Those who have a great deal to gain from the dysfunctional common interest development system will have you believe that HOAs protect property values.  And those who know better will tell you that if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.  The greatest value of homeownership is peace of mind and the ability to live in one’s safe haven.  But when an HOA comes between an owner and their home simplicity, commons sense and JUSTICE go away.

Nila Ridings joins us On The Commons.  Nila, is a homeowner who has learned the truth about associations the hard way.  Contrary to maintaining her home to preserve the values of not only her unit but that of the entire neighborhood, she discovered that relinquishing control of her money and her ability to maintain her home as she would have maintained it herself was a mistake.  Despite the fact that she had paid her dues, her house was falling into disrepair while the HOA.  Instead of making the necessary repairs her association took her to court to foreclose on her home.  We’ll talk to Nila and get the details of how she got to this point and we’ll find out just how well her HOA protected her property values.  

Tell us your stories  in your own words 

Why is it that the single largest asset you own comes with more restrictions and controls placed on it than any other item you have?  Own a car?  You can choose the size, make, model, color, you can add seat covers, additional side mirrors to enhance your vision of your surroundings, add bumper stickers about your child’s scholastic achievements, your favorite teams, your pets, places you have visited or any other message that is near and dear to your heart.  No approval needed from anyone for the color of your vehicle or permission to add more side mirrors.  Permission for a bumper sticker announcing your pride in your children’ scholastic and athletic achievements?  After all, isn’t it all part of your right to free speech?  You own it, you control it. So why is it that your home, arguably the largest expenditure you have, the one item that reflects who you are and what you like more than anything else, is so burdened with rules, regulations, threats, fines and yes, foreclosure because you violated someone else’s aesthetic sensibilities.  Whatever happened to being king and queen of your own castle?

Bill Davis joins us On The Commons.  Bill, a Texas attorney whose legal practice includes representing homeowners in HOAs has a unique insight into HOA problems.  He has seen the bad and the ugly from all sides.  We talk to Bill about what makes living in an HOA such an awful experience for so many homeowners and how the association and their legal council seem to have unfettered power over the owners.  We also talk about the “carrot” or the BIG LIE that convinces housing consumers that there might be some benefit to giving up so much control over their lives and homes by subjecting themselves to an HOA. We talk about THE BIG LIE, the assertion that HOAs protect and enhance property values.  What exactly are property values?  How do HOAs protect these values when so many homeowners are losing their homes and their fortunes to the HOA boards, managers and their attorneys?  And just what is the value of homeownership in modern day America? 

Share your stories on   From the HOA Trenches

Some people insist on referring to HOAs as communities. If we describe people; who live in the same geographical area as a community; that might be accurate.  However, in a contrived situation like today’s mass-produced residential associations, geography is about the only thing most of the owners have in common.  The hierarchical structure of a forced membership association does nothing whatsoever to foster a sense of community, rather it seems to cause isolationism and imposes fear in the residents.  In a very real sense their real governments and left to fend for themselves against all manner of abuses have abandoned the owners.  In some of the worst cases, homes are being stolen by those in the upper echelons of the HOA hierarchy and sold on the courthouse steps for pennies on the dollar.

Ryan Torrens joins us On The Commons.  Ryan is a young attorney in Tampa Florida who was introduced to the horrors of foreclosures right out of law school.  Shortly thereafter he started his own firm, The Torrens Law Group, where he specializes in protecting homeowners facing foreclosure from banks and homeowner associations.  We talk to Ryan about the situations that promote a climate that not only favors foreclosures but also in some respects makes them commonplace.  We get tips on what to do when a homeowner finds themselves in that situation, and probably more importantly, what not to do.  We also talk about key legislation that might go a long way in preventing some of the worst abuses.  

Newton discovered that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.  Is that what we today call “unintended consequences”?  How often do we head down one path towards a goal without thinking through the end results?  Could we avoid many of the pitfalls we are dealing with if we stopped long enough to think things through?  

One of those unhappy and unpredicted results may well be the sheer number of zombie foreclosures being reported nationwide.  The unfortunate circumstances the homeowners find themselves in and the rather significant negative effect those vacant houses have on their immediate surroundings is an area of concern.   And since most of the housing in many parts of the country is in mandatory membership residential associations, these zombie foreclosures also impact associations through lost assessments.  

John Cowherd and Jeremy Moss join us On The Commons.  Both are attorneys in Virginia and both specialize in HOA and condo association law.  They also both have blogs where they discuss zombie foreclosures.  Jeremy’s blog is called The Moss Report  and  you can access John’s blog at Words of Conveyance   John, changed his practice and now represents homeowners in HOAs.  Jeremy, an attorney with Mercer-Trigiani, represents associations. I am grateful to both gentlemen for coming in to the studio and sharing their thoughts. We’ll talk about zombie foreclosures, explain what they are and talk about why we have so many of them now.  We’ll also discuss different ideas on how to deal with them. There is a lot to learn by listening to this interview.