By Ward Lucas

October 20, 2016

One of the biggest HOA scandals in Colorado is that voters wanted an HOA ombudsman’s office created. The Legislature did so. But this office in DORA (Department of Regulatory Agencies) is worse than worthless. When my book, Neighbors At War, first came out I attended a seminar put on by the newly created Colorado HOA office. I was encouraged that such an office had been proposed. But halfway through the talk by the head of the State office the Southeast Denver Marriot Hotel,  I found myself standing up and confronting the head of this state office with his total ignorance of HOA controversies. He’s a state board member, and dumber than a box of rocks.

With all the taxpayer money being poured into this ombudsman’s office, he pontificated about all the hard work he does on behalf of homeowners. He tabulates the number of telephone complaints. He tracks whether the callers are male or female. He tabulates their average age. He tabulates the size of the HOAs involved. He tabulates where the complaints come from. He tabulates the length of the telephone conversation. With a little bit of work he might have been to to tabulate how many of us were circumcised or uncircumcised.  Read more:

October 15, 2016

By Donie Vanitzian

Article Courtesy of The  Florida Times-Union
By Nate Monroe
Published October 11, 2016

  

Head south on the Interstate 295 beltway, past the office parks and bug-infested retention ponds on the outskirts of Jacksonville, cross into St. Johns County, turn left onto Davis Pond Boulevard, and enter a suburban oasis. 

Damp grass lines the roads in this little burg of more than 5,000 upscale homes, where residents go in search of better schools and safe streets, quietly tucked behind miles of sprawl. 

But this prim suburban veneer masks a seething anger brewing among many neighbors here.

A governing board of residents is — not for the first time — bitterly divided over the management of the neighborhood’s considerable amenities, which include pools, tennis courts and recreation and fitness centers. 

The fracas already led to the creation of a lengthy investigative report, at the cost of thousands of dollars to the neighborhood residents, on the manager in charge of those amenities — a report the manager says was politically motivated and done to ruin her reputation. 

The acrimony has been enough to convince the chairman of the board to step down Tuesday from office, saying in his resignation letter that his tenure has been “marked by a constant stream of hateful remarks and personal attacks coming from those who stood to lose the most from the (neighborhood) no longer catering to them.”

The personal and intense nature of the parochial feud is remarkable. Read more:

By Steven Dahlman

10 October 2016

 A condo association that allegedly did not allow a unit owner to inspect tax returns and other financial documents has received three citations from the city.

Notices of ordinance violations have been sent by the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection to The State Parkway Condominium Association, a 160-unit residence near the north end of State Street and about one block from Lake Shore Drive.

Michael Novak says over the past year he has asked in writing to see his association’s federal and state tax returns for 2004, 2005, and 2006, along with a property manager’s financial report and financial statements, but has received just three federal returns.

By city ordinance, homeowner associations have 30 days after a written request to make financial books and records available to unit owners at no charge. After 30 days, a unit owner may sue to enforce compliance and, if successful, recover damages and attorney’s fees. The association can also be fined by the city. Repeated offenses can land condo board members and property managers in jail for up to 180 days.

A hearing is scheduled for Wednesday to address two of the complaints, and on November 2 regarding the third complaint.  Read more:

THE HOAX (USA), a 76 minute HOA  documentary by Rodney Gray, is coming to Houston on Sunday, October 16, at 3:30 PM, at the Next Actor Studio, 5522 Chaucer Drive.

Article Courtesy of The Orlando Sentinel

By Bethany Rodgers

Published October 4, 2016

Apopka is looking to end its ban on street parking in favor of a new approach to keeping residential roads clear of cars.

In place of the ban is a plan to allow homeowner associations to craft rules for curbside parking in their communities.

The proposal is an attempt to resolve an ongoing dispute between those who dislike vehicles cluttering up neighborhood streets and those with more cars than they can fit in their driveways. Apopka leaders passed the unusual prohibition in 2012, though at one point the city stopped enforcing it. Recently, the number of parking tickets has spiked with a spate of complaints in certain neighborhoods. Some residents have argued the street parking ban is unreasonable, especially for families with multiple drivers. In addition, many residents in the Piedmont Lakes subdivision feel the law is unfair because their homes were built with small garages and short driveways. Read more:

http://www.ccfj.net/HOAFLStreetParkProh.html

By Stacy M. Brown

October 5, 2016

The once proud and formerly gated Pine Ridge private community in Bushkill is facing dire financial problems as many residents have fallen behind in their homeowners’ association dues leaving the community with a $450,000 budget shotfall.

Board members have sought help from local and state officials and, in a recent letter to residents, the association noted that it does not have enough money in its budget to make it through the fiscal year.

Board members said state government may have to intervene.

“I don’t believe many of our residents have ever recovered from the recession,” said Alexandra Tutuianu, the community manager at Pine Ridge. She added that 147 homeowners in Pine Ridge have lost their homes to foreclosures in three years. Read more:

By Bill Turque

September 18, 2016

For five summers, a tarp has covered the swimming pool at Grand Bel II, a condominium community in Silver Spring that has no money for lifeguards, chemicals or insurance. The Vistas at Washingtonian Woods in Gaithersburg faces $600,000 in repairs but has just $400,000 in cash reserves.

At Saxony Square in Alexandria, an unemployed man nine months behind on his mortgage negotiates with lenders to keep his two-bedroom condo. His neighbors struggle to pay their monthly fees; since 2010, Saxony’s board of directors has filed more than 80 court actions to try to collect such assessments.

Even as posh condos rise in trendy neighborhoods around the nation’s capital, many older complexes are mired in a recession that never ended. A cycle of aging infrastructure, limited resources and foreclosure is putting these communities in a deep financial hole, threatening what traditionally has been an affordable path to homeownership for the working class.  Read more:

Article Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel

By Paul Owers

Published September 25, 2016

About 600 people turned out Wednesday to hear a developer’s pitch to build a housing community on a former golf course at the Villages of Oriole, west of Delray Beach.

Miami-based 13th Floor Homes wants to build 528 units in a gated development called Avalon Trails. The mix would include 108 single-family homes, 180 townhomes and 240 condominiums or rentals.

The developer insists the project would enhance Villages of Oriole and improve property values, though some residents are concerned it would block views and disrupt their quality of life.

Mike Nunziata, division president for 13th Floor, estimated the new homes would be priced from the $200,000s to the $500,000s. He stressed that Avalon Trails would remove the uncertainty surrounding the land and bring fewer than half of the 1,200 units that are approved for the 107-acre site now.

“We think this truly is the best option for all involved,” he told the crowd gathered at the clubhouse at Huntington Lakes within the Villages of Oriole.

The 55-and-older community off Atlantic Avenue near Florida’s Turnpike is made up of 3,742 condos, townhomes and villas.

Some residents who oppose Avalon Trails said the land should be preserved.  Read more: