A local couple is claiming defamation against a homeowners association, claiming their attempts to build and add to a home have been plagued by undue inconveniences and harassment because they are black.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Indiana Southern Court by Tonca and Terence Watters, outlines an alleged series of events starting in 2013 and continuing through the end of 2017, and lists members of the Homeowners Association at the Preserve at Bridgewater as defendants.

Edward Mamaril, who is listed in the lawsuit as the president of the homeowners association and is mentioned throughout the document, said on Thursday that he was unaware of the newly filed suit, and declined to comment in-depth. However, he said he was aware of the contentious situation, adding the allegations “may be frivolous.”

The lawsuit says the Watters purchased two lots in the Preserve at Bridgewater subdivision in 2013, and at the time were the only African-American couple in the subdivision. The couple alleges in the lawsuit they didn’t receive the same level of access as white residents to HOA bylaws and meetings.  Read more:

http://www.kokomotribune.com/news/local-couple-accuses-hoa-of-discrimination/article_54d7b1f6-0794-11e8-864e-4716da76a21b.html

But the joy of that morning has long been replaced by controversy for the Robinson family.

They’ve been battling Summerhill, their homeowner association, for more than a year over a swing set for Nick and his sister, Kelli.

“It stresses me out, like, I lose sleep over it every night,” Amanda Robinson said.  Read more:

Homeowner associations have all kinds of rules. There’s rules about fences, house colors, pools, sheds and even outdoor decorations. A West Ashley couple is fighting its HOA over a flag—an Israeli flag.

Keith Woodard and his wife Susanna Agrest-Woodard are Orthodox Jews and have lived in Carolina Bay for three years. Like their neighbors, they fly an American flag, but when Woodard put up an Israeli flag to observe a Jewish holiday, he found it’s a violation of HOA rules. Woodard took to social media to vent his frustration.

“I said this was in support of my ethnicity, my religious belief, and my observance of various holiday and festivals that Jews celebrate throughout the year,” he said in a video.  Read more:

Imagine scraping together the down payment to buy a half-million dollar condo, only to be hit with a $145,000 special assessment a year later.

That’s the nightmare for several homeowners in Pinnacle Condominium Association, a 36-unit, 8-building complex in San Rafael, originally constructed in 1980, managed by RealManage.

According to a report in the Marin Independent Journal, the recently approved $5.22 M exterior renovation project breaks down as follows:

• $2.2 million for replacement of worn out cedar shake siding
• $752,000 for replacement of 37 roof decks
• $916,000, or 17.5% in soft costs, including “project management, legal costs, permits and architectural and engineering work,” with $600,000 reportedly going to project manager CIDology
• $1.352 million in additional exterior improvements

Also, according to the report, votes representing 18 units approved the special assessment. Specifically, the Association recorded 12 votes opposed, 3 votes thrown out for technical reasons, and 3 non-votes.  Read more:

https://independentamericancommunities.com/2018/01/18/condo-owners-to-pay-145k-special-assessment-to-fund-5-2m-renovation/

Article Courtesy of The Palm Beach Post

By Tony Doris  

Published January 14, 2018

DELRAY BEACH — What started with a $25 late fee three years ago for townhouse owner David Silva has grown to a foreclosure fight over a $47,554 bill that had Silva in court two days this week, fending off an effort by his property association to take away his $340,000 home.

His fate rests with Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Robert Panse, who on Monday and Tuesday heard arguments at the south county courthouse that pitted calls for common sense against bad blood and condo enforcement.  Read more:

Citing a barrage of media coverage and public concern, Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, told The Arizona Republic on Wednesday that he will withdraw his bill that would have sped up foreclosures by homeowners associations.

Kavanagh’s bill would have allowed HOAs to foreclose on homeowners after six months of missed payments, with no minimum debt. Currently, HOAs can’t begin the foreclosure process until a homeowner is delinquent for 12 months or racks up at least a $1,200 debt.

Kavanagh said media coverage of the bill misrepresented what it would have accomplished, “which made an already controversial issue — HOAs — toxic.”   Read more:

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/legislature/2018/01/17/arizona-senator-john-kavanagh-withdraws-homeowner-association-foreclosure-bill/1041721001/

Currently, Arizona homeowners associations can foreclose on owners if they fail to pay their dues for a year or get behind by $1,200 — whichever comes first.

But a bill introduced by one of Arizona’s most powerful Republican senators would allow HOA foreclosures after six months, with no minimum debt.

Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, the primary sponsor of Senate Bill 1080, said six months of avoiding payments is a serious infraction.

“Tell a landlord that not paying him for six months isn’t a big deal. It is a big deal,” he said.

But the proposal already has opponents.

“This is a dangerous bill,” said Dennis Legere of the Arizona Homeowners Coalition.

Legere’s grassroots group has fought for homeowner protections against HOAs at the Legislature for the past several years. When Kavanagh introduced the bill late Monday, the group began organizing its opposition. Read more:

Sarasota Fla. – The battle, which pitted an HOA against a beloved pet, is over.  The HOA has agreed that the miniature pot-bellied pig can stay.

After checking into the county rules, the McDowell family decided to adopt a miniature pot-bellied pig about a year and a half ago because the county allowed them as pets. The HOA disagreed.  Read more: