Homeownership is not a new idea, it has been around a long time. For ages people have saved their money/got a mortgage bought a house and lived happily ever after. When did this sensible concept get replaced and why did we have to make such a complicated mess out of an otherwise simple and easy to … Continue reading Bill Davis→
Go Outside And Play In the 1930’s, City dwellers resorted to using this balcony-cage contraption as a way of allowing their children to be outside. The special interests have a way of convincing us to embrace something that is so horribly wrong and really bad for us. One of those trends happens to be … Continue reading Bill Davis→
Why do bad ideas take off like wildfire and become part of the norm? Recently I discovered an article I had intended to cover that had slipped through the cracks. I wondered, after three years, if it was still being used or if common sense had prevailed and respect for property and individual rights had won the … Continue reading Bill Davis→
Once upon a time people bought a house, painted the front door a color of their choice, found a door knocker they loved and house numbers that looked just right, planted their favorite flowers, shrubs and bushes, stood back, admired their work then went in and shut the world out of their private space. But then … Continue reading Bill Davis→
Oh, it’s a brave new world when homeowner associations and condos are allowed, by law, to assess fines for alleged rules infractions and covenant violations. They are also permitted to add junk fees, file a lien and then foreclose to collect those charges which often include hefty attorney fees. In many states associations have been granted … Continue reading Bill Davis→
History can show us where we came from and how we got here. History is just as valuable when looking at the evolution of residential associations. While design and structure have played significant roles in their growth, so have enabling legislation and lack of choice. But what about the future? Wouldn’t history be a good tool … Continue reading Bill Davis→
The earliest deed restricted communities were exclusionary and were honest enough to admit the reason of their existence. It wasn’t until we got to the mass production of these neighborhoods that we see the entire HOA house of cards was built on a foundation of deceit. It started as a way of allowing local municipal governments to collect “free” … Continue reading Bill Davis→
From an early age, we give children coloring books and a box of crayons and teach them to “color inside the lines”. We also “help” them pick the right colors. Pink elephants? Oh my! Blue hair? You can’t do that! Here is a nice bright yellow crayon instead. When my daughter was little … Continue reading Bill Davis→
If you live in an HOA, and who doesn’t these days?, you are required to pay your share of the common costs in the association. That is only fair. And it is also only fair that you be told how your money is being used. Unfortunately part of the common expenses will sometimes include some … Continue reading Bill Davis and John Cowherd→
Most people aspire to own they own homes. What homes look like may have changed over the years. They might be a log cabin, a single family detached home with a garden, an attached townhouse or even an apartment in a high rise building, but what remains a constant is the sense of “home”, … Continue reading Bill Davis and John Cowherd→