Daily Journal Staff Report

September 18, 2015

A man accused of conspiring with the former manager of a San Mateo homeowners association to embezzle nearly $2.8 million is slated to turn himself in, prosecutors said Thursday.

Michael Anthony Medeiros, a 58-year-old Fremont resident, was wanted on a $1.6 million arrest warrant when, through his attorney, he agreed to appear in court Friday morning, according to prosecutors.

The surrender comes two days after Susan Marie Lambert, the former manager of the Woodlake Homeowners Association, turned herself in and pleaded not guilty to two felonies with multiple enhancements, including aggravated white-collar crime. Lambert and Medeiros allegedly conspired to embezzle millions of dollars from residents in the 990-unit condominium community.

Lambert, 64, was responsible for the association’s finances, which included an approximate $5 million annual budget, while she worked for the HOA for more than a decade. Read more:

Conflict began for the EastLake III association in 2012, when large residential developments, which were not in Chula Vista’s master plan, began to be shoehorned into the Otay Lakes area. As quality-of-life issues such as traffic and parking became aggravated and developer’s promises of amenities failed to appear, members of the association began to ask the seated board to take a stand on these issues. The association did not get involved, but 40 or 50 concerned homeowners began going to city-council meetings and speaking out about Lake Pointe and Casa Lago developments.

Then the activists began to focus on HOA issues and vied for board seats.

Association relations became so contentious in the past six months that the association had to hold two elections for board seats. Police have also been called to association meetings.

The first election, on April 8, could not be validated by ACE Inspectors, the company hired to conduct the procedure. The inspectors maintain that interruptions the night of the election and ballot irregularities impeded validation. ACE Inspectors wrote in an email to HOA president Barney Reed: “Most of the ballots/proxies were faxed or hand delivered and were never in envelopes…”  Read more:

http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2015/sep/25/stringers-big-trouble-eastlake/#

By Mark Young

September 20, 2015

MANATEE — A neighborhood feud born when Manatee County officials received a complaint about a 3-year-old girl’s swing set blocking a neighbor’s view of Terra Ceia Bay continues to fester after county investigators then discovered multiple code violations at nine homes more than a year ago.At least eight Snead Island homeowners in the affluent Amberwynd Circle neighborhood will be cited again for illegal walkways and other structures built in a conservation easement that separates homes from the bay. Manatee County code enforcement officials met with the vice chairman of the homeowners association Sept. 9 to discuss the violations.

“What we did was to share the code with those residents in violation and we want them to comply,” said Barnot.  Read more:

By Mary Shanklin

September 20, 2015

Orlando’s biggest challenge with building-safety violations isn’t in a blighted area. It’s a manicured MetroWest condo community where landscapers weed and security guards check guests.The English-themed Hamptons community of 743 condominiums faces $4 million in code-enforcement fines for violations — the largest tab in the city, according to Orlando officials.

“Some of it is as much the responsibility of the individual owners as anything,” said Mike Rhodes, who oversees code enforcement for Orlando. “Obviously part of the challenge is associated with operating a property that’s that big.”

Behind the fountains and gated entry are electrical hazards resulting from exposed and broken conduit lines, ceilings split from water damage, a collapsed driveway, an eroding building foundation, excessive mold and mildew, and rotted porch railings, according to recently filed code violations.

The problems have been so severe that Orange County Circuit Judge Lisa T. Munyon earlier this year categorized units at the Hamptons as “unfit for human habitation” because of “catastrophic water intrusion damages.” Engineering reports showed 90 percent of the units showed some type of damage. In an ongoing case, the judge cited $70 million in needed repairs and ordered developers to pay the condo owners association $40 million. The association “has uncovered systemic building code violations which has caused and continues to cause catastrophic property damage,” Munyon wrote in her February judgment against Epoch Properties and Park Avenue at Metrowest Ltd.  Read more:

By Louis Bolden

September 23, 2015

A local family says they have been battling their homeowners’ association over tree roots that are damaging their home.

“I’m so stressed about this situation,” Caryn Taylor told News 6.

Taylor said she’s stressed about the damage to her home. The damage to the wall in her 6-year-old daughter’s bedroom started with a small splinter, then grew into a large crack, which now spans the length of the wall and goes to the ceiling.

On the other side of the wall is a large tree. The roots can be seen above ground and appear to be growing right into the foundation.

“I’m afraid the roof is going to cave in. I mean, it’s literally pushing on this wall,” Taylor said.

In addition to the damage in the bedroom, which includes cracked marble on the windowsill, the tree roots have also affected the plumbing, she said.

One day when the toilet wouldn’t flush, her neighbor used a plumbing snake and ended up pulling a giant tree root out from the toilet.  Read more:

By Hudson Sangree

September 22, 2015