The stories vary little and over time have become predictable. The same words are used over and over again when talking about life in an HOA. Fear, harassment, fines, threats, abuse, vandalism. Over the last four or five decades, America’s residential neighborhoods have been transformed from tidy, happy communities into places of terror. Places where individuality, personal expression and personal freedom have given way to war zones. Far from the love affair Americans allegedly have with their HOAs, the truth is homeowners say they hate their HOAs.
And with very good reason.
Joining us On The Commons this week is Dr. Robin Huhn. Robin lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. Like many homeowners, she has experienced firsthand what it feels like to be caught in the cross hairs of the neighborhood bullies. She is currently on the board of her association and shares with us her experiences as a homeowner, a board member and an advocate for the owners. We will hear about some of the calls and emails she gets and will learn what life is like when one finds oneself living in a house that has been targeted. My guess is that many of my listeners will understand exactly what she is talking about.
First homeowners are obligated to pay property taxes to their local government. Then the same municipality mandates associations for all newly constructing dwelling units, forcing the owners to pay assessments in addition to property taxes for the services those taxes were initially intended to pay for. But along the way, these same associations have been granted incredible powers and many have abused those powers. The ensuing horror stories have convinced some legislators there is a dire need for some adult supervision in residential America. But, unlike other laws enacted by our legislators, the homeowners will be taxed yet AGAIN for that oversight.
Why is none of this making any sense to me? And at what point are we going to answer the all important question of whether or not HOAs as a viable form of housing?
Joining us On The Commons this week is Jan Bergemann . Jan is president of Cyber Citizens for Justice www.ccfj.net and is a staunch advocate for fairness in association controlled housing in Florida. Over the years he has fought for, and succeeded, in getting legislation passed that has evened out the playing field a little. We will hear about the bill that was recently enacted, what it does and how it provides for some protections for condo owners and also we will hear about his plans for the next legislative session.
Reports of embezzlement, theft, corruption, abuse and criminal activity in residential America are becoming a daily occurrence. If it is true that only 10% of crimes ever see the light of day, and I have no reason to doubt that statistic, then the reports are a mere drop in the bucket of what is really going on. Does that 10% hold true for what the FBI uncovered in Nevada as well?
Joining us On The Commons this week is Dr. Gary Solomon . Dr. Solomon is a psychology professor in Nevada, an author and a human rights advocate. He has coined the phrase “HOA Syndrome” to describe the physical, medical, psychological and emotional effects of life in mandatory membership homeowner associations. Please join us for a fascinating discussion about what is going on today, the fall out of the massive FBI investigations on the corruption in Nevada and his predictions of how far the HOA abuses will go, the surveillance techniques that could be used and how he believes the insatiable greed for money will be satisfied. And don’t miss his surprising twists and connections to other industries.
There was a time when owning real property came with what is known as a Bundle of Rights. These RIGHTS included possession, control, exclusion, enjoyment and disposition. These were RIGHTS and NOT PRIVILEGES. It makes perfectly good sense that when you buy something, including real property, you have the right to own it and use it as you see fit. You can invite people on your property or keep them off. Enjoy it and dispose of it, if you so wish.
Does that simple concept still hold true today?
Joining us On The Commons this week is Tom DeWeese. Tom is the founder and president of the Virginia based American Policy Center. He is a prolific writer, an activist, and has been an advocate for freedom and property rights for many years and for the past decade has been warning us about the dangers of Agenda 21. For more information check out his web site. http://americanpolicy.org/. We will talk about the many threats to our freedoms and our property rights and how those rights have been slipping away over the past few decades. More importantly we’ll also talk about what we can do about them.
News and Views About Homeowner Associations
