Lawn Cross Becomes First Amendment Flash Point

Lawn Cross Becomes First Amendment Flash Point
Livingston Township officials say Racaniello's display, which he intended as a celebration of Lent, violated an ordinance that generally prohibits postings on a structure, including a tree, "calculated to attract the attention of the public."
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But it doesn't stop there. This is a multi-chapter sage that isn't over yet. And it is not an HOA. It just plays one on TV.

Home ownership hits lowest level since 1965

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- As the foreclosure crisis continues to wreak havoc on the housing market, a source of national pride has taken a sour turn. Home ownership is on the decline and, according to a recent Morgan Stanley report, the United States is fast becoming a nation of renters.

Last Friday, the Census Bureau reported that the percentage of people who owned a home had dropped to 65.9% during the second quarter -- its lowest level since the first quarter of 1998 and a far cry from the high of 69.2% reached in late 2004.

Yet, in a research paper issued a week earlier, Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500) analysts Oliver Chang, Vishwanath Tirupattur and James Egan argued that the home ownership rate is even lower than the Census Bureau statistics say.
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The rapid growth of HOAs during the past four decades appears headed for a downturn with fewer homeowners to comprise them.

'Insidious And Persistent' Residential Segregation Called Out In Study

'Insidious And Persistent' Residential Segregation Called Out In Study
The study examined trends across more than 300 American communities over the last two decades and concluded that ethnic identity trumps income as a predictor of where people live. Among minority households, even those with relatively high incomes tend to be clustered in neighborhoods where most of their neighbors are the same race and many are poor, the study found.
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And it appears that racial discrimination in the housing market may be the reason, which wouldn't surprise anybody who has ever read anything on the history of institutional racism in the real estate and banking industries.

Florida AG Seeks Independent Probe Of Firing Of Foreclosure Investigators | TPMMuckraker

Florida AG Seeks Independent Probe Of Firing Of Foreclosure Investigators | TPMMuckraker

Ordinance Holds Banks Responsible For Maintaining Vacant Buildings « CBS Chicago

Ordinance Holds Banks Responsible For Maintaining Vacant Buildings « CBS Chicago
The City Council on Thursday passed an ordinance that holds banks responsible for maintaining properties once they have foreclosed upon them and left them vacant.

The ordinance sponsored by Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) came in response to a growing problem with vacant buildings in the city. The Mayor’s Office says the city spent more than $15 million to deal with vacant buildings last year.
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Of course the poor banksters are whining about it relentlessly.

Side Deal With Bank Of America Would Cede Liability In Exchange For Homeowner Relief

Side Deal With Bank Of America Would Cede Liability In Exchange For Homeowner Relief
Federal and state prosecutors are in advanced negotiations with Bank of America in pursuit of a settlement that would forgive the bank for a broad range of past mortgage abuses in exchange for fines that would finance a significantly expanded relief program for struggling homeowners, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter.
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"Forgive the bank." Isn't that ironic? When do banks forgive us?

Anaheim Condo Complex at Center of Free-Speech Debate

Incumbent Brookhurst Village homeowners-association-board director Mohammed Alam campaigned for re-election at a September 2009 meeting. Former Brookhurst board president Veronica Cabrera, though no longer a resident, was there to campaign for a slate of candidates other than Alam.

During the meeting, Cabrera accused Alam of being "a dictator," adding that board funds went missing during his tenure. Alam then rose to ask what happened to a $100 rebate Cabrera had promised while she was president.

Cabrera sued Alam for slander, and the case eventually wound up before the state appeals court in Santa Ana, which found last week that free-speech protections extend to elections for governing boards of condo associations.

The panel added that no evidence was presented that Alam knowingly presented a falsehood--seeing as how the missing-rebates question was never resolved. In other words, all indications were Alam believed he was telling the truth. And he only rose to defend himself amid Cabrera's accusations.
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I haven't read the actual ruling (the link to it in the story is broken) and don't follow California appellate law as closely these days. But it's consistent with a 2000 California Court of Appeal decision in Damon v. Ocean Hills Journalism Club 85 Cal.App.4th 468 wherein the court ruled that letters published in an HOA newsletter critical of the HOA's manager were fair commentary on a matter of public interest and therefore not defamatory.

Homeowners Association Rules 'Jesus' Sign Violates Rules

Phillips has posted a Jesus sign in her yard and there was no reaction from anyone until she received a letter from the Sutton Lakes Homeowners Association telling her having it in her yard is a violation of the covenant

"It is basically telling us to remove the sign, under the bylaws," she said.

Phillips said she did sign the Covenant, Conditions and Restrictions, or CCR, but never agreed to allow the free exercise of her religion to be prohibited.

"I did not give away my freedom of speech, religion, my rights as an American citizen," said Phillips.
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And what about that American flag flapping atop the big pole in the background of the video? More bad press for Privatopia.

Why any debt-ceiling deal will squeeze the states

Among the biggest items on the chopping block in Congress are education and Medicaid spending — federal dollars that make up the largest parts of most states’ budgets. Nearly every state government has already set its budget for the next year — some for the next two years — under the assumption that federal spending would remain more or less consistent. If such money is abruptly pulled, states won’t suddenly be able to change their spending obligations or raise taxes.

“They’re going to have to eat that in some way, and many will pass [the cuts] onto local governments,” said Frank Shaforth, director of the Center for State and Local Government Leadership at George Mason University.

Amid the recession and dropping revenues, there’s already been an uptick of bankruptcy filings by cities, towns and rural districts across the country over the past two months and there could be more if Washington follows through on its promise to slash spending as soon as possible.
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This gloomy prediction explains that no matter how the federal fiscal crisis is resolved, Washington's penury will be passed on to states who in turn will shift more services to local governments. Who in turn will shift more services to...let me guess...HOAs? What's that saying about excrement flowing downhill?

Condo Association Arrears Arrest | Condominium | Habitat Magazine

Condo Association Arrears Arrest | Condominium | Habitat Magazine
Shu Bartholomew sent this link. This seems to be one of the nastiest condo disputes around. It has lasted nine years and you need a libretto to understand it, but it makes for fun reading.

N.J. Supreme Court rules in favor of Hoboken condo association in injury case tied to sidewalk ice removal | NJ.com

N.J. Supreme Court rules in favor of Hoboken condo association in injury case tied to sidewalk ice removal | NJ.com
The Stewart ruling was based in part on the idea that commercial property owners can absorb additional insurance premiums and maintenance expenses as costs of doing business. The condo building is a collection of residences and not revenue-producing, the court said, noting that condo associations collect fees only for property maintenance.

The court said there was no justification to find “that this overwhelmingly owner-occupied 104-unit condominium complex was a commercial entity,” LaVecchia wrote.
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Thanks to Shu Bartholomew for the link.

Garten Polizei: City tries to out HOA HOAs

Ms. Bass lives in the Detroit suburb of Oak Park, but her street of red brick ranch houses might be any mature neighborhood in America. Close set and tidy, the homes have front yards that for generations have embodied an iconic conformity of foundation shrubbery and unfenced lawns.

After her front lawn was excavated to repair the sewer this spring, she replaced the grass with five raised beds for vegetables. If she was going to water the yard, she figured, she might as well raise food for her husband and six children. Within a few days, the garden police came calling.

She said she was told to remove the offending garden and replace it with the municipal code's demand of "grass, ground cover, shrubbery or other suitable live plant material."

"We are sticking to our vegetables," she said in an interview.

This disobedience, inevitably, brought the might of the municipality down upon her. Facing more than 90 days in jail, she hired a lawyer. The charge was dismissed while the city studies its law. Ms. Bass says the case could be reopened. Meanwhile, she is harvesting tomatoes, basil and cucumbers.
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The article goes on to note that municipalities while having the power to jail those who run afoul of the garden cops have nothing on HOAs as the "ace guardians of landscape behavior."

Illinois License Plates May Get Corporate Ads - Libertyville, IL Patch

Illinois License Plates May Get Corporate Ads
Sure, but that's thinking small. I think they should just sell naming rights to the counties and other local governments and special districts. Lake County could be Abbot Laboratories County, Cook County could be Allstate Insurance County or maybe United Airlines County, and so forth. Take all those little mosquito abatement districts and name them after exterminators.

And come to think of it, we aren't making any money being called "Illinois." Why not "McDonalds"?

BofA Bulldozing Foreclosed Homes - The Consumerist

BofA Bulldozing Foreclosed Homes - The Consumerist

The bank is working with local housing partnerships to donate some of the houses and pay for the demolition of others. BofA will pay as much as $7,500 per tear-down. Some of the houses are worth less than $10,000.

They're giving up 100 properties in Detroit, 150 in Chicago and will be doing the same in nine other cities.

"Donating a house may create an income-tax deduction, said Robert Willens, an independent accounting analyst based in New York. A bank might deduct as much as the fair market value if a home wasn't acquired with the explicit intent of knocking it down," reports SF Gate.
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Always thinking, these banks. Thanks to Mystery Reader for this and the following two strange stories from the world of foreclosures.

Angry Homeowners Dump Trash From Abandoned Home - Flash Player Installation

Angry Homeowners Dump Trash From Abandoned Home - Flash Player Installation

The wrong bank for that particular load of trash, maybe, but one would hope the message wasn't wasted on them. Thanks to Mystery Reader.

Wells Fargo Forecloses On, Auctions Off House With Dead Owner Inside - The Consumerist

Wells Fargo Forecloses On, Auctions Off House With Dead Owner Inside - The Consumerist


Another story from the bizarre world of foreclosures. Thanks to Mystery Reader.

Foreclosure crisis persists with little relief in sight

The pace of foreclosures ebbed following the eruption of the "robo-signing" scandal, in which loan servicers approved foreclosures without looking at the underlying documents. Banks halted foreclosures over the last several months temporarily to overhaul their protocols.

But foreclosures are expected to pick up in the months ahead. An estimated 1 million foreclosure actions that should have taken place this year will now happen in 2012, according to Daren Blomquist, director of marketing and communications with Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac.

"That's not because 1 million people have avoided foreclosure over the long term, it's because the process has slowed," he said, noting that the time it takes to complete a foreclosure has doubled in the last four years from 154 to 318 days.

Bottom line: The foreclosure crisis is far from over.
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As Teal'c would say, "Indeed, O'Neill."

HOA troubles pitting neighbor vs. neighbor | CharlotteObserver.com & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper

HOA troubles pitting neighbor vs. neighbor | CharlotteObserver.com & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper
Of the nation's 300,000 homeowners' associations, more than 50 percent now face "serious financial problems," according to a September survey by the Community Association Institute trade group. An October survey found 65 percent of associations have delinquency rates of more than 5 percent, up from 19 percent in 2005.

Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/07/28/2485901/hoa-troubles-pitting-neighbor.html#ixzz1TPbeuHS3

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A shorter version of Michelle Conlin's AP article from a few weeks ago--thanks to Shu Bartholomew for the link.

Ranlo family frustrated after HOA foreclosed on their home for unpaid dues

Michelle Roberts says her family fell victim to an HOA board that refused to recognize the financial hardship they were experiencing. The board held them to unfair expectations of paying not only the original dues that were in arrears, she said, but also the charges that mounted from attorney hours, court filings and assessments.

Additional fees have taken the $975 they originally owed for HOA dues and mushroomed their debt to more than $6,000. It’s money they don’t have, she said.
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Times are tough for a lot of people and this situation is repeating throughout Privatopia as the economy struggles to return to health nearly three years after financial markets imploded in the fall of 2008. HOA assessments while typically substantially lower than property taxes can mushroom once delinquent when the community association industry takes its cut.

California households are doing without

The poll found that 37% of Californians were cutting back on household expenses such as groceries and gasoline, while 52% were forgoing luxuries such as concerts and restaurant meals, in order to make their mortgage payments.

And with home prices weak, the poll found that 31% of the more than 1,500 California voters surveyed had put off looking for or buying a new home — and that 50% had set aside investing in home improvements.

Both of those trends are sobering reminders of how hard it will be for California to escape the grip of the devastating economic downturn. Housing has traditionally fueled recoveries, but tepid demand for homes — and even home improvements — is crimping the creation of new jobs in construction and real estate.
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The Golden State economy remains overly dependent on the residential real estate sector that's stalled on both the supply and demand sides. Homes aren't being built, improved or sold while consumers are pulling in their horns and won't spend on these things fearing for their job security -- if they have work. So unless the economy can diversify, economists predict this standoff will continue for the foreseeable with its accompanying high unemployment.