Coercive lawsuits shouldn't keep people from exercising their constitutional rights
They're called SLAPP suits. The punchy acronym stands for strategic lawsuits against public participation. They are legal pre-emptive strikes designed to put terror in the hearts of those with nosy questions, suspicions of wrongdoing or the urge to stir their fellow citizens to action. Their targets range from journalists to whistle-blowers to ordinary citizens engaged in the routine workings of our democracy — whether this is researching news stories, speaking out against abuses in public agencies or merely organizing petition drives.

Home Wreckers: How Wall Street Foreclosures Are Devastating Communities
As the foreclosure crisis continues, the costs to homeowners, the property tax base, and local governments adds up to $650 billion to as much as $1 trillion. Wall Street banks shattered our economy and left our communities to clean up the pieces. The housing market is where the economic crisis began and without immediate action, we are facing a multi-billion dollar hit to homeowners and communities across California that would undermine the economic recovery our state desperately needs. Without a remedy, the damage to our communities will be staggering and long-lasting. 

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Federal probe into valley HOAs broadens
Federal prosecutors have identified 75 to 100 co-conspirators, including judges, attorneys and former police officers, at various levels of a massive fraud scheme involving Las Vegas Valley home­owners associations, the Las Vegas Review-Journal has learned. Some 25 to 30 targets of the investigation are taking plea deals that will ensure their cooperation in the prosecution of as many as two dozen high-level players in the scheme.

Suit on faulty houses may be resolved
Public housing officials hope to resolve the costly and bitter legal dispute over their claims of shoddy work on 247 homes built by local developer Magi Realty and national home-building giant KB Home.  In recent months, the housing authority has gained a string of victories that it lacked the last time it sat at the negotiation table, in October 2009. Housing officials said they have since uncovered widespread construction flaws in the homes, as well as evidence that KB Home and Magi scrapped the custom-built designs ordered by SAHA in favor of cheaper plans for tract-built houses.  But the housing authority might have gained its biggest edge last year, when it joined 66 homeowners who filed separate lawsuits in May 2009.

CC&R Provisions Mandating Binding Arbitration of Construction Defect Claims Ruled Unenforceable
"CC&Rs are not an effective means of obtaining an agreement to arbitrate a homeowners association's construction defect claims against a developer." "Treating CC&Rs as a contract such that they are sufficient to waive the right to trial by jury does not comport with the importance of the right waived."  The Villa Vicenza Declaration of CC&Rs was recorded unilaterally by Nobel Court Development, the developer, and was, thus, imposed on the Association and its members. The Association was never given the opportunity to accept or reject the terms of the CC&Rs and did not sign them.

KB Homes and AIG Refuse to Keep Promises  
KB Home made millions by building substandard defective homes paid for by HUD under a lease to purchase programmed known as HOPE 6.  A program that allowed KB and the San Antonio Housing Authority to take advantage of those who could least afford to be cheated.   The federal government and the San Antonio Housing Authority wasted millions more to try and repair Mirasol homes but failed.  HUD has condemned the homes; that are never to be sold to the public again. 

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Immigration Ignites Grand Prairie Mobile Home Park
Some residents angry over policy to check immigration status on prospective buyers. The property owners’ association board is demanding proof of legal residency from buyers who want to live at the park on Shady Grove Road near Belt Line. "It’s just not right," said property owner Ramona Bledsoe.  "They didn’t ask it from white people.  But they’re asking it from Latino people." Board Vice President Nola Wolfe denied the policy is enforced only for Latinos.

Pulte-Centex Warranty??
This video is a report about problems experienced with Centex Homes, owned by Pulte Home Group. We are experiencing repeated problems with leaking pipes into our ceiling, walls to ceiling cracks, and pealing sheet rock by our Skylights. Centex has refused to fix our problems even though they are repeat problems previously fixed by Centex. We will post further video evidence of these problems so everyone can see the quality of Centex Homes, now owned by Pulte Homes. We appear to be living in a Lemon, with repeat problems, not a quality home as Centex professes to produce. We encourage everyone to think twice before buying a home from either of these companies.  See You Tube:Centex Homes Pulte Homes Poor Workmanship - Shower Leak  -  Centex Homes Pulte Home Group Poor Workmanship - Centex Homes: Check! - Centex Homes Pulte Homes Poor Customer Service - Community Forum on the Abuses from Centex Homes

Waiting Seven Years for Two Answers
WHEN Zella Mae Green of Georgia filed for bankruptcy to save her home from foreclosure in 2004, she and her lawyer wanted to know two things: Did she actually owe any back payments on her mortgage? And, if so, to whom?  It didn’t seem like a lot to ask. But until last week, those questions had been unanswered for seven years...  Fascinating how quickly these things get resolved when some daylight shines in.

Wells Fargo Meeting Today With Philly Homeowner Who "Foreclosed" On Them (Here's How He Did It)
...how did Patrick go from embattled and ignored homeowner to seated across the negotiating table with leverage? I spoke with him to find out more about both how and why he did what he did. His story is an inspiration to anyone who's dreamed of going toe-to-toe with the big banks and winning. Turns out that armed with persistence, and a little legal know-how, Davids can take down Goliaths... About two years ago, after Wells Fargo stopped responding to his letters requesting more information, Patrick boned up and learned about a law called the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). The law was enacted to safeguard homebuyers from anti-competitive and collusive behavior among the companies and agents involved with buying and selling real estate. One of the protections involves the "Qualified Written Request," or QWR.

Judith L.  MD:  Living in an HOA was the worst
Living in an HOA was the worst thing that ever happened to me - that I could have avoided. As a physician, although not a psychiatrist or psychologist, I absolutely believe in the validity of 'HOA Syndrome'.   Lost sleep, extreme stress and anxiety that permeates every aspect of your life and harms your family repeatedly...if you find yourself in the crosshairs of a vicious, dishonest and greedy Tyrant on the Board , then you can  pretty much kiss life as you know it 'goodbye' for up to a decade. I'm in my 6 th year of HOA Helll and there's  still no end in sight.

Case on Mortgage Official Is Said to Be Dropped
The conclusion by prosecutors that Mr. Mozilo, 72, did not engage in criminal conduct while directing Countrywide will likely fuel broad concerns that few high-level executives of financial companies are being held accountable for the actions that led to the financial crisis of 2008. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been lost by investors while millions of borrowers have lost their homes. Few of the people who ran the institutions that contributed to the disaster have been found liable.

Op-Ed: Privatization Alone Won't Fix Housing Mess
The Obama administration has advocated closing government-backed mortgage providers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The New York Times' Gretchen Morgenson says the U.S. government still has an important role to play when it comes to home ownership.  Related article:Gretchen Morgenson's New York Times Piece, "Imagining Life Without Fannie And Freddie"

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Homeowners Take Plea to Lawmakers
These homeowners say they are fed up with abuses by Home Owner Association.  What we’re trying do is reign in some of these abusive powers.  So that it’s clear that government bureaucrats shouldn’t be telling people how to use their homes and lose it when they've been taxed inappropriately.  HOA Management Companies fired back today with this counter rally, bussing in HOA Board Members from across the state.  Members of the HOA Reform groups say they know they have an uphill battle sighting thousands of dollars in donations to influential lawmakers here, including Senator John Caron from Dallas who owns the largest HOA Management Company in the Country.

Brian Collister Reports