The post war boom brought with it growth, wealth and seemingly unlimited possibilities. Cars and highways made it possible for families to move out to the suburbs in pursuit of the American Dream. Along with that dream came financial problems for local municipal governments. The solution, residential associations, then created a whole host of other problems that seem to be getting worse instead of better. HOA living has long been called a failed experiment but despite its many inherent flaws, the last several decades have seen an unstoppable growth in this type of housing. In his highly influential first book, “Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Government”, Professor McKenzie chronicled the early years of this new form of housing. Now, almost two decades later comes the much awaited “Beyond Privatopia: Rethinking Residential Private Government”. Joining us On The Commons is Professor Evan McKenzie. Evan is a political Science Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, he teaches law at John Marshall Law School, is a practicing attorney, a blogger and in his spare time writes books and articles and gives TV and radio interviews. We’ll talk about the evolution of HOAs, what they have been defined as and what they really are.
The American dream of homeownership seems to be falling apart. First the heavy handed HOAs and all the many problem associated with that largely unregulated layer of government reducing the dream to a nightmare, followed by the massive mortgage fraud that has stripped housing consumers of their homes and now we hear about the problems with the actual physical product, the building itself. Is the American dream of homeownership all it is cracked up to be? What are the dangers of owning a piece of the dream? On The Commons this week we are joined by Janet Ahmad. Janet is the founder and President of the Texas based Home Owners for Better Building. Their web page hobb.org is full of information and stories about the issues HOBB gets involved with. Please join us On The Commons. We’ll find out what prompted Janet to take on this huge issue and what pitfalls of ownership we should look for.
The transformation of the American Dream of homeownership into the current scheme of collective, corporate housing has been a boon to local governments, developers and a $50 Billion annual industry. It has, however, been detrimental to the owners, creating many problems from losing control over one’s home, wallet, social life, beliefs, constitutional rights and peace of mind. Associations have become a study of how not to live. But is there more fall out from this flawed and failed experiment that has yet to be considered?
On The Commons this week we are joined by Dr Gary Solomon. Dr. Solomon is psychotherapist, a psychology professor at the College of Southern Nevada, a researcher a published author and a Human Rights Advocate. His research has taken him into the world of HOA living and the abuses within associations. In his papers, HOA Syndrome and Elder Abuse in HOAs, he explores the physical and mental effects of HOA living on the folks who live in associations. Please join us On The Commons. We’ll find out what happens to people in power and how the stress caused by neighborhood bullies can adversely affect your health.
Fixing the problem of cash strapped municipalities during the post war housing boom turned into a whole new housing model for Americans. No longer proud homeowners, generations of housing consumers became “unit owners” in what became known as “associations”. Once local governments realized they could still collect property taxes and then force the owners to pay for the up keep and maintenance of the infrastructure, they were hooked and began mandating this privatized form of housing. But just how successful was this new fangled housing concept? And is the concept a viable form of housing? On The Commons this week we are joined by Tyler Berding. Tyler is a founding attorney of Berding Weil in California. He represents associations, is a member of the California based Executive Council of Homeowners (ECHO), CAI and the California Association of Community managers, maintains a blog called Condo Issues and is a prolific writer. One of his articles, “Predictions of the Future in an Uncertain World”, has Tyler looking through his crystal ball into the future of condos. Please join us On The Commons. We’ll talk to Tyler about the problems with condos, find out why they are failing and take a peek into the future.
It all sounds so, so, well let’s just say Utopian, doesn’t it? You see, there is a neighborhood, with neighborhood amenities, where all the neighbors contribute for those amenities. And some of the neighbors oversee those amenities, collect the dues, make any business decisions that need to be made and everyone lives happily ever after. And let’s call those neighborhoods associations, whether condo, homeowner or cooperative. And let’s say that this set up provides for “carefree living” where the residents have a say in how their neighborhood is run. It’s enough to give us the warm and fuzzies, isn’t it? So why then, are there so many problems in Privatopia? And just what do those problems really mean? On The Commons this week we are joined by Jan Bergemann. Jan is the plain speaking, energetic president of the Florida based Cyber Citizens for Justice www.ccfj.net and www.ccfjedu.net. Please join us On The Commons. We’ll talk about how well these associations are doing in Florida, what is happening to the amenities and what happens when there are not enough people left to make the common contributions to the association coffers. And as always, I wonder if association living in a viable and sustainable housing model.
On The Commons turns 10 years old this month. Our special guest is Evan McKenzie as we celebrate 10 years and kick off a brand new season of On The Commons. For years housing consumers have been told that associations protect property values despite the fact that there was no real evidence or data to support this pie-in-the sky notion. With the current downturn in the economy what seems to be emerging is that not only do associations NOT protect property values since they are not immune from the world around them but they can actually diminish values. While it is a fact that many associations are under water, the exact number is not known. And for those that are, will they come back? What happens to property values in those developments? How many people and how many lives will be adversely affected because of the association? On The Commons this week we are joined by Professor Evan McKenzie. Dr. McKenzie is a professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago and the John Marshall School of Law as well as a practicing attorney, author and blogger. He is the author of Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Government. His second book is due out soon. Please join us On The Commons. We’ll take a look at the big picture of the health of HOAs, and where the individual homeowners stand in all this. We also get a sneak peek at his new book and maybe some ideas for a third one? Join us 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. Almost half a century ago the idea of creating little private residential enclaves, complete with the power to levy assessments, adopt rules and enforce them was hatched. While the original goal of providing local governments with a means of collecting free tax dollars worked perfectly, the problems this housing concept created have made the dream of homeownership a nightmare for many. Over the past decades some legislators have attempted to “fix” the problems. Have they? On The Commons this week we are joined by Senator Mike Schneider. Mike, a Nevada State legislator has been the go to guy in Nevada for HOA and condo problems. He has introduced legislation designed to provide some form of oversight for his constituents but has it worked and is it enough? Please join us On The Commons this Saturday, May 29, 2010. We’ll get caught up on the latest from Nevada.
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.
