Hosted and produced by Shu Bartholomew, On The Commons is a weekly radio show dedicated to discussing the many issues surrounding mandatory homeowner associations, the fastest growing form of residential housing in the nation. HOAs, once billed as mini democracies where residents have greater control over their immediate environment, gradually morphed into representative democracies where homeowners had one day and one day only to “take control” and let their wishes be known. The only life line thrown to unhappy homeowners is to “throw the bums out”. That, of course, would mean the owners would be allowed to vote, have their votes count, participate in the politics of the association. But what happens when owners go to the work of getting signatures on a petition to recall a bad board? Who stands to lose when the owners have a say in the direction the association take? The latest Zogby poll commissioned by CAI, not surprisingly, found that HOA owners are very happy with the association. Zogby apparently missed talking to any of the over 260 owners who signed petition in the Ventura Homeowners Association in San Antonio Texas to recall the board. On The Commons this week we are joined by Brenda Johnson. Brenda, a disabled vet, had the unmitigated gall to attend a meeting in the association and attempt to ask a question. Far from the idyllic, almost Rockwellian neighborhood paintings of yesteryear, Brenda’s HOA called law enforcement who cuffed her and kept her locked up in the back of the cruiser till the meeting was over. Please join us On The Commons. We’ll get the details of what happened in this hamlet of horror and maybe we’ll understand why Zogby never called anyone there.
Hosted and produced by Shu Bartholomew, On The Commons is a weekly radio show dedicated to discussing the many issues surrounding mandatory homeowner associations, the fastest growing form of residential housing in the nation. Abuses and horror stories from the over 300,000 mandatory membership developments nationwide continue to grab the headlines. Many of the reported abuses are extremely serious while a fair number of them are so ridiculous as to be laughable. Regardless of the severity, the horror stories make life miserable for the homeowners caught in the web of bad boards, incompetent management and greedy lawyers. In an attempt to mitigate the harm caused by the horror stories, CAI commissioned yet another poll. Not surprisingly, like the other polls commissioned in recent years, this poll also found that denizens of these havens of iniquity were overjoyed with their lots in life and thrilled to have someone “protect” them. The problem is that of the over 60 million American HOA homeowners, only a handful of residents were polled. Over the next few months, On The Commons will attempt to talk to some of the homeowners Zogby missed. On The Commons this week we are joined by Joani Ellis. Joani is a Florida homeowner who is being fined $50/day for placing more than 3 sea shells in her flower bed. So far the “fine” is over $4,000. Joani was not “polled” by Zogby and, as far as we know neither were any of her neighbors. Please join us On The Commons. We’ll hear about the horrifying way disabled neighbors are treated all the way down to the stupid and the ridiculous rules and alleged violations that are common place in her HOA. And perhaps we’ll understand why none of her neighbors got a call from Zogby.
Well folks, it’s that time of year again when we celebrate St Patrick’s Day here On The Commons with our favorite Leprechaun. On The Commons this week we are joined by Frank Short. Frank, an individual and property rights advocate has kept us abreast of pending laws, explained what they would do if passed, talked about law suits, explaining what they really mean. Please join us On The Commons. We’ll get an update on the proposed laws in the Virginia legislature and talk about case law as well.
Hosted and produced by Shu Bartholomew, On The Commons is a weekly radio show dedicated to discussing the many issues surrounding mandatory homeowner associations, the fastest growing form of residential housing in the nation. Theoretically if we pool our resources, share in the costs, even the most modest of Americans can live just like the rich and famous we see in the movies. With that in mind, recreational amenities were dreamed up, designed and made part of the projects of the future. Swimming pools, golf courses, tennis courts, jogging and riding trails, hangars are part of this new fangled private world we have all been delegated to. So what is so terrible about having access to a pool? And horse lovers are drawn to places with stables and riding trails and golf course views command premiums. Welcome to the dwelling units of the future. What possible downsides could there be? On The Commons this week we are joined by Jan Bergmann. Jan, the energetic president of the Florida based Cyber Citizens for Justice (ccfj.net) has his finger on the pulse of the issues facing Florida’s condo and HOA residents. In addition to presiding over CCFJ , Jan has been a panelist at many Town Hall meetings, maintains a blog for the Sun Sentinel and works with legislators to enact homeowner friendly legislation. Please join us On The Commons. We’ll get caught up on the news, talk about property values and find out just how well all those amenity loaded projects are doing.
Hosted and produced by Shu Bartholomew, On The Commons is a weekly radio show dedicated to discussing the many issues surrounding mandatory homeowner associations, the fastest growing form of residential housing in the nation. We have been told repeatedly that homeowner associations protect property values. With that in mind, many Americans have been willing to trade control over their homes for the promise of enhanced values. Given the current economic situation, the fallacy of the values argument has been exposed. With unprecedented foreclosures, values have plummeted and associations are struggling with trying to pay the common expenses and make ends meet on a greatly reduced budget. Raising assessments thus making it financially tougher for the remaining residents who are stretched to the financial limit does little to foster a sense of community or enhance property values. Common sense would dictate that associations would do their utmost to keep as many members in the association as possible. But then, as my husband keeps reminding me, there is nothing common about sense. And the current situations bear that out. On The Commons this week we are joined by Melvyn Hobbs. In our first ever transcontinental interview, Mel will explain why, after owning his dream vacation condo in Florida for 16 years, spending 10 years and $500,000 fighting in court to protect his rights, he just walked away from his condo and vows not to return to Florida. Please join us On The Commons. We’ll find out what went wrong and what he intends to do now.
It’s that time of year again when your state representatives gather to figure out ways to strip you of more rights and this year is no different. Homeowners should find the bills that have been filed in their respective states and think them through very carefully. That is something your elected officials claim they don’t have the time for before they sponsor and vote on the bills. Most of the laws that have been enacted have been pro association, tilting the balance away from the individual. On The Commons this week we are joined by Frank Short. Frank is a frequent guest on the show and a long time advocate for homeowner and individual rights. Frank has been following the bills proposed in Virginia this year and gives us a run down of the bills, who sponsored them and what they mean. For more information on what those pesky legislators are up to in VA, check out http://www.richmondsunlight.com/. Find the bills, vote on them and comment on them. Please join us On The Commons. We’ll talk about the bills, go a little beyond the pretty words and focus on what they really mean.
Hosted and produced by Shu Bartholomew, On The Commons is a weekly radio show dedicated to discussing the many issues surrounding mandatory homeowner associations, the fastest growing form of residential housing in the nation. Conceptually communal living may sound positively Utopian. Under ideal circumstances, in an ideal world, there may be an outside chance that association living might have a shot of working – for a brief period of time. But as we all know, circumstances are hardly ever ideal and never for prolonged periods of time. The architects of this newfangled housing plan obviously did not take into account human nature, greed, outside influences when they came up with the blue prints for what has become residential America. If they thought about it at all, they did not plan for all the problems that would undermine the structural integrity of a massive housing implosion. On The Commons this week we are joined by Marjorie Murray. Marjorie is the founder and President of the California based Center for California Homeowner Association Law. The core purpose of the Center is to protect the rights of homeowners through consumer education, training, and referral services. The Center maintains a website that is rich with information every American property owner should have access to. Please join us On The Commons this Saturday, We’ll talk about the programs they have, the training sessions they hold, discrimination in associations and legislation.
Hosted and produced by Shu Bartholomew, On The Commons is a weekly radio show dedicated to discussing the many issues surrounding mandatory homeowner associations, the fastest growing form of residential housing in the nation. “But you agreed” is the mantra used by defenders of HOAs. We’ve all heard it. The association industry members use it when lobbying for greater powers for associations. Attorneys representing HOAs in court use it. Managers and other proponents of the system spout it out ad nauseum every time the discussion revolves around the sorry state of affairs in association controlled residential America today. And while it may be technically and legally true that by buying into an association of some sort or other, we “agreed” to it. But what exactly did we agree to? And what happened to the alleged benefits of HOAs? We have also all heard the other, equally tired mantra of HOAs “protecting property” value. In this topsy turvy, economically upside down world today, where are the values? How “affordable” is all this luxurious living we have also been promised? On The Commons this week we are joined by Jan Bergemann. Jan, President of the Florida based Cyber Citizens for Justice has recently been on a town hall panel discussion HOAs and was inundated on a marathon internet chat session in Orlando where the existing streams were maxxed out “by a few isolated incidents”. Please join us On The Commons this Saturday, November 28, 2009. We’ll talk about how well values are holding up in HOAs, we’ll hear why so many people are being made homeless and we’ll find out what is on the mind of the thousands of “isolated incidents: who called in for help.
If you are in an HOA, it really doesn’t take much to turn your otherwise peaceful and quiet world upside down. Maybe you chose the unit you occupy because of the views from the living room window or the size of the kitchen or the proximity to work or public transportation but whatever tugged at your heart strings, you probably thought you were buying a “home”. And heaven help you if you end up in an HOA controlled “hood” because sense and sensibility are non existent and you run the risk of finding yourself with a “One Way Ticket to Hell”. On The Commons this week we are joined by Robin Klar Lent. Robin has just ended a long battle with her HOA. She says she has been to hell and back all because she agreed to help prevent erosion and water problems on an empty lot in her neighborhood. It was all downhill from there. Please join us On The Commons. We’ll get the details of what happened and talk about some of the really ridiculous demands made by the “other side” (I’ll give you a hint: “You may not use the words CAI conspiracy”) and the plain stupid questions asked.
Hosted and produced by Shu Bartholomew, On The Commons is a weekly radio show dedicated to discussing the many issues surrounding mandatory homeowner associations, the fastest growing form of residential housing in the nation. Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable. John Kenneth Galbraith US (Canadian-born) administrator & economist (1908 – 2006) Right from the very beginning of the mass produced associations, problems cropped up that needed to be dealt with. At first the solution to all problems was “education”. When education failed to fix things, the association industry started lobbying state legislatures to enact laws to “protect associations”. Those laws did little more than stir the pot and make things worse so more laws were lobbied for and more problems reared their ugly heads and more laws found their way into the hallowed halls of state Capitols across the country – and the vicious cycle continues, for the most part, unabated. A very small handful of legislators had the foresight and the backbone to try to try to make the owners and tax payers whole by sponsoring homeowner friendly bills. Some of these bills survived the brutal attacks of the opposition and their “hired” law makers but most were either gutted or went down in defeat. And yet the problems continue to grow. On The Commons this week we are joined by Representative Julio Robaina. Julio, Florida’s extremely energetic, hard working and charismatic representative has spent his two terms as a state legislator listening to his constituents and trying to put an end to the tyranny that exists in their neighborhoods. As he nears the end of his current term, and before he is termed out next year, he is taking a look back on his wins and his losses. Please join us On The Commons. We’ll talk about what he has planned and whether this is the end of the road. Will Florida OWNERS lose their champion legislator? What can we ALL do to help him and ultimately ourselves. Tune in for a wake up call like no other.
