Monthly Archives: January 2017

Abuse, Stress

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 came homeowner associations with their tomes of covenants, rules, regulations, permits, approval forms, nosy neighbors, nasty neighbors, fines for having unapproved garden hoses in their front yards, cracked flowerpots on their front steps, dusty mailboxes and window shades that are the wrong shade of white.  And suddenly there was nothing left of the owners choice.  Even the joy and pride of homeownership was gone only to be replaced with fear, acrimony, hate and discontent.  Have HOAs improved housing or are they destroying a once sacred way of life?

Bill Davis joins us On The Commons.  Bill, a Texas attorney and frequent guest, expanded his practice to include representing homeowners in the fight of their lives with their residential associations.  In most states it is that time of year when legislators gather to propose legislation, often sponsoring bills to strip homeowners of more of their rights and to empower HOAs to exert ever more control over the owners.  We talk about that and we also brainstorm about the  need for HOAs.   Are they truly needed and what real purpose do they serve?  We wonder if there are cheaper, better and more efficient ways of delivering any services that might be perceived as benefits to homeowners in residential neighborhoods.  Maybe it is time to start thinking outside the box and investigating ways of improving and simplifying life at home.

What People Want

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Condominium

Sara Benson

The one-place individuals should have the most control of their lives and their actions, is at home. That is, provided they are not infringing on anyone else’s property.  After all, who knows more about an individual’s wants, needs and tastes than that person?   Yet, what should be the simplest concept and the most sacrosanct area of private life has become the most fraught with peril, bogged down with rules and regulations and top heavy with “enforcers” whose sole purpose in life seems to be to ensure blind obedience and compliance with arbitrary rules.

Sara Benson joins us On The Commons.  Sara is a real estate broker in Chicago, Illinois and co-author of the book, Escaping Condo Jail: The keys to navigating risks and surviving perils of the carefree community lifestyle.  We talk about the risks and perils of association controlled living, the expectations housing consumers have and what they are told, and, more importantly, not told, about the “dream house” they are buying.  We also talk about the importance of making their voices heard by not allowing others to speak for them.   Do you ever wonder why there are so many rules and regulations protected by laws?  In part it is because there are groups of “special interests” who claim to speak for you. Don’t let them get away with it. Let your voice be heard.

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Fighting Back

John Cowherd

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As I watched homeowners lose more control and sovereignty over their own property, privacy and lives I was convinced that there had to be a breaking point.  At some point they would all, not only resist this intrusion but push back and push back hard.  They had to!  Or did they?  As the battle between owner and special interests intensified, bullying and misinformation became the norm giving rise to chaos and being outnumbered and out maneuvered, owners for the most part retreated.  A few owners across the country did decide to armor up and fight back.  But is it enough and are they fighting the right battles?  do they know what they are doing?

John Cowherd joins us On The Commons.  John, a Virginia real estate attorney, an advocate for homeowners , a blogger and a frequent guest on the show has been following the various advocacies across the country as they build groups, recruit members, come up with strategies and start lobbying for improved laws protecting the rights of the owners.  Are they making any progress?  Are they on the right track?  Do they know what they are doing?  We’ll talk about the state of affairs in America’s millions of association controlled developments and what needs to be done to “empower the people”.  It is THEIR homes and THEIR lives that are dangling on the end of strings controlled by puppeteers with a very different agenda.

Reminder:  If you haven’t yet, please take the survey. 

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Democracy, Powers of Association

Ileana Johnson

Words have meanings and the word community generally imparts a sense of belonging.  People in a community tend to have something in common.  They come from similar backgrounds, are generally in the same socioeconomic group, perhaps share hobbies and  interests.  They have something that binds them together.  In the good old days, before “communities” were designed and force-fed on Americans, the sense of community evolved naturally.  Neighbors were friends who helped and looked out for each other.  They took in a child who might have inadvertently been locked out, picked up packages for neighbors or retrieved a trash can that was blown down the street by the wind.  In this brave new world of controlled living, the sense of community is no longer communal but rather a gathering of people who delight is spying on their neighbors.  Now a child who is locked out might get rescued by the police, mail is left out and the association is called to report a stray trash can.   

Ileana Johnson joins us On The Commons this week.  Ileana is an American by choice and a Romanian by birth.  She is a freelance journalist, an author, a speaker and a radio commentator.  She also maintains a blog.  Ileana and her husband currently live in a Homeowner Association in Virginia where inspections are conducted regularly to ensure that no blade of grass exceeds the allowable length and that all things visible on the property conform to some rather vague standard.  Creativity and individuality are highly frowned upon.  Ileana tells us about life in her 300 square foot apartment in Communist Romania and draws some parallels between Communist Romania and HOAs, American Style.  Sometimes it is hard to find much difference.

 

 

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