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ABC Special Report
Investigation: New Home Heartbreak
Trump - NAHB Homebuilders Shoddy Construction and Forced Arbitration

Property Rights Denied!
Protecting HOA Members' Rights is NOT The #1 Priority
of Managed Communities
The High Price of Managed Living, Books and Records Hidden
gives appearances of impropriety
Editorial Feature: Part One - Are Homeowners' Rights a Myth? 

Part Two: HOA Bureaucrats Overstep Their Authority

LATEST NEWS
Can Communities Afford Lucrative HOA Business?
Thursday, 28 April 2011

Texas Bexar County  Interactive HOA Foreclosure Postings 

Click on Texas map to view courthouse foreclosures posted by HOA management companies. 
Home Owners for Better Building Calls for AG Investigation. One attorney gets 83% of all HOA foreclosures.   “Obviously there are many communities that can not afford or tolerte an HOA; certainly not at the expense of losing their homes for the enrichment by an aggressive industry,” said Janet Ahmad. 1,425% Profits for the Non-Profits HOA Empire
Read more...

 
Texas HOA Managemnt Charges $300.00-$500.00 for Resale Certificate
Friday, 22 April 2011

Ripoff Report: WHY IN THE HECK ARE RESALE CERTIFICATES AND TRANSFER FEES SO EXPENSIVE WHEN YOU SELL A HOME IN THE STATE OF TEXAS?
The truth of the matter is that the information in a Resale Certificate takes minutes to issue and deliver by an AGENT. Normally the Resale Certificate is sent to the title company in a form of a PDF file. There is NO copying, there is NO assembling and delivery is a mere click of a mouse. Keep in mind many AGENTS are charging $300.00-$500.00 for this service. How much is your AGENT charging?  In a nutshell, agents are doing everything wrong. Agents think that once they are hired to manage a HOA that they have inherent authority to: 1) Charge homeowners directly for fees related to resale-certificate and transfer, 2) Set the fee amount (whatever they want to charge) for the resale certificate and transfer 3) Collect the fees for their own account. 4) As a result, the respective fees have been increasing to unreasonable amounts. All of which are absolutely wrong on several levels!

Read more...
 
HOA Treasurer Has Lien Placed on HIS House
Friday, 22 April 2011

Former HOA treasurer arrested
The former treasurer of a Brookhaven homeowners association has been arrested and charged with stealing $123,000 from the group’s reserve account. William Blake, 68, lived at the Bluffs of Nancy Creek, a development of about 80 homes. He was arrested April 12 on a charge of theft by taking and released the same day on $100,000 bond, according to information on the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office website.

Read more...
 
HOA: What a Racket
Thursday, 21 April 2011

HOA Attorney Fees: An Unconscionable Racket
 HOAs have a close relationship with private attorneys that result in homeowners getting fleeced.  HOA management companies sign up attorneys eager to sue, and charge homeowners thousands when the amount in dispute is a few hundred dollars.  HOAs love the money the attorneys collect and turn a blind eye to the fact that the attorney fees dwarf the amount the homeowner is behind.  HOA boards may not even realize their management companies and attorneys intentionally design a system to make more money with installment agreements with extra fees and charges added each month.  To make matters worse some HOA attorneys pad their bills by charging attorney time when a legal secretary or paralegal merely changes a few names on form lawsuits these HOA attorneys file regularly in court.

Read more...
 
Call for AG Investigtion when $360 HOA dues cost $12,000
Thursday, 21 April 2011

HOA legislation builds debate during session
During this legislative session, people across the state are asking lawmakers to limit the power of HOAs. In 2004, Evelyn Garcia bought a four bedroom, three bathroom house in Hutto with her husband. Unfortunately, her excitement didn't last long. Garcia thought joining her HOA was optional, and when she didn't pay the first year's dues, roughly $360, she learned attorneys were involved. Now, Garcia is stuck paying the attorneys’ fees, which total more than $12,000.

Read more...
 
Outstanding News Reports
Thursday, 21 April 2011

The HOA Advocate
An Advocate for Homeowners See the HOA Hall of Shame and Breaking News. Participate in the Forum and more...

 
HOA: Fly the Flag Bill Passes House
Thursday, 21 April 2011

Texans are on their way to being able fly their flags without fear
That is, people who live under strict no-flag rules imposed by homeowners’ associations will be able to show their colors if a bill that passed the Texas House today gets approval from the state Senate and a signature by the governor. But don’t expect to fly any flag. Only American, Texas and armed services flags are covered under the bill. House Bill 2779 by Rep. Dwayne Bohac, R-Houston, prohibits a homeowners associations from restricting the installation of a 20-foot freestanding flagpole to display the flags. “Earlier this year I was outraged to learn that one of our brave Texas Marine Veterans, Mike Merola, was being sued for flying the American flag from a freestanding flagpole at his house,” Bohac said in a statement. “This bill is significant because it preserves our fundamental right to express our state and national pride and protects Texas private property owners from the threat of being sued for supporting our country, state, or armed services.” Bohac said the bill should sail through the Senate. Get more Legislative coverage inside the Virtual Capitol

 
Call for Texas Attorney General to Investigate HOA Mess
Tuesday, 19 April 2011

HOAs taking S.A. homes now getting lawmakers' attention
Boarded up. Deserted. A court notice to vacate. The signs of foreclosures permeate the Lago Vista neighborhood. Foreclosures are nothing new in this new economy.  But when it’s your homeowner’s association doing it to a neighbor, Janet Ahmad with the Home Owners for Better Building says it gets personal.  “This is a money-maker for the industry.  It’s very lucrative,” said Ahmad.  One bill being heard this week in committee, pushed by Houston lawmaker, Rep. Harold Dutton, asks that delinquent homeowners get a written notice of the amount of attorney’s fees and costs they face BEFORE those costs are actually incurred.  Ahmad added, “That would stop attorneys from abusing their authority. And an investigation is key.”  Groups like the Home Owners for Better Building want lawmakers to request the state attorney general look into the practices of HOAs.

Read more...
 
Home Owners for Better Building Calls for AG Investigation
Sunday, 17 April 2011

Texas Consumers Call for Investigation of Property Management Industry and Attorney Misconduct  
Home Owners for Better Building will be asking the House Business and Industry committee as well as other lawmakers to request Attorney General Greg Abbott to investigate Home Owners Associations (HOA’s), the property management industry and its attorneys. “Obviously there are many communities that can not afford or tolerte an HOA; certainly not at the expense of losing their homes for the enrichment by an aggressive industry,” said Janet Ahmad, National President of Home Owners for Better Building .“Homeowners need more than lawmaking, they need to see justice.  The big business of HOA attorney ‘payment-plan-greed’ makes Pay-Day-Loans look first-class. Homeowners deserve a state investigation,” concluded Ahmad.

Read more...
 
New York Times: Another Foreclosure Threat - 300 Bay Area homes — twice as many as five years ago
Sunday, 17 April 2011

Hard-Pressed Homeowners Facing Another Financial Threat
One out of every four California homeowners belongs to a homeowners association — entities that sell property and provide services in residential subdivisions with support from member dues. There are more than 15,000 associations in Northern California, according to Levy, Erlanger & Company, a professional services firm that caters to them. Last year, associations foreclosed on about 300 Bay Area homes — twice as many as five years ago, according to an analysis by New America Media, a nonprofit news organization. The study used data from ForeclosureRadar.com, an independent Web site.

Read more...
 
HOA Egregious Profits
Sunday, 17 April 2011

State legislators told of HOA fines, foreclosure threats
A Houston couple may wind up having to pay more than $20,000 after a feud over a $50 ticket for having gray - instead of black - tape on exterior water lines, leaders of a property owners' rights group told the House Business and Industry Committee...Elkins said he wants lawmakers to explore whether foreclosure is only used by associations as a weapon against people who have built up substantial equity in their homes - but only very rarely against a first-time buyer who put little money down...Giddings said she was dismayed by recent stories in The Dallas Morning News about a Colleyville developer who, with his wife and business partner, used five neighborhood associations to dictate everything from how many day lilies to plant in a flower bed to the precise size of coach lamps at entrances.

Read more...
 
WFAA Reports: Being Slammed with HOA Fees, fines and interest
Thursday, 14 April 2011

Texas HOAs under heavy fire in Austin
We’ve heard the complaints for years now… complaints about homeowners’ associations that have gained  too much power, even foreclosing on homes for non-payment of dues, fees and fines.But state lawmakers may be about to strip some of that power away...  Although Greer says he is current on all his association dues, he is being hit with late fees, attorneys fees, fines, and interest totaling more than $700. “But because I didn’t pay exactly on time, they slammed me with fees.

Read more...
 
San Antonio City Building Inspectors Indicted
Thursday, 14 April 2011

City inspector, contractor indicted in bribery case

A Bexar County Grand Jury recently indicted a former city building inspector and the contractor who admits to paying him thousands in bribes.  Ernest Martinez was chief building inspector for San Antonio's Planning and Development Department. But according to recent indictments, Martinez he was 'on the take.' The News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooters have been following this since we broke the story last year. CLICK HERE to watch Trouble Shooter Brian Collister's update. 

See Trouble Shooter Brian Colister
 
HOA Green Grass or Fine
Tuesday, 12 April 2011

Strict West Valley HOA wants green grass
Letters started going out a few weeks ago to dozens, if not hundreds of homeowners living in Litchfield Park's Dreaming Summit, reminding them that green grass is one of the contract agreements. Homeowners pay upwards of $150 a month to live in the area. Homeowners say they will face fines or even possible lawsuits if they don’t strictly follow the HOA's guidelines.

Read more...
 
AG & FBI Raid HOA office for Embezzlement
Tuesday, 12 April 2011

Raid at Homeowners Association
The Nevada Attorney General's Office, with the assistance of the FBI, served a warrant at the Paradise Spa Homeowners Association on Las Vegas Boulevard South near Serene Avenue.  AG investigators were looking for records of the HOA. Residents allege HOA board members have embezzled more than $1 million of their money. Many of the people who live at Paradise Spa are elderly. They say they pay $160 a month in HOA fees but there is nothing to show for it.

Read more...
 
HOA Bully News: Grandma Being Fined
Tuesday, 12 April 2011

Woman fined for using garage as living space
Marilyn Weber said she usually spends four or five hours a day in her  garage space at Villa Portinifino knitting and watching TV. Neighborhood children and friends said they often swing by for treats and coffee.  Recently, the homeowners association at Villa Portofino fined Weber $50 because she was using the area as living space. For every day she goes without paying the fine, they add on an additional $2.

Read more...
 
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