Category Archives: Empowerment

Ward Lucas

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Is it all about power or is money really at the root of all evil?  Or is it a combination of both?  I am of course taking about this notion of a fourth layer of government or, as they are more commonly referred to, mandatory membership homeowner associations.  Whatever the reason for their proliferation, consumer choice is not one of them and consumer acceptance is a myth.  Municipal mandates ensure a steady stream of tax free dollars flowing into the public coffers while power hungry board members are always on hand to enforce  alleged rules and regulations.  Let’s not forget the special interests behind the scenes orchestrating everything.  For them it is definitely power, money and greed.  So what is a homeowner to do once the honeymoon with their new house is over?  They usually hit the internet and start searching for a friendly voice out there and the they do, they are like to find my guest.

Ward Lucas joins us On The Commons.  Ward is an award winning TV anchor from Denver, Colorado who has the wonderful ability to see the humor in so many things including his own battles with his HOA.  Now retired as an anchor, the heart of a journalist still beats hard in him.  He first wrote a book called “Neighbors at War; The creepy case against your homeowners association.  That was followed by a blog by the same name where he talks about some of the daily disasters in associations to grab the headlines.  His second book is more of a personal story that allows the reader to glimpse the family life that has to be the reason for his wonderful sense of humor.  Even the title is fun, “Get this Mother Published.  The wacky world of a recovering army brat family”.  And for all his fans, stay tuned because book 3 is in the works. We’ll talk about the books, his web site, some of the stories from his Neighbors at War book but mostly about what is happening in HOA land across the country.  Tune in as we wander around the whacky world of controlled living, American Style. 

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Bill Davis

The true value of anything is what a buyer is willing to pay and what a seller is willing to accept in exchange for that item.  If demand is high on something, and supply is low, the value tends to go up.  On the other hand if there is a glut on the market of an item, the value goes down because it is said to be a buyers market.  That’s pretty much the way it works when it comes to determining value. And that includes housing.  So I am a little perplexed by the claim that a house that is subject to a mandatory membership housing association increases the value of the property.  It makes no sense and flies in the face of the traditional understanding of how values are arrived at and understood. It is especially perplexing given that so many housing consumers specifically request non HOA housing but are told they do not exist. “There is nothing on the market.” On the off chance that a non HOA house becomes available it is advertised as “Non HOA” and that’s a valuable marketing tool. It sets it apart from other houses on the market. It is true that non HOA housing is rare, often old and sometimes require a complete overhaul and update, making them expensive.  But they are still highly sought after.

Bill Davis joins me On The Commons.  Bill, a frequent guest, friend and attorney lives in Texas and is one of only a few attorneys who represents homeowners against their HOAs. He is well versed and experienced on what routinely goes on .  Bill and I talk about property values, what needs to be included when calculating the monetary value as well as other values and costs that we seldom think about.  One thing we both agree on is that housing consumers need to have all the facts and all the information they can get in order to make an educated decision on what they are buying, or not buying.  It is also important to know what questions to ask.  Join us as we dive into all the ins and outs of determining the true value of that jewel with the beautiful view that you just fell in love with.  

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Wes Rocki

Dr. Wes Rocki

The last few decades have seen some radical changes in the way we live, starting with our  personal rights and our traditional rights as homeowners. Along with HOA mandates homeowners lost their dominion over their most private and personal asset.  This new way of life has been beaten into us and the resulting health issues have been well recognized and documented.  Living under the microscope and the fear of being singled out for some ridiculous offense has increased the daily stress.  As if that was not bad enough, along comes the Covid 19 pandemic.  In addition to the usual traditional stresses that are part and parcel of our lives, we now have to live with a deadly virus.  The fear on contracting this virus added to all the unknown aspects associated with it has taken a toll on us.  Is there something we can do to mitigate the potential damage and protect ourselves and our families from yet another potential enemy?

Dr.WES ROCKI joins us ON THE COMMONS 

Dr Rocki has focused more on how we, as humans, can help to heal ourselves rather than relying on a host of medicines.  He is a great believer in self healing and how to manage our own health and well being.  In a very timely and fascinating interview Dr. Rocki walks us through the process of taking control of our lives, our environment and our health.  At a time when it seems we are being hit from all sides, he presents us with some common sense solutions to an otherwise contradictory and confusing barrage of misinformation.  You’ll want to tune in to this one.

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John Cowherd

John Cowherd

To keep everyone at Fairfax Public Access safe the station closed down in March along with all other businesses around the world and for that I thank them but we are starting to open up, take a deep breath and get back to doing what we love. We recorded our first show.many more to come.

Much has happened during the many months since we last were in touch but the mile marker for me is that on July 1st, 2020 On The Commons celebrated its 20th anniversary without much fanfare. And to think that when I applied for the show I wondered whether I would have enough material to fill the 6 month contract I got. I’m excited that we not only managed to fill the hours but I still have a hard time fitting all the shows in. We’re back on the air and we will be working diligently to get caught up and to bring you the news and views you want to hear.

John Cowherd joins us for our first post Covid 19 On The Commons show. John is no stranger to you, he is an attorney in Virginia who represents homeowners with problems with their associations. Problems in condos, coops and HOAs are commonplace but with the imposition of extra cleanliness guidelines, social distancing and all the fear people have, how does it affect managing associations? Can members participate in association meetings? Have statutes been tweaked to cover the current conditions? John has a lot of thoughts on why it is important to keep owners engaged and how to ensure they are allowed to participate in the meetings.

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Julio and Jose

 To say that the sanctity of house and home have been invaded and violated by the proliferation of mandatory membership residential associations, is an understatement.  The stories, the horrors and the problems across the country are mind boggling.  I believe if you ask 100 people who have been targeted by their HOA to explain  the problem with  this living concept you’d get several hundred different answers.  But I think if you ask some industry members, they’ll have a rather glib explanation: “The 3 P’s – parking, pets and people”.  I don’t think that even begins to scratch the surface.  

Julio Robaina and Jose Pezos join us On The Commons.  Julio, a former member of the Florida House of Representatives a nd once Mayor of South Miami was introduced to the issues in HOAs when he traveled the state as a representative talking to people.  Jose, a former Marine Sergeant and combat veteran as well as a board certified Community Association manager have teamed up and own a management company in Miami called  PRZMiami .  When I first met Julio he was a Representative who went out and met homeowners across Florida and listened to their testimonies.  At the time he promised me that he would spend the rest of his life helping homeowners. He has kept that promise.  The two of them make quite a team.  One of the many problems with HOAs is the lack of transparency, this game of hide and seek where the association refuses to make the members aware of what is going on but expect them to fund their follies.  To solve this particular problem, Jose has created an APP that will be available nationwide, yes, it could be coming to your HOA as well.  We talk to Julio and Jose about Q2, their app, find out how it works and what problems it will solve.  Now on to the next lot of HOA related issues and problems.  

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Wes Rocki

Because of the sheer number of homeowners who reach out to me, desperate, scared and alone, I think it is appropriate to re-broadcast this show.  

If I could draw I think I would write the HOA book as a series of cartoons because that’s how my mind tends to work.  Many of those cartoons would be funny, others not so funny.  But over the years never has there been a sumo wrestler in any of my imagined doodles or cartoons – until this interview.  That’s when I started putting sumo wrestlers in the picture .  But a gratuitous, enormous hulking, naked man in what appears to be a diaper, in the middle of a manicured, sterile, characterless, controlled residential association wasn’t quite connecting.  So, I decided to read up on sumo wrestling and sumo wrestlers. And all of a sudden it was a perfect fit, diaper and all.  I discovered, among other things, that although some of these massive men appear to be invincible, they have been toppled by smaller opponents.  A sumo historian is quoted as saying he believes the circular ring was chosen to assist smaller fighters to slip away and that the sumo rules tends to root for the underdog.

If you find yourselves in the bullseye of an HOA battle, facing what may seem like a sumo wrestler, grin at the diaper and know that you can win.

Dr. Wes Rocki, MD, PhD joins us On The Commons.  Retired from practicing conventional medicine, Wes now focusses on alternative medicine, including techniques on self help and self healing.  He explains how we can empower ourselves to better handle any conflict.  We talk about how we can step away, mentally and emotionally to get a better grasp of the situation.  Wes gives us a lot of really good advice on how to not only survive being at the center of an HOA storm but how to survive emotionally, reframe the conflict, empower ourselves and win against that massive sumo wrestler in the ring with us.  So many light bulbs went off during the course of this interview.  Listen and be empowered.  Well worth a second listen. 

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Wes Rocki

I find it ironic that we spend the first 18 – 22 years of our lives learning how to be adults and to make decisions that will affect us and our lives only to end up in an HOA, feeling like we did in when we were in kindergarten.  “Eat your vegetables”, “Wash your hands”, “Pick up your toys”, “Go to bed” and if you don’t behave, it is “time out” or “NO TV”.  Only as an adult, supposedly having been taught how to make the right decisions, in an HOA it tends to be, “Your blinds are the wrong shade of white”, “You have an unapproved garden  hose”, “no cars in the driveway”, “Too many roses in your yard” OR ELSE, “fines” “foreclosures”. and other nasty penalties hurled in our direction.

We’ve all heard the saying, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!” .  It makes sense and sounds easy enough but what if life hands us more than mere lemons?  What happens when life comes at us full force, out of the clear blue and knocks us for a loop?  And that can be especially true if we live in one of the nation’s hundreds of thousands mandatory Homeowner associations.  How do we make lemonade out if that mess?  And that is especially true when one of the absolute big taboos is HOAs is “LEMONADE STANDS” ?  Even children trying to be helpful and mature beyond their years have found themselves in the crosshairs of a rather stupid HOA. What to do?

Dr. Wes Rocki, MD, PHD joins us On The Commons.  Wes is a retired physician who has been working in alternative medicine for a while.  Much of his focus has been on self-healing which is something that is sorely needed in every life and especially in what resembles battle zones in our neighborhoods.  We talk to Wes about our natural and normal reactions to finding ourselves being attacked and in harm’s way.  We find out how to protect ourselves or, at a minimum, how to react and even how to put our opponents off balance.  We touch a little on “fear” which is a big part of how we are controlled and put at a disadvantage.  We talk about how we react and can take charge of at least part of the situation.  You will want some of Wes’ advice in your survival tool kit.

Tell us your stories in your own words 

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Wes Rocki

If I could draw I think I would write the HOA book as a series of cartoons because that’s how my mind tends to work.  Many of those cartoons would be funny, others not so funny.  But over the years never has there been a sumo wrestler in any of my imagined doodles or cartoons – until this interview.  That’s when I started putting sumo wrestlers in the picture .  But a gratuitous, enormous hulking, naked man in what appears to be a diaper, in the middle of a manicured, sterile, characterless, controlled residential association wasn’t quite connecting.  So, I decided to read up on sumo wrestling and sumo wrestlers. And all of a sudden it was a perfect fit, diaper and all.  I discovered, among other things, that although some of these massive men appear to be invincible, they have been toppled by smaller opponents.  A sumo historian is quoted as saying he believes the circular ring was chosen to assist smaller fighters to slip away and that the sumo rules tends to root for the underdog.

If you find yourselves in the bullseye of an HOA battle, facing what may seem like a sumo wrestler, grin at the diaper and know that you can win.

Dr. Wes Rocki, MD, PhD joins us On The Commons.  Retired from practicing conventional medicine, Wes now focusses on alternative medicine, including techniques on self help and self healing.  He explains how we can empower ourselves to better handle any conflict.  We talk about how we can step away, mentally and emotionally to get a better grasp of the situation.  Wes gives us a lot of really good advice on how to not only survive being at the center of an HOA storm but how to survive emotionally, reframe the conflict, empower ourselves and win against that massive sumo wrestler in the ring with us.  So many light bulbs went off during the course of this interview.  Listen and be empowered.  Well worth a second listen. 

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Robert Dublirer

The New Jersey Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that the Mediterranean South co-operative building in Fort Lee, New Jersey violated an owner’s right to free speech by prohibiting him from distributing campaign literature when he ran for a seat on the board.  The co-op had a house rule that prohibited owners from distributing written material, the reason given is to “preserve the residents’ quiet enjoyment of their units and to cut down on paper pollution”.  But, as we know, what is good for the goose is not always good for the gander because when the board distributed their diatribes, quiet enjoyment was never a consideration and apparently, unlike all other paper, the board’s missives did not pollute.  On a somewhat humorous note, (or is it ironic?), the board included the following sentence in one of their leaflets;  “Can you imagine the disaster that would befall upon Med South and all of us if this group of selfish people ever got control of the Med South Board?” 

Robert Dublirer joins us On The Commons.  Rob is a former New York Prosecutor, so well versed in the law and quite comfortable in a court of law so after years of having his rights trampled on and being lied to, he decided to put his knowledge and skills to work.  He sued the Mediterranean South co-op to protect his right to communicate with his neighbors.  The rules and regulations adopted by the board include some of the most restrictive gag orders on what the owners are allowed to talk about and discuss.  Join us as Rob fills us in on all his battles from the time he moved in and was not given  a handicapped parking space to ending up, not only protecting his rights, but also arguing for the rights of his fellow New Jersey HOA denizens.  

 

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Shelly Marshall

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While we were not looking, special interests have taken control of our homes.  Gone are the days when ownership meant enjoying dominion over one’s domain. Those days have been replaced by a new order where every Tom, Dick and Harry has a financial stake in what once was considered sacred territory.  Who are these special interests who have high jacked our once simple and more or less peaceful way of life?  A very short list would include governments, developers, environmental commissions, banks and lending institutions, HOA industry, and the list goes on.  And what do they have to gain by it?  MONEY and POWER!  Cutting off the money supply and the power is the only way to restore healthy families and communities in America. 

Shelly Marshall joins us On The Commons.  Shelly must have been born with a sense of making the world a better place.  She says as  young lady she wanted to save the world with love and ended up sticking daisies in the barrels of police guns.  That spirit of “saving the world” is still very much a part of who Shelly is.  She is a published author, an advocate and the founder of many web sites dedicated to helping people solve their problems. Her latest endeavor is a web site under construction called HOA Lawyer.   This website is designed to provide information and links for homeowners to get started on their own research.  It is also building a listing of attorneys across the country who will represent homeowners who are fighting to protect their property rights. If you know an attorney who  represents owners, please submit their names (with their permission) to the web site.  Let us help Shelly stick daisies all over the country and turn our neighborhoods into fields of daisies.  

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