Gated communities have ways of getting their fees | PoconoRecord.com

Gated communities have ways of getting their fees | PoconoRecord.com

A Pocono Country Place considered the Sterlins delinquent on all properties and deactivated gate passes held by all of their renters.

It meant that tenants had to go into the community office and register every time they wanted to get through the gate. As a result, many tenants moved out. In Monroe County Court, the Sterlins claimed a loss of $60,000 in rental income and complained that the community wrongfully interfered with their contractual relations with tenants.

Private communities can exert invasive pressure unmatched by municipal tax collectors.

Associations without gates often deny delinquent owners access to amenities such as a pool or other recreation services. Some communities change the key to an owner's mailbox.

At least 56,422 homes are within the borders of private community associations in Monroe and Pike counties. Homes in private associations, some gated, many ungated, account for 38 percent of all housing units in Monroe County and 64 percent in Pike County, according to county and U.S. Census data.

-------------

Thanks to Cynthia Stephens for this link.

Bill gives more rights to Illinois common interest communities - chicagotribune.com

Bill gives more rights to Illinois common interest communities - chicagotribune.com

Common interest communities, which usually are town house or single-family home associations, have been governed primarily by their declarations and Sections 18.5, 18.6 and 18.7 of the Condo Act. Some declarations are more comprehensive and owner-friendly than others.

The new legislation, also known as SB-3180, outlines procedures and requirements for association governance and operations. It passed both chambers of the General Assembly last month and awaits the signature of Gov. Pat Quinn. It becomes effective upon signing.

"The bill is condo-like," said association attorney Michael C. Kim of Chicago. "It's a slimmed-down version of the Condo Act, but it's not the same."

-----------------------

The idea is to give more protection to owners in HOAs. Section 18.5 of the condo act covers non-condo associations, but it is a bare-bones section. This is more specific and has more protection for unit owners in certain areas, such as access to records, meetings, and assessment increases.

With the clock ticking, Sacramento set to blow another budget deadline - ContraCostaTimes.com

With the clock ticking, Sacramento set to blow another budget deadline - ContraCostaTimes.com

SACRAMENTO — Most of us get in trouble when we're late. If you don't bring back a library book on time, they fine you. Miss a court date, and count on a warrant with your name on it.

But not California's political leaders — at least not when it comes to passing a budget. Wednesday marks the last day of the fiscal year — the day the state constitution says a budget must be in place. Yet, for the 17th time in the past 20 years, lawmakers and the governor will find themselves bickering well into the summer — and busting their deadline.
--------------------
This is happening all over the nation now. State and local governments just ignore the laws that limit their power. Does that mean they are becoming more like HOAs and condo associations, or is it the other way around?

Liveblogging the final four USSC decisions now on SCOTUSBLOG

Here is the link to SCOTUSBLOG, where an able team of USSC litigators will be live blogging the announcement of the last four USSC decisions of the term in 15 minutes or so--including McDonald v. City of Chicago, that will determine whether the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms applies to the states.

Public finances: Can pay, won't pay | The Economist

Public finances: Can pay, won't pay | The EconomistThis article from The Economist compares and contrasts deadbeat American states, such as Illinois, with deadbeat nations like Greece. Thanks to Doug Selby for the link (and for the picture of the rattlsnake he dispatched today on his ranch).

FT.com / US / Economy & Fed - US state budget crises threaten social fabric

FT.com / US / Economy & Fed - US state budget crises threaten social fabric
This is from the Financial Times, a publication not given to panic or exaggeration.

RealClearMarkets - Is Illinois the New California?

RealClearMarkets - Is Illinois the New California?
As of Monday, the credit default swap spread for Illinois general obligation bonds climbed to 313 basis points for a five-year contract -- meaning a bondholder must pay over 3% of the bond's face value per year to be insured against default.

That's a higher price than for all but seven sovereign entities tracked by CMA, and slightly higher than California, whose five-year CDS spread sits at 293. Investors rate Illinois's debt as slightly riskier than Iceland's or Latvia's, but not quite as big a gamble as Iraq's.
------------
This is an essay by Josh Barrow that was cited in a Chicago Tribune editorial (one of many) pointing out that the State of Illinois is in a terrifying downward financial spiral that places it, in terms of the risk of defaulting on its public debt, worse than Portugal and California, and just below Dubai and Iraq. The data on government probability of default can be found here. What I find disturbing--above and beyond the desperate situation this state is in--is the la-de-da attitude that prevails everywhere in elite circles except the editorial board of the Trib. The public can't be bothered, of course. When I bring this up in conversation with anybody I feel like one of those scientists in the movies who keep ranting about how Planet X is going to crash into the earth, and people just say, "Yeah, sure, but how about the Cubs?"

And of course, California is on it's own path to perdition, but as the Barrow article notes, California's public pension plans are not as badly underfunded as those in Illinois. Here's a taste from the Barrow article about how bad this is: Illinois's pension funding irresponsibility may come home to roost soon. Joshua Rauh, a professor at Northwestern University, estimates that the state's pension funds will run out of money in 2018 at the current funding pace. "He estimates the plans' total funding gap at $219 billion -- a liability that dwarfs the $117 billion in bonds outstanding from the state and localities within it."

That's $219 BILLION DOLLARS.

Tiny prefab units promote eco-friendly building

Tiny prefab units promote eco-friendly buildingZeta Communities will construct the housing for the 22-unit developments, planned for parking lots in Berkeley and San Francisco. The projects will feature tiny living spaces - 310- to 340 square-foot studios - and no parking. Instead, they will include a car-sharing space.

The proposed four-story projects are the first foray into prefabricated housing for East Bay developer Patrick Kennedy of Panoramic Interests.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/18/BUCG1DEGD3.DTL&type=realestate#ixzz0s4KnkW7R

----------------
How lovely. A 310 square foot condo with no parking. And all for only $200-$275K.

On The Commons

On The CommonsOn The Commons turns 10 years old this month. Our special guest is Evan McKenzie as we celebrate 10 years and kick off a brand new season of On The Commons.
----------------
Give it a listen and post a comment telling us all what you think...

Breezy summer reading about associations just a click away - chicagotribune.com

Breezy summer reading about associations just a click away - chicagotribune.com
privatopia.blogspot.com: The Privatopia Papers runs headlines and links to news stories about dreary financial reports, dubious legislation and homeowner associations behaving badly. Attorney Evan McKenzie, a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, offers snarky commentary along with explanations of the finer points of law and governance.
Get the Chicago Tribune delivered to your home for only $1 a week >>

In one post, a Baltimore association proposed DNA-testing of its resident dogs to determine which owners aren't cleaning up after their pooches. McKenzie assured his readers the story was not something invented by The Onion, a satirical news source.

"It is no longer possible to parody the antics of homeowner association boards because no matter how absurd the concept you come up with, they have all ready exceeded it," he wrote.
----------
Thanks to Pam McKuen for including this blog among the cool summer readings on HOAs. She gets my vote for most knowledgeable journalist on this subject (and not because of this article!) Hey--am I snarky? I thought I was just realistic...

Lawmakers to talk about severing Lake Michigan from Mississippi River to halt carp - chicagotribune.com

Lawmakers to talk about severing Lake Michigan from Mississippi River to halt carp - chicagotribune.comA century ago, reversing the Chicago River and building a complex system of channels to steer sewage away from Lake Michigan was considered one of the great engineering feats in world history.

As concerns mount about Asian carp, momentum is building to re-engineer Chicago's waterways to allow for the passage of boats and ships, but not harmful invasive species.
----------------
Reversing the direction of the Chicago River was one of the greatest engineering feats in American history, considering it was done between 1889 and 1900. Now, with every Illinois government insolvent, from the state down to the local mosquito abatement district, the plans are being proposed to do something equally grandiose. And all because of a fish. Last time at least it was because of...well, never mind.

Some California fire departments billing after accidents - Sacramento Living - Sacramento Food and Wine, Home, Health | Sacramento Bee

Some California fire departments billing after accidents - Sacramento Living - Sacramento Food and Wine, Home, Health | Sacramento Bee
More than two dozen fire agencies, struggling for ways to boost sagging budgets, have begun tallying service charges at crash sites and sending bills to drivers or their insurance companies.

Is a pumper truck called to the scene? That'll be $400. Traffic cones and flares needed? Another $20. An incident commander to oversee? That's $75 an hour.

--------------
As I was saying on "On the Commons" today, local governments are clever about finding ways to make up for lost revenues. Whenever state legislatures and voters try to make them cut back, they find new way to raise money. CIDs, which are now the lowest level of local government, are one of those fiscal tools used by cities and counties. People who think that CIDs will replace local governments are missing the big picture--CIDs are the lowest and most vulnerable level of local government. Their supposedly "private" nature is just a legal fiction that allows them to get away with things public governments can't do.

Durbin asks Obama to appoint carp czar - Chicago Breaking News

Durbin asks Obama to appoint carp czar - Chicago Breaking News As concerns mount about the presence of Asian carp near Lake Michigan, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin today urged President Obama to appoint a carp czar to oversee efforts to keep the invasive species out of the Great Lakes.

"We need to have one person who coordinates the efforts of the federal, state and local agencies that are doing everything they can to keep the Asian carp out of Lake Michigan," Durbin said during a news conference at the Shedd Aquarium. "We believe it's absolutely essential."

Durbin was responding to the discovery of a bighead carp, a variety of Asian carp, during routine sampling this week in Lake Calumet, just six miles from Lake Michigan. Standing beside environmental advocates who have championed closing Chicago-area locks as a way to prevent carp from entering Lake Michigan, Durbin called the finding a possible "game changer" and said "we have to take it very seriously."
----------------
Durbin wants a czar so the President will have ultimate control over what happens to Illinois shipping in the Chicago River. He has been trying to prevent anybody from interfering with the status quo--an obviously ineffective system that is allowing the carp to move up the river toward Lake Michigan. Durbin thinks Obama will look out for the local economic interests, which are substantial. Durbin is afraid the Supreme Court or even Congress (imagine them actually solving a problem!) will effectively close the canal and river system down to prevent these nasty carp from wrecking Lake Michigan and then the rest of the Great Lakes.

The Supreme Court refused to rule on this twice in the last term. Big mistake, in my opinion. These Asian carp are a destructive invasive species. We were looking at them yesterday in the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Weird things, with eyes below the midline of their bodies--constantly sucking in water and eating the plankton. They grow at an incredible rate and if they kill the bottom of the food chain, the Great Lakes will never be the same.

Court Upholds St. Louis’s Attempt to Suppress Eminent Domain Protest Mural | Institute for Justice: Litigating for Liberty

Court Upholds St. Louis’s Attempt to Suppress Eminent Domain Protest Mural | Institute for Justice: Litigating for LibertyArlington, Va.—The right of free speech suffered a blow today when a federal court upheld St. Louis’s attempt to suppress activist Jim Roos’s mural protesting the city’s abuse of its eminent domain power.
-----------
Thanks to Mystery Reader for this link to the Institute for Justice website (the property rights law firm), where you can read about the battle over Jim Roos's "End Eminent Domain Abuse" mural. The struggle over municipal use of the eminent domain power looks like a lasting issue. There are several areas where property rights activists, and many citizens, want reform.

First, there is the issue of what constitutes a taking. There are what we call "regulatory takings," where the city doesn't actually condemn the land and pay you for it, and instead they just pass regulations that restrict your use of the land so heavily that it loses much of its value, and for all practical purposes the city might just as well have taken it from you--without paying for it.

Second, there is the the Kelo v. City of New London issue: what are the limits of the "public use" condition in the due process clause? The Kelo decision upheld the right to take property from one private party and practically give it to another private party (in that case, Pfizer Corporation) in order to enhance tax revenues and stimulate economic development, even though there was no public use. Most states passed reform legislation to limit that sort of taking, but UIC Political Science graduate student Tom Kelly wrote a dynamite dissertation showing that this legislation has been ineffective (I was on his committee).

Third, what kinds of property interests can be taken? Does it have to be physical property, or can intangible property interests be "taken" and thus require compensation?

Stone Oak resident claims HOA harassment over porch gate to protect autistic son | kens5.com | San Antonio News, Weather, Sports, Traffic, Entertainment, Video and Photos

Stone Oak resident claims HOA harassment over porch gate to protect autistic son Christa says Luke would run out of the house and into the street just about every day. He came close to being run over by a car on a few occasions.

So Christa says she decided to do something about it. The Colquhouns filed an application with the Panther Creek at Stone Oak Homeowners Association asking to build the gate.
-------------
And, she says, the HOA let 60 days go by without responding, so they built the gate. And then somebody complained to the HOA, who demanded that she remove it, complete with the usual threats of litigation.
Thanks to Fred Pilot for another example of the kind of thing that, according to the industry, hardly ever happens.

China's Desert Ghost City Shows Property `Madness' Persists - Bloomberg

China's Desert Ghost City Shows Property `Madness' Persists - BloombergInvestors are stockpiling empty apartments because there are few alternative investments, undermining government efforts to deflate a property bubble, said Patrick Chovanec, an associate professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

“Money is being dumped into property because there are no alternatives,” said Chovanec, adviser and former vice president of the Hong Kong venture capital firm Asia Mezzanine Capital Group. “Policy makers are nibbling around the edges of the core problem.”
-------------
A bursting real estate bubble in China? That would be interesting.

Meredith Whitney Predicts Double Dip in Housing Market: Is She Right?

Meredith Whitney Predicts Double Dip in Housing Market: Is She Right?
Well, I think she's right.

New-home sales plunge 33 pct with tax credits gone - Yahoo! Finance

New-home sales plunge 33 pct with tax credits gone - Yahoo! Finance
Sales of new homes collapsed in May, sinking 33 percent to the lowest level on record as potential buyers stopped shopping for homes once they could no longer receive government tax credits.
-----------
The smoke and mirrors economic policy is collapsing.

Maywood, CA Plans To Disband ALL City Services

Maywood, CA Plans To Disband ALL City Services The small city of Maywood south of downtown Los Angeles plans to lay off almost all its employees, disband its police department and contract municipal operations to a neighboring city.

Facing a budget deficit of at least $450,000 and unable to get insurance because of a history of lawsuits, many involving the police department, the Maywood City Council said Monday night it had no choice but to adopt the plan.
------------
The article says this is "unprecedented" in California.

Housing Starts Drop in May; Producer Prices Dip - WSJ.com

Housing Starts Drop in May; Producer Prices Dip - WSJ.comU.S. home construction plunged in May as builders remained cautious about sales prospects absent government support programs for the housing sector.

Housing starts dropped 10% the month after the government ended its tax-credit program for home buyers, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 593,000. Permits for new construction also declined, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Single-family housing starts slid by 17.2% to an annual rate of 468,000, the lowest level in a year.
--------------------
Isn't it clear by now that this all this federal "stimulus" spending is a failure? Short term gain followed by bust, and more debt accumulated that has to be paid off. Where does it end? Apparently the White House doesn't get it. Now they say that we need to take another $50 billion out of the deep end of the pool and pour it into the shallow end to bail out state and local governments. And after that runs out, then what?

UPDATE 2-Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac to delist shares on NYSE | Reuters

UPDATE 2-Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac to delist shares on NYSE | ReutersJune 16 (Reuters) - Fannie Mae (FNM.N) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N), the largest U.S. home funding companies, will delist their shares on the New York Stock Exchange after failing to meet minimum trading price requirements, the companies' regulator said on Wednesday.

The companies, each taken under government control in September 2008, said they no longer met NYSE listing standards and that shares would trade in the over-the-counter market.
----------------------
This housing recovery is just rocketing along.

FDIC's Bair questions housing tax breaks - Street Sweep: Fortune's Wall Street Blog

FDIC's Bair questions housing tax breaks - Street Sweep: Fortune's Wall Street BlogBair took aim at federal tax deductions for mortgage interest, local property taxes, and capital gains on house sales (in certain circumstances). She said these taxpayer subsidies for homeowners, taken together, "are about three times the size of all rental subsidies and tax incentives combined."
-------------
Why don't we just put all our money in a paper bag and send it to President Obama to do with as he sees fit?

the-housing-market-recession-is-not-over: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

the-housing-market-recession-is-not-over: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! FinanceIn a presentation to the National Association of Real Estate Editors in Austin, Texas, last week, Stan Humphries, Zillow.com's chief economist, pointed to four myths he said consumers are latching on to as they try to make sense of recent housing statistics.
-------------
Myths, says he:
1. the housing recession is over
2. after markets hit bottom, prices will rebound to boom levels
3. the worst of the foreclosure mess is behind us
4. the tax credits saved the housing market

New Home Sales Set to Plunge in Former Bubble Markets (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

New Home Sales Set to Plunge in Former Bubble Markets (Update1) - Bloomberg.comNew home sales in Phoenix and Las Vegas, two U.S. markets hardest hit by foreclosures, are set to plunge as a federal tax credit for homebuying expires, according to data from real estate researcher Metrostudy.
---------------
Possibly an infusion of mud and golf balls would help.

Soldier in Iraq Loses Home Over $800 Debt | Mother Jones

Soldier in Iraq Loses Home Over $800 Debt | Mother JonesMichael Clauer is a captain in the Army Reserve who commanded over 100 soldiers in Iraq. But while he was fighting for his country, a different kind of battle was brewing on the home front. Last September, Michael returned to Frisco, Texas, to find that his homeowners' association had foreclosed on his $300,000 house—and sold it for $3,500.
----------------
Here's another one of those "isolated examples."

Bankruptcy talk spreads among Calif. muni officials | Reuters

Bankruptcy talk spreads among Calif. muni officials | ReutersStreet expects more talk of municipal bankruptcy across California because local government finances are in such dire shape -- a situation underscored on Wednesday when a top finance officer for Sacramento County projected a worse-than-expected shortfall for the county of $181 million, which could force more than 1,000 layoffs from the county's payroll.
------------
That's peanuts. Illinois is in the hole to the tune of $80 billion just to the state employee pension funds.

US money supply plunges at 1930s pace as Obama eyes fresh stimulus - Telegraph

US money supply plunges at 1930s pace as Obama eyes fresh stimulus - TelegraphThe M3 money supply in the United States is contracting at an accelerating rate that now matches the average decline seen from 1929 to 1933, despite near zero interest rates and the biggest fiscal blitz in history.
---------------
This recovery is just rocketing along.

Renewed effort in Austin to limit HOA powers | kvue.com | KVUE News local | Austin, Tx | Breaking news

Renewed effort in Austin to limit HOA powers | kvue.com | KVUE News local | Austin, Tx | Breaking news"You don't seize someone's home that's entirely paid off for a few hundred dollars in back dues," said State Rep. Chris Turner (D-Dist. 96). "That's fundamentally unfair and not right."

Turner is the latest state legislator to tackle HOA reform, and on Monday, he recruited Sherre Mueller to join his fight.

"I want to be an advocate for people to never let this happen again," she said.

State lawmakers have tried unsuccessfully to reduce the powers of HOAs for years. In 2009, two proposals in the House and Senate ran out of time.

Turner would like to add two major safeguards to the law, including one that would make it impossible for an HOA to foreclose without a court order.

He also thinks members of an association — your neighbors — should have the final say and vote whether to seize a house.
-------------------
Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link to yet another cavalry charge in the TX legislature.

KOB.com - Homeowner faces fines over 'for sale' sign in yard

KOB.com - Homeowner faces fines over 'for sale' sign in yardA Rio Rancho homeowner is facing hundreds of dollars in fines for putting up a "For Sale" sign in his own front yard. Geoffrey Padilla, who lives in Diamond Ridge, said his homeowners association fined him $400 over the past few months. He said the the association handbook bans signs and billboards, including "For Sale" and "For Rent" signs. Padilla said the policy went into effect several weeks after he bought his home, so he thinks the fines should be waived. He also said he thinks the policy is unfair because the subdivision's developer, D.R. Horton Homes, posted similar signs throughout the neighborhood. Padilla claims the builder encouraged the homeowners association to enforce the policy because it doesn't want competition from homeowners.
-----------------
From Fred Pilot--and keep in mind that municipalities can't ban all signs under the Supreme Court decision of Ladue v. Gilleo, but even Ladue didn't ban "for sale" signs. That was covered by the earlier decision of Linmark Associates v. Willingboro. This is one of those "get away with violating constitutional rights if you are a pseudo-private corporation" kind of things.

I-Team: Homeowners Hammered with HOA Arbitration Fees - KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las Vegas

I-Team: Homeowners Hammered with HOA Arbitration Fees - KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasIn July of last year, a dispute over a budget ratification meeting went to non-binding arbitration under the Nevada Real Estate Division. It's a mandatory first step before going to court. Friedrich lost, and to the victor went the spoils. He was ordered to pay $22,000 in arbitration and attorneys fees. "I was expecting the worst, and the worst came true," he said.

Friedrich responded with a lawsuit challenging the arbitrator's authority to impose attorney's fees. It is a common practice among arbitrators selected by the Real Estate Division. Records obtained by the I-Team reveal a dozen recent awards in excess of $10,000 against homeowners. Some awards were as high as $20,000.
--------------
Fred Pilot sent this along, which we are talking about even though it happened in Vegas. This is a big issue. The whole idea of ADR is to cut costs. If lawyers can make five figures off it, courtesy of the "arbitrators," it makes you wonder if the process is just another lawyer-driven arm of the industry.

Homeowner won fight over HOA foreclosure

Homeowner won fight over HOA foreclosure

What are the large barcode stickers on windows on cars in Florida?

What are the large barcode stickers on windows on cars in Florida?
The answer seems to be that they get your car through the gates of your gated community. Maybe the unit owners should get bar codes tattooed on their foreheads as well. That would simplify getting back in if you go for a walk outside the compound.

Toms River, condo association at odds over fence around beach | APP.com | Asbury Park Press

Toms River, condo association at odds over fence around beach | APP.com | Asbury Park PressTOMS RIVER — Though township officials contend a condominium complex has violated municipal ordinances by building a fence around its private beach, condo association leaders say it's a simple misunderstanding.
-------------
Seems the township leases the beach from the condo association and didn't do so this year. So the condo association decided to fence it off to keep out the Jersey Shore riffraff.

Problem: the condo association didn't get a construction permit before building the fence.

How's that for irony?

Weak strata laws favour developers

Weak strata laws favour developersThe unchecked ability of a B.C. strata developer to ignore the Strata Property Act, fail to maintain reserves, fail to pay strata fees on unsold strata lots and use its block of votes from unsold strata lots to corrupt governance for the developer's benefit are all too common in British Columbia.

In the absence of any defined offences and penalties under the Strata Property Act, a developer is subject only to civil action by the "empty-pocketed" strata buyer, a virtual impossibility.

Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/Weak+strata+laws+favour+developers/3060211/story.html#ixzz0ofKlUv7p

-----------------
A familiar story, this one from Canada, where condos are called "strata property."

Condos and HOAs | Sun-Sentinel.com

Condos and HOAs | Sun-Sentinel.comRay says his West Palm Beach condo lease will likely not be renewed because of his daily habit of waiting outside the building on the sidewalk for about 10 minutes each day for his wife to arrive from work. As far as he knows, that is the only reason for rejection.
--------------
This post is from a blog by Daniel Vasquez, a Florida journalist who writes a column on condo and hoa issues.

Dusting for dog-crap in a fancy condo - Boing Boing

Dusting for dog-crap in a fancy condo - Boing Boing
The condo association at Scarlett Place, a posh Baltimore building, have proposed to DNA-test all the dogs on the premises, and use DNA from errant dog-turds to identify feckless owners and fine them $500 per dog-pie.
-------------
I told my 19 year old son about this, and he said, "That sounds like something from The Onion." Yes, it does. But it is real. It is no longer possible to parody the antics of HOA boards because no matter how absurd the concept you come up with, they have already exceeded it.

Thanks to Mystery Reader for this link. I also got it from Fred Pilot who contributed two more stories below. I have been too busy to blog for several weeks so thanks to those who sent me items--I will see about catching up.

South AfricaNews - 'They are a mafia' (Page 1 of 2)

News - Crime & Courts: 'They are a mafia' (Page 1 of 2)
It is a comfortable complex with a mix of upmarket and middle-class homes, some with views of the sea - but run by a homeowners' association from hell, say some residents.

So heated has the low-level war between residents and The Capricorn Beach Homeowners' Association (HOA) become that the association has reportedly racked up a R191 000 bill in legal battles against homeowners.
---------------
Those R thingies are Rands. That's the currency in South Africa. According to my friendly neighborhood internet converter, R191,000 amounts to $24,227. So it seems that HOA lawyers are expensive the world around.

Homeowner Wins Court Battle With HOA - San Antonio News Story - KSAT San Antonio

Homeowner Wins Court Battle With HOA - San Antonio News Story - KSAT San AntonioHidden Forest off of Bitters Road looks quiet, but for more than three years, it's been the center of a legal battle over the rights of homeowners associations.

"They were suing to foreclose on my home over $390," said Hern.

Hern said he was late on his association dues but objected to the added fees and decided to fight. Over the years, he said the attorney's fees kept adding up.

"They were asking for a little over $25,000 in fees," he said.
-------------------
And of course now that the HOA has lost, their attorney is promising to "address this further through the legal process," which translates into litigation without limit to crush any owner who stands up for his rights.

U.S. Banks Post Profit, but Woes Persist - WSJ.com

U.S. Banks Post Profit, but Woes Persist - WSJ.com
WASHINGTON—A total of 775 banks, or one-tenth of all U.S. banks, were on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s list of "problem" institutions in the first quarter, as bad loans in the commercial real-estate market weighed on bank balance sheets.
---------------
This recovery is going well.

Living in denial: How corporations manufacture doubt - opinion - 20 May 2010 - New Scientist

Living in denial: How corporations manufacture doubt - opinion - 20 May 2010 - New Scientist"Objective scientific research": those words would almost make you believe that Panzer was talking about objective science. But when doubt is your goal, the misuse of language is just another way to confuse the public.
-----------------
Hmmmmmmm.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Council Told to Consider Bankruptcy - Bloomberg.com

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Council Told to Consider Bankruptcy - Bloomberg.com: "April 27 (Bloomberg) -- Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which has missed $6 million in debt payments since Jan. 1, should consider seeking Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, City Controller Dan Miller told a three-hour special committee hearing."
------
No worries. It's only the capitol of Pennsylvania.

Outraged homeowners detail HOA fines, foreclosure threats to Austin lawmakers | Denton Record Chronicle | News for Denton County, Texas | Texas Southwest

Outraged homeowners detail HOA fines, foreclosure threats to Austin lawmakers | Denton Record Chronicle | News for Denton County, Texas | Texas Southwest: "A Houston couple may wind up having to pay more than $20,000 after a feud over a $50 ticket for having gray – instead of black – tape on exterior water lines, leaders of a property owners' rights group told the House Business and Industry Committee.

'That was clearly, if it's true, the most egregious thing we heard today,' said Rep. Gary Elkins, R-Houston, the panel's vice chairman.

The issue of how much power homeowners associations should have so they can collect past-due assessments and enforce architectural uniformity has simmered in the Legislature since the 1990s, said Rep. Helen Giddings, D-Dallas.

Giddings said she was dismayed by recent stories in The Dallas Morning News about a Colleyville developer who, with his wife and business partner, used five neighborhood associations to dictate everything from how many day lilies to plant in a flower bed to the precise size of coach lamps at entrances.

'Some of these things are just downright, absolutely, totally ridiculous,' she said."
--------------
Yes, they are. I like that: downright, absolutely, totally ridiculous.

IG Report: Obama Homeowner Bailout Program a Bust - HUMAN EVENTS

IG Report: Obama Homeowner Bailout Program a Bust - HUMAN EVENTS: "The $75 billion HAMP program was created with a promise to bailout 3 to 4 million homeowners in foreclosure, paying lenders to modify troubled mortgages. Foreclosures reached 2.8 million in 2009 and are on track to exceed that total with over 932,000 foreclosures filed in the first three months of 2010, the report found.

The inspector general found the program “has made very little progress in stemming this onslaught” in a year with only 230,000 loans permanently modified."
---------------------
Well, it's only...75 BILLION DOLLARS.

IMF Survey: Government Borrowing Is Rising Risk to World Financial System

IMF Survey: Government Borrowing Is Rising Risk to World Financial System: "But the biggest threats have moved from the private to the public sectors in advanced economies. Governments not only took on many of the bad assets from private institutions but due to the recession face continuing heavy borrowing needs for the next few years. Slow growth in the real economy and high unemployment will retard tax revenues and require higher government spending—such as on unemployment benefits and job creation activities."
------------
That's the way it looks to me.

AFP: Risk of Japan going bankrupt is real, say analysts

AFP: Risk of Japan going bankrupt is real, say analysts: "Public debt is expected to hit 200 percent of GDP in the next year as the government tries to spend its way out of the economic doldrums despite plummeting tax revenues and soaring welfare costs for its ageing population."
------------
The USA had better get busy or Japan will beat us to the bottom of the barrel.

Foreclosure auction of Nicolas Cage's mansion is a flop - latimes.com

Foreclosure auction of Nicolas Cage's mansion is a flop - latimes.com: "'The design was 'frat house bordello,' ' Parsons said. 'There must have been 300 comic book covers elaborately framed and hanging on the walls.' Model train sets on raised tracks a couple feet below the ceiling circled the inside of the breakfast room and two bedrooms. There were also no takers in the courthouse sale, and in less than a minute the auction closed, with ownership reverting to the foreclosing lender -- just one of six holding a total of $18 million in loans on the property."
-------------
He had tried and failed to sell it for $35 million. They started the auction at $10.4 million. No bidders. Frat house bordello must have gone out of style.

Evolution, Big Bang Polls Omitted From NSF Report - ScienceInsider

Evolution, Big Bang Polls Omitted From NSF Report - ScienceInsider: "The deleted text, obtained by ScienceInsider, does not differ radically from what has appeared in previous Indicators. The section, which was part of the unedited chapter on public attitudes toward science and technology, notes that 45% of Americans in 2008 answered true to the statement, 'Human beings, as we know them today, developed from earlier species of animals.' The figure is similar to previous years and much lower than in Japan (78%), Europe (70%), China (69%), and South Korea (64%). The same gap exists for the response to a second statement, 'The universe began with a big explosion,' with which only 33% of Americans agreed."
-------------

Chase Sued For Telling People To Stop Paying Mortgage, Then Foreclosing - The Consumerist

Chase Sued For Telling People To Stop Paying Mortgage, Then Foreclosing - The Consumerist: "We hear stories all the time about people who are having trouble paying their mortgage, call the bank for help, and are then told there's nothing the bank can do unless they stop paying their mortgage. Well, one couple is suing Chase after they followed that advice, and then got foreclosed on."
-----------
Thanks to Mystery Reader for this absolutely infuriating story. It makes me wonder what percentage of home foreclosures by banks and associations are bogus.

Nearly half of US households escape fed income tax - Yahoo! Finance

Nearly half of US households escape fed income tax - Yahoo! Finance: "WASHINGTON (AP) -- Tax Day is a dreaded deadline for millions, but for nearly half of U.S. households it's simply somebody else's problem.

About 47 percent will pay no federal income taxes at all for 2009. Either their incomes were too low, or they qualified for enough credits, deductions and exemptions to eliminate their liability. That's according to projections by the Tax Policy Center, a Washington research organization."
---------------
It would be interesting to see what the correlation is between paying income tax or not and supporting big federal spending programs. Somehow I think the people who pay the income taxes are not so keen on the huge deficits the federal government is running up.

KSBY News San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Paso Robles - Duck feeding ban approved in San Luis Obispo

KSBY News San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Paso Robles - Duck feeding ban approved in San Luis Obispo: "You will no longer be able to feed the ducks in the city of San Luis Obispo.

Tuesday night, the city council passed its new storm water management regulations. The ordinance prohibits people from feeding ducks at local parks, lakes and creeks. City leaders say feeding animals contributes to pollution."
-------------
You know what drug the ducks take?
Quack.

L.A. mayor calls for temporary shutdowns of some agencies - latimes.com

L.A. mayor calls for temporary shutdowns of some agencies - latimes.com
When you read all these demands to abolish HOAs and condos, keep in mind that such a thing can only happen through state legislation. Can you imagine the California state legislature tampering with the HOA cash cow, with cities running gigantic structural deficits? Neither can I. Cities and CIDs are joined at the hip now.

Tea Party 48% Obama 44% - Rasmussen Reports™

Tea Party 48% Obama 44% - Rasmussen Reports™: "On major issues, 48% of voters say that the average Tea Party member is closer to their views than President Barack Obama. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 44% hold the opposite view and believe the president’s views are closer to their own."
---------
Interesting election coming up, I'd say.

Lawyer: "Be aggressive with your foreclosure actions."

Condo and HOA Law by Donna DiMaggio Berger, Esq.: Time to Tighten Up Your Current Collection Policy: "Be aggressive with your foreclosure actions. This accomplishes several things: it sends a message to the rest of the paying members that you are doing something; it warns those who might be tempted to stop paying their assessments that you will do something, it allows the association (once it takes title) to either sell the property or lease it out short term to recoup some or all of the money owed and it allows the association to control who occupies the property and its condition."
---------------
I posted a link a while back to President Obama's request that banks not be so quick to foreclose. I received a comment to that post flagging this one, from Donna Berger's blog. She says to "be aggressive with your foreclosure actions."

I understand that associations need to collect delinquent assessments, or else the other owners end up paying for the ones who don't. But look--even CAI says to use foreclosure only as a last resort. Yet, within CAI there are always these lawyers and managers who tell their association clients something different, such as be aggressive; use foreclosure ASAP; use nonjudicial foreclosure if possible; and so forth.

So--which of these two approaches is the "real" CAI? The statements that emanate from CAI national, or the advice CAI members give their client associations?

Homeowner group OKs $4,000 yard art fine | HeraldTribune.com

Homeowner group OKs $4,000 yard art fine | HeraldTribune.com: "LAKEWOOD RANCH - Two metal poodles and several small seashells decorating Summerfield resident Joani Ellis' front yard are still costing her $50 a day

Facing nearly $4,000 in fines, Ellis appealed the penalties to the Summerfield/Riverwalk Homeowner Association on Thursday night.

But the board did not budge on their stance that Ellis is breaking a neighborhood rule that allows only three lawn decorations."
------------
Take a look at the picture and tell me this is something her neighbors have any business even talking about, much less imposing fines.

Fred Pilot sent this link.

Colleyville homeowners divided over developer's control of HOAs | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Breaking News for Dallas-Fort Worth | Dallas Morning News

Colleyville homeowners divided over developer's control of HOAs | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Breaking News for Dallas-Fort Worth | Dallas Morning News: "COLLEYVILLE – This affluent community, full of beautiful new homes and shops, doesn't look like a hothouse for revolutionaries hellbent on overthrowing the established suburban order.

But a group of residents in five luxury neighborhoods has grown tired of their homeowners associations dictating everything from how many day lilies to plant in a flower bed to what companies they can hire to put in a swimming pool."
-----------
The peasants are revolting!

Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.

Somebody needs a lawyer in Colorado

Can anybody give me the name of an attorney in Colorado who will represent owners in a dispute with an HOA? I have been contacted by somebody in Jefferson County, CO, who needs a lawyer. You can send it to me at ecmlaw@gmail.com and I will pass it on to the interested party.

White men shun Democrats -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY

White men shun Democrats -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY: "Millions of white men who voted for Barack Obama are walking away from the Democratic Party, and it appears increasingly likely that they'll take the midterms elections in November with them. Their departure could well lead to a GOP landslide on a scale not seen since 1994."
-----------
It only took a year or so for President Obama to alienate a huge chunk of the electorate. I don't think there is much he can do to get them back, either. People know who he is now.

He ran as a common-sense, centrist, outsider who was going to Washington to fix things. Nobody who knew him would have believed that for a minute, of course, but with the press declining to dig into his background much it worked with a lot of independents. The Republicans had cast themselves into a pit of disrepute and the McCain-Palin ticket was hopelessly inept, so Obama swept right in.

But now everybody can see that Obama is farther to the left than he let on. He is committing the federal government to vast deficits for decades to come, and he is loading up his administration with lefties who want to regulate every aspect of the economy to the point of making entire industries virtual arms of the federal government. With Congress on his side he can do all this, or at least most of it.

Jobs and fixing the federal budget are more important to many voters than they are to those in power in Washington. If the November elections bring a huge turnout of angry white people, watch out. Remember that Ross Perot got 19% of the vote in 1992. And he was an obvious nutball whose VP candidate couldn't even figure out why Perot chose him.

Chase Hassles Woman For $45K In Payments For Home She No Longer Owns - The Consumerist

Chase Hassles Woman For $45K In Payments For Home She No Longer Owns - The Consumerist"In Oct. 2008, a mother of four in Illinois needed to unload her house or face foreclosure. So she worked with Chase Home Financial and got them to agree to a short sale. Unfortunately, more than a year later not everyone at Chase knows the house was sold, because they're telling the former homeowner she owes almost $45,000 in late payments."
--------------
Thanks to Mystery Reader for this example of another major screw-up by a bank dunning somebody for money they don't owe. Is this better than foreclosing on the wrong home?

Half of U.S. Home Loan Modifications Default Again (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

Half of U.S. Home Loan Modifications Default Again (Update1) - Bloomberg.com: "The re-default rate of loans modified in the first quarter of 2009 was 51.5 percent by the end of the year, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision said in a joint report today. The figure, which measures payments at least 30 days late, climbed to 57.9 percent for changes made in the prior 12 months.

U.S. homeowners are struggling to make payments as depressed housing prices leave them owing more than their properties are worth. About 24 percent of properties with a mortgage were underwater in the fourth quarter, First American CoreLogic said last month. The median price of a U.S. home was $165,100 in February, down 28 percent from its peak in July 2006, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Modifications are “clearly not working well and it’s not a surprise,” said Sam Khater, a senior economist at First American CoreLogic in Tysons Corner, Virginia. “It’s pointless to rewrite these loans because they’re underwater.”"
--------------------
No problem, because Obama will just tell the banks to be nice. See below.

Obama readies steps to fight foreclosures, particularly for unemployed - washingtonpost.com

Obama readies steps to fight foreclosures, particularly for unemployed - washingtonpost.com: "The Obama administration plans to overhaul how it is tackling the foreclosure crisis, in part by requiring lenders to temporarily slash or eliminate monthly mortgage payments for many borrowers who are unemployed, senior officials said Thursday."
----------
Which will push more banks into insolvency, and thus into the arms of the ever-expanding federal regulatory apparatus, where they will be reprogrammed as community service agencies?

Eldo Telecom: Study points to demise of burbs as bedroom communities

Eldo Telecom: Study points to demise of burbs as bedroom communities: "A study by the Chicago-based Center for Neighborhood Technology found that long commutes to jobs in the Los Angeles basin from California's Inland Empire area (San Bernardino/Riverside) aren't really worth it when the cost of commuting if factored in. For decades, housing that costs less than comparable real estate closer to jobs in L.A. was the draw that fueled the region's growth. But when the costs of hours spent in cars and gasoline and maintenance are taken into account, it comes out a wash. (And arguably, potentially a net loss when the adverse work/life balance and health affects are included)."
------------
Fred Pilot, on his blog, zeroes in on the problem that is setting the limits to suburbia.

New home sales drop 2.2 percent in Feb. to new low

New home sales drop 2.2 percent in Feb. to new low: "The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new home sales fell 2.2 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 308,000.

It was the fourth consecutive month of declines and the worst showing on records dating to 1963."
-------
The figures for Chicagoland showed prices up, but sales down.

No more State Police on Chicago expressways? :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Election 2010

No more State Police on Chicago expressways? :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Election 2010: "The Chicago Police Department may be forced to assume primary responsibility for patrolling 53 miles of Chicago area expressways -- at a time when police manpower is woefully short -- under Gov. Quinn's proposal to slash the State Police budget and lay off 464 state troopers."
---------
The CPD is the second-largest police department in the country with 13,000 officers. They claim they have a severe manpower shortage and can't get enough officers on the street as it is, so they can't be expected to write speeding tickets on the expressways.

My observations: 1. CPD officers regard traffic enforcement as a nuisance unless they are specifically assigned to that duty. I walk from Union Station to UIC and back every working day and have been doing so for years.I have never, ever--not one time--seen a Chicago Police Officer writing a traffic ticket. Almost every day I see driving behavior that should lead to public flogging. There are cops hanging out at the 7-11s and elsewhere. No tickets being written.

2. Even with the state police writing tickets on the expressways, it is like a scene from Deathrace. People drive over 100 mph. You see it all the time. And when the go to court for driving over 100 mph, 2/3 of the time they get court supervision and it doesn't even go on their driving record. Don't believe me? Read this. The judges couldn't care less, either, as long as the money comes rolling in from the fines. So: the expressways are full of people driving like maniacs. Many of them are driving on suspended licenses, don't have insurance, and seem not to care if they kill you.

3. So, if they fire the 464 Chicago area state troopers, CPD will not pick up the slack very well and it will be like the Autobahn out there.

I'm glad I take the train.

americas-most-underwater-housing-markets: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

americas-most-underwater-housing-markets: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance: "'We have never had negative equity like this at the national level in as many different regions as we have now,' Humphries says. To get a better sense of the cities with the greatest concentrations of negative equity, Zillow provided U.S. News with data that detail the percentage of mortgage borrowers who are underwater in 142 distinct markets throughout the country. Based on this research, we compiled the following list of America's most underwater housing markets. (Please note: We chose no more than one city per state.)"
--------
Vegas, Merced, Phoenix, Orlando, Greeley, and on. Quite a spread.

N.J. Town Out To Ban Dog Barking Round-The-Clock - wcbstv.com

N.J. Town Out To Ban Dog Barking Round-The-Clock - wcbstv.com: "But now in Piscataway an ordinance about incessant barking between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., has been expanded to include barking around the clock. And, yes, you could be fined."
------------
As you can see, Piscataway, NJ, has solved all its other problems and has time for this.

Obama Paying More Than Buffett as Bonds Show U.S. Losing AAA - Bloomberg.com

Obama Paying More Than Buffett as Bonds Show U.S. Losing AAA - Bloomberg.com: "While Treasuries backed by the full faith and credit of the government typically yield less than corporate debt, the relationship has flipped as Moody’s Investors Service predicts the U.S. will spend more on debt service as a percentage of revenue this year than any other top-rated country except the U.K. America will use about 7 percent of taxes for debt payments in 2010 and almost 11 percent in 2013, moving “substantially” closer to losing its AAA rating, Moody’s said last week."
-----------------
Over the years I have often wondered if the rest of the western world was depending on us not becoming like them. Great Britain, France, etc., let their military strength deteriorate because they know we won't. They extend their welfare state because they know we won't. They were taking risks because they knew we wouldn't. There would always be this strong military power with a solid capitalist economy to serve as the backbone of the western world. But now we are becoming just like them. What happens? I guess we are going to find out.

Red Menace: Stop the Ug99 Fungus Before Its Spores Bring Starvation | Magazine

Red Menace: Stop the Ug99 Fungus Before Its Spores Bring Starvation | Magazine: "Stem rust is the polio of agriculture, a plague that was brought under control nearly half a century ago as part of the celebrated Green Revolution. After years of trial and error, scientists managed to breed wheat that contained genes capable of repelling the assaults of Puccinia graminis, the formal name of the fungus.

But now it’s clear: The triumph didn’t last. While languishing in the Ugandan highlands, a small population of P. graminis evolved the means to overcome mankind’s most ingenious genetic defenses. This distinct new race of P. graminis, dubbed Ug99 after its country of origin (Uganda) and year of christening (1999), is storming east, working its way through Africa and the Middle East and threatening India and China. More than a billion lives are at stake. “It’s an absolute game-changer,” says Brian Steffenson, a cereal-disease expert at the University of Minnesota who travels to Njoro regularly to observe the enemy in the wild. “The pathogen takes out pretty much everything we have.”"
-----------
In case you were running out of things to worry about...

Russia: Stray Dogs Master Complex Moscow Subway System - ABC News

Russia: Stray Dogs Master Complex Moscow Subway System - ABC News
This is pretty amazing--it is at the start of the 7 minute segment and well worth watching.

Top 10 Signs Your Community Association is in Financial Trouble

Top 10 Signs Your Community Association is in Financial Trouble

Posted using ShareThis

Board Member Types: “The Has Been”, “The Never Were” and “The Wanna Be”

Board Member Types: “The Has Been”, “The Never Were” and “The Wanna Be”

Posted using ShareThis

Computer snafu is behind at least 50 'raids' on Brooklyn couple's home

Computer snafu is behind at least 50 'raids' on Brooklyn couple's home: "Embarrassed cops on Thursday cited a 'computer glitch' as the reason police targeted the home of an elderly, law-abiding couple more than 50 times in futile hunts for bad guys."
-----------
If you live in New York, this is your tax dollars at work.

More homeowners are opting for 'strategic defaults' - latimes.com

More homeowners are opting for 'strategic defaults' - latimes.com: "Time was when Americans would do almost anything to hang on to their homes. But that commitment appears to be fraying as more people fall behind on their loans while watching the banks and lenders that helped trigger the financial crisis return to prosperity.

Nearly one-quarter of U.S. mortgages, or about 11 million loans, are 'underwater,' i.e. the houses are worth less than the balance of their loans. While home values are regaining ground -- median prices rose 10% in Southern California last month to $275,000 compared with a year earlier -- they remain far below the July 2007 peak of $505,000.

Many homeowners are just coming to grips with the idea that prices will take years to reach the pre-crash peak: as long as 14 years in California, according to economist Chris Thornberg."
--------------
Fourteen years? For a baby boomer that is just way. Too. Long.

Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link and for pointing out that anybody who is strategically defaulting on their mortgage has already strategically defaulted on their HOA/condo assessments as well. The rocky times continue.

Bad math wrongly IDs lagging schools | The Burlington Free Press | Burlington, Vermont

Bad math wrongly IDs lagging schools | The Burlington Free Press | Burlington, Vermont: "Two Vermont schools were mistakenly included in a list of the state’s “persistently lowest achieving schools” released last week, and two others have taken their place, an apologetic Vermont Department of Education announced Tuesday...The revision was prompted by an error in calculation used to rank the schools on the basis of standardized test results. The mistake was noticed Friday by a department staff member and made public Tuesday after a Free Press inquiry into possible miscalculations."
----------------
The nation's public schools have reached the point of self-parody.

C-Span Puts Its Full Archives on the Web - NYTimes.com

C-Span Puts Its Full Archives on the Web - NYTimes.com: "WASHINGTON — Researchers, political satirists and partisan mudslingers, take note: C-Span has uploaded virtually every minute of its video archives to the Internet."
------------------
The Onion should have written that headline. Can you imagine watching 23 years of the House of Representatives in session? Dante could have had that on big screen TV in the inner circle of Hell.

House may try to pass Senate health-care bill without voting on it

House may try to pass Senate health-care bill without voting on it: "After laying the groundwork for a decisive vote this week on the Senate's health-care bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested Monday that she might instead attempt to pass the measure without having members vote on it.

Instead, Pelosi (D-Calif.) would rely on a procedural sleight of hand: The House would instead vote on a more popular measure that presumes the health-care bill has passed the chamber."
---------------
Why? Because there might be somebody someplace who still believes that the United States Congress is one of the world's greatest legislative bodies, and it is important to crush that person's faith like a paper cup.

America's Craziest Cities - The Daily Beast

America's Craziest Cities - The Daily Beast: "Move over, Las Vegas. After two years of national doldrums, crazy is on the rise again. From shrinks to drinks, The Daily Beast tallies who’s handling their stress—and who’s losing it."
-----------------
No way Chicago should rank so low. And LA is even lower. I protest.

Jim Jubak: Is China broke? Hidden debt burdens Asia giant - MSN Money

Jim Jubak: Is China broke? Hidden debt burdens Asia giant - MSN Money: "All governments lie about their finances. At worst, as in Greece and the United States, the lies are bold and transparent. Everybody knows the emperor has no clothes, but no one want to say so. At best, as in Canada and China, the lies are more subtle -- more like a magician's misdirection than a viking raider's ax. Look at these great numbers, the lie goes, but don't look at those up my sleeve.

There's a good argument to be made that if you look at all the numbers, instead of just the ones the budget magicians want you to see, China is indeed broke."
--------------
Are there any governments that are not broke?

Police: Man Drunk At DUI Sentencing - Omaha News Story - KETV Omaha

Police: Man Drunk At DUI Sentencing - Omaha News Story - KETV Omaha: "PAPILLION, Neb.--Authorities said a drunken driver showed up for his sentencing hearing drunk again. Jason Botos, 30, was driven to court by his father and investigators said he was so drunk that he had to be helped inside and wasn't able to make his court appearance. 'He was unable to get himself out of the vehicle, he was so intoxicated,' said deputy Sarpy County attorney Ben Perlman."
--------------
But he gets points for showing up, right?

The American Conservative » Sprawling Misconceptions

The American Conservative » Sprawling Misconceptions: "For the 101st time: sprawl — an umbrella term for the pattern of development seen virtually everywhere in the United States — is not caused by the free market. It is, rather, mandated by a vast and seemingly intractable network of government regulations, from zoning laws and building codes to street design regulations. If Stossel wants to expand Americans’ lifestyle choices, he should attack the very thing he was defending, namely, suburban sprawl.

It’s odd that self-described libertarians such as Stossel are so slow to grasp that government planning makes sprawl ubiquitous. You would think that libertarians would instinctively grasp the deeply statist nature of suburban development."
--------------
Libertarian John Stossel thinks (scroll down to his pet peeve #2) that the market created sprawl. Here is a different take on it--government policies are largely responsible for the way people live in suburbia--something that I have been saying for a long time. Seems that some conservatives don't buy the libertarian magic beans.

Court sides with homeowner in dispute over pickup

Court sides with homeowner in dispute over pickup: "A.J. Vizzi has lived in The Eagles golfing community in northwestern Hillsborough County since he built a two-story house on a lake in 1997. For a few years, he parked his pickup in the driveway and didn't hear anything negative about it.

That all changed in 2001, when he said he received a violation notice from his homeowners association. 'Up until 2001, I was here for four years before they ever even told me I was in violation of any of their covenants,' said Vizzi."
------------
The circuit court ruled in Vizzi's favor. So did the court of appeal. Congratulations! I see the HOA's attorney, Jonathan Ellis of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick in Tampa, was unavailable for comment. I wonder if they will try to take it to the Florida Supreme Court. Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.

New round of foreclosures threatens housing market - washingtonpost.com

New round of foreclosures threatens housing market - washingtonpost.com: "The housing market is facing swelling ranks of homeowners who are seriously delinquent but have yet to lose their homes, and this is threatening a new wave of foreclosures that could hit just as the real estate market has begun to stabilize."
-----------
"Seriously delinquent" as in "haven't made a mortgage payment in three months or more." We are getting close to 10% of all US mortgages falling in that category, folks. And from where I sit here in bankrupt Illinois, the job losses are mounting.

Bankruptcy Won't Work!

Bankruptcy Won't Work!
Tyler Berding and Sandra Bonato explain why members get no protection when the association goes under.

HOAs suffer during recession - Las Vegas Sun

HOAs suffer during recession - Las Vegas Sun: "Foreclosures are taking a toll on some Las Vegas homeowner associations, some of which are closing pools and deferring maintenance as they deal with a drop in revenue.

The financial woes faced by the associations come as they are locked in legal and legislative battles with investors in foreclosed homes who complain they are overcharged for fines and fees by the associations and their collection agencies."
----------
Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link to another story about hard times in Privatopia.

Half of Kansas City's schools to close by fall

Half of Kansas City's schools to close by fall: "The school board narrowly approved the plan Wednesday night to close 29 of the district's 61 schools to try to stave off bankruptcy. The closures have angered many parents, students and teachers, but administrators say they had no choice because without them, the district would have been in the red by 2011."
--------------
It seems that this is not a scare tactic, like the Illinois governor's proposed teacher-firing budget. This appears to be real.

U.S. Sales Tax Rates Hit Record High - Forbes.com

U.S. Sales Tax Rates Hit Record High - Forbes.com: "While President Obama's push to raise federal income taxes for the wealthy gets lots of attention, the continuing upward creep in the sales tax rates imposed by state and local governments has gotten less notice.

But Vertex Inc., which calculates sales tax for Internet sellers, reports that the average general sales tax rate nationwide reached 8.629% at the end of 2009, the highest since the Berwyn, Pa., company started tracking data in 1982. That was up a nickel on a taxable $100 purchase from a year earlier and up nearly 40 cents for the decade. The highest sales tax rate in the country now stands at 12%."
------------
Here in Illinois the governor proposed yesterday to raise it from a flat 3% to a flat 4%. He called it an education surcharge or something, but it's an income tax hike. The key to understanding this is to stack up all the taxes people pay in a given state. And as we all know, you also need to add on the amount they pay in assessments to their CID if any, because that is really a disguised tax in most cases.

6 of the 10 richest counties in U.S. are in DC area | Washington Examiner

6 of the 10 richest counties in U.S. are in DC area | Washington Examiner:
"America's 25 richest counties
Rank County Population Median household income
1 Loudoun County 277,433 $110,643
2 Fairfax County 1,005,980 $106,785
3 Howard County 272,412 $101,710
4 Hunterdon County, N.J. 129,000 $100,947
5 Somerset County, N.J. 321,589 $100,207
6 Fairfax City 23,281 $98,133
7 Morris County, N.J. 486,459 $97,565
8 Douglas County, Colo. 270,286 $97,480
9 Arlington County 204,889 $96,390
10 Montgomery County 942,747 $93,999"
--------------------
It would seem that being close to DC is good for your pocketbook.

Developer-created CC&R requiring listing with particular broker

Just ran across this interesting issue on DIRT-L. I took out the names to protect the privacy of the attorneys who were discussing it:

---------------

Do any states prohibit by statute or case law the practice of a developer (or HOA) requiring subdivision owners to list any future re-sale of their property with the developer's preferred real estate listing brokerage?

In SC, developers put listing with the preferred brokerage into their CCRs (covenants conditions restrictions) that owners must list for a period of time with the preferred brokerage (aka the brokerage of record or the on-site brokerage).

A member of the public called and said that NC, Ga, and California have prohibited this practice.

In SC, many developers use this strategy.

----------
In Connecticut, such a covenant has been held to violate the state Anti-Trust Act. See State v. Hossan-Maxwell, Inc., 181 Conn. 655 (1980)
-------------

It is also my understanding that this practice is prohibited by statute or regulation. In any event, under the conventional test, the covenant would not "run with the land" and would bind only the first purchaser.

------------
So there you have it. I haven't researched the issue myself and I'm just passing it along FYI to check out if you are interested.


--

The Associated Press: Roberts: Scene at State of Union `very troubling'

The Associated Press: Roberts: Scene at State of Union `very troubling': "Responding to a University of Alabama law student's question, Roberts said anyone was free to criticize the court, and some have an obligation to do so because of their positions.

'So I have no problems with that,' he said. 'On the other hand, there is the issue of the setting, the circumstances and the decorum.

'The image of having the members of one branch of government standing up, literally surrounding the Supreme Court, cheering and hollering while the court — according the requirements of protocol — has to sit there expressionless, I think is very troubling.'

Breaking from tradition, Obama criticized the court's decision that allows corporations and unions to freely spend money to run political ads for or against specific candidates.

'With all due deference to the separation of powers the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests — including foreign corporations — to spend without limit in our elections,' Obama said in January."
--------------
That was my reaction at the time. Obama has every right to bash the decision in Citizens United v. FEC, but he did it in a crude, boorish way that was intended to bully them in public.

Obama moving to limit fishing access - ESPN

Obama moving to limit fishing access - ESPN: "The Obama administration will accept no more public input for a federal strategy that could prohibit U.S. citizens from fishing the nation's oceans, coastal areas, Great Lakes, and even inland waters...Led by NOAA's Jane Lubchenco, the task force has shown no overt dislike of recreational angling, but its indifference to the economic, social and biological value of the sport has been deafening.

Additionally, Lubchenco and others in the administration have close ties to environmental groups who would like nothing better than to ban recreational angling. And evidence suggests that these organizations have been the engine behind the task force since before Obama issued a memo creating it last June."
--------
I'd like to say that this is from some lunatic fringe, far right wing blog. However, it is from ESPN.

Joseph Brogan, 58, professor at La Salle with Tolkien touch | Philadelphia Inquirer | 10/09/2009

Joseph Brogan, 58, professor at La Salle with Tolkien touch | Philadelphia Inquirer | 10/09/2009: "Joseph V. Brogan, 58, of Havertown, a La Salle University political-science professor who taught an honors course on The Lord of the Rings, died of lung cancer Wednesday at his home.

Dr. Brogan taught at La Salle for more than 25 years. In addition to courses such as modern and classical political theory, constitutional law, and U.S. politics and federalism, he twice conducted the honors course on J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy."
----------
I met Joe Brogan through his brother (and my friend and former colleague) Tom Brogan. Joe was just a wonderful person. He was a brilliant scholar and a fantastic teacher. I attended a panel that he chaired at the American Political Science Association on the politics of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It was one of the most fascinating theoretical conversations I have ever heard. Whether it was something that elevated, or just sitting and talking with him at a Phillies game, he was a great guy in every way. What a loss for LaSalle, his family, and everybody who knew him.

UIC students, faculty push gov. for more funding - 3/08/10 - Chicago News - abc7chicago.com

UIC students, faculty push gov. for more funding - 3/08/10 - Chicago News - abc7chicago.com
Here's the local media take on the demonstration here at UIC yesterday.

Fans of Donna Berger

Ever since I posted a couple of what I thought were light-hearted observations on the similarity of attorney Donna Berger's blog to mine (see below), I have been getting nasty, mean, and (of course) anonymous personal attacks on me in the comments to those items. I finally started blocking these posts. I don't mind the occasional personal attack on me, and I normally leave things like that up for all to read because they say more about the writer than about me. But this is obviously an orchestrated campaign that came in response to my attempts at humor, and I'm not going to open my blog to this person or persons, whoever she/he/they may be, to carry on in this cowardly and petty fashion.

I wonder who it could be?

Ugly gender war splits country club - Chicago Tribune Archives

Ugly gender war splits country club - Chicago Tribune Archives: "PHOENIX—When the men of the Phoenix Country Club saw their feeding ways in peril, they did not tarry. Some sent nasty e-mail messages, hectored players on the fairway and, for good measure, urinated on a fellow club member’s pecan tree. One of the club’s male members was expelled.

The targets of their ire were the women—and some men—who have dared to speak up against the club’s policy of forbidding women in the men’s grill room, a center of power dining in Phoenix."
---------
Mystery Reader sent this along. You need to register to read past the third graph, unfortunately. I would have to say that urinating on the pecan tree definitely means war.

Last Decade Spelled Disaster For Older Workers

Last Decade Spelled Disaster For Older Workers: "Washington, DC—Older workers endured a staggering 331% increase in unemployment over the last 10 years, a new analysis conducted by the AARP Public Policy Institute shows. This dramatic rise in older unemployed workers has resulted in declining financial and retirement security for millions of Americans who have little time to make up the losses.

“The last decade has spelled disaster for millions of older workers who have lost their jobs, seen their retirement savings diminish, and had their health care costs continue to skyrocket,” said Nancy A. LeaMond, AARP Executive Vice President. “The recession has only made this bad situation worse, as the statistics show clearly that older workers who lose their jobs stay unemployed longer than other groups.”

The new analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by AARP’s Public Policy Institute shows a dramatic 331.4% increase in the number of unemployed Americans age 55+ and over from January 2000 through December 2009. For age 65+ workers, the increase in the number of unemployed was lower, but still a massive 235%."
-----------------
Now add to that the impending collapse of many private and public pension funds. Add to that the meltdown in home equity. Add to that the loss of many public services that I believe will hit all levels of government over the next few fiscal years, as governments make cuts that would have been unthinkable a few years ago. This thing we once called "retirement" could become rather interesting for those now aged 55 to 65.

California Proposition 14, Top Two Primaries Act (June 2010) - Ballotpedia

California Proposition 14, Top Two Primaries Act (June 2010) - Ballotpedia: "A California Top Two Primaries Act ballot proposition is on the June 8, 2010 ballot in California as a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment.

If approved by voters, the proposal will require that candidates run in a single primary open to all registered voters, with the top two vote-getters meeting in a runoff. The new system would take effect in the 2012 elections.[1]

Specifically, it would provide for a 'voter-nominated primary election' for each state elective office and congressional office in California. Voters could vote in the primary election for any candidate for a congressional or state elective office without regard to the political party affiliations of either the candidate or the voter. Candidates could choose whether or not to have their political party affiliation displayed on the ballot.

The proposition also prohibits political parties from nominating candidates in a primary, although political parties would be allowed to endorse, support or oppose candidates. Elections for presidential candidates, and for members of political party committees and party central steering committees would not fall under the 'top two' system."
----------
This already failed in 2004. Apparently the idea is to produce two moderate candidates in the general election, instead of a left-wing democrat and a right-wing republican nominated by the foaming-at-the-mouth partisans of their respective parties. The Greens and Libertarians and other minor parties think, correctly, that this will wipe them out entirely because they will never, ever, be number one or number two in the primary, so they won't be on the general election ballot at all.

Congressional estimates show grim deficit picture - Yahoo! News

Congressional estimates show grim deficit picture - Yahoo! News: "The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicts that Obama's budget plans would generate deficits over the upcoming decade that would total $9.8 trillion. That's $1.2 trillion more than predicted by the administration.

The agency says its future-year predictions of tax revenues are more pessimistic than the administration's. That's because CBO projects slightly slower economic growth than the White House.

The deficit picture has turned alarmingly worse since the recession that started at the end of 2007, never dipping below 4 percent of the size of the economy over the next decade. Economists say that deficits of that size are unsustainable and could put upward pressure on interest rates, crowd out private investment in the economy and ultimately erode the nation's standard of living."
----------------
And it seems that the electorate is now thinking about the deficit as a major issue. It took Ross Perot to put that issue out front in 1992 because the major parties didn't want to talk about it. But now the federal budget deficit, and debt in general, have become mainstream concerns--not that our politicians seem to be doing anything about it...

Sole occupant of 32-story Fort Myers condo wants out | news-press.com | The News-Press

Sole occupant of 32-story Fort Myers condo wants out | news-press.com | The News-Press: "Only a handful of purchasers who put down deposits closed on their condos in the building, and except for Vangelakos, they've accepted deals with developer The Related Group to swap for units in Tower 2.

But Vangelakos, who paid $430,000 for the home, closed in November 2008 and insisted on taking possession. He, his wife Cathleen, and their three children use the condo as a vacation home when he can get away from his job as a Weehawken, N.J., firefighter.

Neither side is happy with the arrangement - the company is spending money because it can't shut down the building altogether and the Vangelakos family considers the arrangement creepy, especially at night."
-------------
This would be too much like The Shining for me.

HOA Rules - Why is it Necessary in Home Buying - International Business Times

HOA Rules - Why is it Necessary in Home Buying - International Business Times: "Moreover, they set the allowable number of occupants per house, the kind of pets that are permitted and the race of persons who can stay in the community."
----------
I linked to this ridiculous article below, and an astute commenter highlighted the language that I am re-posting. For many decades, HOAs were used to keep African-Americans and other minorities from buying suburban housing. The Supreme Court declared them unenforceable in 1948, but they remain on the books of many an HOA to this day. This "Flynna Jones" person seems to have an interesting perspective on race restrictions.

HOA Rules - Why is it Necessary in Home Buying - International Business Times

HOA Rules - Why is it Necessary in Home Buying - International Business Times: "Being a member of a homeowners association can give you a lot of benefits. As soon as you enter into such group, you can be assured of a safe and orderly community to live. This organization is tasked to look after the homeowners, enforce rules and asks the residents to pay certain fees. And in exchange, the group will keep the peace and comfort of the area, provide the best amenities, different advantages and develop living condition. It can get rid the issues of other residents too. Through this, the relationship of everyone in the community is peaceful."
--------
Mika Brainy says if you want a good laugh, read this article.

The Galveston County Daily News

The Galveston County Daily News: "GALVESTON — A homeowners association in an affluent West End neighborhood is accusing one of its members of falsely portraying himself as its president and signing documents that would release hurricane-damaged beach-front houses to the city in a controversial buyout program."
-------------
Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link to a story about a $21 million buyout program.