Ward Lucas

Ward Lucas

Why do some HOA horror stories grab the headlines, go viral, get written up in news outlets around the world, discussed on radio shows and highlighted on local and national TV shows while others, equally horrible, get ignored?  We never seem to learn as the stories repeat themselves, over and over and over again.  Flag flaps, children play equipment in private backyards that seem to irk some of the less tolerant in the ‘hood, non conforming trashcans, unapproved garden hoses, bird feeders, discrimination, discrimination and more discrimination against anyone who does not conform to some secret acceptable standard.  There are hundreds of these stories every single day yet we only ever hear about a tiny handful of them.  Why?  

Ward Lucas joins us On The Commons this week.  Ward is an award winning print, TV and radio journalist who, over his career have covered stories of war while fighting a war to protect his property in a homeowners association.  His experience and expertise were put to great use when he wrote Neighbors at War, the Creepy case Against your Homeowners Association.  The term ” Neighbors at War” has caught on and is used often in HOA stories.  Ward also maintains a blog by the same name.  All his posts give an estimated reading time.  We’ll find out why.  We’ll also ask him how to capture the attention of the mainstream media and what we, as homeowners with all sorts of different backgrounds, can do to become more effective communicators.  I always have fun talking to Ward so tune in and join in the fun.  Oh, and as an added bonus, we’ll hear all about his latest book, due out soon.

Listen to Ward Lucas
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John Sellers

John Sellers

Regular listeners often hear me refer to American housing as being made of cardboard and scotch tape. It is not just housing that is no longer built to last, everything else tends to fall apart and need to be repaired or replaced much too soon and far too often. While people agree with me, the explanation I get is that it is cheaper to make junk than it is to build things that will be around, functional and in one piece for awhile.  But how cost effective is it?  Are we destined to continually play “catch up” juggling our budgets to patch and prop things up?  

John Sellers joins us On The Commons.  John has a degree in aeronautical engineering and a background in finance.  When he moved to Arizona he ran into the flawed concept of residential associations.  Taking a step back and looking at the really big picture he identified some of the problems and came up with a few ideas on how to avoid building the “junk” in the first place, especially when it comes to infrastructure.  John, along with his colleagues, founded the  Yavapai Regional Capital . We’ll talk to John, get some of the details, find out how we can build infrastructure that might have a chance of lasting, how to finance it and whether there is a place for modern technology in the future of the world we live in.  This was one of the most fascinating and eye opening interviews I have had.  You won’t want to miss it.

Listen to John Sellers

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Richard Oulton

Richard Oulton and Virginia Delegate John McGuire

Life throws obstacles in front of us all the time, but only the strongest and most dedicated refuse to roll over, regardless of the time or the cost involved in honoring a promise.  

Richard Oulton joins us On The Commons.  Richard was a Navy Corpsman assigned to the Marines of the First Battalion of the Ninth Marine Regiment and served on the front lines in Vietnam.  His battalion  sustained the longest combat in the history of the United States Marines.   In the process they suffered the highest death rate in the Marine corps’ history, earning the nickname of “The Walking Dead”. The fact that Richard could not save all his wounded “boys” as he calls them, affected him deeply.  When he came home he brought the flag that he had flown over his bunker with him promising “his boys” he would never forget them. Twenty years ago when the flag first flew on a shiny new flagpole in his front yard the local HOA reared its ugly head.  As I said, the strongest and most dedicated refuse to roll over regardless of cost and time when it comes to keeping a promise.  Tune in for an incredible story of love, dedication and determination.  

Listen to Richard Oulton
Richard at Flag Raising
Flag Raising Ceremony

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