A good idea doesn’t need a massive support system, nor does it require all sorts of strong-arming to hold it up, but for some reason, HOAs can’t seem to stand on their own. We seem to run into more ways of forcing homeowners into accepting all the intrusive rules from nonowners. Why is that? If the concept of HOAs is so fantastic, wouldn’t you expect it to b able to stand on its own without having to be propped up? I have been baffled for ages, but I am not the only one.
Bill Davis, a Texas attorney who represents homeowners who are having problems with their Texas HOAs, joins us On The Commons. Bill and I have had this conversation online for a long time. Why do we call them Associations? Good question. Words have meaning. The words used to describe associations should reflect what the association is. We also have questions relating to our favorite topic. Do we need legislation propping up restrictions on private property? What has become of the notion that a man’s home is his castle? Are we also throwing the idea of the American dream down to the gutter? Is it time to return private property to private ownership?
Narayanan Doraswamy, a fellow Toastmaster and a friend joins us On The Commons
Sometimes it takes a fresh eye to focus on a story we have been working on for ages. Certainly, all the problems within HOAs have been occupying our time for years. Just what are we dealing with and where do we go from here? We all agree there are problems and issues but just how do we find an easy way to symplify the problem se we can follow the issues and get a grip on the issues. As luck would have it, my husband and I both belong to TBA Toastmasters where a friend of our and fellow Toastmaster Narayanan Doraswamy gave a terrific speech abut the 5 Whys.
My husband reminded me about it and when I asked Narayanan if he would join us On the Commons and share shis story with us. My good friend Narayanan agreed, drove many miles to join me in the studio and did wonderful job telling us the story. I had heard the story but hung on to every word. Tune in , I am sure you will agree with us that this is a terrific way of finding the answers to the HOA problems. It is high. time we dealt with it once and for all. Narayanan knows about HOAS like so many of us, he lives in one after all, but unlike so many people he hasbn’t tried to fix them as far as I know. What’s breathtakingly refreshing in his story is its simplicity. Maybe the answer lies outside the usual HOA chatter.
Ever since I heard about the condo collapse in Florida that took the lives of 98 of its residents, I have been asking what caused it. There are so many guesses that we repeatedly hear from those who are supposed to be in the know. The first one repeated since day one is the lack of reserves. A great way to make a point! But let’s be realistic, while it is imperative that the reserves be properly funded, the fact that Surfside was not funded did NOT cause the building to collapse. So what did cause the building to collapse? As far as I can make out, we still don’t know. If we don’t understand why the building collapsed, how do we ensure that this never happens again? We have to know what steps in the construction process failed. Something did not perform as expected. Floridians and Florida housing consumers DESERVE to know why the building failed and what steps authorities are taking to ensure this NEVER happens again. Because absent that, we are no further ahead. It is such a devastating and tragic occurrence. I have covered it several times and will probably continue to cover it until we know for sure what happened and there are reasonable measures to ensure the safety of all Floridians. In addition, there need to be some serious plans in place. The lack of reserves did NOT cause the building to collapse. Saltwater did NOT cause it to collapse. I come from a part of the world where buildings are still standing after over a century or more. So if we can build houses over the big pond, why not here? I think our guest may have put his finger on part of the problem.
Jan Bergemann joins us On The Commons. Jan is the founder and president of the Florida-based Cyber Citizens for Justice. He has been heavily involved in all things related to HOAs in Florida and has been active in legislative affairs in Florida. There was some politicking going on with an attempt to enact legislation to prefer a repeat performance of this tragedy, but apparently, the special interests have managed to prevent anything meaningful from being passed. Tune in because Jan explains what happened. Stay tuned; there will be more On The Commons about this. This is too important to leave to those who are more interested in lining their own pockets than protecting their clients and the politicians who just don’t get it.
Listen to Jan Bergemann
Surfside Condominium Collapse Photo from Miami-Dade_Fire Rescue
Who is responsible for ensuring our safety on the local roads? Who plans how many stop signs are used on the roads and makes sure pedestrians are safe? Who decides the speed limits and fines and collects the fines when a driver exceeds the speed limit? What happens to that money? If you have never really thought about this and, like me, just presumed everything was being handled responsibly, I believe it is time to rethink that trusting attitude. Maybe it is time for some adult supervision, or we may face a tragic situation.
We recently had an unfortunate and tragic situation in my homeowners’ association, which could and should have been avoided. My neighborhood is divided by a four-lane road with half of the homes on one side and the other half on the other side. The high school that all the kids go to is on the other side of that road, as are all the amenities like the pools and tennis courts. Several years ago, that road was widened from two to four lanes. Someone from the county board of supervisors visited one of our homeowner meetings to inform us that because the situation was too dangerous for a crossing guard, they had to take the crossing guard away, and the kids will have to cross themselves! Every suggestion to ensure the safety of the children was met with an equally stupid reason why that wouldn’t work. They all had to do with their own similarly stupid rules. Thank God we were incident-free for many years, but our lucky streak didn’t last forever. Recently a resident in his 50s was hit while he was crossing in the crosswalk and killed. The driver, a woman in her 30’s, I believe, apparently was not speeding, texting, or driving drunk, but she nonetheless hit and killed the pedestrian, and that is something she will have to live with for the rest of her life.
Caroline Douglas joins us On The Commons to talk about this incident. As always, Caroline comes up with so many angles and possibilities that I hadn’t thought of or considered. I’m always grateful to her for being a willing guest and providing her knowledge and expertise to us all. Always a pleasure to have you on Caroline.
The world watched in horror on on June 24, 2021 as the Surfside condominium tower collapsed as an estimated 1000 men, women and children lost their lives. The world is still trying to come to terms with exactly what happened and what led to the tragedy. There have been many theories as the what caused the collapse. There is evidence that the condo neglected to perform the necessary repairs and to keep the building in good repair. It is also alleged that the condo was underfunded. In an effort to prevent a repeat of such a tragedy, legislators, advocates and others with an interest in ensuring that this does not happen again, Several pieces of legislation was written and presented for consideration. Sadly, despite all the work and the obvious need for some remedies NOTHING was done by the legislators in this session. Floridians got back with no additional protections thanks.
Jan Bergemann, founder of the very active Florida based Cyber Citizens for Justice joins us On The Commons and explains exactly what happened. I hope the world is still listening because our legislators really do need to step up and make sure their citizens are protected. Please tune in. We will be following this story.
Covid has changed the way we live and the way we think. Mandatory membership homeowner associations are increasing, it seems that everyone lives in one, so We should attend the meetings to keep up with what the association is doing. Associations usually have regular meetings, but Zoom and similar programs have come to the rescue.
Frank Short joins us this week On The Commons for his St Patrick’s Day show. It was slim pickings in the Virginia Legislature this year but Senate Bill 696 sponsored by Senator Chap Peterson did give us one bill to talk about. One thing worth noting is that even the bills need tweaking. So tune in to this St Patrick’s day show.
Following the Florida condo collapse, the universal cure seems to be to fund the reserves. Making sure there are adequate funds for the necessary repairs is a no-brainer. I had long advocated funding the reserves but have always been surprised when homeowners quickly informed me that I was wrong. Some even claimed they would prefer a special assessment to take care of any problems. That approach never appealed to me. However, it is important to hear all the concerns.
Bill Davis joins us today. Bill, a Texas attorney and a frequent guest on On The Commons, sees the big picture and can explain what we are missing. While making sure we fund the reserves, that is only part of the solution. Please tune and take a look at the big picture. It is not always quite as simple as it sounds. Be sure to tune in.
Rumor has it that people who buy property in a homeowners association know exactly what they are getting. We are told by the industry that we all agreed to it. That sounds good. So why are there so many problems and so many lawsuits if we are all on the same page? Could the problem be that we don’t all speak the same language? Or is that too simple an explanation?
Bill Davis. a Texas attorney has made representing homeowners in HOAs a focus of his legal practice. That is very fortunate for all of us because he is always willing to educate us and explain some of the twists and turns we encounter in every day life. Bill joins us On The Commons. He helps us to untangle the wording in a California case where a homeowner bought a condominium with a right to rent out her unit. Pretty simple and straight forward. Well, maybe not, she ended up with words like restrictions and prohibitions to contend with. So, what did she agree to? And who decided to muddle things up by using all these words to change the meaning of the rights she bought and OWNS. Tune in and see if you are clear on the rights you own.
The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry, or so the saying goes. When over half of all marriages end in divorce, and the two people in that relationship choose each other and opted to live together what makes anyone think any plan that puts a group of strangers together and expects them to live harmoniously will work flawlessly? Not surprisingly, it really doesn’t. The whole concept of mandatory membership homeowners associations is flawed yet we still try to fit all the pieces together and make it all work. It just doesn’t work. I have news for you, I don’t think it ever will.
The real reason HOAs were conceived, was to provide local municipal governments with free tax dollars. And as free tax dollars to the local government, it works brilliantly. All homeowners pay property taxes to the local municipality. Those tax dollars were initially intended to cover the cost of street lights, trash removal, street maintenance, and snow removal where needed, however, where there are associations of any kind, the owners pay an additional fee to the association to cover the cost of these services so the owners are double taxed. The municipality just gets richer, the homeowners foot the bill. and apparently peace and quiet and pure joy are still a fantasy.
Jan Bergeman, President, and founder of the Florida-based CyberCitizens for Justice, a frequent guest, a staunch and active advocate for owners, joins us On The Commons. Jan brings us up to date on the latest news of the tragic condo collapse. We will learn about new regulations that would ensure there will be no repeat performances. And for those of you asking about an ombudsman, the idea is not off the table and we will hopefully learn more in a follow-up show as well. But don’t miss this show, there is a lot of good information here. Thanks for tuning in.
With my apologies as I am still having issues and problems with Constant Contact. Maybe 2022 will be the year we can get it fixed. I am keeping my fingers crossed. And on that note, I am Wishing you all a very happy New Year.
I would also like to thank Rana for helping me tell this particular story. It is one I feel that needs to be told. You will get the details when you listen to us talk.
Regardless of where your home is it is not safe from abuse. While we have concentrates primarily on the abuses in Homeowner associations and condominiums, it has been brought to our attention that seniors, in retirements communities are also being subjected to some of the same issues as homeowners in the aforementioned housing situations. In fact it is even worse in some retirement communities.
Let me start off by assuring you that I hear from friends and acquaintances in retirement communities who are extremely satisfied and thankful to be where they are. Sadly not all of them are gems. I heard from an 83 year old lady recently and her story made me so mad that I had to cover it.
First of all I can’t think of a single reason to be rude to an elderly person. Manners are sadly lacking and they were non existent in this case. The lady is question has been a resident of this particular retirement community for a couple of years, all without apparent incident, until recently. Because of Covid, like many others established mask rules. And as expected everyone has become an expert of how to properly wear a mask, including the concierge.
The way I understand the sequence of events, one morning the concierge decided the 83 year old client was not wearing her mask according to the “rules.” Oh. Don’t you just love those words? So she followed her and took photos or videos of her. Of course this entailed invading her private space (you know, inches from her face).
The 83 year old did what we ALL should have done and would have done, she defended her space. She had a glass of water in her hand and threw it at the concierge. World war 3 broke out, the police were called and the Executive Director decided to kick the customer out, she gave her 3 weeks to get out and find somewhere else to live. But that’s not all, she then told the lady in question to go up to her room and not come out until she leaves.
This translates to being incarcerated in her room for 3 weeks, she may not go out for meals, be in the common areas, see or talk to anyone. I was absolutely livid when I heard that. First of all I don’t believe this draconian dingbat has the authority to treat seniors like that and IF she does there needs to be a serious overhaul of the laws.
Rana Kahl, who also stumbled into this story with me and shares my feelings and ideas, joins us On The Commons this week. Shu has a slightly different thought on it, a very valid one. I, on the other hand think anyone getting a job involving the elderly need to take etiquette classes, if they were ever taught any manners they forgot it. I was shocked at just how expensive these retirement communities are. They are the clients, no client should be treated that way. As I already said, I don’t believe they all operate that way but we need to be aware of what could happen. We may have friends and family in one of these places who is treated like a child and punished by being incarcerated in isolation in their room. Know your rights, DEFEND your rights and don’t let anyone abuse you or anyone else.
