Jan Bergemann

October 8, 2016 terrybar 1 Comment

Have you ever wondered just where you fit into the grand scheme of our modern world? Who makes all the decisions that affect you and your family? How many strings are being pulled to determine the course of your life and the choices you think you are making? Think of all the layers of government authorized (or not) to adopt laws controlling almost every aspect of your life, where and how you live, what you eat, what you say and how you behave. To help put it into perspective, imagine peeling back the layers of an onion and when you do, just like an onion, it will make you cry.

But then you console yourself with the thought that all those layers and layers are protecting you. Are they?

Jan Bergemann joins us On The Commons. Jan is the founder and president of the Florida based Cyber Citizens for Justice, CCFJ. Over the years Jan has worked with legislators, attorneys and homeowners trying to improve the status quo of owners in Florida’s approximately 4 million association controlled dwelling units. It should have been simple if all those layers of governments were in fact working to protect you, wouldn’t it? We’ll talk to Jan about Some of the major issues facing Floridians, we’ll touch on some of the stupidity that seems to be rampant in controlled America, we’ll find out just who (and how) those layers are really protecting and of course, it would not be a conversation with Jan without a trip back to Germany to compare issues on both sides of the Big Pond. He might just have a few ideas worth thinking about.

Peeling back the layers of an onion will make you cry.

Condominium

Sara Benson

September 24, 2016 terrybar 1 Comment

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I often see cartoons when I read the horror stories and see the abuses that take place in a residential association. Unfortunately what my mind “sees”, my hand can’t seem to draw so others can also take advantage of the “picture” in my mind. I have to use the thousand words to get you to see and feel what I see and feel when these stories come pouring out. So bear with me.

One of the many images that readily comes to the forefront of my mind when thinking of the hundreds of heartbreaking stories is a tsunami One small puff of air in the shape of a pudgy pooch or window blinds that are the wrong shade of white and off we go. The HOA huffs and it puffs and it gathers up strength and speed and then it rolls across the oceans, demolishing everything in its wake. When the oceans unleash their fury and come inland it is called a “disaster”. When an HOA bulldozes a member why don’t we recognize it as a disaster? All of these horrors and abuses are slowly but surely destroying any sense of community and ” belonging” we have.

Sara Benson joins us On The Commons. Sara is a longtime real estate broker in Chicago where condos and co-ops abound. Her hands-on and intimate knowledge of the residential association regime led her to co author a book called “Escaping the Condo Jail – The Keys to navigating Risks and surviving perils of the “Carefree” Community Lifestyle.” The book has been out for a couple of years now and anytime a book, a blog, an article or even a radio show is available to the public, it acts as a lifeline to homeowners drowning in the abuses of their HOAs. We talk to Sara about her book and follow up on some of the feedback she has received. Keep the image of a tsunami rolling across the angry oceans, looking for a place to land as you listen to the show and you will get an idea of how well Escaping Condo Jail is doing.

Abuse, Fighting Back, HOA Syndrome, Violence

Jerry Berg

September 3, 2016 terrybar 3 Comments

Over the years I have spoken to so many people who have found themselves on the receiving end of the wrath and fury of their condo or homeowners associations. The fear, anger, frustration and terror are unmistakable in their voices. They feel trapped and don’t understand how “this can happen in America”. They tell me they will never, ever buy another house in an association again if they are fortunate enough to get out of their current situation. It often takes years to finally put an end to their fights.

Jerry Berg joins us On The Commons. Jerry, as some of you may remember, was hospitalized when the president of his condominium beat him up with a crowbar. The president was a former judge who should have known better. When I called Jerry recently I noticed lightness in his voice. Was I imagining it or did he sound happier? Join us for a recap and an update on what he has been up to. He settled his case, refused to sign a gag order so is able to talk about it and to disclose the terms of the agreement. He has advice for others in similar situations. His advice will surprise you.

CAI

Deborah Goonan

August 27, 2016 terrybar

With all the bad press HOAs have been enjoying lately, it must be time for yet another industry sponsored survey, proving once again that ALL the fraud, abuses, and just plain stupidity we keep hearing about are nothing more than “isolated incidents”, simply anecdotal and really mean nothing. You see, “the survey says; homeowners are overwhelmingly satisfied with their HOAs”. Funny how the survey says the same thing time and again and yet the stories and the need for more and more enabling legislation to fix the problems continue to grow. Something smells a little fishy here.

Deborah Goonan joins us On The Commons. Deborah is a prolific blogger, commentator on many online venues including social media. She is a researcher who manages to pack a great deal in her day. Unlike many advocates who, once they escape the horror of their residential associations simply disappear, Deborah stuck with it to understand the issues and the problems. Her blog is called Independent American Communities . You will find a lot of these ” isolated incidents” discussed there. We talk to Deborah about the surveys conducted by CAI and get a wider understanding of surveys in general. Assuming the data is accurate, we also talk about the stats that are completely ignored by the surveys and what that really means. Sometimes there is a lot more information in what is not said than in what is actually disclosed.

Abuse, Suicide

Judy Thomas

August 13, 2016 terrybar 3 Comments

Symptoms are warning signs indicative of a problem. These warning signs should be investigated. Sweeping them under the rug and hoping they’ll go away is irresponsible. Far too often that is the treatment of choice in the Homeowner association arena. All the horror stories are symptomatic of deeper problems, and conditions that allow or even encourage the abuses to continue, unabated. They are the results of flawed reasoning. The very people who should be concerned that their brand is defective and harmful to the owners are the very same people who flippantly dismiss every signal that all is not well. Rather than preventing the horrors, the HOA industry blames and belittles the owners. Their arsenal is made up of the same stupid excuses and explanations. They glibly refer to the hundreds and hundreds of stories as “isolated incidents”. They have no credibility, they deserve no respect.

Judy Thomas joins us On The Commons. Judy is an award winning journalist with the Kansas City Star who just wrote and published an amazing series of articles about many of the stories going on in associations across the country. The main story, HOAs from hell: Homes associations torment residents they’re supposed to support just touches on some of the many problems homeowners face on a daily basis. The page also has links to other stories and video clips of some of the stories Judy ran across. In an HOA no one is spared. The color of window dressings is more important than a child’s safety and her life. The color of a swing set takes on a life of its own and ends up costing the family a huge sum of money. In one condo, an approved emotional pet was banned, causing the owner enough distress that he committed suicide. Even a 91 year old great grandmother is not safe in one of these associations. The elderly lady in this story is being charged $15 for every “letter” the HOA sends her notifying her that her garage door is no longer considered trim. Aren’t Americans allowed to enjoy the fruits of their labor without being hounded and harassed by the neighborhood thugs? These stories are real, they are not isolated incidents. The same stories are repeated time and again all over the place. You just can’t make these stories up.

If you have a story to share with Judy please send it to HOA@kcstar.com

Fighting Back

Greg Dorchak

August 6, 2016 terrybar 1 Comment

Once upon a time, not so very long ago, we were limited on where and how we got our information. The papers, radio and TV news reports decided what we should and could know. But, times they are a changing! Technology has opened up so many doors for all of us. Blogging, self publishing books, social media, podcasting, the internet, movies and yes, the traditional outlets that are still with us. All of it is terrific, it gives us access to so much more information.

Greg Dorchak joins us On The Commons. Greg is a movie maker from Austin, Texas. He has taken advantage of all the arts that allow him to get his point across. He is a self published author, a cartoonist as well as a movie maker. His passion is making people laugh so he uses comedy to deliver his message. We first met Greg a couple of years ago when he was working on “The Code Enforcer” which is all about, yup, you guessed it – HOAs. “The Code Enforcer” is on the back burner until he can get the funding to finish his movie. And yes, it is funny. There is nothing quite like taking the Mickey out of people who take themselves too seriously, is there? There is a ton of material in associations. However, in the meantime he is finishing the last bits and pieces on his current movie, a romantic comedy called Kopy Kings that takes place in a copy store. We’ll talk to Greg, find out what it takes to make a movie and how to get the inspiration to satisfy our creative yearnings.

Abuse, Fighting Back, Mismanagement

Rodney Gray

July 30, 2016 terrybar 2 Comments

In the very early days you could count the number of private communities with restrictive covenants on the fingers of one hand. In those days housing consumers had to search a home in a restricted development because that is what they wanted. But that was then. Once local municipalities realized they could greatly increase the size of their fiefdoms, increase their tax base without having to provide the services those taxes were designed to pay for, and developers were able to increase density, building more units on less land, the landscape in residential America changed dramatically. The age of cookie cutter and mini units was born. Then they multiplied like rabbits. Everywhere you go and everywhere you look you see the same designs, the same plants, the same colors, the same everything. On the surface they look boring but take a closer look and you will soon realize that the outer shell is a facade. The real story of housing American style, takes place behind those beige, bland, plastic walls.

Rodney Gray joins us On The Commons. Rodney went into acting before enrolling in college where he majored in film. But it wasn’t until he went to visit his mother in Texas that he was introduced to the concept of Homeowner Associations and witnessed the abuses that are part and parcel of everyday life in HOAs. He was informed that the real government could not get involved in protecting the homeowners in his mother’s development because that was a “civil matter”. But when he was threatened by a real police officer at a homeowner meeting the lines between what was a civil matter and what the real government could do became quite blurred. And that’s when his passion for making films and his strong sense of moral justice came together. Going a little beyond what one sees on the surface of HOAs, Rodney put on his investigative reporter’s hat, rounded up some friends and spent several years traveling around interviewing people and filming in HOAs. The result is his documentary, The HOAX The HOAX is making the rounds of film festivals and exposing the underside of Privatopia, as Prof. Evan McKenzie calls them. We’ll talk to Rodney and find out what it took to make the documentary and how the viewers have been reacting to it.

Legislation

Marjorie Murry

July 23, 2016 terrybar 3 Comments

I am beginning to think that any lie will do. As long as no one looks too closely, as long as the lie sounds plausible, as long as it is delivered with a straight face, it is good to go. You really do not have to go too much farther than the lies that are told when selling HOAs. Just think of the ones that are routinely used to make surrendering sovereignty of our homes sound like such an honor and you will understand what I mean. A few buzzwords that need no explanation readily come to mind; “carefree living”, “protecting property values” and “democracy up close and personal”.

Such a deal! You give up the right to decide what to plant in your front yard in return for having a say in what happens in the community.

So how does that work?

Marjorie Murray joins us On The Commons. Marjorie is the founder and president of the Center for California Homeowner Association Law. Over the years she and the Center for California Law have tirelessly tracked legislation and have worked with like minded groups and legislators to ensure that homeowner friendly laws are enacted. They have educated law makers about the hidden dangers and pitfalls of proposed bills that would benefit the HOA industry to the detriment of the owners and have fought valiantly to defeat them when they have come up. One such bill that reared its ugly head in California this year was AB1799 The bill was introduced and explained as a cost saving measure for associations. On the surface it may sound like a great idea BUT WAIT A MINUTE, what would it really do? And just how well would this new law, had it passed, square with the “Democracy up close and personal” benefit to HOA living we are promised? Marjorie explains in detail what this bill would have done and gives some solid tips on how to find, and fight, these bills when they are introduced in a State Capitol near you. You know they are coming to your neck of the woods. She also gives some good advice on how to expose the, um, shall we we say, untruths in the claims? You’ll want to tune in and never underestimate the importance of letting your legislators hear from you.

CAI

Linc Cummings

July 9, 2016 terrybar

This interview was recorded and broadcast earlier.

Byron Hanke is largely credited with being the grandfather of what we often refer to as “homeowner associations”. But this concept of homeownership includes condominiums, co-ooperatives as well as fee simple single family homes. As I started looking at the bigger picture of HOAs, I wondered about the origins of the concept. I called Byron Hanke several times and talked to him on the phone. He never agreed to be interviewed but was generous with his time when it came to talking one on one. In October of 1999 I got a call from Lincoln Cummins, one of the three founders of CAI and its second President, inviting me to a summit to be held at at Anne and Byron’s house in a place called “Scientists Cliffs” in Maryland. Scientists Cliffs served as a model for HOAs.

Lincoln Cummings joins us On The Commons this week. Linc has been involved from the very beginning so has a unique perspective. He takes us on a trip down memory lane to the very early days of association housing, introduces us to the people involved and talks a little about the thoughts and plans they had. We’ll find out whether or not their ideas materialized as imagined or whether some things went astray. We’ll also ask Linc, hindsight being 20/20, if he could go back to the very beginning, would he do anything differently. . . .

Foreclosures, Law Suits

John Cowherd

July 2, 2016 terrybar 1 Comment

On The Commons celebrates 16 years of bringing you news and views of condo and homeowners associations. This is the first show of our 17th year on the air. Thanks to everyone for making this possible.

Sometimes it appears that the the powers of the world are stacked against the individual. No matter what the situation, the individual often finds him or herself standing alone, facing seemingly insurmountable odds. How did we ever get to this point? That sense of having lost control is growing across all areas of life. It has even invaded our most cherished private sanctum, our home. But I believe that the power and the will of the people is not quite ready to be relegated to the annals of history. Every so often there is a glimmer of hope and a sign that all is not yet lost. And that little spark you see in the dark comes from the Virginia Supreme Court.

John Cowherd joins us On The Commons. John is an attorney in Northern Virginia and one of a handful of attorneys nationwide who will represent homeowners in their battles with their homeowner and condo associations. John also has a blog called Words of Conveyance so he is always on the lookout for news and stories of interest to share with his readers and our radio audience. Today we will talk about The Day the Universe Changed as a result of a Virginia Supreme Court decision issued on June 16. In his blog, John quotes Steve Emmert, a VA appellate law blogger, who claims this decision represents a “nuclear explosion”. That can only be good for homeowners. Join us as John walks us through the case and explains what the Parrish v. Federal National Mortgage Association is all about and explains how this case may help homeowners facing foreclosure and eviction.

Peeling back the layers of an onion will make you cry.

This interview was recorded and broadcast earlier.

On The Commons celebrates 16 years of bringing you news and views of condo and homeowners associations. This is the first show of our 17th year on the air. Thanks to everyone for making this possible.

News and Views About Homeowner Associations