Category Archives: Uncategorized
NATIONAL – Neighborhood watch group operations expected to be re-examined in aftermath of Zimmerman trial
National – Home owners’ associations with neighborhood watch progams will likely re-examine their operations in the aftermath of George Zimmerman’s acquittal, experts say. The family of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old shot dead by Zimmerman, already has reached a reported seven-figure settlement with the homeowners association in the gated Florida community where Zimmerman lived. The payment, made before Zimmerman was acquitted, shows that civil liability doesn’t depend on proving a volunteer patrol member broke the law. “I think a lot of associations that have neighborhood watch programs will now pay close attention to see if they have closely tailored policies and procedures,” said Miami-based attorney Roberto Blanch, who specializes in representing community associations. “I also think they will be more cautious about endorsing them.” Read more:
TEXAS – Vet protests HOA restriction with upside down flag display
Posted on May 21, 2013 at 9:36 AM
HOUSTON—After fighting for his country, a Houston homeowner said he’s been forced to fight his HOA to fly his American flag. “Only me,” said Billy Martin, who once fought in Vietnam and serves as a military Chaplain. “I’m the only one in this entire place have they demanded I remove my flag and flag pole.” That’s why the stars and stripes in front of Martin’s home fly upside down. He called it his way of protesting the Forest Lake Townhome Association for filing a lawsuit and slapping him with a $200 a day fine.
Some of his neighbors fly flags, but theirs are attached to their houses. According to the lawsuit, Martin’s flag violates the community’s bylaws because the flag pole rests on common grounds owned by the HOA. Read more:
NATIONAL – Former Bank of America workers allege it lied to home owners
By Michelle Conlin and Peter Rudegeair
Fri Jun 14, 2013 5:42pm EDT
(Reuters) – Six former Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) employees have alleged that the bank deliberately denied eligible home owners loan modifications and lied to them about the status of their mortgage payments and documents.
The bank allegedly used these tactics to shepherd homeowners into foreclosure, as well as in-house loan modifications. Both yielded the bank more profits than the government-sponsored Home Affordable Modification Program, according to documents recently filed as part of a lawsuit in Massachusetts federal court.
The former employees, who worked at Bank of America centers throughout the United States, said the bank rewarded customer service representatives who foreclosed on homes with cash bonuses and gift cards to retail stores such as Target Corp (TGT.N) and Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (BBBY.O). For example, an employee who placed 10 or more accounts into foreclosure a month could get a $500 bonus. At the same time, the bank punished those who did not make the numbers or objected to its tactics with discipline, including firing. Read more:
FLORIDA – Florida Homeowner’s Association Sues Resident For Critical Blog Comments, Seeks Identity Of Other Commenters
Techdirt: Florida Homeowner’s Association Sues Resident For Critical Blog Comments, Seeks Identity Of Other Commenters
by Mike Masnick
Tuesday, March 26th 2013
from the but-of-course dept
NEVADA – Justice Department lawyers have turned over 1.5 million pages of records in HOA case
Justice Department lawyers say they have turned over more than 1.5 million pages of documents to defense lawyers in the sweeping investigation into the scheme to take over Las Vegas Valley homeowners associations. And they still have more records to provide. In court papers Friday, prosecutors with the Justice Department’s fraud section in Washington asked U.S. District Judge James Mahan to give them until the end of the month to turn over what they called the “large volume” of remaining electronic materials gathered by investigators.
In addition to the 1.5 million pages, prosecutors said they have turned over 440 memos of FBI interviews, 270 FBI and police investigative reports, more than 6,300 pages of transcripts from audio recordings and more than 200 audio and video recordings. The massive amount of evidence is part of the high-profile fraud case against former construction company boss Leon Benzer and 10 others indicted in January. The defendants are to stand trial March 3. Read more:
ARIZONA – Mesa HOA out of control? Homeowners accuse board of misspending funds
abc15.com: Mesa HOA out of control? Homeowners accuse board of misspending funds
NATIONAL – HOA Documents: Are They Worth the Money?
Fox Business: HOA Documents: Are They Worth the Money?
In fact, many smart buyers won’t even consider properties in HOA-governed communities.
by Leonard Baron,
Published June 04, 2013 Zillow
When you purchase a property in a common interest development, often referred to as a homeowners association (HOA), the documents that go along with that purchase can cost $400-$1,000. Many buyers are not excited about paying for these documents or only pay for some of them to save money. While these documents do contain vital information that you absolutely need to review to protect yourself when buying property, about 95% of buyers won’t bother reading them before signing on the dotted line. Big mistake! Read more:
http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2013/06/04/hoa-documents-are-worth-money/
GEORGIA – UPDATED ON 6: Treasurer Arrested, Accused of Stealing HOA Money
However, the ugly truth soon reared its head when the dollars and cents didn’t add up. It turns out, Stratford Homeowners Association treasurer Laurie Wainwright-Vanover was suspected of taking more than $200,000 from the coffers. According to the police report, it happened over a four year period through credit cards and ATM transactions. Read more:
WASHINGTON – Bonney Lake woman sentenced as first-time offender in HOA/employer theft case
Bonney Lake woman Jeanette Kay Sturtz, 57, was sentenced Wednesday to 30 days community service and 15 days house arrest after pleading guilty to embezzling more than $35,000 from her homeowners association and a Puyallup landscaping company. Sturtz was charged March 5 for the theft of nearly $26,000 from Blue Sky Landscape Service, where she worked as a financial controller. Her employer discovered in November 2011 that 57 fraudulent checks from company accounts had been made payable to Sturtz, and two more had been made payable to non-business related cable and power bills.
In the declaration of probable cause for the case, deputy prosecutor Lisa Wagner noted that the thefts from Blue Sky began the same month thefts from Sturtz’s homeowner’s association ended. Read more:
NEVADA – Benzer, accused in HOA scheme, indicted on tax evasion charges
The accused mastermind of a massive scheme to take over homeowners associations was indicted by a Las Vegas federal grand jury Tuesday on charges of evading roughly $1.2 million in personal and company taxes. Leon Benzer, 46, a former construction company boss, is facing two counts of tax evasion and is being summoned to make an initial appearance on the charges later this month. He is accused of not paying the Internal Revenue Service $459,204 in personal taxes owed between 2001 and 2005, as well as $705,982 in employment and unemployment taxes between 2003 and 2004. The charges relate directly to Benzer’s alleged leading role in the scheme to take over 11 homeowners associations across the valley between 2003 and 2009.
Benzer used some of the $7.2 million in construction defect funds his company, Silver Lining Construction, received from the Vistana homeowners association for his personal use, the indictment alleges. He is accused of filing false financial forms with the IRS to conceal money and assets. Benzer and 10 others were indicted in January in the Justice Department’s final push to charge conspirators in the homeowners association corruption scheme. They are to stand trial March 3. Read more:
HOA Reform Coalition 