli wants to have him keelhauled or at least disbarred for insensitivity, but I think making attempted jokes with no punch line is a worse offense.

The big picture, though, is grim for the condo sector, in Florida and elsewhere. The association lawyer-lobbyist crowd is getting desperate because on one hand they have to fight off state legislators and on the other hand they are watching condo developments melt down all around them. So far most of the demands for state regulation have been based mainly on abuse of power and incompetence by boards and their hired guns. Soon the issue in state legislatures--and maybe even federal agencies--may be what to do about the economic collapse of condo associations and HOAs.

Who knows? Soon some of these attorneys may have to find a specialty where they actually have to go up against other lawyers, instead of beating up on unrepresented homeowners.

NC may examine powers of HOAs next year

Candidates would consider limiting powers of homeowner associations

A local lawmaker and state senate candidate say they want to look at issues involving homeowners associations during the next General Assembly session, which begins Jan. 26.

“I suspect we will be looking into that because we’ve got some homeowners associations that are completely out of control,” said Rep. Danny McComas, R-New Hanover. “I do feel that finding a means to control some of these HOAs is going to be necessary.”
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This is a wasted endeavor at best and a cynical political ploy at worst.

If legislators and candidates truly believe that non condo HOAs have the power of municipalities without checks and balances on their powers, they should deprivatize them and take them out of state nonprofit corporations codes and instead bring them under government codes.

HOA developers cut long term deals with Internet service providers at inmates' expense

Living in Privatopia could mean paying for telecommunications services provided by your HOA, even if you choose another provider as this broadbandreports.com item explains.

The problem is developers sign long term contracts with a single Internet Service Provider instead of putting in open access fiber owned by the HOA. Good for the developer prince but not the HOA serfs. An open access fiber to the premises infrastructure would give residents a true choice of ISPs since any number could choose to offer services to the residents.

HOA takes issue with homeowner's landscaping

HOA takes issue with homeowner's landscaping

FOX 35 asked the HOA president, Bill Herring what was wrong with O'Connor's landscaping. "Look at all the dead stuff, dead vines dead limbs in the trees," said Bill Herring. "We didn't find any of that," said FOX 35 Reporter Holly Bristow. "Well you ain't looking very well," said Herring who then said to contact the HOA attorney. The HOA's attorney has not yet returned our call. According to Mo O'Connor, the HOA attorney wants to go to formal mediation with her. She says she's already done informal mediation with the HOA . Mo O'Connor says since state statute protects her Florida friendly lawn, she's not changing it.
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Yet another episode of ambulance chasing, HOA style. Film at 11.

Payments average 18 months past due on Palm Beach County's foreclosed homes

Payments average 18 months past due on Palm Beach County's foreclosed homes

And that county has almost 46, 000 homes in foreclosure. How's that for a recovery? Let's just give these policies some time to work, OK people?

Seriously--the cyclical aspect of this recession ended a year ago according to all the experts. What we have now is something else, and I've shifted over to the camp that says the policies of this administration may be preventing the employment situation from improving and holding the housing market back. At this point there won't be a cyclical recovery at all. Something has to change in Washington. We may have divided government starting in January, and that will produce either compromise (maybe a good thing) or gridlock (probably disastrous). A great deal may depend on personalities. Just getting that gavel out of Nancy Pelosi's hand would make a big difference.

Buyers of foreclosed homes may face big problems

Buyers of foreclosed homes may face big problems:

"“Anyone who’s purchased a foreclosed property in the last three years should really be concerned,” says George Babcock, a Providence lawyer who represents homeowners who have been foreclosed on."

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This is why banks are freezing the foreclosure process. If the mortgagee uses sketchy practices to to prove they have the right to foreclose, then sells it to a new owner, that new owner may not really have title to the property. Lawyers being the opportunistic types they are, you can then have an interesting situation. What if the former owner (the original mortgagor) shows up and claims the house? Title insurance should protect the new owner, but this is yet another permutation in the unfolding weirdness of the post-crash housing market.

Delusional Thieves Caught Stealing Entire Mansions - The Consumerist

Delusional Thieves Caught Stealing Entire Mansions - The Consumerist: "A ring of confused folk in Georgia are stealing entire million-dollar homes, deeding themselves the property with bogus paperwork and squatting inside."

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I'm not sure "confused" is the right word. Thanks to Mystery Reader for this fascinating story.

As Mountain Of Foreclosure Fraud Evidence Grows, National Media Has Decided It's Really More Of An "Oops!" | Crooks and Liars

As Mountain Of Foreclosure Fraud Evidence Grows, National Media Has Decided It's Really More Of An "Oops!" | Crooks and Liars

This link from Mystery Reader asks why banks can commit what appear to be crimes and nobody goes to jail, and in fact the national media don't seem to see much of a problem.

Banks Hired "Burger King Kids" To Process Mortgages - The Consumerist

Banks Hired "Burger King Kids" To Process Mortgages - The Consumerist

Mystery Reader strikes again. You wonder when the people who did these things will end up behind bars.

Bankers: We Wouldn't Hire Unqualified Robo-Signers If You Just Paid Your Mortgage - The Consumerist

Bankers: We Wouldn't Hire Unqualified Robo-Signers If You Just Paid Your Mortgage - The Consumerist

Thanks to Mystery Reader for this educational link. Why don't we just see the error of our ways and fall prostrate before the financial gods?