The sheer number of mandatory membership homeowner associations has exploded nationwide. The problems and the horror stories have also multiplied over the years. The explanations, excuses and suggested “cures”, however, have remained the same. For the past four decades one group has led the debate and the discussion and controlled the agenda of this new form of housing. The very people who need to be included in the debate have been intentionally left out, but times they are a changing.

On the Commons with us this week is Margaret Bar-akiva. Margaret, a plaintiff in the Twin Rivers case in New Jersey, and founding member of the New Jersey based Common-Interest Homeowners Coalition http://www.c-ihc.org/ , in conjunction with the Rutgers Schools of Law in Camden and Newark and Seton Hall School of Law, organized a well attended conference in Trenton, NJ in May. Please join us On The Commons. We’ll find out all about the conference and talk about the importance of having the homeowners and housing consumers controlling the agenda. Fads come and go. When the fads in food, fashion or fun or fade out, the impact they leave is little more than a memory or a faded photo of mini skirts, disco balls or skinny ties stuck in an album somewhere. Food, fortunately has a shelf life and Pac Man has been replaced with other games. Unfortunately not all fads are that easy to replace.

What happens when we find out, after having spent time, effort and loads of money, that the “solution” to a particular problem is not a solution at all but instead has exacerbated the problem? Can we cover it all up with pretty words? Copyright OTC Multimedia Productions 2007