COLUMBIA STAR:  Mulch Ado About Nothing
By Mike Maddock

February 22, 2019

I got a letter the other day from my homeowners’ association. That’s never good because homeowners’ associations don’t send letters just to say “Hello” or “Man, your house looks fantastic!”
Nope. Generally, when the association reaches out, it’s bad news.“You are in violation of Code: Whatever, Subsection B of Article Blah, Blah, Blah written on a stone tablet some time back in 1995…”Your garbage cans are visible from the street. Your mailbox needs to be painted a different shade of black. Your fence has too many splinters. Your squirrels aren’t grey enough. It’s always something other than, “Nice work with the pressure washer. Your deck has never looked cleaner!” It’s more like, “Your pressure washer is in violation of the noise ordinance and is a flood hazard.”To the credit of my homeowners’ association, these letters don’t come very often. We don’t have any power-hungry Gladys Kravitz type association presidents staring out the window all day long looking for the most minute violation. But in a way, that makes such letters even more foreboding. They don’t come often, but when they do…. look out.I’d be the first to admit my yard could use a little love and affection, but I haven’t had a free weekend in about six months, so let’s just say it’s looked better. We’re also in the dead of winter despite what that gopher up north prognosticated. No yard is going to make the cover of Better Homes and Gardens in the winter unless it’s covered in snow. I hoped the association could grant me a little leeway with that in mind.Still, I opened the letter with caution. Unfortunately, this was one I never saw coming.To summarize: It seems I was in violation of HOA Rules and Regulations because I had…wait for it… too many pine cones and dead leaves…in my mulch beds.Too many pine cones and leaves… in my mulch beds??? I can honestly say I had no idea such a violation existed or even could exist. I guess I’ve been living a lie all these many years. I thought that’s what mulch beds were for…a kind of catch all for organic things we don’t want in the grass but are not worthy of disposal.  Read more:http://www.thecolumbiastar.com/news/2019-02-22/Commentary/Mulch_Ado_About_Nothing.html

Couple says woman confronted family during 1-year-old’s birthday photo shoot

Photo shoots in the neighborhood have been a topic of discussion in the past by the Broadacres Home Owners Association, which had tried to ban photo shoots located on the North, South and West Boulevards, but in 2017 the city said the esplanades are in the right of way.

By Sophia Beausoleil – ReporterPosted: 10:11 PM, February 18, 2019


HOUSTON – It was supposed to be a memorable moment for the parents of a soon-to- be 1-year girl, but the photo shoot to capture the milestone will be remembered for a different reason. The Allen family said while taking pictures and 30 minutes into their photo shoot a woman started to harass them.  They also accused her of putting her hands on the father as he recorded the encounter. 
“These were our first professional shots we have taken of the baby since she’s been born,” said Kelyn Allen, the mother. “It was something that was supposed to be very special for us, and I hate the fact that, when I look at these pictures, this is what I have to remember.”Broadacres, which is near the Museum District, has become a popular spot for people to take pictures for weddings engagements, birthdays and other occasions, because of the beautiful landscape.Isaiah Allen and his wife, Kelyn Allen, were excited about their daughter, Anja’s first birthday and wanted to capture the moment with a photo shoot .Initially, they had planned on taking pictures at Hermann Park, but it was too busy, so their photographer suggested Broadacres. It happened to be the same spot where the Allens had their engagement pictures taken, and they did not have a problem there in the past.“It was pretty quiet. There were some other photographers taking pictures, people walking their dogs, couples, so it was pretty peaceful, pretty quiet,” Isaiah Allen said. “A lot of people said, ‘Cute baby.’ They were smiling, that sort of thing.”But the Allen family said that all changed when a woman pulled up and approached them.  They were repositioning some of the props when the woman driving a Jaguar rolled up. The video shows the woman walk up to them barefoot, with a cellphone in hand and her Pomeranian in the other. “She’s yelling things like, “You’re trampling the grass, that we pay for, you need to leave,’ even though we were on the walkway talking the picture,”  said Isaiah Allen. “She said, ‘You’re on private property. You need to get your stuff out now.’ (She was) very aggressive, in our face. It was escalating to the point where my wife suggested I start recording.” Read more:

https://www.click2houston.com/news/couple-says-woman-confronted-family-during-1-year-olds-birthday-photo-shoot

The Washington Post Business :  A billion-dollar empire made of mobile homes
 By Peter Whoriskey February 14, 2019
 SMYRNA, Tenn. — It’s not fancy. But in the exurbs of Nashville stands part of a billion-dollar real estate empire. The Florence Commons community consists of about 300 mobile homes of varying vintages, mostly single-wide, many valued at less than $30,000 apiece, set 20 feet apart from one another. The occupants of some will tell you: The floors buckle. The ceilings crack. The doors don’t shut right. Their homes are sinking. “Okay — it’s a trailer park, not a fancy gated community,” said Jessica Boudreaux, 33, who lives there with her two daughters. “If people could, they’d live somewhere else.” Yet Florence Commons, along with more than 200 other mobilehome parks around the United States, has produced hefty returns for Stockbridge Capital, a $13 billion private-equity firm, and its major investors. Their company for mobile-home parks has produced tens of millions for investors in recent years and saw a return on investment of more than 30 percent between late 2016 and the end of 2017, according to documents. Those ample returns arise in part from their willingness to boost the rents of residents of mobile homes. As one investor’s report on the company put it: The “senior management team has a A billion-dollar empire made of mobile homes –  Read more:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/

Arizona bill would let older HOAs ignore laws, hold secret meetings

Jessica Boehm, Arizona Republic

Published 6:00 a.m. MT Feb. 6, 2019 | 
A bill before the Arizona Legislature could exempt homeowners associations established prior to 1974 from complying with state laws that require them to make meetings and records open to homeowners.The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Kevin Payne, R-Peoria, said the change is necessary to ensure Sun City stays a 55+ community. But opponents say that’s not true, and warn that the unintended consequences of the bill could be drastic. 

Sun City lawsuit spurred legislation    

Beginning in 2015, a group of Sun City residents sued Recreation Centers of Sun City, the nonprofit that owns and maintains the golf courses and other recreational facilities in the unincorporated northwest Phoenix retirement community. 
An entrance to Sun City (Photo: Jen Fifield/The Republic)Much like a typical HOA, RCSC charges residents annual dues that cover the cost of common area maintenance— and if a homeowner does not comply, the nonprofit can foreclose on the individual. But RCSC does not consider itself an HOA, because it is only responsible for the recreation elements of the community. Therefore, it does not follow the requirements set forth in the Arizona Planned Communities Act.The act requires HOAs to hold open meetings and provide all financial documents for homeowner review. It also lays out a process to recall board members and to foreclose on delinquent homeowners. 

Readmore:https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/legislature/2019/02/06/arizona-bill-would-allow-older-hoa-homeowners-associations-ignore-resident-protection-laws/2770412002/

Greenvilleonline.com: Simpsonville man’s dispute with HOA may lead to jailtime
 By Angelia Davis February 1, 2019

A homeowner in Simpsonville is facing potential jail time after haggling with his homeowners association about a shed on his property and related court fees for nearly two years. How Melchior Julien’s dispute with his HOA got to this point is a complicated story that touches on the nature of HOAs, how neighborhood covenants are enforced and perceptions of race relations in the South.In the seven years he’s been in the Holly Tree Plantation subdivision, Julien has encountered several problems with his HOA and the ordeal has escalated to where he’s now facing 30 days in jail if he doesn’t pay $3,600 in attorney fees by Feb. 1.Greenville attorney John Crawford Jr., who represents the Holly Tree HOA, said it would be the first time he’s had a homeowner go to jail after failing to obey the neighborhood’s rules.  Read more:

https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2019/02/01/simpsonville-mans-dispute-hoa-may-lead-jail-time/2657386002/

CCFJ.NET: Bay area condo owner sick of paying $350 monthly fee for unit not repaired two years after fire

Article Courtesy of  WFTS Action News Tampa Bay
By Isabel RosalesPublished February 2, 2019

 ABC Action News first told you about this story back in June. February marks two years since the fire first sparked at the Grand Reserve Condominiums in Tampa. Condo owners both living in the damaged building and those forced out are demanding to know why repairs are still not done.

All Georgette Khaziran wants is to return home.

“It looks left to rot,” she said staring at the building.

CCFJ.NET:  Residents clash with homeowners association

JDSupra.com: Condominium Developers in Texas Can Protect Themselves from Future Lawsuits Through the Use of Declarations

sportsfeedr.com:  Stoneybrook West Residents Blindsided by Golf Course Closure

HOA embezzler to get three years, four months prison

Judge expresses the intent to sentence woman who stole $2.8M from Woodlake Condominium Association