Homeowners association demands removal of energy-efficient door

Ashley Woods West resident says California Solar Rights Act protects his right to use the passive solar door

When Frank Sigrist installed a passive solar garage door in his Granite Bay house, he forgot to submit an application to his homeowner’s association.

He filed the required documents a month or so later, thinking he wouldn’t be denied permission because the $10,000 state-of-the-art door is energy efficient and aesthetically pleasing — besides, the garage sits far back off the street in this upper-end gated community.

“It’s not going to be a big deal,” Sigrist said.

But he was wrong.

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Nah, who would have thunk it?

But board members are reasonable people, acting reasonably, right?

Moral hazard in the jumbo mortgage marketplace

NYT: Biggest Defaulters on Mortgages Are the Rich

LOS ALTOS, Calif. — No need for tears, but the well-off are losing their master suites and saying goodbye to their wine cellars.

The housing bust that began among the working class in remote subdivisions and quickly progressed to the suburban middle class is striking the upper class in privileged enclaves like this one in Silicon Valley.

Whether it is their residence, a second home or a house bought as an investment, the rich have stopped paying the mortgage at a rate that greatly exceeds the rest of the population.

More than one in seven homeowners with loans in excess of a million dollars are seriously delinquent, according to data compiled for The New York Times by the real estate analytics firm CoreLogic.

* * *

Lenders are fearful that many of the 11 million or so homeowners who owe more than their house is worth will walk away from them, especially if the real estate market begins to weaken again. The so-called strategic defaults have become a matter of intense debate in recent months.

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Moral hazard -- the risk that parties to a financial transaction won't honor their obligations -- played a major role in the Wall Street crash in the fall of 2008. Now it poses a problem in the jumbo mortgage market: mortgages of $500K on up. Since a lot of these highly leveraged, high end properties lie within the upscale gated communities of Privatopia, they pose a risk for their HOAs as well since these "walk away" homeowners will have no qualms about also walking away from their HOA assessments.

East Bridgewater condo association learns hard lesson

EAST BRIDGEWATER —
Residents of Hillcrest Village in East Bridgewater learned a hard fiscal lesson when they let one person control the condo association’s money.
The group’s former treasurer, Edward M. Richards, 55, is now charged with embezzling $102,000 from the association.
“To let one person control the money is a horrible idea,” said Bob McBride, CEO of the Dartmouth Group, a condo and property management company based in Bedford, “because people don’t ask the right questions.”
The safest bet for associations – and other groups – is to have more than one person watching the books and sharing responsibility for the money.
“When it comes to finances, you absolutely need to go with a management company,” said Pamela Brown, a unit owner and former condo association trustee at another complex.
Brown is a 27-year resident of Pomponoho Pines Condominiums in East Bridgewater – a 128-unit complex just yards from Hillcrest Village.

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I am gobsmacked! There must be something in HOA waters that addles people's thinking.

Millions of dollars have been embezzled by management company employees. As long as HOAs can operate under cover of darkness, embezzlement will be a very real part of association living.

National Anthem a no-go at La Casa

Residents were informed through the La Casa Activity Association president Clint Van Tassell's monthly report. He wrote, "We will inform all our musical groups that if they are performing any patriotic-type routine, at the end of the dance, they are not to perform 'The Star-Spangled Banner' or 'O Canada,' but are requested to use 'God Bless America.' "
Van Tassell wrote, "It is the feeling of the Board that this covers all of the Americas adequately. It is our request that any La Casa Clubs having a musical group follow this policy."


There are many rules that some of our residents don't care for," said Activity Association secretary Dorothy Freiler Wednesday. "We tried to establish a policy without offending people. Nobody has an objection to the 'Star Spangled Banner.' "
Freiler said the songs "My Country 'Tis of Thee" and "America the Beautiful" are more "singable."
" 'The Star Spangled Banner" has a wide range of notes that some people can't reach," she said. "Other patriotic songs are more singable."

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Aren't HOAs great? They even choose your music for you so you don't have to. I feel like singing "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood." I wonder if it is on the approved song list in my neighborhood?

Ex-Employee Gets 10 Years For $700,000 HOA Theft

HOA Thefts Raised Questions About Financial Controls

ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. -- A former employee was sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday for stealing more than $700,000 from homeowners associations in metro Denver.
Stacey Lynn Chevarria, who worked for Vista Management in Westminster, admitted she stole the money, authorities said. She was sentenced in Adams County District Court.
The thefts surfaced in October 2009 when Vista Management President Cindy Combs and her bookkeeper were trying to reconcile bank books and discovered money missing, police said.

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More evidence that HOAs need the power to foreclose. Heavens, if they didn't some homeowners might not pay their assessments and that justwouldn't be fair, would it?

Hmmmm, something just isn't quite clicking.

Strings put on beach-front buyouts

GALVESTON — Some West End homeowners, worried about the city’s plans for beach-front properties acquired through a federal buyout program, want the city to restrict what it does with the newly public land in their neighborhoods.As part of its agreement to buy 64 hurricane-damaged houses under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, the city asked those property owners to obtain releases from the homeowners associations so the city wouldn’t have to pay association fees or follow deed restrictions. Homeowners associations typically have some legal authority through deed covenants over how property is used.However, some homeowners associations are refusing to release the properties until the city agrees to leave the land as open space, City Attorney Susie Green said.

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It just keeps getting more and more interesting.

Thanks to Fred Fischer for this story.

Corolla resort manager sentenced

The property manager of a Corolla resort community has been sentenced to nearly three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to embezzling nearly $1 million from her employer.


The embezzled money came primarily from association dues and assessments collected from nearly 100 Buck Island homeowners as well as monies set aside by property owners for ongoing maintenance and repair of their homes, the release states.

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Let's see, HOAs must have the power to foreclose because without it some owners won't pay their dues which just won't be fair on the other owners. Right? But what about all the money that is embezzled from these same poor homeowners? Why is a million dollars" an isolated incident" but a couple of hundred dollars in unpaid assessments cause for foreclosure?

vLog - 29 June 2010: Homeowner's Associations - Putting the "ass" in association

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxx37s5tzdg

Interesting commentary on associations and why it is so difficult to get more homeowner friendly laws passed in Texas. Thanks to Bill Davis for the link.

In North Bay Village, Fraud and Witchcraft Haunt a Condo Building

There are lots of condo association spats and scams in the tiny, scandal-ridden hamlet of North Bay Village. Most of them are pretty boring. That's because most of them don't involve a wrathful warlock.

The situation got stranger last week when tenants found a flyer posted on every door and littering the parking lot, declaring Laracuente's enemies were "annoying bitches" and continued, "All they know how to do is create chaos. Oh, daughters of Lucifer, that ye have been born... only for procreation purposes and to favor evil. We damn our luck for these people joining our community."

Meanwhile, there has been "no maintenance, no cleaning, [and] no garbage collection" since the mystic shit hit the fan, says North Bay Village Vice Mayor Reinaldo Trujillo. "It's a mess. If this situation isn't irregular, I don't know the definition of the word."

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Ah yes, just as Zogby discovered in the CAI poll of "Happy Homeowners", all is well in condo and HOA land.

Controversy Over the American Flag

Controversy is brewing over a flag pole in Woodstock, Georgia. A homeowner is asked to take down the pole flying an American flag.

Jon Hansen has lived in Woodstock's Summerchase subdivision for a decade. The disabled army veteran and former law enforcement officer has flown an American flag outside his Summer Point Drive home since moving in.

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Here we go again. Oh, when will they ever learn?

This same issue keeps coming up over and over again. When will people, vets or plain old citizens, be allowed to live in peace in their own homes?

HOA rules conflict with energy savings

Homeowner battles HOA, wants her roof to reflect an energy-saving ethic

Zoom in on the Google Maps satellite view of University Acres in east Orlando, and the rooftops along Charlie Piper's cul-de-sac look like dark-gray, asphalt stepping stones baking in the sun.

Piper wants to change that. She wants to replace her dark roof with a white one that better reflects the sun and conserves energy inside her home.

Her homeowners association, though, disapproves.

San Diego homeowner finds naked man asleep on sofa

San Diego homeowner finds naked man asleep on sofa

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A San Diego resident awoke to a shocking discovery: a naked stranger passed out on his downstairs sofa.

San Diego police Lt. Jim Filley says the Pacific Beach homeowner called police after wandering downstairs Sunday morning and finding the snoring man.

Filley says the naked man was drunk and thought he was in his own home in Mission Valley, some 20 miles away.

The man, whose name wasn't released, had taken off his clothes outside the house and walked in through the unlocked front door.

The homeowner declined to press charges. And since the intruder had sobered up, he was released to find his own way home.

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Hey, it's summer at the beach in one of America's best beach towns. Whaddya expect?

Don't mess with Texas: Your home is not your castle; outlaw HOAs

Chuck Bloom: It's my castle -- not an HOA's

Some state laws hold that concept to be true; it's your castle if an unwanted intruder invades your property and you use your legally registered weapon to defend yourself – even with lethal force. Even anti-gun advocates have understood such thinking.

But when the intruder goes through the courts and takes the property with a pen, it's not your castle, and you have little say about it. Because of various factors (such as the almighty dollar), that's deemed acceptable behavior.

The very existence of homeowner associations should be outlawed in Texas, but, because of the overwhelming influence of major political donors (including major Texas homebuilders, who create the HOAs), we're left to read about such travesties that befell the Clauer family of Frisco.

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I wonder if Chuck Bloom is related to John Irving Bloom aka Joe Bob Briggs, Dallas comedian and drive in movie reviewer.

(Home sells on courthouse steps for tiny fraction of value. Property owner left SOL. Media and blogosphere outrage. HOA foreclosure fu. One star. Joe Bob says check it out.)

media-ocracy

media-ocracy This is a new blog run by Anthony DiMaggio, a political scientist (and friend of mine) who has a lot of very interesting things to say about politics and the media.

ALIEN TELLS LARRY KING TO LEAVE CNN | Weekly World News

ALIEN TELLS LARRY KING TO LEAVE CNN | Weekly World News
That's the only possible explanation.

Let record show: Blago an equal-opportunity disparager :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Gov. Blagojevich

Let record show: Blago an equal-opportunity disparager :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Gov. Blagojevich
$#*+%! | If you can't say something nice...
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When you string all these bon mots together like this, it is hilarious. Until you realize that he was elected Governor of Illinois, and then re-elected.

Price cuts mount as condos linger in Chicago - chicagotribune.com

Price cuts mount as condos linger in Chicago - chicagotribune.com
A trio of condo developments — one small, one medium and one large — announced price cuts recently as the market readjusts in a post-tax credit market and lenders show their nervousness about the summer selling season.

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I guess the realtors will tell us this means it's TIME TO BUY!

A taxing dilemma: Rising property taxes are strangling some homeowners, especially the elderly (With Video)

A taxing dilemma: Rising property taxes are strangling some homeowners, especially the elderly (With Video)

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Pennsylvania is noted for its multiplicity of townships, boroughs, counties and other local government units that along with school districts make for big property tax bills.

When those taxes go up, seniors on fixed incomes feel squeezed. This cohort along with apartment building owners allied in 1978 to pass California's historic Proposition 13 to limit property taxes. That tax revolt spread throughout the nation and is a key driver of local government privatization. Will the Keystone State be the next battleground?

Don’t Know Much About History?

There’s good news for American education. About three-quarters of residents — 74% — know the U.S. declared its independence from Great Britain in 1776. The bad news for the academic system — 26% do not.

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Do you suppose Zogby polled the 26% who did not know when they conducted the CAI "Happiness" polls? Yes? No? What do you think?

Special districts also suffer from HOA-itis

It's understandable why residents want local control of fire protection, parks and water. Hundreds of special districts sprouted across California to provide such services.

But there's a disturbing downside to the proliferation of all these fiefdoms, particularly independent special districts that have their own elected boards and run their own affairs.

As the 2009-10 Sacramento County grand jury's final report laid out in excruciating detail, because so many operate outside the same kind of public scrutiny trained on city councils and county boards of supervisors, there's an appalling lack of financial transparency, accountability and oversight.

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Special districts have been suggested as public alternatives to private local HOA government. Unlike HOAs organized under state corporation codes, special districts are governmental entities authorized by state government codes. As this Sacramento Bee editorial points out, however, special districts often lack an open, responsible and accountable governance ethic and require better oversight. Notably, the editorial describes special districts as fiefdoms, a term often applied to HOAs.

This suggests that the smaller and more local a form of government, the more likely cult of personality instead of rule of law will be the predominating governing standard. Since they are small, they are more able to hide in the cracks and avoid the disinfecting sunlight of public and media scrutiny.

It's worth bearing in mind for those seeking an alternative to private local government. Ditto for those who contend smaller government is closer and thus more accountable to its constituents. In theory perhaps but not necessarily in practice.

Payback Time - Budget in the Red, Illinois Has Stopped Paying Bills - NYTimes.com

Payback Time - Budget in the Red, Illinois Has Stopped Paying Bills - NYTimes.com

For the last few years, California stood more or less unchallenged as a symbol of the fiscal collapse of states during the recession. Now Illinois has shouldered to the fore, as its dysfunctional political class refuses to pay the state’s bills and refuses to take the painful steps — cuts and tax increases — to close a deficit of at least $12 billion, equal to nearly half the state’s budget.

Then there is the spectacularly mismanaged pension system, which is at least 50 percent underfunded and, analysts warn, could push Illinois into insolvency if the economy fails to pick up.

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And I sincerely believe that the Illinois "dysfunctional political class" will not do anything to pull the state out of its death spiral.

State and local gov't workers' job security fades

State and local gov't workers' job security fades

States and municipalities are facing gaping budget gaps. Many have responded by slashing services, raising taxes and, for the first time in decades, making deep job cuts.

And public employees should brace themselves: Some economists say the job cuts could worsen in the second half of the year.

Counting companies that work with state governments, a total of 900,000 jobs could be lost to states' budget shortfalls, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a think tank in Washington.
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Certainly private local government -- mandatory membership property owner associations -- has been adversely affected by the economic downturn as chronicled in the many posts to this blog over the past couple of years. As Evan McKenzie pointed out On the Commons last weekend, precisely because it's private government, there's little publicly available data on associations that makes it difficult to quantify how the recession has affected them.

There's evidence that the economic downturn isn't affecting public and private local government evenly. Texas attorney David Kahne notes in an item I posted earlier this week that economic pain in Privatopia has translated into economic gain for association management and law firms foreclosing on association properties in arrears on HOA assessments. My guess is county tax collectors conducting tax sales to recover delinquent property taxes aren't making much if any money on these sales.

Local HOA's creative way to make money

Kara Kostanich
BOYNTON BEACH---A Boynton Beach Homeowners Association will soon be making money from a neighborhood foreclosed home.

President of Los Mangos Properties Owners Association Kathleen Dougherty said, "it will go back to the people and it will go back to the people and it will be spread throughout the community to pay our bills."
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What a concept! By the sounds of things HOAs can either fine people to balance their budgets or rent out foreclosed property and collect the rent.

Is it time to ask whether or not this idea of forced communal living is viable and worth preserving?

Genetic Secrets of Living to 100

A massive genetic study of people who lived for more than 100 years has found dozens of new clues to the biology of aging.

--“It shows that genetics plays an extremely important role at these extreme ages. And it begins to be a not-unsolvable puzzle,” said Boston University gerontologist Thomas Perls. “If we start looking at these genes and what they do, we better understand the biology of extreme longevity.”

--People who’ve reached that mark tend to have lives that are not only exceptionally long, but unusually healthly. Unlike most people, they rarely develop diseases of aging — such as heart disease, metabolic disease, cancer and dementia — until well into their 90s. They’re also more likely to bounce back from disease, rather than entering a spiral of declining health.
That manner of aging is a goal for most people, and a public health necessity. Modern medicine has had success in slowing individual aging diseases, but when one is postponed another soon emerges. Americans are living longer but not healthier.

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I wonder if the scientists will look into the effects of HOA living on longevity?

The big question, in my mind though is whether it is worth living to a ripe old age if it meant being stuck in an HOA ?

Public local government beats private local government -- but sometimes it's like an HOA

Grand Jury Blasts City Council

“Major changes” are needed to a South Lake Tahoe City Council that is constantly bickering, routinely drops controversial issues, and operates at a “barely functional level,” according to the 2009-2010 El Dorado County grand jury report.

— “Constant hostility and bickering among members of the City Council and their unprofessional conduct has resulted in a consistent 3/2 split vote creating two 'camps' of Council members. The voting often appears to be the result of Council members pursuing personal agendas rather than operating in the best interests of the City. The bickering and nitpicking between Council members during meetings, combined with hostile comments to media outlets and behind the scenes ‘back biting' has resulted in the failure to address routine and important business entrusted to the Council by the citizens of the City of South Lake Tahoe.

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Private government such as employed by mandatory membership homeowner associations is a non sequitur. Americans see local government as a public function and expect it to be transparent and accountable. Privatizing government through nonprofit corporation law creates an inherent contradiction and uses the law in a setting in which it was never intended to operate.

Unlike private HOA government, public forms of local government have a well established governance culture and are generally served by experienced, well trained professional staff. By contrast, HOAs are governed by property owners who are typically reluctant volunteers who muddle along from year to year. Turnover is high among board members and contracted, part time professional advisors who may or may not place the HOA's best interests first. This governance gap, I believe, accounts for much of the dsyfunction and abuse of power in HOA governance at the same time HOAs have become deeply ingrained in the structure of local government as the owner of this blog has noted.

That said, public local government isn't perfect. Sometimes their elected bodies resemble amateurish HOA boards as this story out of South Lake Tahoe, Calif. illustrates. However, no grand juries investigate HOAs and issue recommendations on how they can improve such as is the case here.

Missing Links

Sorry folks, I thought I had provided a hyperlink in the titles to the articles I posted. Here they are:

William Gammon: Prosecutor's Not Happy The Accused Child Porn User's Out On Bond
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2010/06/gammon_child_porn.php

Group Hit In 'Hebrew Race' Discrimination Case
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/mostpopular/24094600/detail.html

Bushnell on the Park Condominium Association placed in receivership
http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/news13775.html

Group Hit In 'Hebrew Race' Discrimination Case

A civil rights trial against a homeowner's association accused of discriminating against Jewish members has ended in a settlement that is believed to be the largest in Plymouth County history.

The jury awarded the Prescotts $600,000 for the violations of their civil rights and an additional $150,000 for nuisance. Together, with interest, the judgment is in excess of $1.2 million.
The jury awarded Scott J. Hyman $850,000 for the violations of his civil rights and an additional $100,000 for nuisance. Together, with interest, the judgment is in excess of $1.3 million.

In addition, within weeks of an association member's comments that "someone is going to burn him (Hyman) out," Hyman’s home in Middleboro, Mass., was torched and burned to the ground, according to Minchoff. There is an ongoing arson investigation.

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I am guessing Zogby never polled the Prescotts or Scott Hymen to find out if things were going well in their neighborhood and if they were happy with the HOA.

William Gammon: Prosecutor's Not Happy The Accused Child Porn User's Out On Bond

William Gammon, the attorney who's pushed for aggressive homeowners' associations in court and in the legislature, is out on bond on charges of possessing a pornography stash described by an investigator as "one of the largest collections of extremely young children he had ever seen."

According to the [ICE] special agent, Gammon's collection consisted primarily of young males and females under the age of 12, with many being infants 2 to 3 years old. The images and videos showed the young males and females, some as young as 3 months, being vaginally and anally penetrated, bound, gagged, and bleeding from their orifices. One particular image showed a 6 month old female on her back, with her hands and feet bound, a red gag in her mouth, her genitalia spread, and a message written across her abdomen saying "lick me here," with an arrow pointing to her genitalia.

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Oh, how absolutely horrible. It is sickening, really sickening. How can people do that to children?

Bushnell on the Park Condominium Association placed in receivership

"It is the first time, to my knowledge, that a receiver has been appointed for a condo association in Connecticut," Starble said. "It is an extraordinary measure, but it was made necessary by extraordinary circumstances. My clients applaud the court's decision to provide an equitable temporary remedy for home owners who have been the victims of egregious breaches of fiduciary duty. As a result of the actions of Bushnell Regency, the Association finds itself in financial distress and with a building in disrepair. To be clear, this situation is not a result of the economy; it is a result of one company's actions."

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Protecting property values, I presume.

http://theweek.com/article/index/204550/the-illegals-russian-spies-living-in-america

It sounds like the plot of a Cold War thriller: Russian spies living in the suburbs, using invisible ink, code names and "dead drops." The FBI says it's been going on for years.
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I wonder if this alleged plot of suburban Soviet-style espionage involved penetrating the HOA power apparatus to get a real insider view of how local government is increasingly organized in the U.S.A.

http://www.gpb.org/news/2010/06/29/not-so-neighborly-associations-foreclosing-on-homes

David Kahne, a Houston lawyer who advises homeowners, says that in Texas, the law is so weighted in favor of HOAs, he advises people that instead of hiring him, they should call their association and beg for mercy.

"I suggest you call the association and cry," he says.

If a homeowner misses a couple of association dues payments, the s250 or s500 they owe often becomes s3,000 after the association's lawyers add their legal fees, Kahne says.

It's not the HOA that has to pay the lawyer's bill but the delinquent homeowner. If the homeowner wishes to contest and loses, the owner is on the hook for legal fees that could run deep into the tens of thousands of dollars.

Kahne says that as the economy has gone under, HOA management companies and lawyers have been making millions off homeowners through this foreclosure process.

"We're having literally thousands of lawsuits filed over very small amounts of money," Kahne says. "And those very small amounts of money rapidly become large amounts of money when the association attorneys add their bills."

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These are the worst of times and the best of times in Privatopia, USA. Texas attorney David Kahne reports as the HOA foreclosure machine grinds up delinquent homeowners and auctions off their properties for a relative pittance, the community association industry is enjoying a bonanza of legal and other fees. And as with mortgage lenders, homeowners in arrears can only beg for forbearance since they don't have the law on their side in most states that allow nonjudicial foreclosure by HOAs, Kahne notes.

Kagan Declines To Say Gov't Has No Power to Tell Americans What To Eat

Welcome guest blogger Fred Pilot

I am pleased to welcome Fred Pilot as co-guest blogger (with Shu Bartholomew) during my more-or-less absence for vacation. Fred has been sending me articles practically daily for years, and he is one of the most knowledgeable and perceptive people you can find anywhere on these issues. I am honored to have Fred on board.

Thanks, Fred and Shu!

Welcoming guest blogger Shu Bartholomew

On July 1 I will be leaving on vacation with my three children and we will not be back until around July 21. We will be camping in Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah, visiting San Francisco, and doing other fun things. It will be hard for me to stay current on this weblog, so Shu Bartholomew has graciously agreed to serve as a guest blogger while I am away. I will contribute whenever I have the time and an internet connection, but it is hard to say how often that will be. 

Shu, as most of you know, is the creator and grand empresario of On the Commons, the weekly radio show that has featured just about everybody who knows anything about common interest housing.  Thanks, Shu!

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.

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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."

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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.
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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.
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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

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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.

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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."
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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."
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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

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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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."
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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."
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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."
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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."
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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."
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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."
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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."
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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."
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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."
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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."
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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."
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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."
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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."
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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."
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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."
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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."
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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.”"
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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."
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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)."
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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."
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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."
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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.)"
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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."
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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."
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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.