Hosted and produced by Shu Bartholomew, On The Commons is a weekly radio show dedicated to discussing the many issues surrounding mandatory homeowner associations, the fastest growing form of residential housing in the nation.
 
Much like a bunch of dominoes artfully set up in neat, precise rows, our entire economy is failing.  Knock one domino over and you have a chain reaction and they all fall, one after the other.  Pull the rug out from under one industry and they all come tumbling down.  It is no surprise that times are tough all around.  And in time past, when things got bad families, friends and communities rallied around and endured the bad times together.  But times they are a changing.  Communities, once the glue that  kept everything together, appear now to be exacerbating some of the problems. 
 
On The Commons this week we are joined by Jan Bergemann.  Jan, President of the Florida based Cyber Citizens for Justice, is the “go – to” person in Florida when people have problems with their associations.  He maintains a couple of web pages, www.ccfj.net and ccfjedu.net and is a wealth of knowledge about all things related to association issues.  Please join us On The Commons.  We will talk about the problems that seem to arise right from the very beginning when a developer gets into trouble to the problems that arise as foreclosed properties grow in number and the remaining homeowners decide they can no longer shoulder all the “common” expenses. 

Hosted and produced by Shu Bartholomew, On The Commons is a weekly radio show dedicated to discussing the many issues surrounding mandatory homeowner associations, the fastest growing form of residential housing in the nation.
 
Ever wonder why a bad idea is cloned, copied and used over and over again?  And how do you stop a bad idea from multiplying like a rabbit?  Well, every year or two our elected officials get together and introduce ideas they hope will become law.  And every time the legislature gathers for its annual or biennial ritual, homeowners hope that some of the laws that are introduced will be homeowner friendly and  protect their property rights.  And at the same time, the HOA industry gathers with their gifts and long wish lists seeking to expand the powers of associations and  managers. 
 
And as this annual ritual blows across the country like a mad March wind, what should individual owners look for?  How can they protect their property and their rights?
 
On The Commons this week we are joined by Frank Short.  Frank is an attorney, an avid proponent for the rights of the individual, a frequent guest and a friend of the show.  Please join us On The Commons this Saturday, March 14, 2009 as we celebrate another annual ritual, St Patrick’s Day, and talk about the bills that  were introduced in Virginia, the ones that passed, the ones that didn’t and a few that were amended and look nothing at all like they did in the beginning.  We’ll also give you a heads up of the next bad idea that is poised and ready to be cloned, copied and enacted in every state in the country.  We’ll even tell you where to look for it. 

Legend has it that Hans Brinker saved the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands by sticking his finger in a hole in the dam, thus saving the city from flooding and its citizens from certain drowning.  In the story Hans is successful in plugging the dam.   Fortunately for Hans and the Dutch, the dam only had one hole so it was possible to plug the leak and live to tell the story.
 
Unfortunately, every time one hole is patched up in the  HOA dam, several more sprout up to take its place.   And for the handful of legislators trying to enact legislation preventing some of the wrongdoings it is a never ending story.  There just don’t seem to be enough fingers, attached to enough legislators to plug all the holes in this particular dam.  Every time a new statute is adopted that is  designed to prevent fraud and abuse, someone finds a way to circumvent it.  And every time there is a breach in the system, the crimes and horror stories get worse. 
 
As the housing market faces a crisis and the financial health of HOAs is in an unprecedented freefall, is there any hope to save residential America or will the whole concept of controlled housing drown in a sea of crime and corruption?
 
On The Commons this week we are joined by Nevada State  Senator Mike Schneider.  Senator Schneider, a frequent guest on the show, is sponsoring legislation intended to protect the Nevada homeowners.  Please join us On The Commons.   We’ll find out why the Governor vetoed a homeowner friendly bill, what the bill would have, and equally importantly, wouldn’t have done had it been passed into law.  We’ll also find out what he plans on doing about the vetoed bill.  We will get an update on the FBI investigation that is still ongoing Las Vegas and we’ll find out just how so many corrupt people manage to gain control of HOAs, how they do it and why.  And we’ll also talk about legislation that is being considered in this session.  We’ll also ask him, if after all these years of trying to plug all the leaky holes in the dam, whether he is optimistic about achieving his goals.