On the Commons with Tyler Berding
There is much confusion about the very nature of a residential association. With all the municipal mandates effectively eliminating the choice of whether to live in an association or not, along with the new trend towards increasing density and building up rather than out, the existence of an association in any residential areas is a given. Despite the lack of housing choice, owners are often surprised to find that"they agreed" to a whole host of restrictions and rules when they bought their homes. The other fact they didn't bargain for is that they would be trading in the lawn mower for other "duties" and HOA living is not quite the "care free" living they thought they were getting.
On The Commons this week we are joined by Tyler Berding. Tyler, a California attorney who specializes in common interest development law, is a prolific writer about all things condo related. His alarming, but candid articles can be read on his blog http://condoissues.blogspot.com/ and also on the firm's web page http://www.berding-weil.net/. His concerns cover condo conversions, unfunded reserves, lack of active participation by owners to the legal definition of the relationship between the owners and the association. Please join us On The Commons this Saturday, August 15, 2009. We'll talk about "the contract" and the current HOA model. Would a different model of common ownership that works well in other cultures work here? Tune in and find out.
On The Commons this week we are joined by Tyler Berding. Tyler, a California attorney who specializes in common interest development law, is a prolific writer about all things condo related. His alarming, but candid articles can be read on his blog http://condoissues.blogspot.com/ and also on the firm's web page http://www.berding-weil.net/. His concerns cover condo conversions, unfunded reserves, lack of active participation by owners to the legal definition of the relationship between the owners and the association. Please join us On The Commons this Saturday, August 15, 2009. We'll talk about "the contract" and the current HOA model. Would a different model of common ownership that works well in other cultures work here? Tune in and find out.
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Another one of my comments that are a year late, since I recently discovered this site and program.
The topic of "owner involvement" came up, and Mr. Berding -- whom actually seems like a straight shooter, unlike most HOA/CAI lawyers -- blamed owner apathy for the lack of involvement.
I think another reason that owners don't get involved is
(1) the Board and vendors don't really want owners involved, and do everything possible to discourage the owners (secret meetings, disenfranchise owners, etc). All the talk from CAI about wanting owner involvement is pure B.S.
(2) the owners don't believe anything the Board and vendors tell them, so going to the meetings (if they are held) is a waste of time. The meetings I have been to were an insult to my intelligence. Why lend legitimacy to a corrupt institution?
(3) The owners don't believe anything they do will make a difference. Their voices won't be heard, their votes won't be counted, and the attorneys are really running the Association anyway.
To paraphrase a popular Slashdot meme:
1. Discourage, disenfranchise, and marginalize homeowners in HOAs.
2. Blame homeowner apathy for problems with HOAs.
3. ????
4. Profit!
Homeowners associations are associations of homeowners in the same sense that the East German Democratic Republic was a democratic republic.
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Around the 26 minute mark, you and Tyler discuss the governance issues, including the pettiness and heavy-handedness of the Board members.
Tyler claims that Board members "reluctantly" take on the responsibility, because nobody else will do the job.
That part is making me laugh.
I have to agree with Westword reader Dennis:
"Who in their right minds would want to sit on an HOA board and participate in all the mind numbing activities it entails? Of course, nobody sane. In fact, the only people who would willingly sit on an HOA board, are exactly the types of people who should never be able to. They use the HOA to fill a void in their lives. They immediately abuse other people's money to settle personal vendettas. They have the power to make anyone's life miserable, while being completely insulated from the fallout themselves."
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