By Ben Weathers

September 6, 2015

The president of the Russett Community Association’s board of directors said he is weighing his options after an Anne Arundel Circuit Court judge ordered that he and the association’s vice president be replaced.

September 3, 2015

By Bob Norman

Published September 1, 2015

HOLLYWOOD — condo manager who allegedly embezzled nearly a quarter of a million dollars from a Hollywood Beach homeowners association was in Broward County circuit court for the first time Friday after police said she fled across the state.

   

Kristin Glansen, 35, pleaded not guilty to the allegation that she stole $228,000 in an embezzlement scheme from The Waterway condominium on Hollywood Beach, where she was entrusted as manager. After her plea, she had no comment as she shielded her face from a Local 10 News camera on her way out of the courtroom.

    

With a grand theft warrant out for her arrest, Glansen moved across the state to Clearwater, where she rented a home in that city’s historic district. After just a couple days in her home, her landlord, who asked that she not be named, became suspicious. The landlord said she did a Google search of Glansen and saw a Local 10 story reporting that Glansen was wanted by police, so she promptly called authorities, who quickly made the arrest.     “I’m glad they caught her,” Jorge Quiros said. “I just couldn’t believe that she was able to take the money so easily and disappear like that.”  Read more:

By Clayton Cannon, Collin Warren – Adams and Reese LLP

September 4, 2015

The Texas Legislature recently passed House Bill 1455 which addresses defect and design claims relative to condominiums and condominium associations. Among the key issues are a series of new steps that must be accomplished before a lawsuit is filed. The new law applies only to a suit filed or arbitration proceeding initiated on or after September 1, 2015.The following is a summary of the new requirements that an association must follow before filing suit:  Read more:

By Jessica Boehm

September 2, 2015

Many people think choosing a neighborhood with a homeowners association means your community will always be well pruned, your neighbor won’t paint his house purple and there will always be enough money in the bank to take care of homeowner issues.But it’s not “carefree living” at all, if you ask homeowner advocate Jill Schweitzer.

“When we buy into an HOA, we assume that they are licensed and regulated, we assume that they’re going to protect us,” Schweitzer said. “They don’t.”

More than 1.8 million Arizonans live in a community association, according to the Foundation for Community Association Research.

Many of them are unaware of the potential damage their HOA could be causing, Schweitzer said.

It’s a lesson some Valley homeowners have learned too well as they wage legal battles against their HOAs because they believe their association has mismanaged their responsibility or misspent millions.

Schweitzer said she is on a mission to educate homeowners about the lessons she had to learn the hard way when she bought a condo with a poorly managed HOA.

“That’s your money,” Schweitzer said. “You need to make sure it’s spent right.”  Read more:

Ward Lucas September 2, 2015

guest blog by Deborah Goonan

Lots of news in Poinciana the past couple of weeks. As you know, Poinciana HOA, one of the largest in the country with more than 23,000 homes, has been seeing quite a bit of turmoil, particularly in the last 6 months. In April, then Board President Peter Jolly made allegations of financial mismanagement by the management company and millions of dollars missing from assessment reserves. In June, a third attempt to move toward incorporation of Poinciana as a city failed, when the Osceola County Legislative Delegation voted 2-2 on the measure.

In August, residents gathered to protest management company First Services Residential (FSR). That was immediately after the Executive Committee of the Board (including Jolly) met and voted to fire FSR and to transfer $1.6 million in Association funds to a separate bank account. The Executive Committee had the locks changed for the management office. In the meantime the 6 other Board members – 3 of them represented by developer Avatar – held an emergency meeting, voted to rehire FSR and to remove President Jolly and the VP as officers of the Board. Within hours, FSR entered the building in the middle of the night and changed the locks once again.  Read more:

By Taya Flores, The Lafayette Journal & Courier

August 30, 2015

Is it legal to ban group homes for the disabled?

That question pierces the heart of an ongoing civil lawsuit among a Lafayette couple, the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana and the Brookfield Farms Homeowners Association, which governs the suburban subdivision on the city’s east side.

The case even caught the eye of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, which represents the Fair Housing Center and Benjamin and Jennifer Hendrickson — the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The suit is a rare occurrence given the ACLU of Indiana each month receives 800 to 1,000 complaints for legal assistance — a vast majority of which do not reach attorneys’ desks.

“We have a long history of fighting against discrimination at all levels, and this is a type of discrimination against persons with disabilities that is certainly not unique here, and that is troubling to say the least,” said Gavin Rose, the ACLU of Indiana attorney who represents the plaintiffs.

Brookfield Farms Homeowners Association has declined to comment due to pending litigation. But it has denied any allegations of discrimination, according to court documents.

Both parties, however, continue to argue the case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. The proceedings are stalled while the parties wait for the judge’s decision whether to grant partial summary judgment — a move that typically occurs when the facts in a case are not disputed.

“Lawsuits do not move as quickly as anyone would like them to, so it may be some time before we receive a decision,” Rose said.

The homeowners association’s attorney, Michael Parkinson, who is based in Lafayette, has not returned the Journal & Courier’s phone calls or emails. Read more:

By Jennifer Karmon

August 31, 2015

The Stouts’ purple swing set can stay.

As we reported recently, a Missouri homeowners association took one of its families to court — even raising the specter of a possible “daily fine or jail time” — over a backyard swing set that the family had stained purple (a color we’re rather partial to, here at Yahoo).

This was after the HOA tried to fine the Stouts for the swing set — and suffered defeat at the hands of its own appeals committee when the family asked the panel to reconsider the fine. Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer M. Phillips referred to that defeat in ruling against the Raintree Lake Property Owners Association on Friday.  Read more:

https://homes.yahoo.com/photos/hoa-loses-court-showdown-no-jail-for-purple-swing-set-photo-1441066393430.html