This encore presentation of On the Commons features John McGuire, who is running for congress in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District in 2024. On the Commons had John on the air a full five years earlier in 2019.

Bruised, abused, mocked, harassed, dejected and frustrated, homeowners in HOAs have tried to fight back. They have been sued, fined, ridiculed, outgunned and left standing alone in a sea of their neighbors, homeowners like themselves too terrified to even talk to them lest they find themselves in the crosshairs of the HOA.  Over the years I have talked to and witnessed some of these homeowners as they start an organization to fight the injustices of HOAs only to end up fighting amongst themselves.  Their vision of taming the HOA monster evaporating into thin air. Could part of the problem be the lack of teamwork?  Are they listening to each other or shouting over each other? Is the key to real reform as simple as listening?

John McGuire joins us On The Commons. John, a Virginia delegate has one of the most amazing and inspiring personal stories I have yet to come across.  When all the odds seemed to be against him, John fought and earned one of the coveted spots as a Navy Seal, despite being told he couldn’t do it. Later he defied the odds again and survived a life threatening accident, learned to walk and to write his name – again.  Incredibly none of what he went through in life convinced him he couldn’t do something.  Being told he couldn’t do something was the impetus he needed to prove them wrong. John strongly believes in teamwork and like every good leader, gives credit to his team.  I heard about John when he managed to help resolve a 20 year HOA horror story.  We’ll get to know John personally and learn about his philosophy, talk about the problems in HOAs and start looking at different ways of dealing with the problems millions of American homeowners face nationwide.  

Tell us your stories in your own words 

We would do well to keep KISS in mind when it comes to our homes “Keep it Simple, Stupid.” But we can’t seem to do that, and the problems keep mounting. So when a plumber, an electrician, or a roofer can’t help, who do you call? So many Texans contact our guest, who deals with much messier and more complicated problems than plumbers or roofers. 

Nancy Kozanecki joins us On The Commons.  Nancy took over from Beanie Adolph as the director of the Texas Reform Coalition. By the sounds of things, she is very busy. I enjoyed talking to her and learning from her, and my guess is that you will too. So mark your calendars and be sure to tune in.

This is a rebroadcast show from July 2019 that we often talk about.  Tune in, you’ll love it just as much this time around.

Have you noticed how all sense flies out the window when an involuntary membership homeowners association is involved?  All of a sudden we fear everything that is not part of that uniform look and feel of a controlled community.  A different shade of blah can topple an entire neighborhood, an unapproved garden hose, dusty mailboxes, flags, rose bushes and pudgy pooches are all a threat to property values. An addition that doesn’t quite conform to the existing architectural guidelines will no doubt incite a riot, oh get real.

Maria and Sam Farran join us On The Commons this week. The Farrans  weren’t about to believe all the nonsense they were told.  They did their homework, knew the rules and the laws and decided to fight back.  After years of court room drama, they won their cases and were awarded attorney fees and court costs. However, there was a snag. You see, in the process,  their HOA ran out of money and went bankrupt.  But there is a happy ending after all. As Maria says; “We used to be a corporation that ran a neighborhood, we are now a neighborhood that runs a corporation”. I won’t ruin it for you so tune in and find out how they got their money and what happened to the association.  You’ll love it.

Tell Us Your Own Story In your Own Words

For those of you who have asked about the On The Commons St Patrick’s day show, you will be happy to know we are back.  I have wanted to do this show for a long time so I am particularly excited to bring it to you.

Frank Short is my guest so I know you will love it.. The reason I want to do this show is that we have heard from so many of you who have had unbelievable problems with your HOAs.  I have spent hours listening to the abuses that people have suffered and just how it has affected them.  Elderly people living on their own afraid of answering the phone or the door in case it was the HOA calling.  

Some people are even afraid of checking the. Mail in case there was yet another nasty gram from the HOA.  People shouldn’t have to live like this but HOAs have become too powerful and the governments that keep empowering them will not take steps to protect the homeowners. 

 About 30 years ago, when Frank and I first met we intended to have fun and not allow ourselves to be intimidated, scared, or abused.  We said from day one that we were going to have FUN and we did.  In this show we tell you what we did, how we reacted, and what we did.  

We had fun then and we were still laughing as we sat here working on the show and remembering the stories we tell you.  I must admit this would probably not work as well if you tried to do this alone so we suggest you find a partner.  It helps if you both have the same sense of humor, plan on having fun, and don’t let yourselves be intimidated.  We had fun but we also wanted all our neighbors to have fun and enjoy themselves.  It gave us a big kick to watch our neighbors giggle when they read some of the things we tell you about.  Good luck and please let us know what you do.  

I have some heartbreaking stories about homeowners hounded and abused by the thugs in their HOAs.  Don’t let that happen to you or your friends and neighbors.  Have FUN! And share your stories with us please.  Let us put a stop to all the abuse and take control of our neighborhoods.  By the way, we have more  stories so stay tuned.  I’d love your feedback.