By Jayme Fraser

October 5, 2014

When Mike Martin bought his first home nearly four decades ago in Mission Bend, the manhole covers and storm sewer grates were stamped, “City of Houston,” reflecting expectations that the fledgling suburb west of Alief would be annexed by the city within a few years. That never materialized, and he has watched as curbs have crumbled into the street and local leaders have been unable to manage new development.

SUNRISE — Stephen Smith has alleged the board at Waterbridge Condominiums in Sunrise squandered reserve funds, but that’s not all.

When a fire gutted the unit directly above his, causing water damage to his own condo, Smith sued for damages after it took years for the board to get the repairs. He’s been on a years-long hunt to get into the condo’s books, which he said have been illegally denied to him.

“The more I dug the worse the harassment got, and  it  became violent,” he said. 

Smith shared a video of a board meeting with Local 10 News during which he was attacked by the board president at the time, Jacqueline Chance.  Smith said she became enraged when the subject of Smith’s lawsuits was raised and after Smith mentioned a bathroom renovation that was done at her condo.  Read more:

By Erica Bennett

October 2, 2014

JACKSONVILLE — The last few years have been a revolving cycle for 72 year-old Larry Murphree.

“Same flag, same flowerpot, same everything,’ he explained.

  We last sat down with Murphree in the summer – when he found out his homeowner’s association was threatening foreclosure. He’s offered to pay fees but claims the HOA wouldn’t work with him. Now, he’s fighting back with a 64-page, $1 million countersuit.

“We’ve tried and we’ve tried. They won’t take the money. All they want is to get me out of here. The only thing to stop this thing is to file a lawsuit, which we did,” Murphree continued.  Read more:

The Associated Press

October 3, 2014

ISLE OF PALMS, South Carolina — The state is levying a heavy fine against an Isle of Palms condominium complex after officials say an illegal beachfront seawall was hidden behind sandbags.

The Post and Courier of Charleston reports (http://bit.ly/1nTluOw ) the fine against the Ocean Club Villas – $1,000 a day retroactive for two years – has now reached $750,000.

Department of Health and Environmental Control Director Catherine Templeton says the wall was concealed deliberately. Read more:

guest blog by Deborah Goonan

September 29, 2014

One of the most controversial battles in residential HOAs and Condos centers on rental restrictions. This blog analyzes the arguments for and against rental restrictions in HOAs, and why the ratio of tenants to owners in Associations has become a hot button issue.

The argument against rental restrictions

Like many Americans, I have owned homes in HOA-free neighborhoods, and I lived in these homes as my primary residence. However, when employment opportunities took my family to another state in the midst of the recent real estate bust, we found ourselves unable to sell our home of 14 years. Fortunately, we were able to lease the home to another family for about a year and half, until the market improved, when we were able to sell. I don’t know what we would have done if we had been forced to keep the house vacant due to rental restrictions that are often imposed by HOAs.  Read more:

…(now) my children aren’t allowed outside until we can sell our house and move to a more hospitable neighborhood.

By Kari Anne Roy

September 25, 2014

Late-morning. Hotter than hot. Not even 24 hours home from vacation, and I was going through the piles of mail. There was a knock at the door, which was weird because no one ever knocks on our door unless it’s the UPS guy, and he doesn’t come until dinnertime. Corralling the crazy barky dog, I looked out the front-door window and saw a woman I did not know — and my 6-year-old.  I whipped the door open, trying to figure out what was happening. The woman smiled. My son frowned. And as soon as the door opened he flew into the house, running as far away from the woman as he could.

“Is that your son?” she asked with a smile. I nodded, still trying to figure out what was happening. “He said this was his house. I brought him home.” She was wearing dark glasses. I couldn’t see her eyes, couldn’t gauge her expression. “You brought …” “Yes. He was all the way down there, with no adult.” She motioned to a park bench about 150 yards from my house. A bench that is visible from my front porch. A bench where he had been playing with my 8-year-old daughter, and where he decided to stay and play when she brought our dog home from the walk they’d gone on. Read more:

September 26, 2014

By Curtis Krueger

September 17, 2014

CLEARWATER — Back when everybody seemed to be making money in real estate, Fred Davis Clark and Cristal Clark helped to assemble multimillion dollar development plans that stretched from Clearwater to the Florida Keys, Las Vegas and the Caribbean. But a new federal indictment claims the Clarks were making their money the old-fashioned way: with a Ponzi scheme.The Clarks helped build “a $300 million fraud scheme involving the sale of vacation rental units to approximately 1,400 investors,” according to a statement this week from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Florida’s Southern District. They have been charged with bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The Clarks were part of Cay Club, which lured investors into Clearwater condos bordering Tampa Bay, not far from U.S. 19. The Club said the condo complex was going to be part of an attraction that would rival Disney World.

The Clarks’ operation also involved properties in the Florida Keys and elsewhere. Investors paid up to $600,000 and $700,000 for the condos, which they later could not unload for even $200,000.  Read more: