Reform the condominium

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/17/opinion/reform-the-condominium.html?_r=1

This op-ed by urban planning professor Matthew Lasner follows on the hells of a series the New York times published on a bizarre trend in the condo market:  very rich people, some with shady backgrounds, buying condos in NYC behind shell companies so nobody knows who they are.  Even the condo association doesn't know who the owners are. And the city has been subsidizing this trend because they want more rich people having their pied a terre in New York City. There's a lot more wrong with the condo model than this op-ed describes, but for a short piece it is excellent.
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"FROM New York to Miami, from South Padre Island, Tex., to Park City, Utah, the American condominium has become the hot new investment for global capital. In Manhattan, the trend is so pronounced that a whole new category of real estate has emerged around the southern edges of Central Park: supertall, ultraluxury buildings, with more than half of the homes being sold to anonymous buyers (some perhaps looking to stash ill-gotten gains) who rarely, if ever, occupy them. The city, meanwhile, struggles to produce sufficient housing for those who do live here."

State of Florida subsidizes golf course conversion

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-golf-course-brownfield-incentives-20150125-story.html

This raises some interesting benefits to being a real estate developer in these supposedly "free market" states.  Everybody is supposed to pull him/her self up by bootstraps we don't have except developers, bank, insurance companies, auto manufacturers, and on and on.  It would be one thing if these boondoggles worked, but often it turns out that projects like these are risky and would never be built if the developer couldn't offload a huge tax burden on the rest of us.  For example, as the article points out, the market for golf course developments is old people.  Then there is the environmental risk of such developments, which many buyers are reluctant to bear.  Thanks to Deborah for this link.

"The rolling fairways at DeLand Country Club are about to become shops and houses with the help of state incentives to clean up polluted areas known as brownfields. Developers say Florida's tax credits were essential in transforming the weedy course into Country Club Corners shopping center, anchored by a Publix. It's one of a handful of Florida golf courses that have been redeveloped with financial assistance from the state, and it could signal redevelopment opportunities for owners of struggling and closed courses....State-designated brownfields are a "redevelopment tool" aimed at sparking construction, jobs and green space, according to the Department of Environmental Protection. In exchange for cleaning up a site, developers get corporate-income-tax credits, which they can sell. Developers' incentives increase if they build affordable housing and health-care facilities on brownfield sites. In addition, the state allows $2,500 for every job created on the property and breaks on sales taxes for construction materials."

HOA spat gets nasty as meeting door slammed on owner | TBO.com and The Tampa Tribune

HOA spat gets nasty as meeting door slammed on owner | TBO.com and The Tampa Tribune: Walz said she was standing in the doorway of the meeting room, lodging her protest, as the board members told her to leave.

“I was at the threshold and I said, ‘If he’s allowed to stay here, then I should be allowed to stay,’” Walz said, referring to Calcagni. “Mr. Calcagni must have gotten upset about it.”

Walz said Calcagni rose from his chair and shoved the door closed. She said she shoved back, but the property manager prevailed, and the door shut on her foot. Mitchell said he witnessed the incident.

“He takes his body and pushes his full body weight against her foot,” Mitchell said.

According to the sheriff’s report, Walz told a dispatcher the door shut on her foot but she declined an offer to call emergency medical services.
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HOA managers sometimes act as bailiff in executive sessions. Extra omnes!

Association rules force veteran to remove flag pole

Association rules force veteran to remove flag pole: Foster says she reviewed the View Harbour Neighborhood Association's rules and did not see any restrictions on flags or flag poles.

"When you look through the covenants, the words "flag pole" and "flag" are not here," she said.

So she installed the flag pole in her front yard.

Board members then told her she is allowed to hang flags outsider her home--just not with a pole. They asked her to remove it and to then ask the board for written permission.
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Sometimes a flagpole is just a pole...except in Privatopia.

York County woman fed up with homeowners association - WBTV 3 News, Weather, Sports, and Traffic for Charlotte, NC

York County woman fed up with homeowners association - WBTV 3 News, Weather, Sports, and Traffic for Charlotte, NC: INDIAN LAND, SC (WBTV) -

Taking on a persistent homeowners association is a battle many have faced before, but one York County mother says she's had enough.

24-year old Betty Lapore and her family bought a house in the Windsor Trace development last year. Since then, she says the homeowners association hasn't left her family alone.

"We moved here from a really bad area in Fort Bragg so our kids could have a good life. And I'm not trying to cause problems, i'm just trying to hangout with my kids all day," Lapore said.

Lapore tells WBTV it all started when she decided to paint her front door red, which instantly caught the attention of the HOA.

"They fined us 350 dollars. They threatened to put a lien on our house for that much," Lapore said.
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Yet another HOA channeling Mick Jagger: Sees a red door, wants it painted black. No unapproved colors any more; we want it painted black.

Five major forces driving down mortgage interest rates

http://blog.metrotrends.org/2015/02/major-forces-driving-mortgage-interest-rates/
And they are:
Slow growth and turmoil abroad
Upheaval in the oil market
The US economy is steadily improving
Low Treasury rates, low mortgage rates
Reduced demand for mortgages

Another Florida crumbling condo

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2945412/Squalid-crumbling-Tymber-Skan-condo-community-renters-turn-trapped-slum-lord-owners

Another example of how fragile condominium housing really is. It's not just the ticky tacky construction. It's the over reliance on the owners resources. Many associations were obviously unsustainable from the start but they were profit centers for the real estate and financial sector so they were built and sold anyway. Now the remaining owners and renters are stuck in awful circumstances, others lost their shirts. 

Florida county wants to privatize practically everything

http://highlandstoday.com/hi/local-news/commissioners-following-privatization-goals-20150207/

Highlands County, Florida goes full-on privatization. 

Woman jailed for having messy yard

http://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2014/10/16/woman-sent-to-jail-for-overgrown-yard/#.VEK9ehB65yg.email

Thanks to Mystery Reader for this link.  You think your HOA is bad? Try Lenoir City, TN.

Lenoir City, Tenn. (CBS ATLANTA) – An East Tennessee woman who fell behind in her yard work was sent to jail for not complying with city regulations regarding the maintenance of her overgrown lawn.

Condo owners forced to sell for peanuts

Republicans and libertarians delight in complaining about eminent domain.  They think it some sort of tyranny when local governments force people to sell their property at current market value so the land can be cleared for some public use.  But the same people just love HOAs and condo associations, which they think are bastions of freedom because people supposedly consented to the loss of their liberties. I've never found that argument convincing, but how about this, libertarians and Republicans?  Here's the private equivalent of eminent domain, without the due process clause. This sort of thing has been happening all over the country, as failing condo associations get taken over by investors who buy up enough units (usually at foreclosure sales) to control the association, force the remaining owners to sell for a fraction of what they paid for the units (see below--one woman paid $217,500 for her unit and is being forced to sell for $46,500) and terminate the condominium entirely, turning it into an apartment building.  We call that "de-conversion" because its the opposite of converting apartment buildings into condominium projects.  Florida changed the law in 2007 to make it easier for investors to do this--they no longer need 100% consent to terminate the condominium, whiich was the standard rule for decades in most states. It's all perfectly legal.
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"ORLANDO – When Amanda Gonzalez bought her two-bedroom condominium near Orlando in 2006, she thought she was getting a foothold on the America dream. Gonzalez never missed a payment for her mortgage, condo fees or taxes, even after the real estate crash in 2008 and 2009. When she was laid up after an accident, and money was tight, she still kept her books in order. So it came as a shock when the company that sold her the unit told her the complex was being converted into rental apartments ("terminated"), and that she had to accept what the company offered – far less than what she had paid.  Under a Florida law, companies that own more than 80 percent of condo units in one building can terminate a condo complex under certain conditions and turn it into apartments for rent. The companies have to pay the owners they're evicting the "current market value" for their units, which may not even cover their mortgage."

http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/america-tonight/articles/2015/2/6/florida-condo-law.html?utm_content=main&utm_campaign=ajam&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=SocialFlow

Guilty plea in $1.5 million Henderson, NV, real estate fraud

Another condo-related real estate fraud in Nevada.

http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/las-vegas/former-henderson-woman-pleads-guilty-real-estate-fraud

HOA sue orthodox Jewish congregation for home synagogue

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2015/02/03/hoa-sues-orthodox-jewish-congregation-for-operating-synagogue-in-home/

Texas neighborhood with race restrictive covenants shuts down black man's business

"The Northwood Park Civic Association — which governs a neighborhood near Houston — has never got around to removing outdated deed restrictions which limit home ownership to the “Caucasian race.” And now, the Texas Workforce Commission is accusing the neighborhood group of racial discrimination for the way it shut down a black resident’s home business because they said his signs broke deed rules."

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/02/texas-neighborhood-with-caucasian-race-rule-shuts-down-black-mans-home-business-over-signage/

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The forgotten history of HOAs includes their essential role in enforcing racial segregation.  Race restrictive covenants have been unenforceable since 1948 (Shelly v. Kraemer) but many HOAs and subdivisions still have them on the books. Perhaps they are hoping the Supreme Court will reverse itself and let them indulge their taste for racial discrimination.  This place didn't go that far. They tried to shut down this man's home business.  He says they let at least three white residents operate their businesses.

where's CNN?

CNN went nuts over 8" of snow in NYC.  We just got 19", it was 6 degrees overnight, and  I didn't see any CNN talking heads freaking out over us. And we have another 7" coming over the next two days. 

St. Petersburg man builds gun range in front yard.

"The Lakewood Estates neighborhood is filled with families and children. On any given day, you'll see kids climbing trees and playing on swing sets.

That's why news of a residential gun range did not sit well with neighbors.

“I don't know if this idiot is going to start popping off rounds,” said Patrick Leary. “I'm furious.” Moms and dads are extremely upset after their 21-year-old neighbor, Joseph Carannate, told them he built a homemade gun range.

http://www.wfla.com/story/27997914/st-pete-man-builds-gun-range-in-yard-neighbors-outraged

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One more bit of evidence proving that this country is going completely nuts.

Super rich buying boltholes to hide from chaos caused by their policies

"Ultra-wealthy financiers are buying land, homes and airstrips in countries such as New Zealand to escape to in case the poor rise up against wealth inequality. Fears of political unrest across the United States as in the Ferguson riots and Occupy protests have caused the billionaires to plan their escape to secret hideaways.Robert Johnson, president of the Institute of New Economic Thinking, told people at the World Economic Forum in Davos that many hedge fund managers were already planning their escapes."

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This is  not some lefty radical. This is a highly regarded analyst speaking to the World Economic Forum. 

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/super-rich-hedge-fund-managers-buying-boltholes-private-airstrips-case-revolution-1485263

Public space? I got your public space right here.

http://boingboing.net/2015/01/25/san-francisco-ponders-letting.html

"Like many cities, SF asks fancy property developers to create "public spaces" in their buildings to make up for parks and other public sites they displace, and these are usually a joke, hidden away far in the buildings' depths and deliberately hidden from the public. Now, a proposed amendment to the municipal code will allow those developers to do away with the pretense of public access altogether, by paying a nominal fee in lieu of creating these absurd "parks" within or atop their buildings."

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Well, after all, why shouldn't our overlords be able to buy their way out of any and all legal obligations?  Thanks to Mystery Reader for this link.

HOA says Ford F-150 is a commercial vehicle--can't park in driveway

http://www.inquisitr.com/1771027/homeowners-association-sues-pickup-truck-owners-and-you-wont-believe-why/

David And Arna Orlando Sued By Kimry Moor Homeowners' Association For Parking Personal Pickup Truck In Their Driveway

David And Arna Orlando Sued By Kimry Moor Homeowners' Association For Parking Personal Pickup Truck In Their Driveway: David and Arna Orlando are being sued by their homeowners association for parking their pickup truck in their own driveway.

The Kimry Moor Homeowners Association filed the lawsuit in August of 2013, claiming that the truck was not a personal vehicle. The Manlius, New York, development consists of 84 houses.

Kimry Moor’s regulations state that cars parked in driveways must be “private, passenger-type, pleasure automobiles.” Court documents show that Kimry Moor owns the common areas of the development, which include the driveways of all houses. Technically, the Orlandos can park their truck in the garage.
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Jeff Foxworthy sez: "If yew park yore truck in yore driveway, ya might be a redneck to your HOA."

America's Class War Explained in 1 Chart | Alternet

America's Class War Explained in 1 Chart | Alternet

As the author says, we've been in a class war since the 1970s, but only one side is fighting: the rich. And they are winning big.