Category Archives: Uncategorized
FLORIDA – Turnberry homeowners sue HOA board, management firm
wftv.com: Turnberry homeowners sue HOA board, management firm
By Karla Ray
October 28, 2019
KISSIMMEE, Fla. – 9 Investigates learned an Osceola County Commissioner is calling on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the homeowners association management company that hired an ex-cop-turned-felon to work inside a Kissimmee community.
Channel 9 has been covering the back and forth between people who live in the Turnberry Reserve neighborhood and Management 35 Firm, which manages the community on behalf of the HOA. Investigative reporter Karla Ray first exposed neighbors’ concerns in the community, and she learned some of those homeowners have now filed a lawsuit against the management company and current HOA Board. Read more: https://www.wftv.com/news/local/turnberry-homeowners-sue-hoa-board-management-firm/1002458019
tickld.com – Fed Up Homeowner Sticks It To His HOA And Gets The Most Epic Revenge
tickld.com: Fed Up Homeowner Sticks It To His HOA And Gets The Most Epic Revenge
By Philip Sledge
October 20, 2019
It may come as no surprise, but Homeowners Associations have a bit of a bad reputation. While there are good HOAs out in the wild, you typically only read about the worst offenders, and it’s usually for a good reason.
Just ask Alec, whose friend, Hal, inherited his grandparents’ house in a neighborhood with a tenacious HOA helmed by a group of power hungry, greedy busy bodies who made it their mission in life to get the entire neighborhood under their control.
When Hal first moved into the house his late grandparents’ built and lived in for decades, the HOA assumed they could take advantage of a seemingly young and inexperienced first-time homeowner. But the group would soon find out that not only did Hal not have any intention of joining their association, he also wasn’t going to go down without a fight.
So buckle up and prepare for one wild ride.
There Was The First Encounter
It didn’t take long for the HOA board members to show up and start pestering Hal with lists of demands, rules, and random searches. Shortly after he moved in, Hal received a knock at the door, and when he opened it, he was greeted by a group of the HOA members shoving papers in his face, demanding he sign them right away.
If that wasn’t bad enough, one of the board members demanded that he be allowed entry into Hal’s garage to see “if everything there is in order.”
This essentially meant that the HOA had the “right to do this bi-weekly,” and denying any of the members access would result in a fine.
Hall was appalled by the “audacity” of the HOA for thinking that they had any right forcefully entering people’s homes to randomly dig through their property. Having enough of the HOA, Hal promptly kicked them out of his garage and off his property, refusing to sign the membership papers in the process.
It seemed like the HOA was banking on the idea that since Hal was young and naive, he would probably back down. Little did they know, Hal’s grandfather had written his grandson a letter detailing the years of abuse by the HOA, preparing him for the fight that would be coming his way.
“It turns out they were wrong on both accounts, since his grandpa left him a letter pointing out what his rights exactly were, what they would possibly try, what else they might try, how hard it is to fight what, when he needs to react and how, so he prepared him really well for this,” Alec wrote.
Then Came The List Of Demands
With the HOA gone, Hal looked through the HOAs list of guidelines, which sounded more like a list of demands from an occupying force than a neighborhood association.
“They had, for example, a right to visit your home bi-weekly to check things like that you do not use the garage for storage or don’t have gasoline in containers in your garage,” Alec wrote. “You had to mow your lawn every week, snow had to be shoveled every two hours when it snowed (starting at 5 o’clock in the morning).
You could not park more than one car on your grounds (except inside the garage).”
Three days went by and Hal still hadn’t signed the contract, so the group came back by like some geriatric mafia trying to get him to comply with their rules. When the group said they wanted to check Hal’s garage again, he said no and kicked them off his property.
“To them, that meant war,” Alec wrote.
Within a week of the confrontation, Hal received received fines upwards of $1,000 for simply not allowing them to enter his home.
Hal was neither impressed nor intimidated and used the “stupid letters to help fire his grill.”
But this only fanned the flames of discontent.
But Then It Went Too Far
Hal went on with his life, but would you be shocked to hear that the HOA board wasn’t so willing to forgive and forget? Because they did neither.
One day, Hal came home to find one of the HOA members had broken into his his garage, writing down things on a notepad. It didn’t take long for Hal to realize the zealous HOA board was willing to take any step necessary to keep tabs on him, even if that meant using bolt cutters to bust up a lock on the garage door. Read more:
NEVADA – Homeowner feels ‘singled out’ by HOA
Review Journal.com: Homeowner feels ‘singled out’ by HOA
By Barbara Holland, RJ Real Estate, Vegas
October 22, 2019
Las Vegas: … I’m in a 135-home homeowners association community and I need help.
First was my missing front yard tree. So I planted something. Now, it’s about my trim paint. After getting the notice, I asked three other neighbors that did not have a tree if they got a notice? All three said no.
Now, I’ve got paint your trim notices. OK, I do need paint. Again, I asked two neighbors who need paint if they got a notice? Both said No!
Can an HOA target one homeowner like this? What recourse do I have that they are singling me out.
I’ve called the management company three times but have yet to hear from our manager other than letters from the company.
How does one contact the Ombudsman’s office? Can they help me? Think I’d be singled out here. Read more:
https://www.reviewjournal.com/homes/resale-news/homeowner-feels-singled-out-by-hoa-1875789/
GEORGIA – HOA drains homeowner’s finances for alleged non-payment
CBS46.com: HOA drains homeowner’s finances for alleged non-payment
By Melissa Stern
October 22, 2019
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. (CBS46) — A Stone Mountain homeowner, Monique McDaniel, says her HOA — The Southland Owners Association — is abusing its power and putting her through blatant financial abuse.
McDaniel says she’s being intimidated into paying a debt, that she says she doesn’t owe, in order to avoid her property being foreclosed upon.
“They still want to hold me responsible for their filing a frivolous lawsuit against me, one that had no merit,” said McDaniel.
McDaniel has lived in her home in The Southlands Subdivision in Stone Mountain, for roughly 23 years, she says she’s paid her nearly $200 bi-annual HOA fees on time.
“They filed a foreclosure of lien against my property in March without giving me notice that they were of the opinion that I owed delinquent homeowner association dues,” McDaniel said. “They had not given me credit for many of my HOA dues I have paid in the last two years.” Read more:
NORTH CAROLINA – Home owners association tells North Carolina mother flag honoring son killed in mass shooting is in violation of community rules
FoxNews.com/us: Home owners association tells North Carolina mother flag honoring son killed in mass shooting is in violation of community rules.
By Brie Stimson
October 18, 2019
A North Carolina woman who flies a flag in honor of her son who was killed in a mass shooting said she was notified by her homeowner’s association last month that it must be removed, according to reports. “I feel like they are trying to take my son from me one more time,” Leslie Kendra, who has been flying an “Illinois Strong” flag and an American flag on a flagpole in her front yard in Wake Forest, N.C., told the Chicago Tribune.
Her son, Clayton Parks, 32, was killed by a disgruntled former coworker at a business in Aurora, Ill. On Feb. 15. The shooter killed four others before he was killed by police. Read more:
MISSOURI – Angry homeowners at troubled Park Reserve condos having hard time selling their units
KSHB.COM: Angry homeowners at troubled Park Reserve condos having hard time selling their units
By Sarah Plake
October 15, 2019
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As residents’ complaints continue to pile up at the Park Reserve condominiums, homeowners looking to get out are having a hard time finding prospective buyers.When you see the skyline from the condos at West 31st Street and Baltimore Avenue, it’s easy to understand why someone would want to live there.“I just like facing downtown,” resident Joe Heyen said. “It’s got one of the best views of the city.”Heyen bought his condo four years ago and is generally happy with it, but he said the luxury ends with the view. Many of his neighbors are trying to sell, but the market simply isn’t there. Read more: https://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/angry-homeowners-at-troubled-park-reserve-condos-having-hard-time-selling-their-units
NEW JERSEY – Howell Vietnam vet allowed to keep flagpole that HOA initially denied
app.com: Howell Vietnam vet allowed to keep flagpole that HOA initially denied
By Joe Strupp
October 11, 2019
HOWELL – A Vietnam veteran who had been denied for months the right to install a flagpole in his front garden reached an agreement with his homeowner’s association Friday to keep the stars and stripes in place.
Mike Burtt, 72, has lived in the Equestra at Colts Neck Crossing gated community for four years. He had sought to install the flagpole in the spring, but the HOA claimed it violated rules. Watch the video at the top of this story of Burtt explaining his difficulties.
The two sides went through mediation with no deal and were possibly heading to court when the agreement was struck, according to Burtt’s attorney.
“We offered a compromise where Mr. Burtt would be allowed to install a non-permanent, staked flagpole to keep his flag hanging in his garden bed,” Attorney Jose Roman said via email Friday. “Equestra initially denied the request but has now reconsidered and will allow his flag to remain up.” Read more: https://www.app.com/story/news/local/communitychange/2019/10/11/veteran-mike-burtt-challenged-flag-pole-restriction-and-won/3942916002/
TEXAS – HOA fines parking violation: What are your rights?
KXAN.com: HOA fines parking violation: What are your rights?
By: Candy Rodriguez
October 7, 2019
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Since July, David Lopez has been hit with two parking violations for parking his truck overnight in the street adjacent to his home in the Parkside At Slaughter Creek subdivision in south Austin. Lopez said he’s not alone, several of his neighbors have also received a parking violation, “down here you have another five or six, and then 10, 15 more it’s just all up and down the streets,” he said as he pointed to vehicles lining his street. Lopez doesn’t understand why after four years of parking on the street he is now receiving parking violations.
Longtime attorney, Gregory Cagle said this isn’t uncommon.“We get this issue all the time by the way,” he said. “Specifically with parking on the street because people say, ‘These are public streets, what do you mean I can’t park on a public street?’ Well, these are contractual obligations, you can contract away your constitutional rights.” Read more:
https://www.kxan.com/news/local/hoa-fines-parking-violation-what-are-your-rights/
FLORIDA – Osceola Residents Pack HOA Town Hall, Calling for Reform
Spectrum News 13: Osceola Residents Pack HOA Town Hall, Calling for Reform
By Stephanie Bechara Osceola County
September 27, 2019
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — State Rep. John Cortes hosted a packed town hall Thursday night to talk about Homeowners Association reform in Osceola County.Residents from about 25 different HOAs filled the room. The Department of Business & Professional Regulation was present to take in people’s questions.People complained about a number of concerns like not having routine elections, misappropriated funds, and lack of transparency. Auxiliadora Gutierrez, a resident at Quail Ridge, said she’s been dealing with HOA issues for nine years and called this a nightmare.
“They put a lien saying I didn’t pay my dues. I have always been current in my HOA, and I have all the proof,” Gutierrez said.
Maria Napolitano, a resident at Turnberry Reserve, said they haven’t seen elections for their HOA board since 2012.
“Turnberry Reserve needs a huge makeover, and we need a new board. So we need the whole community to come together as a whole if they want change,” Napolitano said.
Cortes is working on four different bills regarding HOA. Read
FLORIDA – Condo association tells woman her Bahamian friends displaced by Dorian aren’t welcome
WPTV5: Condo association tells woman her Bahamian friends displaced by Dorian aren’t welcome
By Andrew Lofholm
September 20, 2019
TEQUESTA, Fla. — A woman trying to take in long time family friends who were displaced from the Bahamas by Hurricane Dorian, is being told by her condo association that it’s against rules, and if she keeps it up, she’ll start getting daily fines.
Donell Pubien’s home in Abaco is still standing, but barely. There are gaping holes in the roof and the walls are wrapped by water. It’s unlivable.
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Bahamas After Dorian
“Rocks would fly through and sound like shotgun bullets,” he said in an interview. “This hurricane was really devastating.”
He and his family have been close friends with Teena Lavalvo for about 10 years. They would come to visit her often over the years.
Lavalvo helped arrange for a private plane to take them off the island. The rest of his family went to stay at his sister’s … Read more:
https://www.wptv.com/news/region-n-palm-beach-county/tequesta/condo-association-tells-woman-her-bahamian-friends-displaced-by-dorian-arent-welcome
HOA Reform Coalition 