Monthly Archives: April 2017

Abuse, Fighting Back, Stress

Deborah Goonan

 

There was a time when we believed that if something hurt it had to be good for us.  We’re a lot smarter now and realize that pain is an indicator that something is wrong.  We are also learning that not all pain is physical.  Increasingly it is emotional and psychological and that is especially true in the case of the pain inflicted on owners by residential associations.  Finally homeowners are refusing to accept the false assertion that HOAs protect property values.  They are no longer willing to put up with the abuses common in residential associations just to protect the mythical notion that their property will be worth a dollar or two more if they spend thousands of dollars in medical bills.  They know it is a lie.  So why, they now ask, do we really need HOAs?  Who really benefits from them?  

Deborah Goonan joins us On The Commons. Deborah is a prolific blogger and a tireless researcher.  Her blog, Independent American  Communities  tracks all the latest trends and stories in America’s many forms of residential associations. Lately she has been writing about HOA members who are talking about disbanding the corporate structure of the neighborhood.  We talk to Deborah about the growing number of homeowners looking into dissolving the corporation that is part and parcel of their neighborhood and returning it to the people who live there.  She tells us that homeowners like their homes and their neighborhoods, they just can’t stand their HOAs and all that goes with them.  In a recent blog about Walnut Grove, an Omaha neighborhood, she starts with a quote that reads: “The first step to getting what you want is having the courage to get rid of what you don’t want.”  And that’s just what some homeowners are doing.  They want their homes, their neighborhoods and to be left alone to live in peace and to get what they want they need to get rid of what they don’t want – the HOA.  

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Big Brother, Parking

Jan Bergmann

Do you ever feel like you are being watched?  That your every move is being recorded, noted, tagged, documented and archived for future reference?  That’s because you are being watched from every corner and every angle imaginable.  No, it is not science fiction, it is the here and now of our every day lives.  In the land of the free and the brave, eyes and ears are everywhere, watching you.  Any false move is likely to result in hefty fines and even lead to the confiscation of your home.  Just what are these false moves that could have such dire consequences?  And what new tools and techniques are being used to rat you out?  And how is technology helping?

Jan Bergemann joins us On The Commons.  Jan is the founder and President of the Florida based Cyber Citizens for Justice  a grass roots organization dedicated to protecting the owners in condo and homeowner associations.  We talk to Jan about the state of association living in Florida.  We learn about a bill making its way through the legislative process that would not give board members a pass should they commit a crime.  And you’ll never guess who is opposing this bill. We learn about a new app called “The Parking Boss” which is being used to enforce rental restrictions in condos and gated communities.  The Parking Boss?  And for those who have had their fill of being inspected from every angle and snooped and spied on, there is a glimmer of hope.  We’ll find out whether there is life after an HOA dies.  And just for fun, along the way we learn about some of the most petty violations people have been cited and fined for.  

 

 

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Eviction

Bill Davis

Why do bad ideas take off like wildfire and become part of the norm?  Recently I discovered an article I had intended to cover that had slipped through the cracks.   I wondered, after three years, if it was still being used or if common sense had prevailed and respect for property and individual rights had won the day. I did some research and discovered that the Crime Free Lease Addendum is not only still in use but encouraged. The article is about an enterprising management company that “fully supports participation in crime free programs by homeowner associations”.  By forcing a homeowner/landlord to use this addendum, ostensibly to decrease crime in the neighborhood, the management company acting on behalf of the HOA, has the contractual right to evict tenants for breaking the law or violating a rule.  This is, in my opinion, a really bad idea.  

Bill Davis joins us On The Commons.  Bill is a Texas attorney who does represent homeowners in battle with their HOAs.  He has seen the bad, the ugly and the stupid side of what goes on in these developments.  I sent the article to him and asked if it was just me or did he see the potential for incredible abuse with this addendum?  We talk about all the obvious infractions that could trigger an eviction and discuss the ways that this addendum could could be financially lucrative to the HOA/management company.  And as usual, there is no oversight, no checks and balances, no sanity checks anywhere because the addendum includes a clause that says “The Association will be the sole judge as to what constitutes criminal activity”.  In return homeowners are promised safer neighborhoods.  Yep, that sounds like the same empty promises we’ve been hearing for years like increased property values and carefree living.  As Bill so accurately described it – it is a form of “domestic terrorism.”  

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Reserves

Robert Nordlund PE, RS

I often wonder what my life would be like if I had complete and total control over it. Would I be able to deflect all the curve balls life throws at me? Or would I still be floating on the sea of life like so much flotsam and jetsam, subject to all the vagaries lurking in the shadows, just waiting to trip me up? Happily we can take control of many things in our lives but unfortunately for those of us living in America’s ever growing number of residential associations, we seem to be losing the war. It is just a handful of people who make the major decisions that affect our lives and more importantly, our wallets.

Robert Nordlund joins us On The Commons. Robert is the founder and CEO of Association Reserves in California. In his professional life he studies the common elements in an association, be it a condo, HOA, Co-op, dockominium or parkominium to determine whether or not the corporate entity responsible for maintaining the common elements is adequately funded.

The news isn’t good. According to Robert, 70% of all associations are underfunded, which means only 30% are not in immediate danger of incurring special assessments. We’ll talk about the reasons for underfunded associations. Are artificially low assessments the (only) reason for this dilemma or could other common practices be responsible for this predicament? Could better business practices help? And is there a “quick and dirty” way for housing consumers to figure out what the financial health of the association they are considering buying into?

I have to wonder whether throwing more money at something that is broken is the only fix or is it simply the easiest short term solution for a problem? Are there other ways of dealing with it that we are overlooking.

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