HOA meeting canceled after threat rumors:
Seems that rumors circulated about some unspecified person supposedly making threats about bringing a gun to the meeting and shooting people. So the meeting was canceled and the Mesa police were called, but they found no evidence of any such plot aside from the rumors. Everybody is hoping that's all there is to it...
Thanks to Pat Haruff for the link.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Holy reptilians, Batman! Giant lizard terrorizes condo complex
The 5-foot Monitor lizard wandering around a condo complex in the city of Riverside was way bigger than animal control officer Jenny Selter could have imagined.
"She said she saw it and almost jumped back in her truck," said John Welsh, spokesman for Riverside County Animal Services. "The residents were freaking out because here's the Godzilla-like creature walking down the sidewalk."
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The whole story is here.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Jack LaLanne dies at home at the age of 96
Jack LaLanne dies at home at 96
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Jack LaLanne was one of my heroes. He was a great guy who never cared that much about money, so when he invented most of the exercise equipment you see in gyms today, he didn't bother to patent it. Cables, pulleys, adjustable weight machines...he was doing all this in the 1930s. He was telling people not to eat sugar and white flour when doctors were still smoking cigarettes. And he was working out every day right up until the day he died...at home, at the age of 96.
Goodbye, Jack--you won't be forgotten.
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Jack LaLanne was one of my heroes. He was a great guy who never cared that much about money, so when he invented most of the exercise equipment you see in gyms today, he didn't bother to patent it. Cables, pulleys, adjustable weight machines...he was doing all this in the 1930s. He was telling people not to eat sugar and white flour when doctors were still smoking cigarettes. And he was working out every day right up until the day he died...at home, at the age of 96.
Goodbye, Jack--you won't be forgotten.
HOA recall election sparked over roofing choice
Roofing material OK spurs recall effort
EL DORADO HILLS — Waterford Village Homeowners Association board members face a recall vote following their approval of composition roof in the otherwise tile- and shake-shingled El Dorado Hills neighborhood.
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It seems that the HOA board touched a political third rail of sorts by messing with a distinguishing component of higher end California homes: the tile roof.
EL DORADO HILLS — Waterford Village Homeowners Association board members face a recall vote following their approval of composition roof in the otherwise tile- and shake-shingled El Dorado Hills neighborhood.
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It seems that the HOA board touched a political third rail of sorts by messing with a distinguishing component of higher end California homes: the tile roof.
Dueling locksmiths: Lawyer advises foreclosed clients to become squatters
Lawyer advises foreclosed clients to break back into their homes
The 58-year-old attorney admits to breaking into homes at least half a dozen times, including one before with the Earls, leaving the clients to squat in their homes while he defends their legal right to possession. His unconventional methods have gotten him fined by a judge in San Diego, arrested in Newport Beach and threatened with contempt — and jail — in Ventura.
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Wonder if we'll see this resistance tactic spread to HOA foreclosures?
The 58-year-old attorney admits to breaking into homes at least half a dozen times, including one before with the Earls, leaving the clients to squat in their homes while he defends their legal right to possession. His unconventional methods have gotten him fined by a judge in San Diego, arrested in Newport Beach and threatened with contempt — and jail — in Ventura.
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Wonder if we'll see this resistance tactic spread to HOA foreclosures?
Jimmy John's founder contemplates moving headquarters out of Illinois | News-Gazette.com
Jimmy John's founder contemplates moving headquarters out of Illinois | News-Gazette.com
"Jimmy John Liautaud told The News-Gazette on Tuesday that he is angry about the moves, which boosted the individual income tax from 3 percent to 5 percent and the corporate income tax from 7.3 percent to 9.5 percent."
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And so it begins--the exodus of businesses/employers from the state of Illinois.
"Jimmy John Liautaud told The News-Gazette on Tuesday that he is angry about the moves, which boosted the individual income tax from 3 percent to 5 percent and the corporate income tax from 7.3 percent to 9.5 percent."
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And so it begins--the exodus of businesses/employers from the state of Illinois.
The Cheerleading For State Bankruptcies And Municipal Defaults Is Downright Ghoulish
The Cheerleading For State Bankruptcies And Municipal Defaults Is Downright Ghoulish:
Maybe. But this underscores one of the main differences between real governments and CIDs. Real governments have a support network in the political system and in a wide range of public and private institutions. CIDs don't. The difference isn't theoretical. It has huge consequences for the millions of people who own HOA and condo units. For example, there is a profession called "public administration" that trains people to serve in government jobs, and it includes university departments, academic journals, a hundred years of published research, and major professional organizations in nations all over the planet. CIDs have the Community Associations Institute. Cities do national searches for the best city manager they can find. HOAs take their chances in their local area and may end up with a real winner, or they may get a crook or an incompetent. I could go on, but I think you get the point.
One of those consequences is clear from the current discussion of municipal bankruptcy. Cities and counties can go bankrupt under Chapter Nine, and now Republicans are agitating to include states within that provision as well. If they win big in 2012, you can bet that this will happen. When a government goes bankrupt, they can restructure their debts, including their agreements with their employees and their unions if any. That includes their employees pensions, which are a gigantic liability that has resulted from public officials making incredibly stupid sweet deals with public employee unions. But if you are a taxpayer in one of these cities, you get out from under what would otherwise be a crushing tax increase. You, as a citizen, can be relieved of a burden that your elected officials put on your shoulders, if whoever is overseeing the Chapter Nine proceeding decides it is the only way to keep the city going.
Compare that with a CID. When the HOA or condo association goes belly up, the owners remain liable for the debts of the association, including multi-million dollar judgments resulting from bad decisions made by the BOD. The limit of any individual owner's debts? The equity they have in their unit. If the board refuses to levy a special assessment to pay the debt, a judgment creditor can have a court appoint a receiver. The receiver levies the assessment and secures it with liens on the units. Owners who don't pay lose their homes in foreclosure. (Sound familiar?) See the Le Parc, Oak Park Calabasas, and Kingsbury Court cases for a description of how these judgments are handled.
So, while people certainly have lost their homes for not paying their property taxes, just like they lose them for not paying their assessments, there is a floor, or a safety net for them. How about for all these millions of CID residents? Not so much. HOA bankruptcy really doesn't accomplish much for the owners, who remain financially responsible, in most cases right up to the point of their own fiscal ruin.
Maybe. But this underscores one of the main differences between real governments and CIDs. Real governments have a support network in the political system and in a wide range of public and private institutions. CIDs don't. The difference isn't theoretical. It has huge consequences for the millions of people who own HOA and condo units. For example, there is a profession called "public administration" that trains people to serve in government jobs, and it includes university departments, academic journals, a hundred years of published research, and major professional organizations in nations all over the planet. CIDs have the Community Associations Institute. Cities do national searches for the best city manager they can find. HOAs take their chances in their local area and may end up with a real winner, or they may get a crook or an incompetent. I could go on, but I think you get the point.
One of those consequences is clear from the current discussion of municipal bankruptcy. Cities and counties can go bankrupt under Chapter Nine, and now Republicans are agitating to include states within that provision as well. If they win big in 2012, you can bet that this will happen. When a government goes bankrupt, they can restructure their debts, including their agreements with their employees and their unions if any. That includes their employees pensions, which are a gigantic liability that has resulted from public officials making incredibly stupid sweet deals with public employee unions. But if you are a taxpayer in one of these cities, you get out from under what would otherwise be a crushing tax increase. You, as a citizen, can be relieved of a burden that your elected officials put on your shoulders, if whoever is overseeing the Chapter Nine proceeding decides it is the only way to keep the city going.
Compare that with a CID. When the HOA or condo association goes belly up, the owners remain liable for the debts of the association, including multi-million dollar judgments resulting from bad decisions made by the BOD. The limit of any individual owner's debts? The equity they have in their unit. If the board refuses to levy a special assessment to pay the debt, a judgment creditor can have a court appoint a receiver. The receiver levies the assessment and secures it with liens on the units. Owners who don't pay lose their homes in foreclosure. (Sound familiar?) See the Le Parc, Oak Park Calabasas, and Kingsbury Court cases for a description of how these judgments are handled.
So, while people certainly have lost their homes for not paying their property taxes, just like they lose them for not paying their assessments, there is a floor, or a safety net for them. How about for all these millions of CID residents? Not so much. HOA bankruptcy really doesn't accomplish much for the owners, who remain financially responsible, in most cases right up to the point of their own fiscal ruin.
Limited HOA reforms likely in North Carolina
The study committee's recommendations would provide more protections for homeowner by requiring that no liens lead to foreclosure unless assessments have gone unpaid for at least 90 days. Homeowners would also be allowed to pay late assessments in installments and must be mailed a copy of an offer to make the late payments.
Homeowners would be given more power to force homeowner association boards to meet openly and remove board members who fail to abide by the law or association bylaws. Associations financial records would also be open to review.
The catch is that state lawmakers can't force these rules down the throats of existing homeowners associations if current contracts and covenants call for something different. The regulations, if they become law, would only apply in total to new homeowners associations or those that agree to accept them.
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Read more about the state's pending "HOA reform lite" here.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Clackamas County considers ban on signs, added restrictions
Clackamas County considers ban on signs, added restrictions: "A local expert in constitutional law believes that Clackamas County will have to significantly alter its draft resolution that proposed banning signs, clapping and personal insults, while giving “authority to enforce reasonable restrictions” on the times the public would be allowed to speak, and on the use of video recording equipment."
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Another example of cities emulating HOAs?
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Another example of cities emulating HOAs?
Condo Owners: pay up!
BostonHerald.com - Blogs: Getting Real» Blog Archive » Condo owners beware: pay up!: "Sid Shulman, homeowner at International Village, has taken matters into his own hands.
Near the mailbox of each condo building he posted a list of residents delinquent on their maintenance fees, with the message “Pay up or move out” and the same in Spanish, Pague O Mudese. He also tried, unsuccessfully, to get the cable company to cut off service to nonpayers.
The association has gone so far as to install a fingerprint scanner at the entrance to its community center, in order to keep non-payers from gaining access."
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Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link. Pay or else.
Near the mailbox of each condo building he posted a list of residents delinquent on their maintenance fees, with the message “Pay up or move out” and the same in Spanish, Pague O Mudese. He also tried, unsuccessfully, to get the cable company to cut off service to nonpayers.
The association has gone so far as to install a fingerprint scanner at the entrance to its community center, in order to keep non-payers from gaining access."
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Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link. Pay or else.
Monday, January 17, 2011
California HOA cracks down on hoarders
Once a hoarding complaint is filed, an inspection could be ordered. The board must get residents' permission to enter units. Residents who refuse inspections will be called before the board for a disciplinary hearing.
If the board determines the hoarding policy has been violated, the resident would have 15 days to remove the clutter. If a resident refuses, the board could seek a court order to force the resident to remove the clutter, fine the resident, suspend the resident's privileges in the community or proceed with eviction.Read the story here.
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The HOA better get permission. The California Court of Appeal ruled a dozen years ago that another Southern California HOA could not enter the unit of a merchant marine while he was away at sea to police what it saw as an excessively cluttered unit, which the appellate court equated to nanny state governance.
The coming muni meltdown--Charles Gasparino - NYPOST.com
The coming muni meltdown--Charles Gasparino - NYPOST.com:
"The municipal-bond market is in crisis, with prices fall ing and investors running for cover -- and for good reason. Munis -- bonds sold by states, cities, counties and other localities to finance government operations -- are in trouble because the Ponzi scheme of Big Government is coming unglued. The markets are merely reflecting this reality, as they always do. The $3 trillion muni market was once regarded as the safest of all investments because the bonds are backed by government taxes. Now it's showing all the earmarks of the 2007-08 meltdown."
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/muni_meltdown_10IepFWdpphKZrTnoxftBK#ixzz1BJhQQEj2
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But the economy is recovering. Just ask Ben Bernanke.
"The municipal-bond market is in crisis, with prices fall ing and investors running for cover -- and for good reason. Munis -- bonds sold by states, cities, counties and other localities to finance government operations -- are in trouble because the Ponzi scheme of Big Government is coming unglued. The markets are merely reflecting this reality, as they always do. The $3 trillion muni market was once regarded as the safest of all investments because the bonds are backed by government taxes. Now it's showing all the earmarks of the 2007-08 meltdown."
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/muni_meltdown_10IepFWdpphKZrTnoxftBK#ixzz1BJhQQEj2
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But the economy is recovering. Just ask Ben Bernanke.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
SIDE STREETS: HOA at Satellite Hotel is veering out of orbit
Ugly allegations have surfaced as residents fight for control of the homeowners association that runs the Satellite Hotel, a “futuristic” 14-story, three-winged hotel/condo hybrid built in 1969.
The HOA president and her officers portray board newcomer Hayward Rigano as a bully who has used threats and intimidation in his quest for power over the 300 or so who live in the Satellite’s 241 condos.
Rigano denies the allegations, describing himself as simply trying to do what’s right for the Satellite, which sits along South Academy Boulevard at Airport Road.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
Long economic downturn paints grim future for Privatopia
As the owner of this blog has observed, there's years more excess to be wrung out of the real estate bubble that burst five years ago.
Before it's done, it could take down a lot of HOAs with it. Witness the "the fading fortunes of gated communities and condominiums" in Florida as the Palm Beach Post put it in this article, where desperate HOAs have resorted to locking out inmates behind on their assessments and removing the doors of their mailboxes.
Before it's done, it could take down a lot of HOAs with it. Witness the "the fading fortunes of gated communities and condominiums" in Florida as the Palm Beach Post put it in this article, where desperate HOAs have resorted to locking out inmates behind on their assessments and removing the doors of their mailboxes.
Hot topics for community associations in 2011 - chicagotribune.com
Hot topics for community associations in 2011 - chicagotribune.com:
Pamela McKuen of the Chicago Tribune focuses on the financial problems of associations. Thanks to my student, Brittany Ryan, for this link.
Pamela McKuen of the Chicago Tribune focuses on the financial problems of associations. Thanks to my student, Brittany Ryan, for this link.
Over 1 million Americans seen losing homes in 2011 - Yahoo! News
Over 1 million Americans seen losing homes in 2011 - Yahoo! News: "The bleakest year in the foreclosure crisis has only just begun. Lenders are poised to take back more homes this year than any other since the U.S. housing meltdown began in 2006. About 5 million borrowers are at least two months behind on their mortgages and industry experts say more people will miss payments because of job losses and also loans that exceed the value of the homes they are living in. '2011 is going to be the peak,' said Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at foreclosure tracker RealtyTrac Inc. The firm predicts 1.2 million homes will be repossessed this year."
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Bucking the trend, I managed to conclude the refinancing of my home yesterday. I feel like the guy who gets onto the spaceship last just before the door closes, and it flies away, and the meteor crashes into the earth.
Interest rates are going up and the banks are behaving like complete idiots (i.e., taking zillions in cheap money from the taxpayers and then refusing to lend it). During 2011 they will drop the hammer on the huge backlog in foreclosures that accumulated during the "robo-signer" scandal.
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Bucking the trend, I managed to conclude the refinancing of my home yesterday. I feel like the guy who gets onto the spaceship last just before the door closes, and it flies away, and the meteor crashes into the earth.
Interest rates are going up and the banks are behaving like complete idiots (i.e., taking zillions in cheap money from the taxpayers and then refusing to lend it). During 2011 they will drop the hammer on the huge backlog in foreclosures that accumulated during the "robo-signer" scandal.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Housing and Economy: Housing Market Slips Into Depression Territory - CNBC
Housing and Economy: Housing Market Slips Into Depression Territory - CNBC:
Home values have fallen 26 percent since their peak in June 2006, worse than the 25.9-percent decline seen during the Depression years between 1928 and 1933, Zillow reported. November marked the 53rd consecutive month (4 ½ years) that home values have fallen. What’s worse, it’s not over yet: Home values are expected to continue to slide as inventories pile up, and likely won't recover until the job market improves.
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And in other news, the Democrats who control the Illinois state legislature just raised the state income tax by 67%, corporate taxes by over 40%, and continued their 8 year refusal to address their over-spending.
This is the first of many state and local tax increases to come. California and other big states are going to jack up taxes.
How anybody can talk about economic recovery now is just beyond me. The housing market is still deteriorating, unemployment remains high, and the crisis state of government financing at all levels is getting worse.
Home values have fallen 26 percent since their peak in June 2006, worse than the 25.9-percent decline seen during the Depression years between 1928 and 1933, Zillow reported. November marked the 53rd consecutive month (4 ½ years) that home values have fallen. What’s worse, it’s not over yet: Home values are expected to continue to slide as inventories pile up, and likely won't recover until the job market improves.
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And in other news, the Democrats who control the Illinois state legislature just raised the state income tax by 67%, corporate taxes by over 40%, and continued their 8 year refusal to address their over-spending.
This is the first of many state and local tax increases to come. California and other big states are going to jack up taxes.
How anybody can talk about economic recovery now is just beyond me. The housing market is still deteriorating, unemployment remains high, and the crisis state of government financing at all levels is getting worse.
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