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.
 
Abuses and horror stories from the over 300,000 mandatory membership developments nationwide continue to grab the headlines.  Many of the reported abuses are extremely serious while a fair number of them are so ridiculous as to be laughable.  Regardless of the severity, the horror stories make life miserable for the homeowners caught in the web of bad boards, incompetent management and greedy lawyers. 
 
In an attempt to mitigate the harm caused by the horror stories, CAI commissioned yet another poll.  Not surprisingly, like the other polls commissioned in recent years, this poll also found that denizens of these havens of iniquity were overjoyed with their lots in life and thrilled to have someone “protect” them.  The problem is that of the over 60 million American HOA homeowners, only a handful of residents were polled.   Over the next few months, On The Commons will attempt to talk to some of the homeowners Zogby missed. 
 
On The Commons this week we are joined by Joani Ellis.  Joani is a Florida homeowner who is being fined $50/day for placing more than 3 sea shells in her flower bed.  So far the “fine” is over $4,000.  Joani was not “polled” by Zogby and, as far as we know neither were any of her neighbors.  Please join us On The Commons.  We’ll hear about the horrifying way disabled neighbors are treated all the way down to the stupid and the ridiculous rules and alleged violations that are common place in her HOA.  And perhaps we’ll understand why none of her neighbors got a call from Zogby.