Monthly Archives: March 2017

Eviction

Jessica Suico

I have often wondered, and worried, about children growing up in HOAs who watch their parents suffer at the hands of the HOA bullies. What is the message we are giving them?  Will they be willing and able to fight to protect their homes and families when they are raising their children in these irrational and often abusive residential associations?  Or will they simply roll over and hope the horrors end, believing this is normal? “This is just the way it is” or “They are all like this”, never realizing they can fight back and they can make life better for all concerned? 

Imagine my delight when I ran across an article penned by a college student and published in the college newspaper, The Advocate.  The article is titled;  “Illegal evictions harm families, neighborhoods. “ 

I had to find out more about it.

Jessica Suico joins us On The Commons. Jessica is a second year student at Contra Costa College in San Pablo, California.  She is majoring in journalism and works on The Advocate, the college newsletter.  The paper normally reports on all things college related, new classes, upcoming events on campus and other news items or topics of interest that would affect student life.  Jessica’s article is a little out of the norm for her paper but, I believe, so very important.  She witnessed the harassment and subsequent eviction of her mother and aunt from their home.  She also saw the frustration as her mother and aunt exhausted all venues seeking non-existing help for people in similar situations. They may have been able to get some help had they known where to look.  That has to be part of the education.  However, in the end, a couple of elderly ladies who have had health problems were evicted, ended up in the hospital and rendered homeless.  Using the college newspaper was an excellent way of, not only getting the story out, but also of education other young college students who will be facing similar problems unless we stop the bleeding in private residential America SOON.

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Foreclosures

Ryan Torrens

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Some people insist on referring to HOAs as communities. If we describe people; who live in the same geographical area as a community; that might be accurate.  However, in a contrived situation like today’s mass-produced residential associations, geography is about the only thing most of the owners have in common.  The hierarchical structure of a forced membership association does nothing whatsoever to foster a sense of community, rather it seems to cause isolationism and imposes fear in the residents.  In a very real sense their real governments and left to fend for themselves against all manner of abuses have abandoned the owners.  In some of the worst cases, homes are being stolen by those in the upper echelons of the HOA hierarchy and sold on the courthouse steps for pennies on the dollar.

Ryan Torrens joins us On The Commons.  Ryan is a young attorney in Tampa Florida who was introduced to the horrors of foreclosures right out of law school.  Shortly thereafter he started his own firm, The Torrens Law Group, where he specializes in protecting homeowners facing foreclosure from banks and homeowner associations.  We talk to Ryan about the situations that promote a climate that not only favors foreclosures but also in some respects makes them commonplace.  We get tips on what to do when a homeowner finds themselves in that situation, and probably more importantly, what not to do.  We also talk about key legislation that might go a long way in preventing some of the worst abuses.  

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Abuse, Elder Abuse, HOA Syndrome

Gary Solomon

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Most people aspire to have a nice home, one they are proud of as it reflects their personality and attests to their hard work and success in life.  A place they can be comfortable and surround themselves with the people and things they love.  But, the reality is that the most valuable thing we have is our health.  Without it, little else matters.  Without it you may not be able to take care of your property, or enjoy having the people you love around you.  Yet our homes today are built and forced into toxic environments – controlled mandatory, and often involuntary, membership residential associations.  

Dr. Gary Solomon joins us On The Commons.  Dr. Solomon is a retired professor who became aware of the ugly side of homeowner associations when he realized his neighbors were living in fear.  After a little digging he discovered that life really wasn’t rosy and all happy in these pristine environments, where the color and shape of the grass was more important than the health and happiness of the people living there.  With his many degrees and his background in psychology, he started studying the effects of living in an HOA.  One of the most alarming and damaging consequences created by associations, is the level of stress they create and the very damaging effects on our health.  He has since written extensively on what goes on in residential America today.  His most innovative and creative work is an e-book called HOA:Crisis in America.  The book is free and you the option of reading it, watching the videos or just listening to it.   But before he wrote his book, he wrote a couple of papers about HOAs, HOA Syndrome  and Elder Abuse.  We talk to Dr. Solomon about the health of HOAs and especially the health of the residents in HOAs.

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Abuse, Elder Abuse

Barry Silver

The dictionary has many definitions for the word “home” but to me home is that safe place we all go to recharge our batteries, be with those we love or enjoy the solitude those 4 walls provide.  It is a place that is uniquely our own.  Houses, apartments, hotel rooms and ” units” can all look alike, but much like fingerprints and snowflakes no two ” homes” are ever exactly alike.  In a world that seems to fear individuality and promotes uniformity, a home has even more importance than ever.

In our brave new world of cookie cutter dwelling units, crammed into modern day  communes,  more often than not the heart and soul of what we once called a community is gone.  In addition to all looking alike and living alike we now also are expected to be alike.  

Barry Silver joins us On The Commons.  Barry, an attorney who practices law in Florida, has spent his career fighting for the rights of individuals, including homeowners in HOAs. Currently Barry has been working with several homeowners in a particular association where the owners are being evicted from their own homes.  These owners are paid up, they do not owe any money so it is not a case of “mooching off their neighbors” as proponents of this dysfunctional housing scheme often cite as an acceptable reason for this barbaric behavior.  They are, however, elderly so they are vulnerable. Their alleged “crimes”, and the reason they are being evicted are petty, absurd and ridiculous.  We’ll talk to Barry about these homeowners, what they are being targeted for and where they are now. This is a rebroadcast of an earlier show and a reminder of just how abusive and nasty people can be.

 

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