Over the years industry lobbyists have convinced state legislators, and in some cases US legislators that they represent the homeowners living in residential associations, be they condominiums or homeowner associations. Gradually over the years they have managed to get legislation enacted stripping owners of rights and property and thus empowering associations. When contacted by their constituents the legislators have explained that the homeowners themselves requested the new laws. Of course that is not true. They have even gone on to say that it is the homeowners fault for their problems because they bought into an association governed development. Hopefully times they are a changing. With their ability to network, connect online and compare notes, homeowners are getting much more savvy. And they are getting active.
Fatemeh Mojtabai joins us On The Commons. Fatemeh, a condo owner in Massachusetts, encountered the perils of condo living first hand a few years ago. She searched online and discovered that contrary to what we are often told, her story was not “an isolated incident”. Further, she didn’t do anything to deserve the problems she faced and yes, it happens all the time. She met others with issues and problems in their own neighborhoods, started talking and connecting with other home and condo owners across the country and together they have started a new organization called HAARRT in order to empower homeowners and build a network of groups working together. We talk to Fatemeh about HAART, about the need to get legislation enacted to provide the framework to protect the sanctity of home and property rights and to assert control over what is rightfully ours. Tune in and find out how you can be a part of this movement and why you might want to.
An often cited benefit for residential associations used to be that they allowed the members greater control over their immediate surroundings. The other bonus they were promised was that collectively they would gain political clout. At least that was the sales pitch, along with the ever present promise of enhanced property values. It all sounded wonderful and in a perverse sense sounded sort of logical. But as we have learned over the years not everything works the way it is supposed to. In fact in the case of residential associations, the opposite is true. Not only don’t the members have control over their immediate surroundings but have lost sovereignty over their own private spaces. The existence of an HOA or Condo association is infinitely more intrusive and tyrannical than a neighborhood where the residents are on their own and allegedly have no control.
Jonathan Dessaules joins us On The Commons. Jon is an attorney in Phoenix, Arizona. As part of his practice he represents homeowners against their associations. He is one of a handful of attorneys nationwide who will only represent the owners and not straddle the fence hopping over to the HOA side when they feel like it. Currently his is in a class of his own in Arizona. He also has a blog where he discusses HOA issues and gives general guidance. It’s a great page to check out for quick guidance on some of the more common issues facing homeowners. We talk to Jon about all the usual HOA issues common to all American homeowners but we also talk about a long and protracted case that he recently won. His clients own a unit in an upscale condominium where the fees are in excess of $1,000/month. The condo shut the key card down, impeding access to the private unit and banned the use of the amenities until the owners forfeited a right they had. So much for having greater control of your immediate surroundings in a residential association.
If people knew what they were getting into, would they still buy in an HOA? I was convinced that they wouldn’t, but I was wrong. Thirty years ago, when I first became aware of HOAs and started to understand what we were dealing with, HOA mandates were already in place in Fairfax County and probably across the country as well. However, there were still pockets of older neighborhoods, so some choices still existed. Now, even most of those older neighborhoods have been razed to the ground only to be replaced by some new faddish fantasy that will no doubt sound positively utopian but in practice be unworkable.
Shelly Marshall and Michael Marshall, PhD join me On the Commons. Shelly is an HOA Warrior. She is a prolific writer of self-help books including a book on HOAs, what to look for and how to understand what you are getting into. Dr. Marshall, Shelly’s brother, is a Psychology Professor and practitioner. This dynamic duo have combined forces to answer the question; “Why can’t people hear us?”. Shelly warned Mike about the risks involved in buying a condo and told him to keep looking but that didn’t stop him. For a while everything went well until one day when his utopian dream came crashing down. So why didn’t he listen? Why don’t people learn from other people’s stories? Mike and Shelly, along with Deborah Goonan, are working on a case study, doing some research with the intent of publishing a paper answering this question. In an easy to understand and simple way, Mike explains the psychology behind human nature. He and Shelly fill in with facts, stories and typical situations that take place every single day. This is a very exciting piece of research and a fascinating interview. For all those people who believe that “HOAs are here to stay,” are you listening?
The founders realized that in order to establish a government among men they would have to obtain the consent of the governed. In other words, in order to govern a group of people one needs their permission. So where and how did we go off the straight and narrow when it comes to getting the “consent of the governed” in the millions of residential associations in the US? What I find bewildering is that while the “governed” in HOAs and condos far outnumber the “governors”, they do not face much resistance.
Julio Robaina joins us On The Commons. Julio, a former state of Florida Representative spent time traveling around the state, holding hearings trying to understand the extent of the problems and the reason for the discontent in Floridas HOAs and condominiums. He listened to the owners’ stories and their ideas and suggestions of how to “fix” the problems. Once educated on the issues and armed with information, he drafted his bills designed to protect the rights of the homeowners residential associations. He now co-owns a management company so he is still very much involved. We talk to Julio about what he learned and whether the laws and protections put in place by him several years ago are still enforced now.
