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.
 
Home!  Ah, a word that can make us all feel nostalgic, especially when the memories of “home” are happy ones.  A place where you grew up as a child, a place you came to when starting off your new life as a married couple, a place to raise your family, a place to celebrate the joys of life, the milestones you reach, the successes you enjoy.  A place where your children grow and become adults, a place that is full of memories.  A place that wrapped its arms around you and kept you safe and warm and offered you a safe harbor when you needed it most.  A place of your own.  And for those of us lucky enough to grow up in a traditional neighborhood, in a real home, a home that was our own, where we could be ourselves and where we had a certain degree of autonomy.  A place we loved to be.
 
But wait – what happened?  Why is it that home no longer seems to be that safe harbor?  Why do we fret about “going home”?  Who are those people who have been living in the house next door for all these years?  And the people across the street? 
 
On The Commons this week we are joined by Nancy Hentschel.  Nancy lives in Sugarland, Texas and owns 3 houses in three separate HOAs in Texas and she maintains a web site at http://www.newterritorysentinel.com/.  Prior to moving to Texas, Nancy and her family lived in a real, HOA free, community on the East Coast so the added expenses, the fear, the closed books and records, the creative ways the association raises money were new experiences and real eye openers.   Please join us On The Commons this Saturday, October 24, 2009.  We’ll talk about her observations, the fear that seems to keep neighbors from being neighbors and building real communities and we’ll find out why her house in Arizona does NOT have an HOA. 

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.
 
Remember the bully in the school yard?  Remember the big kids who took your lunch money, called you names and threatened to really hurt you if you so much as breathed a word to anyone?  Remember the people who made fun of you and the way you dressed, spoke, walked and pretty much did anything?  How about the chronologically older folks who spread lies about you and made up stories of things you allegedly were or did?  Whatever happened to these people?  Did they grow up and become honest, productive citizens or did they find a more permanent niche in today’s 300,000 plus residential associations where they continue to bully, harass, threaten spread rumors and generally make life miserable for their neighbors? 
 
On The Commons this week we are joined by Barbara Billiot Stage. Barbara, an attorney who was admitted to the  Florida bar just 2 short years ago and who represents homeowners, has seem the bad, the worse and the really ugly of what the HOA boards and their mentors are capable of doing and how these overgrown bullies have made life a living hell for her clients.  Please join us On The Commons.  We’ll hear all about some of the bizarre cases that have found themselves on her desk and find out if there is anything that can be done to put a stop to the abuses and horrors that are rampant in residential America today.    

The US Constitution requires that a census be conducted every 10 years to count the population.  The first census was taken in 1790.  The census provides statistics – from the most basic, such as what is the population of the United States to some of the more specific.  The next census will occur in 2010 and virtually every household in America will receive a short census.  In the past, a few households got the “long form” which was considerably longer.  In 2005 the long form was eliminated, in its stead Congress introduced an ongoing survey called the American Community Survey.  This survey is sent out on a monthly basis to 250,000 households asking such questions as to educational levels, military service, health insurance, disabilities, number of languages spoken etc.  There is an almost 3 page section on housing.  Why are there no questions on the public policy shift that has sent 60 million Americans to association controlled developments?  Is Congress unaware of this demographic shift or are they intentionally overlooking it?  And just why is the government aping HOAs by threatening to fine people $5,000 for not answering the survey?
 
On The Commons this week we are joined by Ron Brown and Vellie Dietrich Hall.  They both work for the Census Bureau and are responsible for ensuring that everyone is counted and accounted for.  This is Ron’s second go around.  Vellie is responsible for reaching out to the minorities, making sure they understand the reasons for the census.   Please join us On The Commons  We’ll talk about the census in general and find out what it will take to try to bring about an awareness of the fastest growing segment in residential America. You can find out more about the census by going to www.census.gov  .

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.
 
Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it!  We’ve all heard those words of warning.  And those of us living in a mandatory membership association, tend to do a lot of wishing.  Over the years some of these wishes have been “granted” – or we have made them happen but did they achieve the results we wished they would?  And what are the chances that what we thought we wanted turned out to be even more detrimental than we ever imagined?   Can the fix for the one thing that bothers us most now come back and bite us in the behind?
 
On The Commons this week we are joined by Jan Bergemann. Jan is president of the Florida based Cyber Citizens for Justice www.ccfj.net  and one of the hardest working people I know.  He is a prolific writer, a tireless advocate for the owners, the Go To man in Florida for all things association and he has recently added blogging for the Sun Sentinel to his list of daily tasks. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/condos/.   Please join us On The Commons.  We’ll talk about one the most wished for things by homeowners – “adult supervision” and we’ll find out whether there are any adults involved in the Florida model.  Tune in, it will help you figure out what you really want to wish for.

There is much confusion about the very nature of a residential association.  With all the municipal mandates effectively eliminating the choice of whether to live in an association or not, along with the new trend towards increasing density and building up rather than out, the existence of an association in any residential areas is a given.  Despite the lack of housing choice, owners are often surprised to find that”they agreed” to a whole host of restrictions and rules when they bought their homes. The other fact they didn’t bargain for is that they would be trading in the lawn mower for other “duties” and HOA living is not quite the “care free” living they thought they were getting. 
 
On The Commons this week we are joined by Tyler Berding. Tyler, a California attorney who specializes in common interest development law, is a  prolific writer about all things condo related.  His alarming, but candid articles can be read on his blog http://condoissues.blogspot.com/ and also on the firm’s web page http://www.berding-weil.net/.  His concerns cover condo conversions, unfunded reserves, lack of active participation by owners to the legal definition of the relationship between the owners and the association.  Please join us On The Commons this Saturday, August 15, 2009.  We’ll talk about “the contract” and the current HOA model.   Would a different model of common ownership that works well in other cultures work here?  Tune in and find out. 

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.
 
Living in America keeps getting more expensive and more complicated.  No longer is it enough to simply pay for routine maintenance on your home once the builders, roofers, plumbers, tilers, landscapers, carpenters and other trades get through building your house.  There was a time when routine upkeep and utilities provided Americans with a comfortable and happy environment in which to live and raise a family.  Now the trades are still knocking at the door wanting to get paid for managing, suing, inspecting and organizing you.  Over time these trade organizations have taken over homes and lives.  How did they get so powerful and how did they get away with controlling so much?  Is it time for the owners to take back their homes and neighborhoods? 
 
On The Commons this week we are joined by Tom Besore. Tom is a Chicago attorney and a planner who believes strongly in working at the grass roots level to keep his neighborhood and community a nice place to live.  He is on the board of a local organization called Streeterville Organization of Active Residents, SOAR.  www.soarchicago.org .  While SOAR has been around for awhile, and has grown over the years, Tom is starting a new organization, bringing together the condos in his Streeterville neighborhood and beyond get the owners more involved.  While the Condo Affairs Council is still in its infancy, the promise of what it could do is exciting.  Please join us On The Commons.  We’ll learn a little about SOAR and hear more about the Chicago Condo Affairs Council.

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.
 
As more and more housing projects are swallowed up and controlled by the insatiable monsters known collectively as community associations, whether they are HOAs, condos, coops or some other form of mandatory membership association, the “isolated incidents” don’t seem quite so isolated any more.   It is common knowledge that because of these associations American homeowners have lost property rights and significant sovereignty over their own homes and lives.  Although far greater in sheer number, the owners appear to lose more ground every year.  But does it have to be that way?  While the balance of power is shifted away from the individual, is there a window of opportunity to tame the monster and return to living in communities instead of projects?
 
On The Commons this week we are joined by Professor Evan McKenzie. Professor McKenzie is the author of Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Government.  He teaches  Political Science at the University of Illinois in Chicago, and HOA law at  the John Marshall School of Law.  He is a practicing attorney, owns and maintains an active and lively blog on HOAs and other topics of interest at http://privatopia.blogspot.com , a single dad of active teenagers and someone who always finds time to join us On The Commons.   Please join us On The Commons this Saturday, July 11, 2009.  We’ll talk about licensing laws for HOA managers that seem to be creeping across the country and we’ll also discuss “windows of opportunity” and find out if there will be a sequel to Privatopia.  As always, you won’t want to miss it.

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.
 
Writing new laws either empowering residential associations or regulating them has become an annual ritual.  This year is no exception however the owners made almost no gains during the current legislative sessions as the special interests continued to lobby for greater powers and more control over associations, controlled dwelling units and the folks who own them.  At a time when the economy is creating havoc where we live as well as where we work, one would have expected some help from our elected representatives to stem the flow of blood in associations.  Unfortunately, the ones who understand the need for protective legislation and who are willing to take the moral high ground and introduce consumer friendly legislation are far outnumbered by their colleagues who are not willing to offend the special interests.  But was it a completely lost year for consumers or did some homeowners manage to prevail?
 
On The Commons this week we are joined by Jean Kettley, current president of the Maryland Homeowners Association (MHA) and Patricia Wigginton, past president and long time member of MHA.  Numbering in the hundreds, members of MHA have been very active in lobbying for legislation and unlike many other states where the homeowners lost, were successful in getting a bill passed this year.  Please join us On The Commons this Saturday, June 20, 2009.  We’ll talk about the MHA bill and learn the details and also talk a little about another hot topic in HOA land this year, insurance. 

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.
 
It is a well known fact that well funded special interest groups are able to buy laws favoring them.  After all, most of the politicians serving on committees and sitting at the table when it comes to casting their votes for any new bill have been bought and sold many times over.  Many of these legislators are little more than puppets – many but certainly not all.  In the case of housing associations, be they HOAs, Condos or Coops, we have precious few legislators who are willing to do what is right, not what will benefit them financially. But how does one good egg manage to hold his or her own in a basket full of rotten ones?  Can good laws be passed in this situation or should we all crawl in  a hole, waiting for the rapidly approaching end?
 
On The Commons this week we are joined by Representative Julio Robaina.  Florida’s own Rep. Robaina has long made it a mission of his to do everything he can to protect his constituents.  And at no time ever have those constituents needed more protection than they do right now.  The many run of the mill problems in associations have been compounded by the economic downturn, the huge number of foreclosures especially in Florida and the large number of associations trying to make ends meet with half the revenue from fees.  His proposed bill to make the banks pay some of the delinquent assessments was soundly defeated by his fellow legislators.  Not surprisingly the banking industry lobbied strongly against it.  But where was CAI in all this?  This bill would have helped ASSOCIATIONS and by default the homeowners.  It seems this bill slipped right by them.   Please join us On The Commons.  We’ll talk about what happened in Florida this year and we’ll learn how, with just a little effort of the part of the owners this MIGHT have had a happier ending.

The annual tug of war in state capitols around the country is coming to an end.  Legislators have proposed and considered bills that would drastically affect their constituents right where they live, in their homes.  Some of these new bills were drafted in response to problems reported by homeowners who live in HOAs but most of the HOA legislation is written and lobbied for by the vendors of goods and services, almost always increasing the powers of associations to the detriment of the homeowners.  This year has seen huge numbers of bills in several states.  Who wrote these bills?  Are any of them good for the owners?  And did any good legislation pass through all the committees, houses, hearings, senates and survive the Governor’s office?
 
On The Commons this week we are joined by Bill Davis. Bill is an attorney and a homeowner in Texas who learned about HOAs, and all the problems associated with them, not in law school but by being thrown in the deep end.  And like many of the controlled homeowners across the country, associations have occupied a good deal of his time since then.  Please join us On The Commons.  There were in excess of 100 bills that would have affected home and condo owners in Texas.  We’ll talk about a few of these bills and what they would do if passed.  We’ll also talk about some bills that you will need to look out for regardless of what part of the country you live in.