LAS VEGAS (KTNV) – Most of us in Southern Nevada live under the rule of a homeowners association.

That means paying dues every month. But what would you do to get out of having to pay up?

In this edition of HOA Hall of Shame, Contact 13 spotlights one homeowner’s fight for freedom.

In a David and Goliath battle, the homeowner won a big victory over his HOA, and he’s literally screaming about it from the rooftops — posting big, blown-up copies of the checks the court forced the HOA to pay him, for sandbagging and defying court orders.

It’s almost unheard of for an HOA to pay the homeowner.

But Jonathan Friedrich got $10,000 from the Rancho Bel Air board after filing a lawsuit, accusing them of fraud.

“They violated state, federal and municipal laws. And I’ve called them out on it.” Read more:

Article Courtesy of The Orlando Sentinel

By Kevin Spears

Published September 5, 2016

A legal battle between an Orange County homeowner wanting to eliminate irrigation and fertilizing in her yard and a neighborhood association favoring lush lawns has ended in a secret settlement, disappointing those hoping for an environmentally favorable precedent.

THE KANSAS CITY STAR:  Olathe man’s war with HOA over landscaping: $400,000 at stake

By Judy L. Thomas

September 7, 2016

Four years ago, Jim Hildenbrand was ready for a change.

His kids were grown, his father had died, and he wanted to be closer to his mother. So he shut down his architectural consulting business in the Quad Cities in Iowa and bought a three-bedroom home in the Avignon Villas subdivision in Olathe.

But instead of settling into paradise, he says, he landed in purgatory.

For months, he fought the homeowners association over the placement of his satellite dish. He accrued tens of thousands of dollars in fines for parking his cars in the driveway too long and placing a ceramic flower pot and a St. Francis statue in his front-yard landscaping. And what started as a dispute with the HOA over a landscaping project that featured a long, low accent wall has cost Hildenbrand more than $200,000 in legal fees.

The case went to trial in Johnson County District Court earlier this year. Hildenbrand lost that round, and the HOA wants the wall taken down. Now, he awaits a decision by the Kansas Court of Appeals. Read more:

http://www.kansascity.com/news/special-reports/hoa/article100421107.html

Article Courtesy of Channel 7 News Miami
Help me Howard with Patrick Fraser

Published August 30, 2016

Talk about going from one extreme to another. You walk into a closing, thinking you are about to be a homeowner. A few seconds later, you are told you have been hacked and all your money to buy the home is gone. It’s a nightmare happening to more and more South Floridians and it’s why we have Help me Howard with Patrick Fraser.

If you want to know what it means to spend your life serving your country, meet Richard Zimmelman.

Richard Zimmelman: “Well I served for 33 years. It was awesome. It was fantastic.”

Richard started in the Air Force in the medical field, he was in charge of deployment and was a commander. Now after 33 years, he is a retiree…

Richard Zimmelman: “It’s very bitter sweet because you love it.”

Richard wanted to do two things: take nice, long vacations and buy a condo to call home in South Florida.

Richard Zimmelman: “I found a place in Sky Lake. It had a great view and it was very comfortable.”

Richard put down $9,500 and then a few weeks later, using money he had saved in his military career, was ready to pay the other $86,000. He then got the instructions.  Read more:

A class action lawsuit recently filed in federal court accuses two prominent law firms, and more than 70 condominium associations they represent, of “the wrongful and unlawful sale” of condominium units through an improper foreclosure process.

Nonjudicial foreclosures allow real property to be sold to satisfy debts without going to court. Instead, the party initiating the foreclosure, typically a mortgage lender, is simply required to notify the property owner and, if the debt isn’t paid, proceed to auction off the property themselves, selling to the highest bidder.

In the majority of cases, the properties end up being sold to the lender or the condominium association, often with little or no money actually changing hands.  Read more:

McKINNEY (CBS11) – A McKinney homeowner says his freedom of speech is under attack after his HOA cracked down on political signs in his front yard.

The first time you see the sign outside the home on Palo Duro Canyon Drive with tape covering the name, “Clinton,” you might think the guy who lives there doesn’t like Clinton, but a few feet away he’s got the same sign with Kaine’s name covered. If you ask him, he’ll tell you this was the best way he could support them both without breaking any rules.

People who live in McKinney’s Stonebridge community like to keep their front lawns neat. But yard signs are to be expected during an election year. That’s why Steven Spainhouer was surprised when he got a violation notice from his HOA. Read more:

Often, News 2 hears from people who are unhappy about their Homeowners Association (HOA). Now, a group of neighbors in Shadowmoss Plantation in West Ashley are banding together to get rid of their HOA board members. It started with the purchase of a nearby piece of land, a purchase many members didn’t know about, or agree with.

One HOA member, Rebecca O’Grady, says, “It was almost $50,000, almost half a year’s operating budget.”

Issues making neighbors uneasy…

She says, “They have been liening and filing foreclosure actions against my neighbors.”

and lacking transparency.

O’Grady says, “I recently found out we have spent over $26,000 on attorney’s fees when we are only budgeted for about $2,500.”  Read more:

DENVER — A vague parking violation ticket raises concerns among residents in Northglenn.

Cameron Carolus said he was parked outside his girlfriend’s townhouse for 45 minutes on Monday evening. When he came outside, he found a yellow ticket on his windshield.

“I was kind of shocked when I saw the ticket,” said Carolus.

The ticket cited expired tags, but didn’t have a phone number anywhere on the ticket.

“Originally I thought it was a scam, because there was no phone number,” said Carolus.

He had updated his plates, but not yet added the appropriate sticker. He called several local police stations hoping to fight it, but to his surprise, it wasn’t issued by any local law enforcement.

“They said it might be a fake ticket,” said Carolus.

The ticket said “Parking Authority LLC” but no contact number, only a vague online link to send your payment.

“There’s no phone number to call so you would have no way of getting in touch with anybody who administered the ticket without doing your research,” said Carolus.

The two eventually learned the ticket was from a towing company hired by the Homeowners Association to patrol.  Read more: