Tyler Berding

In our quest to make everyone a homeowner and provide affordable housing to those who could not otherwise afford a mortgage, after several decades the hens appear to have come home to roost.  During the housing boom, apartment buildings were turned into condos to meet the demand of affordable units and now, after massive failures,  condos are being turned back into rental apartments.  Artificially lowering the upfront costs of homeownership neglected to take into account the long term costs.  We are now faced with answering the tough questions of whether or not they are a viable form of ownership.  Even the most ardent proponents are starting to have second thoughts.
Joining us On The Commons this week is Tyler Berding.  Tyler is an attorney in Northern California who represents HOAs and maintains a blog at www.condoissues.blogspot.com where he has been sounding the alarm about the inherent problems in condos.  We will talk about the current situation in the rather topsy turvy world of older and not so old condominiums and find out where we go from here.  Are other cultures more successful at managing condo style living. Tune in to find out.
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Frank Askin

Political speech is the most protected form of speech there is.  When a candidate for public office places a campaign sign on his property in a condominium and is told to take it down, his right to free speech is being violated.  When a candidate for his association board is prohibited from campaigning in the association, his right to free speech is being violated.  Proponents of controlled living would have us believe that we voluntarily gave up our First Amendment rights when we bought into a residential association.  Did we?  Fortunately some courts do not agree and still hold the notion that the First Amendment is alive and well, no matter where you live.  
 
Joining us On The Commons this week is Professor Frank Askin. Professor Askin is a law professor at Rutgers University where he established the Constitutional Litigation Clinic, involving law students in actual cases.  The students have been involved in working on several cases involving HOAs and are currently working on a very comprehensive proposal to ensure fair elections in associations.  Their motto is, “While others learn the law, we make the law”. 
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Gary Solomon

It is commonly accepted that stress causes psychological, emotional and physical harm.  The effects of stress and our reaction to stress seems to be changing the world we live in.  We encounter stress from morning till night.  Getting up in the morning, getting the kids off to school, catching public transportation, sitting in traffic trying to get to work, dealing with congestion, road rage, an irate boss, non performing employees.  The list goes on and on.  But what happens when there is no escaping stress?  What happens when even your home is subject to stress from the neighborhood bullies?    
 
Joining us On The Commons this week is Dr. Gary Solomon.  Dr. Solomon is a professor of psychology in Las Vegas, Nevada.   He wrote a paper on the effects of stress due to homeowners associations and coined the term HOA Syndrome to describe how the unnecessary stresses of HOAs affect us. Tune in to this fascinating interview with Dr. Solomon where he talks about the stories that are grabbing the headlines, puts thoughts and ideas that are not yet on the national radar in what to expect as a result of the controlled living .  The fallout of HOAs can be huge.  You won’t want to miss this interview.  Dr. Solomon also has a terrific web site  with lectures and articles check it out  http://hoaacademy.com
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