Hot off the presses – there were 328,000 involuntary membership residential associations in America in 2013 according to a new fact book put out by the Community Associations Institute (CAI). I have to wonder just how accurate that number is. We’ve heard about associations that are defunct and the ones that were voluntarily terminated by the members because they found them to be more of a problem then they were worth. Are they part of that number?
On today’s show we visit an association in Texas that, happily, expired a number of years ago. But sometimes even a dead HOA just refuses to die gracefully.
Joining us On The Commons today is Bill Davis. Bill is one of a relatively small handful of attorneys who represents homeowners in litigation against their associations. With his terrific senses of humor and irony, he reports on some of the more bizarre goings on that are missed by the more casual or emotional observer. We’ll talk to Bill and find out just what HOA Board meetings and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings have in common. Perhaps the answer for “rogue boards” is a 12 step program? Join us.
There is a saying that you can’t go back home again. But what if you never left home? What if “home” consisted of a large family compound that has been handed down over the centuries, where several generations still live, gather to celebrate holidays and family special days and events, support each other and play together? It is an enviable way of life that is fast disappearing in the name of progress.
We will be visiting just such a place today. A family community in Southern Virginia called Hoehns Lake View Farms that has been owned by the same family for centuries, preserved and lovingly tended by those who live there now and by their ancestors before them. But not all is well in this idyllic corner of Virginia. While encroachment and property ownership disputes may well be a civil matter more properly enforced by the judicial system, local governments have a duty and a responsibility to uphold the laws and protect the citizens. When the local zoning department ignores letters of notification that the construction project they have been asked to approve includes property that is not owned by the developer and the police department refuses to protect citizens from trespass even when the property has been properly posted and the lawful owners have done everything to comply with the letter of the law. These responsibilities fall squarely in the purview of local governments.
And when citizens call the police to file a complaint about harassment, vandalism, cruelty to animals, killing family pets, bullying and endangerment to people, the appropriate response is to dispatch an officer or two to protect the innocent. But maybe the police are too busy arresting homeowners to prevent them from attending HOA meetings to show up when people are in real danger.
Joining us On The Commons this week is Sylvia Wright. Sylvia is a descendent of the Hoehns family. She grew up on the family farm, is actively protecting the land she inherited and loves and is happy that her children and grandchildren are also living on the land and growing up the way she and her ancestors did. But life is not as peaceful as it was when she was young. Please join us as we learn how life has changed in her peaceful, quiet, beautiful part of an otherwise crazy world.
Times they are a changing. Some of you may remember leaving your house or car unlocked, confident in the knowledge that when you returned, everything would be just as you left it. In this wonderful, brave new world of controlled living, barricading your doors, windows and vehicles is no guarantee that you won’t be fleeced, especially if you live in one the nation’s 325,000 HOAs where expenses, charges, assessments, fines, fees and dues just keep rolling in.
One such “expense” is called a transfer fee. A transfer fee is a fee, usually charged by the management company to “transfer” the sellers name out of their computer system and replace it with the buyers name when a house sells in the development. This is the same management company that has been hired by the association to manage the affairs of the association, maintain the books and records and oversee the contracts.
Joining us On The Commons this week is Stan Hrincevich. Stan lives in Colorado in an HOA and when he ran across something called a transfer fee, he did some research and what he discovered did not please him in the least so he decided to do something about it. He spent the last couple of years working on legislation to ban them, or at least cap them in Colorado. He set up a web site, www.coloradohoaforum.com , found some sympathetic legislators to carry his bill, rallied the homeowners in his State and could almost taste the bubbles in his Champaign glass. He was so close to victory – or so he thought. Before you pop the cork on your bottle to help Stan and his fellow Coloradans celebrate, tune to find out what happened.
Homeowners in the country’s almost 325,000 HOA controlled developments have been getting “threat letters” for years from the association or the association lawyers regarding some of the stupidest complaints. How on earth does a dusty mailbox, a cracked flower pot, one rose bush too many, a pudgy pooch or cream colored window coverings instead of eggshell white ones adversely affect property values? The greatest value one derives from being a homeowner is the ability to do as one pleases in one’s own home. But for 63 million American homeowners who live in controlled kommunities , it is a value that is nonexistent.
Being on the receiving end of such ridiculous violation notices causes stress, which, as we all know can lead to serious illnesses. Dr Gary Solomon has coined the phrase “The HOA Syndrome” to describe this set of illnesses.
However, I am told that laughter is the best medicine so this week we take a break from the horrors and have some fun.
Joining us On The Commons this week is Greg Dorchak. The multitalented Greg is an award winning actor, a film producer and director, a cartoonist, a stand-up comedian and writer from Austin, Texas. When Greg had his first run in with his HOA, he took care of the complaint then started talking to his neighbors. Being naturally funny, he found the humor in all of the HOA lunacy and the idea for “The Code Enforcer” was born. You can watch the teaser here: vimeo.com/79266134 . Greg’s website is www.classclownpictures.com Be sure to check it out.
There is a reason I start every show with, “You are now leaving the American Zone” and if you are wondering what I mean or why I say it you need go no further than this show to understand why.
In recent shows I have been highlighting the “blame the victim” method of dealing with the horror stories that grab the headlines. It is, of course, the homeowners’ fault that the “professionals” managers have absconded with the association funds. “They should have been looking over their shoulders, they should have asked questions” the HOA industry of professionals whine. And what happens when the homeowners do ask, “May I see the books and records”?
Joining us On The Commons this week are Sandy Schenkat and Rina Messler. Sandy lives in Arizona where she was arrested by the local police for swimming in the association pool that she paid for. Rina lives in North Carolina, also in an association, and she too wanted to know where her money was going. On the other side of the country was another police officer who was willing to take the word of a board member and arrest Rina. Tune in to hear their stories and find out what happened to these two ladies. And if you are curious as to what would happen if YOU, the homeowner wanted the police to investigate some funny business in YOUR association, call your local police department and ask them how they will help you, the tax payer, protect your property from embezzlement.
Whenever there is a problem with an out of control board, or another horror story hits the front page of the papers, proponents of involuntary membership associations remind us quite arrogantly that we “agreed” to the covenants, conditions and restrictions of the association. Again, this is simply another way of blaming the “victim”. It has to be the homeowner who is reneging on his or her promise, his or her contractual obligation. “If they didn’t like the ‘rules’, they shouldn’t have bought into the association” they say and add “they can move.”
Joining us On The Commons this week is Frank Short. Frank, an attorney and a long time advocate for individual homeowner rights has been following the HOA bills winding their way through the Virginia Legislature. What he found is quite shocking and disturbing. Several bills allow boards or the courts to amend declarations even when the homeowners have said, NO. The latest lament from those who feed at the HOA trough is that the homeowners really don’t know what is good for them and besides, they are so apathetic, they won’t approve a measure giving the board more intrusive and abusive powers. What the bills would do, if signed into law, would horrify you. Listen to Frank explain the bills and what they mean.
Three of the absolute worse bills are HB530, HB791 and HB690. FInd out who your Senator is and ask them to kill these three bills.
Have you noticed how all sense flies out the window when an involuntary membership homeowners association is involved? All of a sudden we fear anything that is not part of that uniform look and feel of a kontrolled kommunity. 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 konform to the existing architectural guidelines will no doubt turn the neighborhood green with envy.
Oh, get real!
Joining us On The Commons this week are Maria and Sam Farran. 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.
How did they do it? Well, look for their new and improved governing documents On The Commons and yes, you may use them as a template if you too want to return common sense and a sense of community to your neighborhood.
Google “HOA and (or) condo and embezzlement” and you will get more hits than you imagined possible. It is hard to sweep these stories under the rug and pretend that all is rosy in the nations involuntary membership housing corporations. Who is to blame for this sorry state of affairs in residential America? I have been chastised on more than one occasion by members of the HOA industry who claim the homeowners themselves are “apathetic” and are not providing the over sight to prevent the theft and abuses on the home front.
That’s it guys, blame the victim.
Easy to do.
But wait a minute, what happens when homeowners do ask for the books and records of the association? What happens when they want to know what is happening to their money?
Joining us On The Commons this week we have Robert Racansky. Robert has been asking for information he is entitled to about his HOA and about his own account, but for the last several years his requests have been ignored. To prove that he is far from apathetic, and in an attempt to put his fight on the skyline, Robert wrote a book called Madison Hill H.O.A. Inc; Something is Rotten in the State of Colorado. We’ll talk to Robert about the issues that led to his writing a book and find out about future plans. Robert maintains a web site at madisonhillhoa.com/ .
Consumers don’t take a course in auto mechanics when they buy a car, nor do need to know how the household appliances work just to own and operate them so why would housing consumers and homeowners be experts in HOA law? After all, they are buying what once was a called “a home”, not getting a law degree. But unlike a car or a houseful of appliances, it is the very lack of knowledge and understanding of modern day kommunities that puts them at risk of losing everything they own.
Joining us On The Commons this week we have Jan Bergemann. Jan is the founder and president of the Florida based Cyber Citizens for Justice. He is also one of the few homeowners who has taken the time to really learn and understand the mechanics of this newfangled concept of commingled housing. He maintains a web site at www.ccfj.net where he has a whole host of articles and other good information. We’ll find out what is going on in Florida and talk a little about whether or not this form of controlled living is a viable form of housing.
Municipal mandates for HOA housing have not only provided local governments with tax free dollars but have also created a $50 Billion annual industry to service these developments. There are lawyers to represent the corporations that have replaced our neighborhoods, managers to manage the homeowners as they live in what was once considered a private home, there are landscapers to maintain the grounds, auditors and accountants for the occasional audits and book keeping chores, there are taste police and enforcement police and gates and now there are even poop scoopers with sophisticated DNA tests to track the naughty pooch who pooped on “The Properties”.
The one career field that has remained more or less unchanged is the attorneys who specialize in representing the real clients in all this nonsense, the homeowners!
Joining us On The Commons this week we have Roger Wood. Roger is an Arizona attorney who, two years ago, opened his own law firm representing ONLY homeowners. His web site http://jrogerwoodlaw.com/proudly announces they are putting the “H” back in HOA. Join us, we’ll find out why an attorney with a lucrative career representing HOAs would give that up to represent the homeowners. We’ll talk about some of the reasons he chose to go down this path and what he does. You’ll be surprised by what he has to say and will no doubt agree with me that the US would be a better place if we managed to clone him, hundreds of times over. You can also get to Roger’s web pageboy following this link. www.HOAHelpNow.com
