April 30, 2014

By Sabrina Rocco

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Three years ago, Michael Groves replaced a sliver of grass in his front yard with a gravel path so his teenage stepson could safely make it up and down the driveway. Ben, 15, isn’t your average high-schooler. Ben was diagnosed with autism at age 5 and developed epilepsy in his preteen years. He can have multiple seizures per month, requiring him to wear a $250 helmet at almost all times in case he collapses. Ben plays with remote control cars in the front lawn of his Summerfield home. If he walks down to the sidewalk, he uses a path made of pea gravel and sand, according to his father, who said his son knows never to step foot on the concrete driveway. If Ben collapsed there, he could crack his head open or even die. Read more:

By Kim Miller

May 2, 2014

Leonard Regolizio, president of Lakes at the Bluffs Homeowners Association in Jupiter, said his board was just trying to tidy up the community, writing rule violations, when a threat appeared on the side of the racquetball court. “DIE HOA,” it read, spray painted in big black letters. “None of the other boards enforced any rules,” said Regolizio, 64, who has lived at the Bluffs for four years. “We’re trying to improve things, we’ve got new plantings, and we wanted to get people in compliance.” So the violation committee started issuing citations for things such as doors painted different colors. The incident, which occurred in March, was written up in a Jupiter Police Department report. Regolizio said he has a hint at who may have done the vandalism to the racquetball courts, but there’s no proof.   Read more:

By Lyxan Toledanes

May 6, 2014

Friendly neighbors at Lexington’s Tim Wa Estates scored a victory Tuesday afternoon after battling for months with local property managers. Kalama-based interim property managers of the mobile home park were demanding that a neighborhood volunteer group, Helping Hands, stop offering their free services to elderly and ailing neighbors. They claimed the group violated the park’s “no solicitation” rules. The rules left residents fearing even going next door to borrow a cup of sugar, let alone lending a hand on a neighbor’s yard work. They said they tried to resolve the dispute for months with no response.

But late Tuesday, Amber Monte, president of California-based holding firm Investment Property Group, which owns Tim Wa and oversees the Kalama managers, said those managers are gone from the park. “We’ve removed the employees involved from any further involvement with the property,” Monte said in an email. “We’ve contacted Helping Hands directly to relay our complete support for their charitable services and good deeds.”  Read more:

By Richard Andrus

May 7, 2014

The Idaho Legislature recently adopted Senate Bill 1310 that places new limits on fines issued by property owners’ associations. The stated purpose of the new law, which will become Idaho Code Section 55-115, is to place “reasonable requirements” on owners’ associations to protect homeowners from invalid fines before a lien foreclosure occurs.

The new rules have broad application and will affect developers, property owners, volunteer association board members, and property management companies. Although some of the restrictions in the new law are clearly defined, the law is silent on several issues and creates pitfalls for unprepared parties.

So what are the new restrictions? First, no “fine” may be imposed for a violation of an association’s CC&Rs unless the “authority” to impose the fine is clearly set forth in the CC&Rs. The new law does not define what constitutes a fine. Merely changing the name in the CC&Rs from a “fine” to a “fee” or a “penalty” likely will not avoid the requirements of the new law.  Read more:
http://idahobusinessreview.com/2014/05/07/idaho-legislature-adopts-new-restrictions-on-hoa-fines/

May 2, 2014

By Travell Eiland

EUSTIS, Fla. —An Orange County couple who developed multiple Lake County subdivisions is arrested on 25 counts of grand theft and one count of money laundering on Friday, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement announced. Mark Carson, 58, and his wife Lee Ann Carson, 57, of Apopka, developed the Black Bear Reserve Community in Eustis, Florida. The community includes three subdivisions — Upson Downs, Villages, and the Lakes.Investigators said the Carsons stole nearly $1.5 million from the Black Bear Reserve Homeowners Association and the Black Bear Reserve Water Company bank accounts. Read more:

http://www.wesh.com/news/lake-county-developers-arrested-on-25-counts-of-grand-theft/25780218#!HARBE

May 2, 2014

HOUSTON – A local homeowners association is suing nearly 120 of its residents. Copies of the lawsuit were sent to dozens of families in this northwest Houston neighborhood.  Many of them had signed a petition to allow taller fences along what was a golf course. But the deed restrictions regulate the fence height. People here felt they were named in the lawsuit because they signed the petition aimed at making homes along the green space safer. Read more:

By Natasha Barrett

April 28, 2014

SUGAR LAND, TX (KTRK) — Some people living in a Sugar Land neighborhood are upset. They say their HOA is going to take out nearly 30 trees running along a neighborhood street. The First Colony HOA wants to remove the trees along Edgewater Drive between Colonist Park and Waters Way in First Colony. But they’re one of the reasons neighbors Patty Newton and Vickie Bolen moved near Edgewater Drive 25 years ago. “The birds can’t say anything about it so somebody has to be here to fight,” Newton said.There’s no grass underneath those trees. Plus, the trees in the median are planted so close together, the roots are intersecting; and, soil runoff is flowing into the storm drains. Now, First Colony Community Association announced it’s going to remove 29 trees to solve the problem. But not everyone agrees. Read more:

Nick Monacelli

By Shannon Behnken

Updated March 21, 2013

WESLEY CHAPEL – Two days before closing on a house, Eugene Vrooman got bad news: If he didn’t come up with $14,000, the homeowners association wouldn’t allow his deal to go through. In addition to unpaid assessments, the Bridgewater Community Association demanded money for cosmetic repairs to the home, which had been vacant for more than a year. It wanted the exterior of the 4-year-old house cleaned and painted, weeds pulled and new sod.“My wife and I were just devastated,” Vrooman said. “We’ve been working on this deal for six months. We planned to clean up the home, but we want to do the work ourselves, not some homeowners association. This just feels like extortion.” The neighborhood may be at the vanguard of a get-tough movement by homeowners associations intent on restoration after the devastation caused by mass foreclosures. Experts know of few other associations this aggressive. But few neighborhoods have been hit harder.Sixty-five percent of the homes were sold to investors, and all but about 160 of the 760 homes – 79 percent – have faced foreclosure. Values were slashed in half, and homes fell into disrepair. There are 37 pending sales in Bridgewater, and 23 homes are on the market.  Read more:

By Jack Bouboushian

April 16, 2014

CHICAGO (CN) – A kayaker drowned in an attack by vicious swans and his family claims in court that the property owner should have known the animals were unreasonably dangerous.
Amy Hensley, on behalf of her deceased husband’s estate, sued Hillcrest Property Management, Bay Colony Condominium Owner’s Association, Bay Colony Homeowners Association and affiliates in Cook County Court. “As a part of its attempt to control the geese population on and around the subject property, defendant Hillcrest Property Management, Inc. kept a pair of mute swans on or near the retention pond,” the widow claims in the lawsuit.
“The mute swan is one of the heaviest flying birds, with males (known as cobs) averaging about twenty-four to twenty-six pounds. “Mute swans are extremely aggressive and attack by smashing at their victims with bony spurs in the wings, accompanied by biting with their large bill. The wings of these swans are very powerful, reported to exert enough force to break an adult man’s leg,” according to the complaint.  Read more: