Category Archives: Uncategorized
FLORIDA – Owners at South Beach’s Shelborne fight $30 million assessments, foreclosure
Article Courtesy of The Florida Bulldog
By Francisco Alvarado
Published August 12, 2016
For the past four years, about 40 investors and snowbirds who own 42 rooms in a landmark oceanfront art deco hotel have been locked in a pitched court battle with one of Miami Beach’s most politically connected families to keep their units.
An ongoing civil lawsuit in Miami-Dade Circuit Court alleges that Miami Beach developer Russell Galbut, along with relatives and business associates, broke Florida condo association laws by passing nearly $30 million in illegal assessments for renovations at what is now the Shelborne Wyndham Grand South Beach. That works out to roughly $107,142 per room.
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ARIZONA – Grassroots group meets monthly to discuss HOA issues
People love their homeowners associations when they prevent their neighbor from painting the house purple but hate them when they get a letter telling them to pick their weeds. A new group has heard it all, and it now meets once a month to discuss these issues.
“You’re not alone if you have an issue; you’re certainly not alone. It’s very common,” John Sellers said. After experiencing problems with his then-HOA several years ago, the former investment banker started a blog where other homeowners could sound off. It’s called Arizona Homeowners Forum and Sellers says “it’s a mobilisation (sic) tool for action.” Read more:
TENNESSEE – HOAs from hell: Homes associations that once protected residents now torment them
NASHVILLE, TENN.
The frantic cry still haunts Monica Meeker.
It punctured the darkness as she and her husband lay in bed at the end of a fun-filled day celebrating daughter Camilla’s third birthday last October.
She rushed to her daughter’s bedroom and found her hanging from a window, the cord from the blind wrapped tightly around Camilla’s neck.
“She was gasping for air and crying and coughing,” Meeker said. “She had purple ligature marks on her neck for a week.”
The couple took down the blinds that night, replacing them with curtains.
Within two weeks, a letter arrived from the property manager for their homeowners association. The gray curtains they’d put up violated the association’s standards.
And so began the Meekers’ foray into homes association hell — a drama that has played out in homes across the country. Outlandish rules — from the farcical to the frightening — are being enforced by other homes associations. Read more:
NEVADA – Nevada HOA Corruption Reaches the Top
Once again, Nevada is showing the country that it’s the most corrupt Homeowners Association state in America. Their Supreme Court Chief Justice tipped off her girlfriend, a top suspect in an FBI investigation, that she was about to get raided. That’s an old story.
Here’s a new one: Now a prominent Nevada State Legislator is trying to get a fistful of anti-homeowner bills enacted. Oh yes, she forgot to tell voters that she works for the Del Webb Corporation which sets up some of the most criminal Homeowners Associations in the country. Read more:
NATIONAL – FHA Condo Relief Coming: President Signs Bill
ARIZONA – Arizona citizens band together to address legislative powers of HOAs
A group of Arizona citizens are gathering at the capitol every month to force a conversation on the legal powers and lack of oversight and regulation of homeowners associations throughout the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Arizona Sen. David Farnsworth (R) on the third Monday of every months hosts what he has coined, a “mastermind group” allowing everyday residents, community advocates and legal professionals to look at how certain powers granted to HOAs by the Arizona Legislature can be reined in.
“What we are we working on is to benefit the public,” said Scottsdale resident Jill Schweitzer in an Aug. 2 phone interview.
“So the public can see there is a reason behind this and there is a reason behind that — there are homeowners who don’t even know there is a problem. We are really passionate about seeing the laws changed to protect homeowners.”
Ms. Schweitzer, who has penned a book on HOA issues and produced videos on local issues impacting homeowners that can be viewed at www.hoasavers.com, says the mastermind group is looking to reinstate homestead protections for homeowners within HOA communities.
The Arizona Homestead Exemption — which, according to state statute, works in place of federal property exemptions — protects up to $150,000 of a person’s equity in his or her dwelling from attachment, execution or forced sale. Read more:
KANSAS – Critics say many avenues can lead to reforming the HOA mess
As HOAs continue to proliferate, critics and a few lawmakers increasingly are calling for more regulations to protect homeowners.
Among the measures:
At the state level
▪ Establish an HOA ombudsman office.
Proponents say an ombudsman can investigate complaints from homeowners about their HOAs, help homeowners and board members understand their rights and obligations, and provide informal mediation. Only six states have an ombudsman or similar program; Missouri and Kansas are not among them. Read more:
Kansas – Angry residents dig for truth amid signs of decay in HOA
At first glance, Quivira Falls seems a tranquil hamlet, tucked away in a tree-lined neighborhood in Overland Park.
But hidden beneath the siding of some homes could be rotting wood that has been covered up and allowed to continue crumbling.
The truth may not be known for years because of a jumble of stories told by residents, a whistleblower, a defiant homeowners association — and city officials who don’t want to get in the middle of it.
Ask Tim Ryan, Overland Park codes administrator, whether it’s possible rot in the framework of some homes might have been left unrepaired.
“Could be,” Ryan says. There’s just no easy way to tell. Read more:
KANSAS – Garage doors can’t be cordovan – and more odd HOA stories
THE KANSAS CITY STAR: Garage doors can’t be cordovan – and more odd HOA stories
By Judy L. Thomas
August 3, 2016
A decade ago, Marilyn Davis painted her house in the Glencairn subdivision of Houston in the required colors.
“They wanted my garage door brown, my front door brown, my shutters brown,” she said.
She quickly got tired of brown. So a year later she switched to cordovan, a rich burgundy color, for the trim.
Last year, when it was time to paint again, she decided to stick with the cordovan trim, and her son, Ken, got the homeowners association’s approval.
But after Ken painted, the HOA said it had only approved that color for the front door and shutters — not the garage door, which needed to be off-white. Since they had last painted, Ken said, the HOA had decided that garage doors were not considered “trim.”
An off-white garage door would look awful, Davis said.
The HOA has sent her multiple violation notices, she said, charging her $15 in fees for each one. The HOA did not return calls seeking comment.
But the 91-year-old great-grandmother doesn’t intend to back down.
“I’ve lived here almost 40 years,” she said. “I should have a little say-so.” Read more:
http://www.kansascity.com/news/special-reports/hoa/article92511547.html
KANSAS – It’s not easy to take on an HOA, but it’s possible to win
For six years, Ferne Skidmore and her friends gathered weekly at the Velda Rose Estates clubhouse in Mesa, Ariz., sewing Christmas stockings to fill and give to underprivileged children.
In 2014, they made more than 3,000.
But one day last year the HOA president barred them from the clubhouse, saying the association’s bylaws prohibited use by groups with religious affiliations.
Skidmore, 81, filed an appeal to the state agency that handles HOA issues, describing her group as “charitable” and “non-secular.” She took $550 from her air conditioner repair fund to pay the filing fee.
In September, a judge ruled in the ladies’ favor, even ordering the HOA to reimburse Skidmore’s $550. Read more:
HOA Reform Coalition 