By Kendall Downing

October 20, 2014

GREENFIELD, Ind. — It’s a fight over a flag pole, and now lawyers are involved. A central Indiana veteran said his homeowners association wants his flag pole gone. But the man isn’t backing down, and he’s getting community support.

With scarecrows and flowers Bob and Judy Willits’ yard in Greenfield’s Fieldstone subdivision is neatly landscaped. But the flag pole in the corner, if you can believe it, is a cause for contention. “I’m not mad at them, but I’m still not going to take my flag down,” said Bob. He put it up in July. Soon after, the Fieldstone homeowners association (HOA) let he and his wife know the flag pole was against the rules.

“We had it for 22 years in the last place where we lived, and we just moved here 8 or 9 months ago. So, we had no idea they would be so hostile about the flag in our yard,” said Judy Willits.  Read more:

By Esteban L. Hernandez

October 9, 2014

TORRINGTON >> A former president and treasurer of a local homeowner’s association is facing felony larceny charges after the organization said he stole more than $85,000 from their bank account.

Roger Okenquist, 52, of 683 Heron Rd., Torrington, was arrested on Sept. 30 by Torrington police and charged with first-degree larceny after members of the Arbor Ridge Homeowner Association noticed $87,016.81 missing from their bank account last year. Police said he was making withdrawals and writing checks to himself, his company, his wife and his two children.

A police report was first filed in October 2013 by former association president Robert Davis, days after Okenquist resigned from his position as treasurer. Okenquist had also previously served as president of the association.  Read more:

By Ryan Hughes

October 10, 2014

By Susan Taylor Martin

October 13, 2014

At 36 stories, Signature Place is St. Petersburg’s tallest condominium tower and one of its most striking. It’s also a building riddled with dozens of construction and design defects, according to a new lawsuit. The Signature Place Condominium Association says it is spending “large sums” of money to repair problems ranging from cracks in exterior walls to improper fire wall installation to excessive noise from air-conditioning and heating systems.

At least some of the alleged defects were hidden by building components and finishes and thus were not discovered by owners “until after the purchase and occupancy of the unit,” said the lawsuit, filed last week in Pinellas County Circuit Court.

Signature Place, at 175 First Street S, was announced in 2005 at the peak of the real estate boom and neared completion just as the market collapsed in 2008. Plagued by slow sales, developer Joel Cantor had to slash prices and finally resorted to an auction to unload dozens of the tower’s 244 units. Prices, though, have recently rebounded in St. Petersburg’s hot downtown condo market.  Read more:

by Amanda Goodman

October 16, 2014

By Wesley Juhl

October 12, 2014

Three months after a homicide shook a quiet northwest Las Vegas Valley neighborhood, residents say HOA laws have hamstrung their ability to govern themselves and keep their community safe.

Ironwood Estates is an upscale community near Fort Apache Road and U.S. Highway 95. The homes, whose tax-appraised values average $500,000, are filled with neighborly people, for the most part, residents say. But the actions of a few irresponsible people, exacerbated by a killing last summer, have pushed some residents and the community’s HOA over the edge.

Just after 12:30 a.m July 28, Las Vegas police found 19-year-old Morland Richeyelder unresponsive with gunshot wounds. He had been shot at a house party attended by about 70 people, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Review-Journal received a series of letters from concerned homeowners, many of whom asked that their names be withheld out of fear of retribution.

“Our small community of 178 homes has hosted at least four brothels, a counterfeiting ring, a chop shop, a drug ring, a meth lab, an auto repair business, unlicensed pit bull breeders, homes being run as boarding houses, as well as houses being rented as short-term ‘party’ rentals,” wrote Larry Fuss, vice president of the HOA. “Even traffic is a problem.”

Fuss has lived in the Ironwood community for 11 years, serving on the HOA board about six years. Read more:

By Jeff McDonald

October 10, 2014

MISSION VALLEY — Michael Shames, the longtime Utility Consumers’ Action Network director who left amid a federal probe of his charity business practices, has been recalled from his homeowners’ association board.

The decision to remove Shames and two other members of the Fashion Hills HOA board closes an acrimonious year for residents of the 226-unit community just north of Fashion Valley Mall.

In a record turnout, homeowners voted to remove Shames 112 to 15. Residents said Shames was instrumental in awarding a flawed painting contract and perpetuating other problems within the neighborhood. Read more:

By Michele Dargan

October 6, 2014

Police apprehended the man who allegedly shot a Palm Beach property manager in the head Friday morning after the suspect went to the VA Medical Center Hospital in Riviera Beach for medical treatment, Public Safety Director Kirk Blouin said Sunday. Blouin said Charles Michael Croghan did not go the hospital to surrender. Croghan brought a gun into the hospital and made “some statements” to the staff that prompted them to call police, Blouin said. Blouin wouldn’t elaborate on what was said or why Croghan was seeking medical treatment. “Everything happened so fast,” Blouin said. The victim, 39-year-old Jeremy Holland, remains at St. Mary’s Medical Center in critical condition, according to Ryan Lieber, hospital spokesman.  Read more:

By Alli Friedman, KCFW Reporter

October 10, 2014

KALISPELL, Mont. – A new city policy in Whitefish now prohibits gated communities. It became official this week. City leaders say gated communities just don’t match the city’s vision for growth.There are currently two gated communities. One of them, Grouse Mountain Estates, wants to add more gates. They currently have two gates inside the subdivision and want to expand with more gates at the front. It would eliminate public traffic to the roads.  Read more: