Karin Huffer

Karin Huffer

In memory of Karin HufferOctober 18, 1941 – October 24, 2018

When your life veers off the normal, the safe, the known and the routine and gets derailed into a hostile, unknown land where you are fighting for your life, stress tends to become part and parcel of who you are. And stress, as we have learned on this show,  adversely affects your health.  It is always a lot worse when you are facing the adversarial situation on your own.  Can having some friendly support mitigate some of the damage caused by the situation?

Dr. Karin Huffer joins us On The Commons.

A long time therapist, having watched what happens to victims of the justice system and the effects of stress they suffered, coined the term Legal Abuse Syndrome.  Her book, by the same name,  Legal Abuse Syndrome talks about the problem and possible remedies.  She found that the key to mitigating the harmful effects of being a victim is to help each other.  For the past several years she has trained volunteers to be that “support” to victims.  Her  new book is a revised and updated Kindle version of her first book. She has turned some of her attention to explaining, training and teaching Americans about the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Americans with disabilities don’t always know they have rights or what those rights are and businesses, managers and bosses are not always aware of them either.  Apparently neither are all the attorneys out there.  So Karin is hard at work training them all.  You can learn more and reach Dr. Huffer through her website,  Equal Access Advocates.com  but do tune in to listen to the amazing lady.

Listen to Karin Huffer

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Frank Short

Happy St. Patricks Day

Every year lobbyists for the HOA industry present legislators with proposed legislation designed to increase the powers of homeowner and condo associations.  The lobbyists often claim they are there at the request of the owners who actually want this new law.  How many of the legislators actually believe these canards is a mystery.  With some of the provisions in these bills you’d have to wonder why any sane owner would even contemplate such laws.  Maybe many of the our lawmakers don’t stop to consider what these bills would actually mean if passed.  Could it be they don’t understand what they are carrying?

Frank Short joins us On The Commons.  Ever since our very first mid March show we have had a  St Patrick’s day edition where Frank has done a roundup of all the proposed legislation in Virginia.  This year is no exception.  We will find out what the managers and attorneys representing associations are dreaming about and how they propose to relieve the owners of more rights.  Frank talks about the wording of some of these bills and explains how, if signed into law by the governor, they would take away a right that the owners have.  Tune in, compare our bills to some proposed in your state and compare the language.  To access the Virginia bills check out Richmond Sunlight. 

Listen To Frank Short

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John McGuire

John McGuire

Bruised, abused, mocked, harassed, dejected and frustrated, homeowners in HOAs have tried to fight back. They have been sued, fined, ridiculed, outgunned and left standing alone in a sea of their neighbors, homeowners like themselves too terrified to even talk to them lest they find themselves in the crosshairs of the HOA.  Over the years I have talked to and witnessed some of these homeowners as they start an organization to fight the injustices of HOAs only to end up fighting amongst themselves.  Their vision of taming the HOA monster evaporating into thin air. Could part of the problem be the lack of teamwork?  Are they listening to each other or shouting over each other? Is the key to real reform as simple as listening?

John McGuire joins us On The Commons. John, a Virginia delegate has one of the most amazing and inspiring personal stories I have yet to come across.  When all the odds seemed to be against him, John fought and earned one of the coveted spots as a Navy Seal, despite being told he couldn’t do it. Later he defied the odds again and survived a life threatening accident, learned to walk and to write his name – again.  Incredibly none of what he went through in life convinced him he couldn’t do something.  Being told he couldn’t do something was the impetus he needed to prove them wrong. John strongly believes in teamwork and like every good leader, gives credit to his team.  I heard about John when he managed to help resolve a 20 year HOA horror story.  We’ll get to know John personally and learn about his philosophy, talk about the problems in HOAs and start looking at different ways of dealing with the problems millions of American homeowners face nationwide.  

Listen to John McGuire
Team Work

Tell us your stories in your own words 

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