Trafford Publishing: The Texas Homestead Hoax
A new book, one that I have not read. Fred Pilot forwards the link to this announcement of Harvella Jones' opus:
Step into the shoes of a black woman while she takes you through a legal hellhole that has lasted more than thirteen years. The Odyssey began in 1988 when she moved to Kingwood, Texas, approximately 23 miles from Houston. What started as a fairy tale ended up as a realty nightmare, having unknowingly bought into a planned community with foreclosable maintenance fees, her family and she had no idea what was ahead. At closing, she thought they had protected their property. Find out how Texas' dirty little secret began and how the judges, Community Associations Institute (CAI) attorneys, constable and even HUD are involved in the cover-up in this cottage industry; and it is just not in Texas. The author, Harvella Jones, President of The Texas Homeowner's Advocate Group, co-founded with her husband Johnnie, in 1996, will give you a bird's eye view of what it was like to lose her homestead after a five-year intense battle to save it and fight to save her mind as well as her life after stress threatened to take both...
368 pages; Perfect bound; catalogue #04-2266; ISBN 1-4120-4458-8; US$27.95, C$35.00, EUR22.75, £15.77
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
The Seattle Times: Nation & World: Shady cash fattens towns' coffers along drug routes
On the municipal finance front, here's a creative alternative to forcing developers to build private communities so you can tax new residents like crazy while making them pay again to their HOA for the municipal services you aren't giving them:
HOGANSVILLE, Ga. — For years, this small town nestled in the pine forests off Interstate 85 has struggled to keep its police department financially afloat. But the town is riding high these days on a $2.4 million windfall, thanks to drug dealers who happened to be passing through. A police officer, aided by a drug-sniffing German shepherd named Bella, parks his cruiser on the side of the expressway three or four days a week, looking for any vehicle that seems suspicious — a broken taillight, an expired license plate or simply a car that changes lanes excessively. That is all it takes to pull over someone who might be a drug courier. If the officer is lucky, he confiscates not only drugs but bundles of money.
On the municipal finance front, here's a creative alternative to forcing developers to build private communities so you can tax new residents like crazy while making them pay again to their HOA for the municipal services you aren't giving them:
HOGANSVILLE, Ga. — For years, this small town nestled in the pine forests off Interstate 85 has struggled to keep its police department financially afloat. But the town is riding high these days on a $2.4 million windfall, thanks to drug dealers who happened to be passing through. A police officer, aided by a drug-sniffing German shepherd named Bella, parks his cruiser on the side of the expressway three or four days a week, looking for any vehicle that seems suspicious — a broken taillight, an expired license plate or simply a car that changes lanes excessively. That is all it takes to pull over someone who might be a drug courier. If the officer is lucky, he confiscates not only drugs but bundles of money.
The Holy Grail: Scene 8
The link immediately below reminded me of the following exchange:
ARTHUR:
If you will not show us the Grail, we shall take your castle by force!
FRENCH GUARD:
You don't frighten us, English pig-dogs! Go and boil your bottom, sons of a silly person. I blow my nose at you, so-called Arthur King, you and all your silly English k-nnnnniggets. Thpppppt! Thppt! Thppt!
GALAHAD:
What a strange person.
The link immediately below reminded me of the following exchange:
ARTHUR:
If you will not show us the Grail, we shall take your castle by force!
FRENCH GUARD:
You don't frighten us, English pig-dogs! Go and boil your bottom, sons of a silly person. I blow my nose at you, so-called Arthur King, you and all your silly English k-nnnnniggets. Thpppppt! Thppt! Thppt!
GALAHAD:
What a strange person.
Battle of stucco and stone: Neighbors fighting resident's plan for `medieval castle' of a house
What ho, thou varlet! Let not thy castle spring up in our fair village! (From Sir Fred De Pilot, and also forwarded to me by Beth Young)
In the suburban empire of Ashbury Park, Larry Gies is pushing hard to prove a man's home is his castle -- and much of the kingdom is not amused. Gies, a 62-year-old business owner, wants to renovate his two-story home on Osman Avenue. And Gies has a whole new look in mind for his pale stucco home -- something that breaks from the Conway neighborhood's muted palette of eggshell, off-white and dusty peach. He wants to cover the house in a tannish stone façade; a look that some neighbors say would be fine for a Connecticut farmhouse. But here, they say, the renovation would stick out like an El Camino up on blocks. "I call it the 'medieval castle,' " said Christine Williams, who lives around the corner from Gies. "I think it'll be completely out of place in the neighborhood." The community's architectural review committee and its homeowners association agreed. They rejected Gies' request, saying the stone facing would be too radical of a departure from the rest of the neighborhood.
What ho, thou varlet! Let not thy castle spring up in our fair village! (From Sir Fred De Pilot, and also forwarded to me by Beth Young)
In the suburban empire of Ashbury Park, Larry Gies is pushing hard to prove a man's home is his castle -- and much of the kingdom is not amused. Gies, a 62-year-old business owner, wants to renovate his two-story home on Osman Avenue. And Gies has a whole new look in mind for his pale stucco home -- something that breaks from the Conway neighborhood's muted palette of eggshell, off-white and dusty peach. He wants to cover the house in a tannish stone façade; a look that some neighbors say would be fine for a Connecticut farmhouse. But here, they say, the renovation would stick out like an El Camino up on blocks. "I call it the 'medieval castle,' " said Christine Williams, who lives around the corner from Gies. "I think it'll be completely out of place in the neighborhood." The community's architectural review committee and its homeowners association agreed. They rejected Gies' request, saying the stone facing would be too radical of a departure from the rest of the neighborhood.
Monday, May 16, 2005
Las Vegas SUN: HOA threatens fines over battery-operated toy
Fred Pilot says, "more bad press for CIDS." Yes. How trivial can you get?
Little Benjamin Firestone likely does not know the trouble he caused by riding his Fisher-Price Power Wheels in front of his home. Neighbors objected to the noise and liability. The Spanish Springs homeowners association sent the Firestones warning letters that threatened fines.
Fred Pilot says, "more bad press for CIDS." Yes. How trivial can you get?
Little Benjamin Firestone likely does not know the trouble he caused by riding his Fisher-Price Power Wheels in front of his home. Neighbors objected to the noise and liability. The Spanish Springs homeowners association sent the Firestones warning letters that threatened fines.
Pocono Record Top Story: Homeowners to review latest legal twists
Sure is a lot of news from the Poconos recently. This one was sent by Fred Pilot:
STROUDSBURG — A magisterial district judge's rulings on criminal charges in the Eagle Valley Homes case will be among topics discussed Sunday during a general membership meeting of the Pocono Homeowners Defense Association. The homeowners group, formed in response to home-sale fraud allegations in the Monroe County area, will examine issues surrounding several criminal and civil cases winding through various courts, said Executive Director Al Wilson. Members also will make preparations for a mass protest this summer — probably in July — seeking appointment by President Judge Ronald Vican of an out-of-county judge and jury for the expected trials of six defendants in the Eagle Valley Homes case.
Sure is a lot of news from the Poconos recently. This one was sent by Fred Pilot:
STROUDSBURG — A magisterial district judge's rulings on criminal charges in the Eagle Valley Homes case will be among topics discussed Sunday during a general membership meeting of the Pocono Homeowners Defense Association. The homeowners group, formed in response to home-sale fraud allegations in the Monroe County area, will examine issues surrounding several criminal and civil cases winding through various courts, said Executive Director Al Wilson. Members also will make preparations for a mass protest this summer — probably in July — seeking appointment by President Judge Ronald Vican of an out-of-county judge and jury for the expected trials of six defendants in the Eagle Valley Homes case.
I think the author of this web page...
...is unhappy with the leadership of his condo association. From Fred Pilot, who is "Howlin Laffin" today.
...is unhappy with the leadership of his condo association. From Fred Pilot, who is "Howlin Laffin" today.
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Boston area: 2 historic homes may be history
TownOnline.com
From Nancy Levy, this story of urban redevelopment:
Brighton neighbors fighting dense development will face more brawls on the horizon as two local developers look to demolish historic buildings and turn them into condominiums.
TownOnline.com
From Nancy Levy, this story of urban redevelopment:
Brighton neighbors fighting dense development will face more brawls on the horizon as two local developers look to demolish historic buildings and turn them into condominiums.
Cashing Out Their History: Descendants of Slave Settlers Sell Prince William Enclave
Nancy Levy sends this, with a note: "Isn't this a shame?"
An acre of land in Gainesville wasn't worth much in 1865. It was worth so little, in fact, that white landowners were willing to rent it to freed slaves who had traveled there in search of land. In a flurry of sales during the 1880s, many of the former slaves bought property for $10 an acre or even less.They called the land, which lies roughly along Routes 29 and 15, the Settlement. It became one of Northern Virginia's most significant, and most stable, black communities. The original settlers believed land was power. They held on to it tightly, parting with bits only when they were desperate for cash. They educated their children on the value of a dollar and the greater value of land. But time and circumstance have altered those lessons. Pursued by developers offering as much as $300,000 an acre, dozens of families -- many of them descendants of those original pioneers -- are opting to sell their property, and a part of Prince William County's African American history is being transformed into hundreds of luxury houses.
Nancy Levy sends this, with a note: "Isn't this a shame?"
An acre of land in Gainesville wasn't worth much in 1865. It was worth so little, in fact, that white landowners were willing to rent it to freed slaves who had traveled there in search of land. In a flurry of sales during the 1880s, many of the former slaves bought property for $10 an acre or even less.They called the land, which lies roughly along Routes 29 and 15, the Settlement. It became one of Northern Virginia's most significant, and most stable, black communities. The original settlers believed land was power. They held on to it tightly, parting with bits only when they were desperate for cash. They educated their children on the value of a dollar and the greater value of land. But time and circumstance have altered those lessons. Pursued by developers offering as much as $300,000 an acre, dozens of families -- many of them descendants of those original pioneers -- are opting to sell their property, and a part of Prince William County's African American history is being transformed into hundreds of luxury houses.
Unhappy homeowners: Frustrated Brookside residents take complaints to Web and end up in court
From the Land of Lincoln:
A three-year struggle over the management of a Tinley Park townhouse association has escalated from letters, meetings and Web posts to Cook County Circuit Court. A faction of owners in the Brookside Glen townhouses questions the practices of the association's managing agent, Rosemary Schrank of Schrank & Associates in Orland Hills. They're mounting a campaign to oust three members of the association board whom they say are Schrank's puppets. Now, Schrank is suing two homeowners over allegedly defamatory comments posted on an open Web forum that focuses on the sprawling Brookside Glen subdivision in the fast-growing southwest area of the village. The townhouse area of the subdivision consists of 196 homes built in the late 1990s.
From the Land of Lincoln:
A three-year struggle over the management of a Tinley Park townhouse association has escalated from letters, meetings and Web posts to Cook County Circuit Court. A faction of owners in the Brookside Glen townhouses questions the practices of the association's managing agent, Rosemary Schrank of Schrank & Associates in Orland Hills. They're mounting a campaign to oust three members of the association board whom they say are Schrank's puppets. Now, Schrank is suing two homeowners over allegedly defamatory comments posted on an open Web forum that focuses on the sprawling Brookside Glen subdivision in the fast-growing southwest area of the village. The townhouse area of the subdivision consists of 196 homes built in the late 1990s.
Rumble in the Desert...
This was posted on the CHORE/Yahoo group, sent to me by Fred Pilot. Hold onto your cowboy hats, because this looks to be the biggest Arizona dustup since the shootout at the OK Corral. I wish I could be there.
INFORMATION NOTICE
CAI, Community Associations Institute is holding their
May Conference in Tucson.
On Thursday, May 19 there will be a Panel Discussion on the subject of
FORECLOSURE
this will be OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
The PANEL DISCUSSION will be from 4:30 PM to 5:45 PM in the
"General Session Room"
Pat Haruff and Barbara Epperson have been invited (and we accepted) to participate.
This will be at the Westin La Paloma Resort located at
3800 East Sunrise Drive, Tucson
Phone number of the resort is 520-742-6000
4:30 pm TO 5:45 pm
HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!!
This was posted on the CHORE/Yahoo group, sent to me by Fred Pilot. Hold onto your cowboy hats, because this looks to be the biggest Arizona dustup since the shootout at the OK Corral. I wish I could be there.
INFORMATION NOTICE
CAI, Community Associations Institute is holding their
May Conference in Tucson.
On Thursday, May 19 there will be a Panel Discussion on the subject of
FORECLOSURE
this will be OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
The PANEL DISCUSSION will be from 4:30 PM to 5:45 PM in the
"General Session Room"
Pat Haruff and Barbara Epperson have been invited (and we accepted) to participate.
This will be at the Westin La Paloma Resort located at
3800 East Sunrise Drive, Tucson
Phone number of the resort is 520-742-6000
4:30 pm TO 5:45 pm
HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!!
Condo owners beware
Fred Pilot sent me this link to a story originally located by Nancy Levy that bodes ill for NY condo and co-op owners on the taxation front.
When Elayne Wolfenhaut bought a one-bedroom condominium in Woodbury Heights after her husband's death, a big selling point was that the property taxes were a fraction of what she was paying on her house in Monroe. Wolfenhaut, 60, had planned to stay in her condo indefinitely. But now she's learned that legislation pending in Albany could double her $2,200 annual tax bill. She figures that's more than she can afford on her salary as a legal secretary. "Some people can't bear the burden of one more dollar," Kim Chiapperino Schuessler, president of the Woodbury Heights Homeowners Association, said yesterday. "It's just not right. And it's not right that we haven't heard anything about it." Bills are quietly moving through both the Assembly and Senate in Albany that would change how condominiums and cooperative housing complexes in New York are assessed for property tax purposes.
Fred Pilot sent me this link to a story originally located by Nancy Levy that bodes ill for NY condo and co-op owners on the taxation front.
When Elayne Wolfenhaut bought a one-bedroom condominium in Woodbury Heights after her husband's death, a big selling point was that the property taxes were a fraction of what she was paying on her house in Monroe. Wolfenhaut, 60, had planned to stay in her condo indefinitely. But now she's learned that legislation pending in Albany could double her $2,200 annual tax bill. She figures that's more than she can afford on her salary as a legal secretary. "Some people can't bear the burden of one more dollar," Kim Chiapperino Schuessler, president of the Woodbury Heights Homeowners Association, said yesterday. "It's just not right. And it's not right that we haven't heard anything about it." Bills are quietly moving through both the Assembly and Senate in Albany that would change how condominiums and cooperative housing complexes in New York are assessed for property tax purposes.
North Jersey Media Group: Standoff in Passaic: Home stormed over code violations!
...here's another example of the phenomenon mentioned immediately below--are municipal officials feeling pressured to keep up with HOAs in enforcement of property maintenance standards?
PASSAIC - A crackdown on city housing violations escalated into a standoff Monday when a homeowner refused to cooperate, prompting authorities to call in a SWAT team, one that broke down a door and shot her with non-lethal weapons. Code enforcement officials arrived about noon, wanting to talk about, among other things, broken windows and a deteriorating porch - violations written three months ago, said Community Development Director Donald Van Rensalier. It just so happened that 109 Quincy St. was smack in the middle of an area targeted in Operation Clean Sweep, one of the mayor's initiatives to rid the city of substandard housing.
...here's another example of the phenomenon mentioned immediately below--are municipal officials feeling pressured to keep up with HOAs in enforcement of property maintenance standards?
PASSAIC - A crackdown on city housing violations escalated into a standoff Monday when a homeowner refused to cooperate, prompting authorities to call in a SWAT team, one that broke down a door and shot her with non-lethal weapons. Code enforcement officials arrived about noon, wanting to talk about, among other things, broken windows and a deteriorating porch - violations written three months ago, said Community Development Director Donald Van Rensalier. It just so happened that 109 Quincy St. was smack in the middle of an area targeted in Operation Clean Sweep, one of the mayor's initiatives to rid the city of substandard housing.
Fight Against Code Violators Ongoing - from TBO.com
Fred Pilot passes along this example from HOA-loaded Tampa, FL, of a phenomenon I've been pointing out recently: cities that seem to be starting to emulate HOAs in the severity with which they approach code enforcement:
Mayor Pam Iorio made code enforcement a priority when she took office in April 2003. She followed that by signing an executive order in March that allows the city to foreclose on property owners who do not pay fines for violations. Along the way, she gave code inspectors laptops to enable them to spend more time on the streets and less in the office. She also helped streamline code violation cases in the criminal justice system by establishing a criminal code enforcement division. The council last month approved stiffer fines for code violators. Maximum fines for first-time offenders increase from $250 a day to $1,000 a day. Maximum fines for repeat violators climb from $500 a day to $5,000. People who repeatedly break city codes and don't pay fines could wind up in jail. A few people have.
Fred Pilot passes along this example from HOA-loaded Tampa, FL, of a phenomenon I've been pointing out recently: cities that seem to be starting to emulate HOAs in the severity with which they approach code enforcement:
Mayor Pam Iorio made code enforcement a priority when she took office in April 2003. She followed that by signing an executive order in March that allows the city to foreclose on property owners who do not pay fines for violations. Along the way, she gave code inspectors laptops to enable them to spend more time on the streets and less in the office. She also helped streamline code violation cases in the criminal justice system by establishing a criminal code enforcement division. The council last month approved stiffer fines for code violators. Maximum fines for first-time offenders increase from $250 a day to $1,000 a day. Maximum fines for repeat violators climb from $500 a day to $5,000. People who repeatedly break city codes and don't pay fines could wind up in jail. A few people have.
Daily Herald | DuPage County, Illinois: Naperville woman’s 100-pound dog fights off attacker
This dog is 70 pounds over the typical limit found in HOA covenants. Do you think an HOA-legal 30-pounder could have done the same thing?
Naperville police are crediting a woman’s 100-pound dog with saving her from further harm by an assailant near her apartment.Sgt. Joel Truemper said the woman, who police did not name, had taken her dog for a short walk around 11:30 p.m. Thursday when she was jumped from behind, knocked to the ground, choked and punched in the face. The woman’s dog, a Great Pyrenees, bit the attacker in the face and chest, she told police...
-----------
...at which point the 200 pound assailant decided discretion was the better part of cowardice and fled. He hasn't been located yet. In my non-HOA neighborhood nearly all the dogs are in the 50-pounds-plus category. There's a good reason for that.
This dog is 70 pounds over the typical limit found in HOA covenants. Do you think an HOA-legal 30-pounder could have done the same thing?
Naperville police are crediting a woman’s 100-pound dog with saving her from further harm by an assailant near her apartment.Sgt. Joel Truemper said the woman, who police did not name, had taken her dog for a short walk around 11:30 p.m. Thursday when she was jumped from behind, knocked to the ground, choked and punched in the face. The woman’s dog, a Great Pyrenees, bit the attacker in the face and chest, she told police...
-----------
...at which point the 200 pound assailant decided discretion was the better part of cowardice and fled. He hasn't been located yet. In my non-HOA neighborhood nearly all the dogs are in the 50-pounds-plus category. There's a good reason for that.
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Residents riled over new rules
Thanks to Fred Pilot for informing us about the one guy who hasn't (yet) been cited for a CC&R violation...
Bill Thompson admitted being one of the lucky homeowners at the Summit View subdivision in Severance. Thompson, 61, hadn't received any violation notices so far from Vintage Corp., a Greeley homeowners association management company, but he is keeping his fingers crossed. "I may have one today. I haven't been to the mailbox yet," joked Thompson.
Thanks to Fred Pilot for informing us about the one guy who hasn't (yet) been cited for a CC&R violation...
Bill Thompson admitted being one of the lucky homeowners at the Summit View subdivision in Severance. Thompson, 61, hadn't received any violation notices so far from Vintage Corp., a Greeley homeowners association management company, but he is keeping his fingers crossed. "I may have one today. I haven't been to the mailbox yet," joked Thompson.
Friday, May 13, 2005
Gazette.com: Taking back the neighborhood
From Fred Pilot by way of Patrick's HOA News, comes this story of a group of neighbors struggling to find a legal way to combat a property management company that is driving them nuts:
FALCON - Woodmen Hills homeowners are tired of being scolded for letting their children camp in the backyard, failing to scrub away oil spots in their driveways and parking cars on the streets. They’re also weary of fighting to rid their neighborhood of what they think is an overzealous property management company...
From Fred Pilot by way of Patrick's HOA News, comes this story of a group of neighbors struggling to find a legal way to combat a property management company that is driving them nuts:
FALCON - Woodmen Hills homeowners are tired of being scolded for letting their children camp in the backyard, failing to scrub away oil spots in their driveways and parking cars on the streets. They’re also weary of fighting to rid their neighborhood of what they think is an overzealous property management company...
nbc6.net - NBC 6 Special Projects - Locked Out
I think Patrick's HOA News is the finder of this story, sent to me by Fred Pilot. Tell me again why gated communities are safe?
MIAMI -- In an emergency, seconds count for rescue teams. But what NBC 6's Willard Shepard saw when he rode with fire rescue crews was amazing. Many of the emergency teams were locked out of gated South Florida housing developments, condos and apartment complexes.
I think Patrick's HOA News is the finder of this story, sent to me by Fred Pilot. Tell me again why gated communities are safe?
MIAMI -- In an emergency, seconds count for rescue teams. But what NBC 6's Willard Shepard saw when he rode with fire rescue crews was amazing. Many of the emergency teams were locked out of gated South Florida housing developments, condos and apartment complexes.
Vultures smell drop in hot Florida condo market - Yahoo! News
A handful of real estate entrepreneurs are forming "vulture capital" funds to pounce on what they call an inevitable downturn in an exploding south Florida real estate market fueled by foreign buyers searching for safe havens and aging baby boomers looking to downsize and move closer to the coast.
--------------------
Fred Pilot sent this. Condos get hit first when the economy hits the skids, or in this case when/if the real estate market goes sour. Are all those stories I've linked to over the last year or so about $350,000 condos being much in demand in California and Florida the precursor to the collapse of an overpriced market?
A handful of real estate entrepreneurs are forming "vulture capital" funds to pounce on what they call an inevitable downturn in an exploding south Florida real estate market fueled by foreign buyers searching for safe havens and aging baby boomers looking to downsize and move closer to the coast.
--------------------
Fred Pilot sent this. Condos get hit first when the economy hits the skids, or in this case when/if the real estate market goes sour. Are all those stories I've linked to over the last year or so about $350,000 condos being much in demand in California and Florida the precursor to the collapse of an overpriced market?
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
KESQ NewsChannel 3 Palm Springs, CA: Father, condo association at odd over yellow ribbons
Fred Pilot sends this, the latest attempt of a condo association to generate bad press for itself and cast the entire institution of private residential government into total disrepute. Way to go, gang!
SANTA ROSA, Calif. The father of a U-S airman serving in Iraq is at odds over with his condominium association about the yellow ribbons he has placed on his condo.
Fred Pilot sends this, the latest attempt of a condo association to generate bad press for itself and cast the entire institution of private residential government into total disrepute. Way to go, gang!
SANTA ROSA, Calif. The father of a U-S airman serving in Iraq is at odds over with his condominium association about the yellow ribbons he has placed on his condo.
Chicago Bans Hand-Held Phones for Drivers
So be careful when you cross the line dividing the People's Republic of Chicago from the United States of America :-}
So be careful when you cross the line dividing the People's Republic of Chicago from the United States of America :-}
Neighbors Get Letters From HOA With Names Of Sex Offenders Living Nearby - Yahoo! News
Fred Pilot finds a new wrinkle on neighborhood (association) watch:
People living near Arno Park in southwest Kansas City have received letters from their homeowners association with names of sex offenders living nearby.
Fred Pilot finds a new wrinkle on neighborhood (association) watch:
People living near Arno Park in southwest Kansas City have received letters from their homeowners association with names of sex offenders living nearby.
Attorney general backs some limits on flag flying - Wednesday, 05/11/05
Fred Pilot sent me this link to a story that is just hard to believe. How could a state attorney general come up with an opinion like this? The article has a link to the proposed bill and the AG opinion. I haven't had time to read it. But the article text is remarkable:
People in Tennessee don't have the right to hang an American flag in their yard or from their balcony if doing so runs afoul of neighborhood rules, the state attorney general said in an opinion yesterday.
The ruling came in response to a bill in the legislature that would have made flying the American flag always legal, even in neighborhoods or buildings with restrictive covenants. The bill had been prompted by a flag controversy in Williamson County.
Attorney General Paul Summers says the bill is probably unconstitutional on three fronts.
• First, he said, it tampers with existing contracts between homeowners and neighborhood associations.
• Second, it probably violates the right to free speech by choosing the American flag over other flags or messages people might want to display.
• Also, Summers said, it may be construed as a move by the state to interfere with private property rights without compensation.
--------------
I don't know if the article summarizes his position accurately (in fact, I'm hoping it doesn't), but all of these grounds stated in the article are wrong. First, there is no contract clause violation here; second, the argument that protecting the American flag violates free speech rights because it prefers the US flag over the White Hand of Sauron is ridiculous; third, the suggestion that this is a takings clause violation is so ludicrous that I have a hard time believing anybody with a law license, much less a state attorney general, could say it. Numerous states have laws protecting the display of the flag in HOAs. The issue is not whether flag protection laws violate the constitution. The issue is whether HOA covenants restricting flag displays violate the constitution.
ps:
I have now read the brief opinion from this AG. As I suspected, there is no authority cited that could remotely support these bizarre conclusions. This person simply has no familiarity whatsoever with the law on this particular subject. None. Nada. Zip. Zero. The opinion is based on uninformed speculation about the application of general constitutional provisions, without any understanding of the existing body of law on how those provisions have been applied to date. Any legislator could get better informed on these issues with one hour spent using LEXIS.
Fred Pilot sent me this link to a story that is just hard to believe. How could a state attorney general come up with an opinion like this? The article has a link to the proposed bill and the AG opinion. I haven't had time to read it. But the article text is remarkable:
People in Tennessee don't have the right to hang an American flag in their yard or from their balcony if doing so runs afoul of neighborhood rules, the state attorney general said in an opinion yesterday.
The ruling came in response to a bill in the legislature that would have made flying the American flag always legal, even in neighborhoods or buildings with restrictive covenants. The bill had been prompted by a flag controversy in Williamson County.
Attorney General Paul Summers says the bill is probably unconstitutional on three fronts.
• First, he said, it tampers with existing contracts between homeowners and neighborhood associations.
• Second, it probably violates the right to free speech by choosing the American flag over other flags or messages people might want to display.
• Also, Summers said, it may be construed as a move by the state to interfere with private property rights without compensation.
--------------
I don't know if the article summarizes his position accurately (in fact, I'm hoping it doesn't), but all of these grounds stated in the article are wrong. First, there is no contract clause violation here; second, the argument that protecting the American flag violates free speech rights because it prefers the US flag over the White Hand of Sauron is ridiculous; third, the suggestion that this is a takings clause violation is so ludicrous that I have a hard time believing anybody with a law license, much less a state attorney general, could say it. Numerous states have laws protecting the display of the flag in HOAs. The issue is not whether flag protection laws violate the constitution. The issue is whether HOA covenants restricting flag displays violate the constitution.
ps:
I have now read the brief opinion from this AG. As I suspected, there is no authority cited that could remotely support these bizarre conclusions. This person simply has no familiarity whatsoever with the law on this particular subject. None. Nada. Zip. Zero. The opinion is based on uninformed speculation about the application of general constitutional provisions, without any understanding of the existing body of law on how those provisions have been applied to date. Any legislator could get better informed on these issues with one hour spent using LEXIS.
KIROTV.com - News - Pink Flamingo Yard Ornaments Returned
Thank goodness. I was getting worried.
CENTRALIA, Wash. -- Five pink flamingo yard ornaments have returned to Tom Singer's home in Centralia as mysteriously as they disappeared.Singer says he found the ornaments on his porch last week with no note or explanation. When they were taken a week earlier, the bird-napper left a message demanding a ransom of candy bars be left in a mailbox or, it warned, pink heads would roll. Singer didn't pay. Instead he left a note saying to read the police blotter in the newspaper.
Thank goodness. I was getting worried.
CENTRALIA, Wash. -- Five pink flamingo yard ornaments have returned to Tom Singer's home in Centralia as mysteriously as they disappeared.Singer says he found the ornaments on his porch last week with no note or explanation. When they were taken a week earlier, the bird-napper left a message demanding a ransom of candy bars be left in a mailbox or, it warned, pink heads would roll. Singer didn't pay. Instead he left a note saying to read the police blotter in the newspaper.
HOUSE GIVES FINAL APPROVAL TO MOXIE BILL
Moxie, that distinctively flavored soda that dates back to patent medicine days, is a step closer to becoming Maine's state drink.
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I was born in Maine, and I have actually tasted Moxie. I think that entitles me to ask why government officials would do a thing like this. The phrase "distinctively flavored" doesn't quite capture it. "Horrible tasting" would be closer to the mark. If you want a "distinctively flavored soda" that actually tastes good, try the Scottish Irn-Bru, which is hard to find unless you are strolling around Glasgow, or the Texas-made drink that is the closest to it, Big Red, according to my 14 year old son, Hunter.
Moxie, that distinctively flavored soda that dates back to patent medicine days, is a step closer to becoming Maine's state drink.
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I was born in Maine, and I have actually tasted Moxie. I think that entitles me to ask why government officials would do a thing like this. The phrase "distinctively flavored" doesn't quite capture it. "Horrible tasting" would be closer to the mark. If you want a "distinctively flavored soda" that actually tastes good, try the Scottish Irn-Bru, which is hard to find unless you are strolling around Glasgow, or the Texas-made drink that is the closest to it, Big Red, according to my 14 year old son, Hunter.
CNN.com - Slave cabin in Maryland to be restored - Will be surrounded by affluent African-American community
This developer had a project underway in PG County, and ran into a little piece of local history:
A tumbledown shack believed to be the only slave cabin left in Prince George's County will be restored in the field where it was found. And surrounding it will be a neighborhood of million-dollar homes, most of which will probably be owned by African-Americans...About 18 months ago developer Haverford Homes came up with plans to build "estate homes" on a 116-acre portion of the tract, each on lots of five acres or more, over the next few years. But while the land was being surveyed, a couple who lived in the former planter's house told the company about the cabin.
This developer had a project underway in PG County, and ran into a little piece of local history:
A tumbledown shack believed to be the only slave cabin left in Prince George's County will be restored in the field where it was found. And surrounding it will be a neighborhood of million-dollar homes, most of which will probably be owned by African-Americans...About 18 months ago developer Haverford Homes came up with plans to build "estate homes" on a 116-acre portion of the tract, each on lots of five acres or more, over the next few years. But while the land was being surveyed, a couple who lived in the former planter's house told the company about the cabin.
Homeowners liable for stormwater?
Thanks to Fred Pilot for forwarding this link. More municipal mandates requiring developers to create HOAs, because municipalities want the HOAs to do what would otherwise be their responsibility. Nothing like forcing these "volunteers" to work for nothing, is there? And if it leads to creating another level of government that operates without constitutional limits and is loaded with people who have no idea what they're doing, well, that's the way the cookie crumbles, I guess...
The Fayette County Commission may soon make homeowners’ associations mandatory for all new subdivisions in the county. That’s one of the options the county’s leaders are considering to comply with tough new storm-water management requirements established by the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District. Phil Mallon, who works in the county’s engineering department, briefed the board on the preferred option. He suggested that all inspection and maintenance of any storm-water collection areas, such as detention ponds, be placed with the subdivision’s homeowners’ association. The county would monitor the group’s compliance with the ordinance and if the group failed to maintain standards, each homeowner would be assessed for the county’s work on their next tax bill.
Thanks to Fred Pilot for forwarding this link. More municipal mandates requiring developers to create HOAs, because municipalities want the HOAs to do what would otherwise be their responsibility. Nothing like forcing these "volunteers" to work for nothing, is there? And if it leads to creating another level of government that operates without constitutional limits and is loaded with people who have no idea what they're doing, well, that's the way the cookie crumbles, I guess...
The Fayette County Commission may soon make homeowners’ associations mandatory for all new subdivisions in the county. That’s one of the options the county’s leaders are considering to comply with tough new storm-water management requirements established by the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District. Phil Mallon, who works in the county’s engineering department, briefed the board on the preferred option. He suggested that all inspection and maintenance of any storm-water collection areas, such as detention ponds, be placed with the subdivision’s homeowners’ association. The county would monitor the group’s compliance with the ordinance and if the group failed to maintain standards, each homeowner would be assessed for the county’s work on their next tax bill.
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Assembly OKs notice requirements for delinquent assessments - Yahoo! News
Fred Pilot sends news on the foreclosure reform front from the land of the Governator, who vetoed something similar last year from Senator Ducheny but invited a new foreclosure bill for this year. The Assembly bill is AB 619, and it is linked to Senator Ducheny's new bill, SB 137, and you can locate them at the California Assembly legislative information website
SACRAMENTO (AP) -- Homeowners' associations would have to give adequate notice before beginning foreclosure proceedings against a homeowner under a bill approved Monday by the state Assembly. The measure by Assemblyman Tim Leslie, R-Tahoe City, would require the association to send notifications regarding delinquent assessments and foreclosure proceedings to both the homeowner's primary address as well as any secondary address. It would also require the association to offer the homeowner a plan to pay off the assessments. Any decision to begin foreclosure proceedings would have to be made at a meeting of the association's board of directors.
Fred Pilot sends news on the foreclosure reform front from the land of the Governator, who vetoed something similar last year from Senator Ducheny but invited a new foreclosure bill for this year. The Assembly bill is AB 619, and it is linked to Senator Ducheny's new bill, SB 137, and you can locate them at the California Assembly legislative information website
SACRAMENTO (AP) -- Homeowners' associations would have to give adequate notice before beginning foreclosure proceedings against a homeowner under a bill approved Monday by the state Assembly. The measure by Assemblyman Tim Leslie, R-Tahoe City, would require the association to send notifications regarding delinquent assessments and foreclosure proceedings to both the homeowner's primary address as well as any secondary address. It would also require the association to offer the homeowner a plan to pay off the assessments. Any decision to begin foreclosure proceedings would have to be made at a meeting of the association's board of directors.
Quote of the week:
The provenance of this quote is: from Fred Pilot, forwarding a post from Beanie Adolph to the HOAs newsgroup on Yahoo, who in turn cited the Houston Chronicle:
From The Houston Chronicle
City and State Section
Page B-3
May 10, 2005
Quote of the Day
"Nowhere else in this country are we seeing homeowners' associations with this kind of power taking people's homes. And if this is going on in another country, we call them Communist, we call them evil for taking people's homes."
-Rep. Kevin Bailey, D-Houston, arguing in favor of HB 2215, which protects homeowners through increased notification and judicial procedures before a home can be foreclosed.
The provenance of this quote is: from Fred Pilot, forwarding a post from Beanie Adolph to the HOAs newsgroup on Yahoo, who in turn cited the Houston Chronicle:
From The Houston Chronicle
City and State Section
Page B-3
May 10, 2005
Quote of the Day
"Nowhere else in this country are we seeing homeowners' associations with this kind of power taking people's homes. And if this is going on in another country, we call them Communist, we call them evil for taking people's homes."
-Rep. Kevin Bailey, D-Houston, arguing in favor of HB 2215, which protects homeowners through increased notification and judicial procedures before a home can be foreclosed.
Here's what they celebrate in Esperantina, Brazil...
Sent in by Fred Pilot--a PG-13 link, so beware.
Monday, May 09, 2005
Condo ombudsman criticizes state agency: South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Fred Pilot sent along this piece by way of Patrick's HOA News. Seems Virgil Rizzo is getting angry, and you wouldn't like him whent he's angry...
The state agency charged with regulating condominiums, already the subject of a scathing report by the Legislature, came under attack on Friday by Florida's new condominium ombudsman. In his report, Ombudsman Virgil Rizzo of Fort Lauderdale said procedures used by the Division of Florida Land Sales, Condominiums & Mobile Homes "are not only confusing, obsolete and impractical, but also ineffective, inefficient, antiquated and in serious need of complete revision."
Fred Pilot sent along this piece by way of Patrick's HOA News. Seems Virgil Rizzo is getting angry, and you wouldn't like him whent he's angry...
The state agency charged with regulating condominiums, already the subject of a scathing report by the Legislature, came under attack on Friday by Florida's new condominium ombudsman. In his report, Ombudsman Virgil Rizzo of Fort Lauderdale said procedures used by the Division of Florida Land Sales, Condominiums & Mobile Homes "are not only confusing, obsolete and impractical, but also ineffective, inefficient, antiquated and in serious need of complete revision."
Making room for everyone
Immigrants squeezed between need for housing, occupancy codes
Mystery Reader sent this link to a story about what is probably going to be a common situation:
...on July 8, 2003, when the family of four had barely settled into the two-bedroom townhouse in west suburban Villa Park, a letter arrived from the homeowners association saying local codes would allow only three people to live in the townhouse. According to the DuPage County codes that cover the unincorporated neighborhood the Moras had moved into, the townhouse's small second bedroom could accommodate just one person, not the couple's two sons. When the Moras unwittingly ran afoul of the local occupancy code, they got caught in a bind that housing experts say is increasingly common for immigrants in the Chicago area. Struggling to afford housing, they may put more people in one home than codes designed to protect health and safety will allow. And when municipal code-enforcement officers point that out, something's got to give.
Immigrants squeezed between need for housing, occupancy codes
Mystery Reader sent this link to a story about what is probably going to be a common situation:
...on July 8, 2003, when the family of four had barely settled into the two-bedroom townhouse in west suburban Villa Park, a letter arrived from the homeowners association saying local codes would allow only three people to live in the townhouse. According to the DuPage County codes that cover the unincorporated neighborhood the Moras had moved into, the townhouse's small second bedroom could accommodate just one person, not the couple's two sons. When the Moras unwittingly ran afoul of the local occupancy code, they got caught in a bind that housing experts say is increasingly common for immigrants in the Chicago area. Struggling to afford housing, they may put more people in one home than codes designed to protect health and safety will allow. And when municipal code-enforcement officers point that out, something's got to give.
Study Shows Traffic Keeps Getting Worse - Yahoo! News
Fred Pilot passed this along. Makes you wonder how people will get to work from all those nice new HOA-run homes.
WASHINGTON - If getting stuck in traffic makes you want to roll down your car window and scream, look no further than another of those studies to find the bad news: Gridlock is getting worse. Congestion delayed travelers 79 million more hours and wasted 69 million more gallons of fuel in 2003 than in 2002, the Texas Transportation Institute's 2005 Urban Mobility Report found.
Fred Pilot passed this along. Makes you wonder how people will get to work from all those nice new HOA-run homes.
WASHINGTON - If getting stuck in traffic makes you want to roll down your car window and scream, look no further than another of those studies to find the bad news: Gridlock is getting worse. Congestion delayed travelers 79 million more hours and wasted 69 million more gallons of fuel in 2003 than in 2002, the Texas Transportation Institute's 2005 Urban Mobility Report found.
The Brunswick News: City peeks at what could be
Nancy Levy sent this link to a piece on city leaders trying to figure out how to make their communities "bounce back." Now, take a look at this language from the item:
"Taking its cue from federal efforts to increase first-time home buyers through homeowners associations, the city launched a Rent-to-Own program designed to provide quality, low-cost housing for qualifying low- to moderate-income families and individuals."
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I'm wondering (but I don't know) if this is a reference to the HOPE VI program, that was used to rebuild public housing projects a mixed-use developments with market rate housing, subsidized housing, and apartments, but run by HOAs. This was done to Cabrini Green, Robert Taylor Homes, etc., in Chicago.
Nancy Levy sent this link to a piece on city leaders trying to figure out how to make their communities "bounce back." Now, take a look at this language from the item:
"Taking its cue from federal efforts to increase first-time home buyers through homeowners associations, the city launched a Rent-to-Own program designed to provide quality, low-cost housing for qualifying low- to moderate-income families and individuals."
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I'm wondering (but I don't know) if this is a reference to the HOPE VI program, that was used to rebuild public housing projects a mixed-use developments with market rate housing, subsidized housing, and apartments, but run by HOAs. This was done to Cabrini Green, Robert Taylor Homes, etc., in Chicago.
Racism, in deed (HamptonRoads.com/Pilot Online)
Thanks to Nancy Levy for spotting this story on the continued existence of race restrictive covenants that includes some comments from me:
PORTSMOUTH – When Cephas and Jessie Wright found their dream home in 1962, they knew they were not welcome in Prentis Park. “In order to look at the house, we had to come at night,” Cephas said. “You didn’t have to tell us why. We knew what it was. That was the times back then.” The homeowners admitted to the Wrights they had promised their neighbors they would not sell to a black family. But it wasn’t until 25 years later that the couple learned that racial discrimination in Prentis Park was based on more than a handshake. The deed arrived by mail after the Wrights made their final mortgage payment. Cephas leafed through the document and stared in amazement at one page that read: “no part of the property hereby conveyed shall be sold, leased or otherwise disposed of, to any Negro or persons of African descent.”...Though they’re void, those restrictions still can be found on deeds for many homes built in the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s. Fair-housing advocates say the offensive language should be removed. They plan to ask the Virginia legislature to pass a law next year that would automatically strike discriminatory clauses from deeds whenever property is sold...Evan McKenzie, a professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, believes all racist restrictions should be removed from deeds and homeowners association bylaws, but he said no state has been that ambitious. “These covenants are insulting and stigmatizing,” said McKenzie, who has written about the use of covenants by homeowners associations. “I can’t prove it but there’s a tremendous amount of racial discrimination going on in the sale and renting of houses. If you drive through the neighborhoods, particularly, suburban neighborhoods, you will see a lot of segregation even though it’s illegal.” McKenzie said racial covenants first appeared after the Civil War but became more common after World War I, when black families moved to cities in search of industrial jobs. Most covenants were written into deeds by developers of suburban housing projects, he said. In other cases, real estate agents or homeowners themselves organized associations in existing neighborhoods to block integration. Even where those associations have disbanded, covenants remain on the deeds.
Thanks to Nancy Levy for spotting this story on the continued existence of race restrictive covenants that includes some comments from me:
PORTSMOUTH – When Cephas and Jessie Wright found their dream home in 1962, they knew they were not welcome in Prentis Park. “In order to look at the house, we had to come at night,” Cephas said. “You didn’t have to tell us why. We knew what it was. That was the times back then.” The homeowners admitted to the Wrights they had promised their neighbors they would not sell to a black family. But it wasn’t until 25 years later that the couple learned that racial discrimination in Prentis Park was based on more than a handshake. The deed arrived by mail after the Wrights made their final mortgage payment. Cephas leafed through the document and stared in amazement at one page that read: “no part of the property hereby conveyed shall be sold, leased or otherwise disposed of, to any Negro or persons of African descent.”...Though they’re void, those restrictions still can be found on deeds for many homes built in the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s. Fair-housing advocates say the offensive language should be removed. They plan to ask the Virginia legislature to pass a law next year that would automatically strike discriminatory clauses from deeds whenever property is sold...Evan McKenzie, a professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, believes all racist restrictions should be removed from deeds and homeowners association bylaws, but he said no state has been that ambitious. “These covenants are insulting and stigmatizing,” said McKenzie, who has written about the use of covenants by homeowners associations. “I can’t prove it but there’s a tremendous amount of racial discrimination going on in the sale and renting of houses. If you drive through the neighborhoods, particularly, suburban neighborhoods, you will see a lot of segregation even though it’s illegal.” McKenzie said racial covenants first appeared after the Civil War but became more common after World War I, when black families moved to cities in search of industrial jobs. Most covenants were written into deeds by developers of suburban housing projects, he said. In other cases, real estate agents or homeowners themselves organized associations in existing neighborhoods to block integration. Even where those associations have disbanded, covenants remain on the deeds.
Sunday, May 08, 2005
FLORIDA LEGISLATIVE SESSION ENDS -- OWNERS 0 -- ATTORNEYS 0
Here's an assessment of the legislative session bottom line, by Jan Bergemann of Cyber Citizens for Justice:
An Opinion By Jan Bergemann
Published May 7, 2005
The Florida Legislative Session 2005 ended and all bills filed relating to community associations died without ever getting a full vote of House and Senate.
[more]
Here's an assessment of the legislative session bottom line, by Jan Bergemann of Cyber Citizens for Justice:
An Opinion By Jan Bergemann
Published May 7, 2005
The Florida Legislative Session 2005 ended and all bills filed relating to community associations died without ever getting a full vote of House and Senate.
[more]
Saturday, May 07, 2005
Entire State of Maine may be propelled one hour into the future by legislative fiat
(AP) Mainers would join their neighbors in the Canadian Maritime Province in the Atlantic Time Zone if a bill that advanced in a legislative committee becomes a law. The State and Local Government Committee voted unanimously to approve the bill putting Maine in a zone where it's an hour later.
(AP) Mainers would join their neighbors in the Canadian Maritime Province in the Atlantic Time Zone if a bill that advanced in a legislative committee becomes a law. The State and Local Government Committee voted unanimously to approve the bill putting Maine in a zone where it's an hour later.
Friday, May 06, 2005
"We have not heard anyone suggesting that CID law is fine the way it is."
So says the California Law Revision Commission. A report worth reading.
So says the California Law Revision Commission. A report worth reading.
Editor's Notes: Decades of doom ahead in Poconos?
We used to live near the Poconos and vacationed there. Here's a link sent by Nancy Levy that predicts a grim future, courtesy of overdevelopment. Thousands of new homes built as "resorts sell out to developers," students added to the school districts, tax hikes, inadequate infrastructure, rising crime...everything but a plague of locusts. I hope he's wrong, but it's worth reading as a parable for communities facing a high rate of new residential construction.
This is a far-reaching column that could be summed up by writing: "The Poconos appears doomed." Not doomed for eternity, perhaps, but certainly for decades...
We used to live near the Poconos and vacationed there. Here's a link sent by Nancy Levy that predicts a grim future, courtesy of overdevelopment. Thousands of new homes built as "resorts sell out to developers," students added to the school districts, tax hikes, inadequate infrastructure, rising crime...everything but a plague of locusts. I hope he's wrong, but it's worth reading as a parable for communities facing a high rate of new residential construction.
This is a far-reaching column that could be summed up by writing: "The Poconos appears doomed." Not doomed for eternity, perhaps, but certainly for decades...
Local Bomb Shell Landmark Stolen
The things you can do when you don't have an HOA...
Carbondale, IL - For the last forty years, the Gibson family proudly displayed an old World War II bomb shell in their Carbondale yard. The six foot tall, 350 pound shell was certainly hard to miss, as drivers passed by it on Giant City road. Some even describe it as a local landmark. But, over the weekend, the bomb turned up missing. The Gibson's think someone stole it, but they're not sure how thieves could yank the heavy shell out from the ground, and not get spotted, along their busy street.
The things you can do when you don't have an HOA...
Carbondale, IL - For the last forty years, the Gibson family proudly displayed an old World War II bomb shell in their Carbondale yard. The six foot tall, 350 pound shell was certainly hard to miss, as drivers passed by it on Giant City road. Some even describe it as a local landmark. But, over the weekend, the bomb turned up missing. The Gibson's think someone stole it, but they're not sure how thieves could yank the heavy shell out from the ground, and not get spotted, along their busy street.
Ribbons divide SR homeowners
Fred Pilot sent this along from California--tie a yellow ribbon 'round the old oak tree, and your condo association comes after you...
When Dave Pinsky's son was shipped to Iraq with the Air Force Reserves the day after Christmas, the concerned father put up yellow ribbons in front of his Santa Rosa condominium.The ribbons, which the Vietnam veteran and sympathetic neighbors placed on the outside of their Fountaingrove condos and tied around trees, represented their hope that Senior Master Sgt. Brian Pinsky would return safely to the United States.But that gesture landed Pinsky and his neighbors, Bob and Barbara Abbott, in hot water with the board of directors of the Stonefield Condominium Homeowners Association...One Stonefield resident, who did not want to be identified, said the ribbons made the area look like a used car lot.
Fred Pilot sent this along from California--tie a yellow ribbon 'round the old oak tree, and your condo association comes after you...
When Dave Pinsky's son was shipped to Iraq with the Air Force Reserves the day after Christmas, the concerned father put up yellow ribbons in front of his Santa Rosa condominium.The ribbons, which the Vietnam veteran and sympathetic neighbors placed on the outside of their Fountaingrove condos and tied around trees, represented their hope that Senior Master Sgt. Brian Pinsky would return safely to the United States.But that gesture landed Pinsky and his neighbors, Bob and Barbara Abbott, in hot water with the board of directors of the Stonefield Condominium Homeowners Association...One Stonefield resident, who did not want to be identified, said the ribbons made the area look like a used car lot.
Tri-City Herald: Opinions
Nancy Levy sent the link to this story out of Washington State. Now can the other 49 please get in line?
Thanks to a bill sponsored by Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, passed by both houses of the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Christine Gregoire, some homeowners have had their rights restored. Imagine that. It turns out that some homeowner associations have ruled their residents cannot erect political signs in their yards. Even during the election season. Benton said the governor was pretty happy about the new law. After he thanked Gregoire for signing his bill, Benton recalled, "She said that she was excited about it because her own mother was prohibited by her homeowners association from displaying a "Gregoire for Governor" yard sign.
Nancy Levy sent the link to this story out of Washington State. Now can the other 49 please get in line?
Thanks to a bill sponsored by Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, passed by both houses of the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Christine Gregoire, some homeowners have had their rights restored. Imagine that. It turns out that some homeowner associations have ruled their residents cannot erect political signs in their yards. Even during the election season. Benton said the governor was pretty happy about the new law. After he thanked Gregoire for signing his bill, Benton recalled, "She said that she was excited about it because her own mother was prohibited by her homeowners association from displaying a "Gregoire for Governor" yard sign.
Midlothian Wood in Midlothian Virginia by Tascon Group
Nancy Levy seems to have solved the mystery of what a "ranch style condominium" looks like. This link goes to a drawing of something that, Nancy notes, looks like what most of us would call a townhome or row house. I still say the term is an oxymoron. Ranch style housing is intentionally sprawling and was designed for places where residential density was very low and therefore land was cheap. Condos were created expressly for high-density living in places where land is expensive--such as beach and resort areas and central cities. Maybe the ranch-style condos in these ads are jsut a condo association form of ownership in a row house setting. Easy enough, and done all the time. So--why not just call them townhomes like everybody else?
Nancy Levy seems to have solved the mystery of what a "ranch style condominium" looks like. This link goes to a drawing of something that, Nancy notes, looks like what most of us would call a townhome or row house. I still say the term is an oxymoron. Ranch style housing is intentionally sprawling and was designed for places where residential density was very low and therefore land was cheap. Condos were created expressly for high-density living in places where land is expensive--such as beach and resort areas and central cities. Maybe the ranch-style condos in these ads are jsut a condo association form of ownership in a row house setting. Easy enough, and done all the time. So--why not just call them townhomes like everybody else?
Cox forced to release documents to regulators:Ariz. probe looks into service deals
Fred Pilot sent this AZ Republic piece. Background: starting back in the 1980s, developers would cut deals with cable TV companies. In exchange for a covenant stating "no exterior antennas," the cable TV provider would run cable to the units for free. That meant that all owners would have to choose between paying for cable TV service and adjusting a set of rabbit ears (some people wrapped them in aluminum foil for better reception). Now, in the 21st century, we have these allegations of "preferred provider agreements":
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Arizona regulators Wednesday took the unusual step of asking a judge to force Cox to hand over documents relating to a statewide review of exclusive deals reached between the communications company and private developers...Michael Patten, a lawyer representing Cox, said the company's slow response was due to miscommunication, timing and a pending federal antitrust investigation of a deal that Cox reached to become the main provider of communications for the Vistancia master-planned community in Peoria...The state agency has two ongoing cases involving the issue of preferred providers, exclusive deals reached between developers and telecommunications companies in new-home communities.
Fred Pilot sent this AZ Republic piece. Background: starting back in the 1980s, developers would cut deals with cable TV companies. In exchange for a covenant stating "no exterior antennas," the cable TV provider would run cable to the units for free. That meant that all owners would have to choose between paying for cable TV service and adjusting a set of rabbit ears (some people wrapped them in aluminum foil for better reception). Now, in the 21st century, we have these allegations of "preferred provider agreements":
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Arizona regulators Wednesday took the unusual step of asking a judge to force Cox to hand over documents relating to a statewide review of exclusive deals reached between the communications company and private developers...Michael Patten, a lawyer representing Cox, said the company's slow response was due to miscommunication, timing and a pending federal antitrust investigation of a deal that Cox reached to become the main provider of communications for the Vistancia master-planned community in Peoria...The state agency has two ongoing cases involving the issue of preferred providers, exclusive deals reached between developers and telecommunications companies in new-home communities.
Majority of Californians make less than half the income needed to buy a home - Yahoo! News
California households are making less than half the income necessary to buy a median-priced home in the first quarter of 2005.Statewide households, with a median household income of $53,540, are $60,380 short of the $113,920 qualifying income needed to purchase a median-priced home at $488,600 in California, according to the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) Homebuyer Income Gap Index (HIGI) report for the first quarter of 2005...For Southern California, the median-priced home was $477,660, which required a qualifying income of $111,370 to make the monthly PITI payment of $2,780. However, the median household income for Southern California was $52,050, leaving an income shortfall of $59,320.
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Wow. As Fred Pilot points out, this could monkey wrench the HOA boom in California. With condos now averaging over 350K in the San Fernando Valley and San Diego, even those glorified apartments are out of reach for people making the median income.
California households are making less than half the income necessary to buy a median-priced home in the first quarter of 2005.Statewide households, with a median household income of $53,540, are $60,380 short of the $113,920 qualifying income needed to purchase a median-priced home at $488,600 in California, according to the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) Homebuyer Income Gap Index (HIGI) report for the first quarter of 2005...For Southern California, the median-priced home was $477,660, which required a qualifying income of $111,370 to make the monthly PITI payment of $2,780. However, the median household income for Southern California was $52,050, leaving an income shortfall of $59,320.
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Wow. As Fred Pilot points out, this could monkey wrench the HOA boom in California. With condos now averaging over 350K in the San Fernando Valley and San Diego, even those glorified apartments are out of reach for people making the median income.
Thursday, May 05, 2005
Update on churlish town - Removing mom's signs brings scorn to Cape CoralPeople from across the United States and as far away as Nova Scotia spent Wednesday telling Cape Coral officials they're un-American, communists and Nazis — among other things.
The name calling came in an onslaught of e-mail that blasted a city worker for removing signs and yellow ribbons a mother had posted to greet her U.S. Army daughter as she returned home from Iraq.
After receiving more than 100 e-mails, city officials went into damage control.
The name calling came in an onslaught of e-mail that blasted a city worker for removing signs and yellow ribbons a mother had posted to greet her U.S. Army daughter as she returned home from Iraq.
After receiving more than 100 e-mails, city officials went into damage control.
Developer plans world's tallest condo -- 110 stories -- in Miami
With "1000 condo units and 500 apartments and hotel rooms," I think the BOD meetings should be entertaining, and perhaps good for a situation comedy.
With "1000 condo units and 500 apartments and hotel rooms," I think the BOD meetings should be entertaining, and perhaps good for a situation comedy.
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Romeo, Michigan: site of the world's first ranch-style condominiums...??
Fred Pilot found this, but don't ask me how (update: The trail leads back to the HOAS Yahoo newsgroup, where Nancy Levy posted it originally). The Michigan Department of Oxymorons will have to OK this proposal, I think. I guess the idea must be to string the condos together in a nice, rambling, single-story, line?
During the Planning Commission public hearing on the request in November, Anthony Lombardo of Michibay West told the commission that ranch-style condominiums were planned for the property.
Fred Pilot found this, but don't ask me how (update: The trail leads back to the HOAS Yahoo newsgroup, where Nancy Levy posted it originally). The Michigan Department of Oxymorons will have to OK this proposal, I think. I guess the idea must be to string the condos together in a nice, rambling, single-story, line?
During the Planning Commission public hearing on the request in November, Anthony Lombardo of Michibay West told the commission that ranch-style condominiums were planned for the property.
Click2Houston.com - Money - Houston Woman Loses $270,000 House Over $420 Bill: State Senator Wants To Outlaw Non-Judicial Foreclosures
How can the industry continue to claim that these things don't happen? This article even contains a photo of the house, and it is a beauty. So, here's the latest publicized victim of foreclosure abuse. And a legislator is ready to do something. The only rational public policy response to such outrages is a complete ban on nonjudicial foreclosure by HOAs. Making the HOA go before a judge would restore some sanity to this process. I can't believe that any rational judge would have allowed this sale to go forward.
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HOUSTON -- A Houston woman lost a $270,000 home she owned free and clear because of a $420 debt to a homeowner's association, Local 2 reported Wednesday.Pamela Bernhardt owned a two-story, four-bedroom rental home with a swimming pool in the 14200 block of Swallowfield in southwest Houston. She just spent $48,000 renovating it. "It has hardwood floors, granite countertops, stainless appliances and all new tile in the bathroom," Bernhardt said. The Briarhills Homeowner's Association sold it after Bernhardt did not pay a $420 assessment fee.
How can the industry continue to claim that these things don't happen? This article even contains a photo of the house, and it is a beauty. So, here's the latest publicized victim of foreclosure abuse. And a legislator is ready to do something. The only rational public policy response to such outrages is a complete ban on nonjudicial foreclosure by HOAs. Making the HOA go before a judge would restore some sanity to this process. I can't believe that any rational judge would have allowed this sale to go forward.
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HOUSTON -- A Houston woman lost a $270,000 home she owned free and clear because of a $420 debt to a homeowner's association, Local 2 reported Wednesday.Pamela Bernhardt owned a two-story, four-bedroom rental home with a swimming pool in the 14200 block of Swallowfield in southwest Houston. She just spent $48,000 renovating it. "It has hardwood floors, granite countertops, stainless appliances and all new tile in the bathroom," Bernhardt said. The Briarhills Homeowner's Association sold it after Bernhardt did not pay a $420 assessment fee.
Barred From the Website Forum: But Can the Association Do That?
Good LA Times article on HOAs and the First Amendment where the internet is concerned--comment from me at the end of the article, also quote from Frank Askin. Can your HOA ban you from their message board? Read and see...
Good LA Times article on HOAs and the First Amendment where the internet is concerned--comment from me at the end of the article, also quote from Frank Askin. Can your HOA ban you from their message board? Read and see...
The News-Press: Cape Coral - Mom upset after Cape official pulls 'Welcome Back Soldier' sign
I have this uneasy sensation that suburban municipalities are gradually behaving more and more like HOAs. It's a bit like that old SF movie, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." The city goes to sleep, and somebody puts a pod down next to it. In the morning the city is gone, and a pod-city that looks just like the city but acts like an HOA has taken its place.
A Cape Coral mother was upset Tuesday when a city worker removed a small, homemade sign and yellow ribbons, welcoming her daughter home from Iraq, for violating a local ordinance.
I have this uneasy sensation that suburban municipalities are gradually behaving more and more like HOAs. It's a bit like that old SF movie, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." The city goes to sleep, and somebody puts a pod down next to it. In the morning the city is gone, and a pod-city that looks just like the city but acts like an HOA has taken its place.
A Cape Coral mother was upset Tuesday when a city worker removed a small, homemade sign and yellow ribbons, welcoming her daughter home from Iraq, for violating a local ordinance.
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
New Jersey: Panel boosts bill on homeowner groups
Seems that CAI is happy and owner groups are not--at least, that's the way the story presents it.
Legislation defining the rights and responsibilities of the 1.2 million New Jerseyans who live in communities governed by homeowners associations and condo or co-op boards was approved yesterday by an Assembly committee. The bill, based on a national model law and the recommendations of a 1998 Assembly task force, "has been in the making for a very long time," according to its sponsor, Assemblyman Wilfredo Caraballo (D-Essex). He said it attempts to "find a fair balance" between the rights of individual residents and those of the larger community. The bill declares that residents of association-governed communities have certain rights that include "a fair and effective method of resolving disputes," running for election, watching their association operate in the open and access to its records. Their obligations include maintaining their properties according to community standards, paying all fees and assessments on time and obeying rules adopted by their association. For the first time in New Jersey, it would unify scattered provisions of law dealing with homeowners associations, condo boards and governing bodies of co-op apartments. Recognizing that such community associations perform "quasi-governmental functions," such as fining residents for violating rules, it also subjects them to greater oversight by the state Department of Community Affairs.
...
Seems that CAI is happy and owner groups are not--at least, that's the way the story presents it.
Legislation defining the rights and responsibilities of the 1.2 million New Jerseyans who live in communities governed by homeowners associations and condo or co-op boards was approved yesterday by an Assembly committee. The bill, based on a national model law and the recommendations of a 1998 Assembly task force, "has been in the making for a very long time," according to its sponsor, Assemblyman Wilfredo Caraballo (D-Essex). He said it attempts to "find a fair balance" between the rights of individual residents and those of the larger community. The bill declares that residents of association-governed communities have certain rights that include "a fair and effective method of resolving disputes," running for election, watching their association operate in the open and access to its records. Their obligations include maintaining their properties according to community standards, paying all fees and assessments on time and obeying rules adopted by their association. For the first time in New Jersey, it would unify scattered provisions of law dealing with homeowners associations, condo boards and governing bodies of co-op apartments. Recognizing that such community associations perform "quasi-governmental functions," such as fining residents for violating rules, it also subjects them to greater oversight by the state Department of Community Affairs.
...
ThisisLondon: Microphones to catch noisy neighbours
Coming soon, to an HOA near you?
Noisy neighbours have become a scourge of modern life, resulting in stress, sleepless nights and even violence. Now Westminster Council hopes a new wireless microphone could help tackle the problem. It plans to attach the device to lamp posts outside houses, allowing inspectors to monitor sound levels.
Coming soon, to an HOA near you?
Noisy neighbours have become a scourge of modern life, resulting in stress, sleepless nights and even violence. Now Westminster Council hopes a new wireless microphone could help tackle the problem. It plans to attach the device to lamp posts outside houses, allowing inspectors to monitor sound levels.
Monday, May 02, 2005
Developers Eye Land Along Everglades - Yahoo! News
I expect that the residential developments will have covenants prohibiting alligators weighing more than 30 pounds. But enforcement could be a challenge.
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This landscape, the only subtropical farm region in the continental United States, is protected by a boundary line that was drawn two decades ago to keep development from pushing westward.Now, to the dismay of farmers...developers are snapping up Miami-Dade County's dwindling open land and hoping to persuade politicians to push the boundary line closer toward the Everglades.
I expect that the residential developments will have covenants prohibiting alligators weighing more than 30 pounds. But enforcement could be a challenge.
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This landscape, the only subtropical farm region in the continental United States, is protected by a boundary line that was drawn two decades ago to keep development from pushing westward.Now, to the dismay of farmers...developers are snapping up Miami-Dade County's dwindling open land and hoping to persuade politicians to push the boundary line closer toward the Everglades.
Chicago Tribune | Supermarkets sit empty as deeds block new grocers
Here's a use of restrictive covenants that you don't encounter every day:
When the Dominick's store in West Lawn closed last spring, ending more than two decades in the Southwest Side neighborhood, residents expected another grocer to quickly fill the void. A year later, however, the 54,000-square-foot building remains vacant, and neighborhood residents who once walked to the store now take buses or beg rides to full-line grocery stores miles away. Pete's Market, a local grocery chain, wanted to take over the space. But Dominick's has blocked Pete's and every other grocer from using the space inside an aging shopping plaza by placing a restriction in the deed that bars grocery stores. Restrictive covenants have been a common tactic in the grocery industry, used to thwart competition and control markets. Records show that two North Side properties that used to house Dominick's groceries carry the same restrictions. But across the nation, community groups and elected officials are beginning to cry foul, saying restrictive covenants not only hurt business competition but punish whole neighborhoods.
Here's a use of restrictive covenants that you don't encounter every day:
When the Dominick's store in West Lawn closed last spring, ending more than two decades in the Southwest Side neighborhood, residents expected another grocer to quickly fill the void. A year later, however, the 54,000-square-foot building remains vacant, and neighborhood residents who once walked to the store now take buses or beg rides to full-line grocery stores miles away. Pete's Market, a local grocery chain, wanted to take over the space. But Dominick's has blocked Pete's and every other grocer from using the space inside an aging shopping plaza by placing a restriction in the deed that bars grocery stores. Restrictive covenants have been a common tactic in the grocery industry, used to thwart competition and control markets. Records show that two North Side properties that used to house Dominick's groceries carry the same restrictions. But across the nation, community groups and elected officials are beginning to cry foul, saying restrictive covenants not only hurt business competition but punish whole neighborhoods.
Sunday, May 01, 2005
www.newszap.com: HOA reform bill passes House: Proxies out, majority can remove board member
From Arizona, lots of detail in this story:
A homeowners association reform bill to get rid of proxies and give homeowners statewide a uniformed way to oust board members was due for a Senate floor vote this week before heading to the governor's desk. House Bill 2154, sponsored by Rep. Chuck Gray (R-Mesa), is one of the few surviving measures of the 50 HOA reform bills introduced this legislative session.
[more]
From Arizona, lots of detail in this story:
A homeowners association reform bill to get rid of proxies and give homeowners statewide a uniformed way to oust board members was due for a Senate floor vote this week before heading to the governor's desk. House Bill 2154, sponsored by Rep. Chuck Gray (R-Mesa), is one of the few surviving measures of the 50 HOA reform bills introduced this legislative session.
[more]
Subdivisions Impose Social Divide:
Here's a Washington Post article that finds room for a comment from me:
"It is the sort of strange effect that Evan McKenzie, author of the book 'Privatopia,' thinks county and other governments are only beginning to grapple with. The very concept of local citizenship is changing, he argues, as people are identifying less with such public entities as counties and more with their private developments and homeowner associations, which largely have assumed the role of governments. 'I think we're at a brave-new-world moment here,' McKenzie said. 'I think we're going through a major revolution in urban governance, and we won't fully understand the consequences of this for 50 years.'"
Here's a Washington Post article that finds room for a comment from me:
"It is the sort of strange effect that Evan McKenzie, author of the book 'Privatopia,' thinks county and other governments are only beginning to grapple with. The very concept of local citizenship is changing, he argues, as people are identifying less with such public entities as counties and more with their private developments and homeowner associations, which largely have assumed the role of governments. 'I think we're at a brave-new-world moment here,' McKenzie said. 'I think we're going through a major revolution in urban governance, and we won't fully understand the consequences of this for 50 years.'"
HoustonChronicle.com - Bills aim to ease problems facing neighborhoods
A bill sponsored by Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, regulating the proliferation of neighborhood bars, passed the Senate on Friday...The legislation, prompted by publicized cases in which homeowners were threatened with loss of their houses because they didn't pay association fees, would curb associations' use of foreclosure sales to collect fees.Bailey's bill, which passed out of committee Thursday, would require homeowners associations to give clear notice to homeowners that delinquent fees could result in foreclosures, prevent the associations from foreclosing on a home without a proper hearing, require that a judge approve foreclosures and allow homeowners up to two years to redeem homes after foreclosure. Lindsay introduced a similar bill on Friday."A home is the largest and most expensive possession most citizens will ever own in their lives," he said. "For a nongovernmental entity to foreclose and sell a home without the benefit of an impartial court considering both sides of the issue is contrary to everything most Texans and Americans hold as reasonable and fair."
A bill sponsored by Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, regulating the proliferation of neighborhood bars, passed the Senate on Friday...The legislation, prompted by publicized cases in which homeowners were threatened with loss of their houses because they didn't pay association fees, would curb associations' use of foreclosure sales to collect fees.Bailey's bill, which passed out of committee Thursday, would require homeowners associations to give clear notice to homeowners that delinquent fees could result in foreclosures, prevent the associations from foreclosing on a home without a proper hearing, require that a judge approve foreclosures and allow homeowners up to two years to redeem homes after foreclosure. Lindsay introduced a similar bill on Friday."A home is the largest and most expensive possession most citizens will ever own in their lives," he said. "For a nongovernmental entity to foreclose and sell a home without the benefit of an impartial court considering both sides of the issue is contrary to everything most Texans and Americans hold as reasonable and fair."
Los Angeles Times: OK for Oxnard High-Rises a Tall Order
Fred Pilot claims this is a real news story and not the first page of a script treatment for a disaster movie. A 48 story condo building in Southern California? Can you spell S-A-N-A-N-D-R-E-A-S-F-A-U-L-T, boys and girls?
If San Diego high-rise developer Doug Austin has his way, three condominium towers up to 500 feet tall will form a new urban skyline above the agricultural Oxnard Plain in the next few years. Austin's plan calls for more than 1,000 condominiums in three slender towers — two of 31 stories and one of 48 — nearly twice as high as Ventura County's tallest building, which is itself an aberration in low-rise suburbia. "Frank Lloyd Wright had a concept of a mile-high city as a way to save the plains and open space," said Austin, who is also an architect. "And if you're looking out into Oxnard's future, and you are truly interested in saving the farmland, this is an alternative. The growth has to spread somewhere."
Fred Pilot claims this is a real news story and not the first page of a script treatment for a disaster movie. A 48 story condo building in Southern California? Can you spell S-A-N-A-N-D-R-E-A-S-F-A-U-L-T, boys and girls?
If San Diego high-rise developer Doug Austin has his way, three condominium towers up to 500 feet tall will form a new urban skyline above the agricultural Oxnard Plain in the next few years. Austin's plan calls for more than 1,000 condominiums in three slender towers — two of 31 stories and one of 48 — nearly twice as high as Ventura County's tallest building, which is itself an aberration in low-rise suburbia. "Frank Lloyd Wright had a concept of a mile-high city as a way to save the plains and open space," said Austin, who is also an architect. "And if you're looking out into Oxnard's future, and you are truly interested in saving the farmland, this is an alternative. The growth has to spread somewhere."
thedesertsun.com--HOA bills in trouble?
You have to scroll down to find this, and I don't know if it is on the money or not:
HOA mediation bills run out of gas
At times, homeowners associations and residents are at odds with one another. Some of these disputes escalate into crisis mode, erupting into mini-battles behind what should be the gates of tranquility.
Two bills are now circulating in the Legislature to create the first ever state ombudsperson office that would provide mediation for problems, training for board members and information for HOA residents.Great idea. Unfortunately, the bills have already hit a snag. Californians living in HOAs are going to have to wait at least another year - or maybe two - for any possible state help with problems. At issue is the proposed $5 fee on homeowners to support the office and the lack of enforcement powers.OK, so address the issues and move forward with a modified plan - or shore up what you have. Don't let HOAs and residents flounder in a sea of disputes. They need help.
You have to scroll down to find this, and I don't know if it is on the money or not:
HOA mediation bills run out of gas
At times, homeowners associations and residents are at odds with one another. Some of these disputes escalate into crisis mode, erupting into mini-battles behind what should be the gates of tranquility.
Two bills are now circulating in the Legislature to create the first ever state ombudsperson office that would provide mediation for problems, training for board members and information for HOA residents.Great idea. Unfortunately, the bills have already hit a snag. Californians living in HOAs are going to have to wait at least another year - or maybe two - for any possible state help with problems. At issue is the proposed $5 fee on homeowners to support the office and the lack of enforcement powers.OK, so address the issues and move forward with a modified plan - or shore up what you have. Don't let HOAs and residents flounder in a sea of disputes. They need help.
STARTING FROM SCRATCH / The dirt around new homes provides an inviting blank canvas
Here's a story Fred Pilot found on restrictions in suburbia.
Here's a story Fred Pilot found on restrictions in suburbia.
courant.com | Realities Behind The Gates: Enclosed Communities A Potent Symbol, But May Be Losing Favor
Good article by Carly Berwick of the Hartford Courant--has quotes from me and Setha Low, author of "Behind the Gates."
Good article by Carly Berwick of the Hartford Courant--has quotes from me and Setha Low, author of "Behind the Gates."
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Legal Tales from Gilligan's Island
This is a law review article. One of the few worth reading. Santa Clara Law Review Volume 39, Number 1 (1998).
Gilligan's Island, a 1960s comedy, ranks among the most influential television shows of all time. Despite the fact that the last original episode aired thirty years ago, the show is more popular now than when it first appeared. Each day, reruns bring the characters back to life, and it is claimed that the show has been presented more often than any other television comedy.
Although the series has been the subject of numerous studies, its legal facets are almost never mentioned. As a result, even the show's most ardent fans are rarely mindful of just how much law appeared in the series. Accordingly, this essay seeks to shed some light on the jurisprudence of Gilligan's Island.
This is a law review article. One of the few worth reading. Santa Clara Law Review Volume 39, Number 1 (1998).
Gilligan's Island, a 1960s comedy, ranks among the most influential television shows of all time. Despite the fact that the last original episode aired thirty years ago, the show is more popular now than when it first appeared. Each day, reruns bring the characters back to life, and it is claimed that the show has been presented more often than any other television comedy.
Although the series has been the subject of numerous studies, its legal facets are almost never mentioned. As a result, even the show's most ardent fans are rarely mindful of just how much law appeared in the series. Accordingly, this essay seeks to shed some light on the jurisprudence of Gilligan's Island.
NJ HOA limits flag display despite protective statute, says homeowner
From a reader who wishes to remain anonymous out of concern over retribution. Any New Jersey attorney who would like to help this individual vindicate his/her rights can contact me and I'll facilitate putting you together. For example, a New Jersey CAI attorney who believes in the rule of law and would like to demonstrate that CAI cares about owners, not just boards of directors, might want to do this pro bono.
My Homeowners Association limits public display of the
American flag, despite a NJ law prohibiting such limitation
(45NJSA:22A-48.1). The HOA also acts as judge and jury for anyone who complains that their actions are unfair. There is apparently no legal recourse against a
Homeowners Association in NJ or any state, as these little fiefdoms
have been established as private governments who answer to nobody
but themselves.
Name Withheld
New Jersey
From a reader who wishes to remain anonymous out of concern over retribution. Any New Jersey attorney who would like to help this individual vindicate his/her rights can contact me and I'll facilitate putting you together. For example, a New Jersey CAI attorney who believes in the rule of law and would like to demonstrate that CAI cares about owners, not just boards of directors, might want to do this pro bono.
My Homeowners Association limits public display of the
American flag, despite a NJ law prohibiting such limitation
(45NJSA:22A-48.1). The HOA also acts as judge and jury for anyone who complains that their actions are unfair. There is apparently no legal recourse against a
Homeowners Association in NJ or any state, as these little fiefdoms
have been established as private governments who answer to nobody
but themselves.
Name Withheld
New Jersey
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online: Their own set of rules: Cheesehead state wants condo buyers to know what they're getting into
Today, Wisconsin begins an effort to reduce squabbles by requiring condominium associations to provide potential buyers with an "executive summary" of governing principles before a contract is signed. It's the seller's responsibility to get the summary to potential buyers.
Today, Wisconsin begins an effort to reduce squabbles by requiring condominium associations to provide potential buyers with an "executive summary" of governing principles before a contract is signed. It's the seller's responsibility to get the summary to potential buyers.
You can't hide your lying eyes from devices: thermal imaging to detect lies?
This is kind of creepy.
This is kind of creepy.
Friday, April 29, 2005
More HOA reforms near OK--East Valley Tribune
"Your Valhalla Neighbors" kindly sent the link to the story on AZ HOA reforms that I noted earlier--thanks.
"Your Valhalla Neighbors" kindly sent the link to the story on AZ HOA reforms that I noted earlier--thanks.
Boing Boing: Designer prefab houses coming to Germany
Mystery Reader sent this link to a Boing Boing story on a type of house that I hope stays wherever it is at the moment. Take a look at the picture.
Mystery Reader sent this link to a Boing Boing story on a type of house that I hope stays wherever it is at the moment. Take a look at the picture.
WSOCTV.com - Action 9 - Action 9: Woman Paid HOA Dues, But They Still Wanted Legal Fees
Yet another story of a homeowner treated like so much garbage by her HOA and the HOA's attorney. According to the story (I have no independent knowledge of what happened), this owner wasn't delinquent and had the receipts to prove it, but the association's lawyer threatened to foreclose if the owner didn't pay the lawyer's fees for the bogus collection effort. Enter the TV station:
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Betty Belk said she paid her homeowner's dues on time, but through a clerical mistake, the homeowner's association still wanted to collect on legal fees...Attorneys do have the right to recover fees incurred in the collection of delinquent homeowners dues. But if Belk's dues were never late, then how could the attorney, in this case Victoria Sprouse, still collect her fees? "I said, 'I don't think that's right.' She said, 'You got to pay that or I'll foreclose on your house,'" said Belk. "That's when I got in touch with you." Action 9 contacted attorney Victoria Sprouse. She promised she would talk about what happened but never did.The homeowner's association's management company, Carolina Management Association also wouldn't talk to Action 9. Pat Patterson of Carolina Management told Belk she didn't have to pay the attorney fees.
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According to the community association industry, things like this never happen. Sure--maybe there's another side to this. With the association's attorney not speaking to the press I don't know. But when will the Community Associations Institute take a meaningful stand against apparent collections and foreclosure abuse by associations and their attorneys? All I hear are platitudes about how foreclosure should be a last resort and denials that there is a problem. Every case is an "isolated instance." How about some action, such a as a CAI attorney providing pro bono legal assistance to people like Betty Belk so the case can be fully and fairly presented on both sides? Owners can't even get representation because (a) they can't afford it, and (b) even if they could nearly all HOA specialists only represent associations. CAI could remedy this, and they should. And if they don't, legislatures will do something about it, and I think HOA lawyers won't like the outcome of that process.
Yet another story of a homeowner treated like so much garbage by her HOA and the HOA's attorney. According to the story (I have no independent knowledge of what happened), this owner wasn't delinquent and had the receipts to prove it, but the association's lawyer threatened to foreclose if the owner didn't pay the lawyer's fees for the bogus collection effort. Enter the TV station:
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Betty Belk said she paid her homeowner's dues on time, but through a clerical mistake, the homeowner's association still wanted to collect on legal fees...Attorneys do have the right to recover fees incurred in the collection of delinquent homeowners dues. But if Belk's dues were never late, then how could the attorney, in this case Victoria Sprouse, still collect her fees? "I said, 'I don't think that's right.' She said, 'You got to pay that or I'll foreclose on your house,'" said Belk. "That's when I got in touch with you." Action 9 contacted attorney Victoria Sprouse. She promised she would talk about what happened but never did.The homeowner's association's management company, Carolina Management Association also wouldn't talk to Action 9. Pat Patterson of Carolina Management told Belk she didn't have to pay the attorney fees.
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According to the community association industry, things like this never happen. Sure--maybe there's another side to this. With the association's attorney not speaking to the press I don't know. But when will the Community Associations Institute take a meaningful stand against apparent collections and foreclosure abuse by associations and their attorneys? All I hear are platitudes about how foreclosure should be a last resort and denials that there is a problem. Every case is an "isolated instance." How about some action, such a as a CAI attorney providing pro bono legal assistance to people like Betty Belk so the case can be fully and fairly presented on both sides? Owners can't even get representation because (a) they can't afford it, and (b) even if they could nearly all HOA specialists only represent associations. CAI could remedy this, and they should. And if they don't, legislatures will do something about it, and I think HOA lawyers won't like the outcome of that process.
Illinois Supreme Court decision allows non-lawyers to handle real estate transactions
There is a major battle underway between the organized bar and mortgage companies over having the lender's non-lawyer employees handle parts of real estate sales transactions. Here in this case the Illinois Supreme Court hands a big loss to the lawyers, despite numerous amicus briefs:
The parties have identified several issues for our review: (1) whether a mortgage lender that uses nonlawyers to prepare loan documents for the lender's loans engages in the unauthorized practice of law when the lender charges the borrower a fee for preparation of the documents; (2) whether a private right of action to recover money damages exists under the Attorney Act (705 ILCS 205/0.01 et seq. (West 2002)); (3) whether plaintiffs' complaints stated a cause of action under the Consumer Fraud Act; (4) whether a private right of action for money had and received due to fees charged in this case exists and whether the voluntary payment doctrine bars plaintiffs from seeking restitution; and (5) whether federal law preempts plaintiffs' state law claims against defendant national bank and federal savings associations.
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In summary, we hold that where the defendant lenders prepared the subject loan documents, through their employees, they did not engage in the unauthorized practice of law by charging a fee. We also hold that no private right of action exists under the Attorney Act for damages for the unauthorized practice of law. We further hold that plaintiffs' restitution claims in the Jackson and Porter cases are barred by the voluntary payment doctrine. Accordingly, for the reasons stated, we affirm the judgments of the appellate court.
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Why is this significant, apart from the continued threat to the income of attorneys? Because of the rise of common interest housing and the inclusion in housing sales of a package of privatized services, responsibilities, and restrictions--all of which need to be fully understood by the buyer, which requires a lawyer to explain them. I think buyers need to be fully informed of how CC&Rs and an HOA or condo association will affect their expectations of home ownership. I'd like to see more lawyer involvement in explaining these documents, not less. These non-lawyer employees are not qualified, or allowed, to interpret or explain things. Having mortgage company employees doing what lawyers would otherwise do just increases the pressure to get the whole transaction over with as speedily as possible without bothering to secure full understanding by the buyer of what he or she is getting into.
There is a major battle underway between the organized bar and mortgage companies over having the lender's non-lawyer employees handle parts of real estate sales transactions. Here in this case the Illinois Supreme Court hands a big loss to the lawyers, despite numerous amicus briefs:
The parties have identified several issues for our review: (1) whether a mortgage lender that uses nonlawyers to prepare loan documents for the lender's loans engages in the unauthorized practice of law when the lender charges the borrower a fee for preparation of the documents; (2) whether a private right of action to recover money damages exists under the Attorney Act (705 ILCS 205/0.01 et seq. (West 2002)); (3) whether plaintiffs' complaints stated a cause of action under the Consumer Fraud Act; (4) whether a private right of action for money had and received due to fees charged in this case exists and whether the voluntary payment doctrine bars plaintiffs from seeking restitution; and (5) whether federal law preempts plaintiffs' state law claims against defendant national bank and federal savings associations.
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In summary, we hold that where the defendant lenders prepared the subject loan documents, through their employees, they did not engage in the unauthorized practice of law by charging a fee. We also hold that no private right of action exists under the Attorney Act for damages for the unauthorized practice of law. We further hold that plaintiffs' restitution claims in the Jackson and Porter cases are barred by the voluntary payment doctrine. Accordingly, for the reasons stated, we affirm the judgments of the appellate court.
----------------------
Why is this significant, apart from the continued threat to the income of attorneys? Because of the rise of common interest housing and the inclusion in housing sales of a package of privatized services, responsibilities, and restrictions--all of which need to be fully understood by the buyer, which requires a lawyer to explain them. I think buyers need to be fully informed of how CC&Rs and an HOA or condo association will affect their expectations of home ownership. I'd like to see more lawyer involvement in explaining these documents, not less. These non-lawyer employees are not qualified, or allowed, to interpret or explain things. Having mortgage company employees doing what lawyers would otherwise do just increases the pressure to get the whole transaction over with as speedily as possible without bothering to secure full understanding by the buyer of what he or she is getting into.
Thursday, April 28, 2005
HoustonChronicle.com - Homeowners association sells woman's house
But all the CAI lawyers say this never happens...I guess somebody isn't telling truth. Who do you suppose it could be?
Pamela Bernhardt was close to completing renovations on a house she owned and hoped to sell. She had installed a new roof, new granite tops in the kitchen and new tiles in the bathrooEarlier this month, she arrived at the house on the 14200 block of Swallowfield in southwest Houston and found a small, yellow note stuck to the front door. The handwritten note said that the house had been sold at a foreclosure sale seven months earlier. The local homeowners association had sold the house, valued at about $250,000, saying Bernhardt failed to pay a $420 assessment fee.
m.
But all the CAI lawyers say this never happens...I guess somebody isn't telling truth. Who do you suppose it could be?
Pamela Bernhardt was close to completing renovations on a house she owned and hoped to sell. She had installed a new roof, new granite tops in the kitchen and new tiles in the bathrooEarlier this month, she arrived at the house on the 14200 block of Swallowfield in southwest Houston and found a small, yellow note stuck to the front door. The handwritten note said that the house had been sold at a foreclosure sale seven months earlier. The local homeowners association had sold the house, valued at about $250,000, saying Bernhardt failed to pay a $420 assessment fee.
m.
Home's green roof has a slant to it
Ah, the pleasures of fee simple ownership. Try doing this in your HOA:
Green roofs are sprouting up all over, but most of them are on flat surfaces and can't be seen from street level. But Lois Vitt Sale -- always one to shout worthy ideas from rooftops -- wanted her elevated garden to be visible. So she planted it on the peaked roof of the garage of her Downers Grove home.
Ah, the pleasures of fee simple ownership. Try doing this in your HOA:
Green roofs are sprouting up all over, but most of them are on flat surfaces and can't be seen from street level. But Lois Vitt Sale -- always one to shout worthy ideas from rooftops -- wanted her elevated garden to be visible. So she planted it on the peaked roof of the garage of her Downers Grove home.
Chicago Tribune | Police chief of Berwyn is indicted
Think HOA elections get contentious? Check out this story of election related violence in the Chicago suburbs, written by my friend and former editor, the inimitable Brett McNeil.
Berwyn Public Safety Director Frank Marzullo and four other men--including Marzullo's son, who is an assistant Cook County state's attorney--were indicted by a Cook County grand jury Wednesday on charges they beat a man April 5 outside a Forest Park steakhouse, authorities said.
Think HOA elections get contentious? Check out this story of election related violence in the Chicago suburbs, written by my friend and former editor, the inimitable Brett McNeil.
Berwyn Public Safety Director Frank Marzullo and four other men--including Marzullo's son, who is an assistant Cook County state's attorney--were indicted by a Cook County grand jury Wednesday on charges they beat a man April 5 outside a Forest Park steakhouse, authorities said.
Chicago Tribune | Poor seniors take on plans of condo giant
Mystery Reader sends along this link to an unusual twist on the familiar situation of tenant displacement due to condo conversion:
Dozens of immigrants from the former Soviet Union are getting a first-hand lesson in capitalism and market value as one of the biggest players in the Chicago real estate market gets a crash course in dealing with people who need government aid to find a place to live. More than two dozen elderly residents of Ontario Place, mostly Russians who immigrated to the U.S. a quarter century ago and have lived at the prime address since with the help of housing vouchers, picketed the building Tuesday to protest a deal that could send them packing. "This is our home," Leona Gaysinsky, a resident, said. "We know no other place. This is our community."Ontario Place, like many other downtown buildings, is going condo. American Invsco, the new owner of Ontario Place at 10 E. Ontario St., says it has done everything it can to help the residents find new housing nearby, but it now fights accusations by senior-rights groups that it is a Goliath throwing the elderly out into the street.
Mystery Reader sends along this link to an unusual twist on the familiar situation of tenant displacement due to condo conversion:
Dozens of immigrants from the former Soviet Union are getting a first-hand lesson in capitalism and market value as one of the biggest players in the Chicago real estate market gets a crash course in dealing with people who need government aid to find a place to live. More than two dozen elderly residents of Ontario Place, mostly Russians who immigrated to the U.S. a quarter century ago and have lived at the prime address since with the help of housing vouchers, picketed the building Tuesday to protest a deal that could send them packing. "This is our home," Leona Gaysinsky, a resident, said. "We know no other place. This is our community."Ontario Place, like many other downtown buildings, is going condo. American Invsco, the new owner of Ontario Place at 10 E. Ontario St., says it has done everything it can to help the residents find new housing nearby, but it now fights accusations by senior-rights groups that it is a Goliath throwing the elderly out into the street.
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Philippine News Online: Condo sales lead property boom
MANILA – Filipinos are making the switch, with growing numbers of urbanites now preferring to live in residential buildings instead of single detached units. This, according to the chairman of one of the biggest property developers in the country.
MANILA – Filipinos are making the switch, with growing numbers of urbanites now preferring to live in residential buildings instead of single detached units. This, according to the chairman of one of the biggest property developers in the country.
Los Angeles Daily News:Condo market surges--
High demand, prices fuel construction, conversions
In the San Fernando Valley during March the median price of a condo soared an annual 19 percent, to a record $352,000, but sales rose 32.2 percent, to 493 transactions, the third-highest monthly total ever. By comparison, the median price of a single-family home hit a record $525,000.
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Every time I see these SoCal prices I have to look twice to make sure it says what I saw the first time. The median price of a CONDO is $352,000?? And sales are up by almost one-third? I would not want a variable rate mortgage on one of those. When the economy slows condos are the first properties to suffer, and if interest rates go significantly higher the combination of those two circumstances could spell trouble for a lot of people living in the Valley.
High demand, prices fuel construction, conversions
In the San Fernando Valley during March the median price of a condo soared an annual 19 percent, to a record $352,000, but sales rose 32.2 percent, to 493 transactions, the third-highest monthly total ever. By comparison, the median price of a single-family home hit a record $525,000.
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Every time I see these SoCal prices I have to look twice to make sure it says what I saw the first time. The median price of a CONDO is $352,000?? And sales are up by almost one-third? I would not want a variable rate mortgage on one of those. When the economy slows condos are the first properties to suffer, and if interest rates go significantly higher the combination of those two circumstances could spell trouble for a lot of people living in the Valley.
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
U.S. Prison Population Soars in 2003, '04 - Yahoo! News
Speaking of gated communities...
WASHINGTON - Growing at a rate of about 900 inmates each week between mid-2003 and mid-2004, the nation's prisons and jails held 2.1 million people, or one in every 138 U.S. residents, the government reported Sunday.
Speaking of gated communities...
WASHINGTON - Growing at a rate of about 900 inmates each week between mid-2003 and mid-2004, the nation's prisons and jails held 2.1 million people, or one in every 138 U.S. residents, the government reported Sunday.
Case No. 1-03-0378, Mikulecky v. Bart
Interesting opinion from the First District Appellate Court here in Illinois (that's the one that covers Cook County, including the city of Chicago). Issue: If a seller of a condo unit knows that the condo board is planning to approve a big capital expenditure, such as a major repair, that will require borrowing and levying a special assessment, but the BOD hasn't approved the plan as of the time of disclosure and even of the actual sale to the buyer, does the seller have to disclose that information to the buyer? Answer: You betcha; even though the expense wasn't approved, it was "anticipated."
Condos are creatures of statute. Section 22.1 of the Illinois Condominium Property Act says exactly what has to be disclosed, and it includes "anticipated" capital expenditures. Does "anticipated" mean "approved," as the seller argued? No, says the court. "Anticipated" has a commonly understood meaning. The fact that the seller knew about the planned expenditure through a letter from the BOD and also from going to a finance committee meeting was enough, and it should have been disclosed.
Interesting opinion from the First District Appellate Court here in Illinois (that's the one that covers Cook County, including the city of Chicago). Issue: If a seller of a condo unit knows that the condo board is planning to approve a big capital expenditure, such as a major repair, that will require borrowing and levying a special assessment, but the BOD hasn't approved the plan as of the time of disclosure and even of the actual sale to the buyer, does the seller have to disclose that information to the buyer? Answer: You betcha; even though the expense wasn't approved, it was "anticipated."
Condos are creatures of statute. Section 22.1 of the Illinois Condominium Property Act says exactly what has to be disclosed, and it includes "anticipated" capital expenditures. Does "anticipated" mean "approved," as the seller argued? No, says the court. "Anticipated" has a commonly understood meaning. The fact that the seller knew about the planned expenditure through a letter from the BOD and also from going to a finance committee meeting was enough, and it should have been disclosed.
My Way News:Herd of Buffalo Disrupt Traffic in Md.
PIKESVILLE, Md. (AP) - A herd of buffalo somehow got loose and wandered around an upscale neighborhood Tuesday, disrupting traffic and alarming homeowners before officers managed to corral them in a tennis court.
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Submitted for your consideration: Suburbia, once believed to have the best of urban and rural worlds, now officially has the worst of both worlds. Big city residents always gloat when there is an urban-type crime or other problem in a suburb. It is a schadenfreude carnival whenever there is a drive-by shooting in a suburb. "See?" they say, "Suburbanites can't escape bad schools/crime/fiscal collapse/traffic etc..." But now suburbia gets rural problems as well--a dad gum buffalo stampede. What's next? Potato blight? Boll weevils? Locusts?
PIKESVILLE, Md. (AP) - A herd of buffalo somehow got loose and wandered around an upscale neighborhood Tuesday, disrupting traffic and alarming homeowners before officers managed to corral them in a tennis court.
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Submitted for your consideration: Suburbia, once believed to have the best of urban and rural worlds, now officially has the worst of both worlds. Big city residents always gloat when there is an urban-type crime or other problem in a suburb. It is a schadenfreude carnival whenever there is a drive-by shooting in a suburb. "See?" they say, "Suburbanites can't escape bad schools/crime/fiscal collapse/traffic etc..." But now suburbia gets rural problems as well--a dad gum buffalo stampede. What's next? Potato blight? Boll weevils? Locusts?
Contrarians at the Gates Go to Some Heights to Make a Point
Fred Pilot forwarded this--you gotta love it...
Ten-foot-tall "viewing platforms" erected outside three gated communities are showcasing one Los Angeles group's social viewpoint. Guerrilla artists have erected gaudy, orange-painted towers next to the fences of private neighborhoods in Brentwood, the Fairfax district and Los Feliz to protest what they say is a proliferation of private, gate-guarded residential enclaves.
Fred Pilot forwarded this--you gotta love it...
Ten-foot-tall "viewing platforms" erected outside three gated communities are showcasing one Los Angeles group's social viewpoint. Guerrilla artists have erected gaudy, orange-painted towers next to the fences of private neighborhoods in Brentwood, the Fairfax district and Los Feliz to protest what they say is a proliferation of private, gate-guarded residential enclaves.
From the East Valley Tribune on-line edition
More HOA reforms near OK
By Le Templar, Tribune
The Arizona Legislature is close to adopting a new set of homeowners association reforms that would make it easier to remove board members, replace proxy voting with absentee ballots and tell potential home buyers in plain English about certain rights they give up when joining an association.
A series of proposals approved by the House of Representative has been combined into a single measure, HB2154, awaiting debate in the Senate. Key lawmakers say the bill likely will pass because of widespread support from reform advocates and the HOA industry, two sides that usually are at each other's political throats. "This one is a little staggering with the ease that it has passed," said Sen. Jim Waring, a Republican whose district includes western Scottsdale, Cave Creek and Carefree. "Frankly, you just dont see that on (HOA reform). It is always contentious." But there's still plenty of frustration out there. Many HOA reform advocates are angry that key lawmakers never allowed committee votes on more sweeping changes they claim would provide homeowners further protection from abuses of power by associations and their management companies.
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I don't have the URL for the whole article, but it seems that AZ is going to get another round of reform on top of the bills passed last year.
More HOA reforms near OK
By Le Templar, Tribune
The Arizona Legislature is close to adopting a new set of homeowners association reforms that would make it easier to remove board members, replace proxy voting with absentee ballots and tell potential home buyers in plain English about certain rights they give up when joining an association.
A series of proposals approved by the House of Representative has been combined into a single measure, HB2154, awaiting debate in the Senate. Key lawmakers say the bill likely will pass because of widespread support from reform advocates and the HOA industry, two sides that usually are at each other's political throats. "This one is a little staggering with the ease that it has passed," said Sen. Jim Waring, a Republican whose district includes western Scottsdale, Cave Creek and Carefree. "Frankly, you just dont see that on (HOA reform). It is always contentious." But there's still plenty of frustration out there. Many HOA reform advocates are angry that key lawmakers never allowed committee votes on more sweeping changes they claim would provide homeowners further protection from abuses of power by associations and their management companies.
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I don't have the URL for the whole article, but it seems that AZ is going to get another round of reform on top of the bills passed last year.
www.newszap.com: banning renters in AZ HOAs
Fred Pilot found this detailed account of HOA efforts to ban renters. This is all the rage in Illinois following an Illinois Supreme Court decision holding that this can be done by rule change, without even amending the declaration.
Fred Pilot found this detailed account of HOA efforts to ban renters. This is all the rage in Illinois following an Illinois Supreme Court decision holding that this can be done by rule change, without even amending the declaration.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Las Vegas SUN: Lawsuit alleges condo complex discriminated
This time the issue is alleged mental disabilities.
This time the issue is alleged mental disabilities.
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Homeowners test the power of their own association
Here is a detailed account of the Twin Rivers case, and thanks to Dianne McCarthy for forwarding it. The case was argued in the court of appeals just last Tuesday. This could be a blockbuster if we win (I served as expert witness for the plaintiffs, the Committee for a Better Twin Rivers, who are seeking to bring the HOA under certain limits of the New Jersey Constitution).
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The lawsuit filed by a handful of Twin Rivers residents seeks to subject community associations to one of the biggest checks on the power of municipalities: the risk that a court can declare its actions unconstitutional. It is the latest in a long line of cases to pit the rights of property owners against those of individuals. When fundamental rights are at stake -- particularly rights of free speech -- courts have required the property interests of company towns, farm owners, private universities and regional shopping malls to yield. So far, however, no court has protected homebuyers against restrictions imposed by associations. A major issue in the Twin Rivers case is whether homeowners voluntarily accepted restrictions by purchasing their homes. They are required to sign contracts agreeing to pay their association fees and abide by association rules.
Here is a detailed account of the Twin Rivers case, and thanks to Dianne McCarthy for forwarding it. The case was argued in the court of appeals just last Tuesday. This could be a blockbuster if we win (I served as expert witness for the plaintiffs, the Committee for a Better Twin Rivers, who are seeking to bring the HOA under certain limits of the New Jersey Constitution).
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The lawsuit filed by a handful of Twin Rivers residents seeks to subject community associations to one of the biggest checks on the power of municipalities: the risk that a court can declare its actions unconstitutional. It is the latest in a long line of cases to pit the rights of property owners against those of individuals. When fundamental rights are at stake -- particularly rights of free speech -- courts have required the property interests of company towns, farm owners, private universities and regional shopping malls to yield. So far, however, no court has protected homebuyers against restrictions imposed by associations. A major issue in the Twin Rivers case is whether homeowners voluntarily accepted restrictions by purchasing their homes. They are required to sign contracts agreeing to pay their association fees and abide by association rules.
...and see the comments on foreclosure from attorney David Kahne...
From the article linked below:
David Kahne, a Houston attorney who represents homeowners, has been at the forefront of a Harris County-based movement to curb overzealous homeowner associations. Some homeowners accused Houston law firms of operating foreclosure mills...Kahne helped pass legislation in 2001 that prevented associations from initiating a foreclosure solely on the basis of deed restriction fines and attorneys' fees. But some associations then paid disputed fines with funds intended for annual assessments. The remainder of the check would be short of the assessment amount, he said, and the association would use that as an excuse to initiate foreclosure. Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, has introduced a bill that says payments shall first be applied to delinquent assessments, then current assessments. Only after assessments are paid can the association apply payment to fines. The attorney gets paid last. Kahne, who testified in favor of the bill before the Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee, is optimistic it will pass. The bill came out of committee without amendments, has picked up four co-authors and has a companion bill in the House.
From the article linked below:
David Kahne, a Houston attorney who represents homeowners, has been at the forefront of a Harris County-based movement to curb overzealous homeowner associations. Some homeowners accused Houston law firms of operating foreclosure mills...Kahne helped pass legislation in 2001 that prevented associations from initiating a foreclosure solely on the basis of deed restriction fines and attorneys' fees. But some associations then paid disputed fines with funds intended for annual assessments. The remainder of the check would be short of the assessment amount, he said, and the association would use that as an excuse to initiate foreclosure. Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, has introduced a bill that says payments shall first be applied to delinquent assessments, then current assessments. Only after assessments are paid can the association apply payment to fines. The attorney gets paid last. Kahne, who testified in favor of the bill before the Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee, is optimistic it will pass. The bill came out of committee without amendments, has picked up four co-authors and has a companion bill in the House.
Texas lawyer specializes in HOA foreclosure
I notice that recently CAI attorneys have been busily denying that any of them get wealthy doing foreclosure actions over delinquent assessments. That's to offset the charge that the HOA foreclosure practices tend to benefit attorneys more than HOAs or owners. Well, here's an example of a foreclosure specialist who seems to be doing pretty nicely. It also refutes the charge that hardly any foreclosure actions lead to actual foreclosure:
When it comes to collecting delinquent property association fees from homeowners, Tom L. Newton Jr. handles far more accounts than anyone else in Bexar County. In 2004, his signature was on the notice of foreclosure in almost 90 percent of all cases. By his own declaration, Newton says, "I'm just the best at it." Dozens of homeowner associations call on Newton when their efforts to collect dues and fees are unsuccessful. If the accounts get delinquent enough, the association can actually foreclose on the house. Newton files hundreds of lawsuits each year for "debt and damages," or for "notice of foreclosure." Of the 370 notices of foreclosure filed in 2004, according to Real Estate Foreclosures Inc., 53 actually went forward to a county auction. In most cases, the houses became the property of the homeowner association.
I notice that recently CAI attorneys have been busily denying that any of them get wealthy doing foreclosure actions over delinquent assessments. That's to offset the charge that the HOA foreclosure practices tend to benefit attorneys more than HOAs or owners. Well, here's an example of a foreclosure specialist who seems to be doing pretty nicely. It also refutes the charge that hardly any foreclosure actions lead to actual foreclosure:
When it comes to collecting delinquent property association fees from homeowners, Tom L. Newton Jr. handles far more accounts than anyone else in Bexar County. In 2004, his signature was on the notice of foreclosure in almost 90 percent of all cases. By his own declaration, Newton says, "I'm just the best at it." Dozens of homeowner associations call on Newton when their efforts to collect dues and fees are unsuccessful. If the accounts get delinquent enough, the association can actually foreclose on the house. Newton files hundreds of lawsuits each year for "debt and damages," or for "notice of foreclosure." Of the 370 notices of foreclosure filed in 2004, according to Real Estate Foreclosures Inc., 53 actually went forward to a county auction. In most cases, the houses became the property of the homeowner association.
Walk your dog 3 times a day or be fined - Pets - MSNBC.com
Another HOA gone mad? No. This is the city of Turin, Italy. I think any government agency is capable of meddlesome lunacy unless some areas of life are put off limits. That's why the basic structure of American government works so well--all powers of government are subject to a set of "off limits" rules called civil liberties. HOAs--and Italian towns--would work better if they were limited in the same way.
Dog owners in Turin will be fined up to 500 euros ($650) if they don’t walk their pets at least three times a day, under a new law from the city’s council.People will also be banned from dyeing their pets’ fur or “any form of animal mutilation” for merely aesthetic motives such as docking dogs’ tails, under the law about to be passed in the northern Italian city. “In Turin it will be illegal to turn one’s dog into a ridiculous fluffy toy,” the city’s La Stampa daily reported.
Another HOA gone mad? No. This is the city of Turin, Italy. I think any government agency is capable of meddlesome lunacy unless some areas of life are put off limits. That's why the basic structure of American government works so well--all powers of government are subject to a set of "off limits" rules called civil liberties. HOAs--and Italian towns--would work better if they were limited in the same way.
Dog owners in Turin will be fined up to 500 euros ($650) if they don’t walk their pets at least three times a day, under a new law from the city’s council.People will also be banned from dyeing their pets’ fur or “any form of animal mutilation” for merely aesthetic motives such as docking dogs’ tails, under the law about to be passed in the northern Italian city. “In Turin it will be illegal to turn one’s dog into a ridiculous fluffy toy,” the city’s La Stampa daily reported.
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Housing's 800-Pound Gorilla: Homeowners associations are growing in numbers and power.
From Planning, the journal of the American Planning Association, a great article on HOAs with input from me, Bob Lang, Monica Caruso, Cliff Treese, Mike Schneider, and others.
From Planning, the journal of the American Planning Association, a great article on HOAs with input from me, Bob Lang, Monica Caruso, Cliff Treese, Mike Schneider, and others.
Friday, April 22, 2005
TheKCRAChannel.com - News - Birdbath Not Making Splash With Homeowners Association
When Allen Goldberg moved to Sun City Lincoln Hills from Santa Rosa, he brought with him his beloved birdbath. "I have had this birdbath approximately 22 years," Goldberg said. Goldberg promptly put it the birdbath in his front yard. That is when is problems started. He received a letter from his homeowners association that said the birdbath was the wrong color according to the covenants, conditions and regulations -- ironclad rules set by the homeowners associations.
[more]
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I didn't know there was a right color for a birdbath. Thank goodness we have self-appointed neighborhood mandarins of taste to clarify these matters for the rest of us.
When Allen Goldberg moved to Sun City Lincoln Hills from Santa Rosa, he brought with him his beloved birdbath. "I have had this birdbath approximately 22 years," Goldberg said. Goldberg promptly put it the birdbath in his front yard. That is when is problems started. He received a letter from his homeowners association that said the birdbath was the wrong color according to the covenants, conditions and regulations -- ironclad rules set by the homeowners associations.
[more]
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I didn't know there was a right color for a birdbath. Thank goodness we have self-appointed neighborhood mandarins of taste to clarify these matters for the rest of us.
Builders' settlement nets homeowners $12 million
Somebody please remind me of all the good reasons why I stopped practicing construction defect law in California all those years ago?
Somebody please remind me of all the good reasons why I stopped practicing construction defect law in California all those years ago?
Guardian | 900,000-year-old ice may destroy US case on Kyoto
As I keep saying, these scientists should watch the old SF movies. Carving a big block of ice out of Antarctica and thawing it out? Hello? The Thing? James Arness? John Carpenter remake? Anybody home?
I give up.
As I keep saying, these scientists should watch the old SF movies. Carving a big block of ice out of Antarctica and thawing it out? Hello? The Thing? James Arness? John Carpenter remake? Anybody home?
I give up.
The New York Times: Restrictive Covenants Stubbornly Stay on the Books
Matoko Rich weighs in again with a solid piece on race restrictive covenants that remain in CC&Rs despite being unenforceable and contrary to public policy. Includes a quote from your humble servant, to wit:
Evan McKenzie, a professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago who has written about restrictive covenants in homeowner associations, said: "While the covenants are there, there is still room for people to think that although it cannot be legally enforced it is nonetheless a promise that they are morally obligated to keep. And that's an argument in my view for removing them."
Matoko Rich weighs in again with a solid piece on race restrictive covenants that remain in CC&Rs despite being unenforceable and contrary to public policy. Includes a quote from your humble servant, to wit:
Evan McKenzie, a professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago who has written about restrictive covenants in homeowner associations, said: "While the covenants are there, there is still room for people to think that although it cannot be legally enforced it is nonetheless a promise that they are morally obligated to keep. And that's an argument in my view for removing them."
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Burglars regret encounter with kickboxer
Another example of the ultimate in privatized security services, in action:
An intruder picked the wrong Auckland house to burgle when he was caught in the act and dealt a beating by a kickboxer and martial arts expert living there. Brook McRae, 23, delivered the blows after chasing two men through his father's Mt Roskill home early on Sunday morning.
Another example of the ultimate in privatized security services, in action:
An intruder picked the wrong Auckland house to burgle when he was caught in the act and dealt a beating by a kickboxer and martial arts expert living there. Brook McRae, 23, delivered the blows after chasing two men through his father's Mt Roskill home early on Sunday morning.
Water from a school in the tiny village of Kipnuk has been judged the best-flavored in rural America...because it tastes like "nothing."
Kipnuk is 85 miles southwest of Bethel. Four miles inland from the Bering Sea, the 660 residents have no plumbing. Residents haul ice or collect rainwater from roof gutters. Judges concluded the school's water was the best because it tasted, smelled and looked like "nothing." "Water should have no taste to it. It should have no smell. It should be a clean, refreshing taste on the palate," said judge Gregory Bauer, executive chef for the Hyatt Regency in Washington, D.C., where the contest was held. "This one did," he said. "It was desirable."
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This is a mark of municipal distinction that I hadn't encountered before, but I guess congratulations are in order. I've been to Bethel and a couple of the surrounding villages. As my old friend Tom Okpealuk used to say, "Bethel isn't the edge of the earth, but you can see it from there."
Kipnuk is 85 miles southwest of Bethel. Four miles inland from the Bering Sea, the 660 residents have no plumbing. Residents haul ice or collect rainwater from roof gutters. Judges concluded the school's water was the best because it tasted, smelled and looked like "nothing." "Water should have no taste to it. It should have no smell. It should be a clean, refreshing taste on the palate," said judge Gregory Bauer, executive chef for the Hyatt Regency in Washington, D.C., where the contest was held. "This one did," he said. "It was desirable."
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This is a mark of municipal distinction that I hadn't encountered before, but I guess congratulations are in order. I've been to Bethel and a couple of the surrounding villages. As my old friend Tom Okpealuk used to say, "Bethel isn't the edge of the earth, but you can see it from there."
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