HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATIONS: A CLUB YOU DON'T WANT TO BELONG TO

HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATIONS: A CLUB YOU DON'T WANT TO BELONG TO
August 14, 2007
by Donie Vanitzian, JD(c) 2007 Vanitzian

This ain't no party! This ain't no disco! This ain't no community!

The premise behind the concept of homeowner associations is discussed at length in the book "Villa Appalling! Destroying the Myth of Affordable Community Living" by Vanitzian & Glassman. The premise is really very simple; the homeowner association's success depends on the constant replacement of those who can no longer afford to stay and pay. Any owner depending on their "homeowner association" for "anything" will soon learn that the results inevitably lead to a loss of personal freedom and a diminished quality of life.
Under California's Davis-Stirling Act it is not hard to "Spend Other People's Money" without risk. The name of that no-risk institution is "homeowner association." The aiders and abettors that are free to implement and then perpetrate the legalized fraud are called a "board of directors." The catalyst and major aider and abettor to the board of directors is in the form of a "no risk" insurance policy called "indemnification." [FN1]

The simplicity of the scam is brilliant, it centers around a board of directors who suffer no risk whatsoever in their spending sprees using other people's money, so much so, that the board does not care if the:

*owner doesn't like it there;*owner was scammed into making the purchase;*owner is angry with the board;*owner complains;*owner disagrees with the boards expenditures;*owner asks to see association books and records;*owner hates the landscaping;*owner hates the other owners;*owner hates the manager and management company;*owner doesn't agree with the amount of assessments;*owner has large mortgage payments;*owner is about to lose their home;*owner believes the association is rife with theft and embezzlement;*owner believes the association is corrupt;*owner sells and moves. . . that is, if the association allows the owner to sell and move.

NEW RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

Residential deed-restricted communities are disgusting. Every weekend like clockwork I am forced to listen to some idiot's symphonic concerto blasting away as if it were the second coming. On the other side of me I'm forced to endure the holy-rollers who sing and pray for all sinners to be saved. It’s a fairly safe bet that my homeowner association has not yet been "saved." In fact, if I were a betting man I'd bet that the Hell ya'll been looking for is right here in my association. On the weekends my other "neighbor" holds a LOUD prayer group aimed at converting Jews to Christianity, never mind that I'm Jewish. I dare not complain about any of those situations, but my husband finally at his wits end yelled out the window "you mean you're not saved yet!" The pulpit pounding stopped long enough for the hate mail to begin. Through my door slot came the anonymous "we hate Jews" swastikas and the "Jews go home" flyers -- don't get too excited the police and the national news picked up the story but guess what? No one was arrested. If that isn't unnerving enough, there are the dueling-psychos. One in front, the other in back. I'll save that gem for another article, but trust me on this, they ARE psychos.

In the homeowner association environment it doesn't matter that you are "credible," in a stable relationship, have a full-time job, pay your bills on time, are "hard-working" and are a person of "good character." The fact that you own property inside a common interest development and belong to a homeowner association instantly puts you and your assets at risk and makes you vulnerable to any number of scams and ploys.

Those wanting to leave their beige life behind will learn there is only ONE thing between being able to exit and attaining the coveted personal freedom they long for. Without that ONE thing there is "no exit." The Homeowner Association has only one bottom line: leave your money behind. Other than its statutory business-as-usual-revenge-and-retaliation tactics, the association is interested in ONLY one thing: Your Money. You want your freedom? You pay for it. This legalized system of bribes and extortion is the only contingency between you and your freedom.

HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP IS A LEGALIZED DOG FIGHT THAT NEVER STOPS

If you own "something" within a common interest development with a homeowners association don't worry about property rights because you don't have any. Why? You don't own "property." What you own is "liability." Because you now own a "liability," you are a dog in a fight to keep your personal assets from diminishment. Your dogfight is with the other dogs who are mauling your freedoms, livelihood, and bank accounts. They are rabid dogs frothing at the mouth for another bite of your ass-ets.

The authors of Villa Appalling! warn buyers when purchasing this particular type of housing to allow extra income in their budgets to include "protection money." Part of that "protection money" will be sucked up by attorneys you will be forced to hire at any given time during your ownership.

No matter how desperate the owner is to hire an attorney, be forewarned about a new breed of lawyers who are basically "hugs and smiles" while feigning concern for your homeowner association-related problems. Too many of these [starving-looking-for-fresh-revenue] attorneys will often want to get somewhere using the fastest lane -- YOU are the fast lane for that attorney. Why? You are a PAYING client. In laymen language, that could equate to a lawyer "using your money as THEIR training wheels to a speedy financial success." Where else would those individuals be able to attain status and financial success so quickly with nothing more than supplying clients with their "opinion" right or wrong, its still just an "o-p-i-n-i-o-n" for a fee.
One of the quickest ways for those in that profession to make the biggest bucks is to find a "dogfight" and there are plenty of those out there from association to association.

Optimistic that this scenario will change? Don't be. Not too long ago I attempted to contact a particular Legislator in an attempt to "work with" him/her to try to deliver the homeowner vote so that we might have someone, anyone, in our legislature that would listen and assist the owners rather than the special interests. I was told back then, that that person was not interested in the homeowner vote (a) because of homeowner apathy, meaning they cannot be counted on to deliver a vote, and (b) because they were "homeowners." Fast forward to a more recent conversation with an attorney who was coincidentally in a fairly powerful position in that particular Legislator's office before the Legislator left office. The attorney wants to pick my brains for ways to gain homeowners as clients as this person says to me in so many words, that's a goldmine ripe for the pickin'. I casually bring up the aforementioned Legislator and campaigning, and the homeowner vote; and this person proceeds to tell me without missing a beat that the Legislator would not have been interested in the homeowner vote because the Legislator is/was only interested in "businesses" and now this person says "I have to go to lunch."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[FN1] See generally Vanitzian, Common Interest Developments--Homeowners Guide (Thomson/West, 2006-2008)

RELATED STORIES

"TWIN RIVERS" = "TRIPLE PROBLEMS"Note to the do-gooders whose glasses are corrupted by the half-full half-empty circular-argument nonsense and who want only to hear the good-of-it-all and nothing too depressing, oh, and want only smiley ha-ha journalism: Go grab your teddy bears and...
CALIFORNIA LAW REVENGE COMMISSION PROJECT #TR-855 FUNCTIONS TO DISENFRANCHISE AND PARALYZE DEED-RESTRICTED HOMEOWNERS IN WAYS THEY NEVER IMAGINEDIF owners do NOT oppose this frivolous project now, you will be funding your own demise; and owners must be quick in stopping this so-called Project from moving forward -- Please do not wait to write -- do it now.
California Law Revision Letter: TR-H855XStupid is as stupid doesMr. Brian HerbertCalifornia Law Revision Commission3200 5th AvenueSacramento, CA 95817 Re: TR-H855Dear Mr. Herbert,Why? As a realtor I have to deal with the damage you cause us in this profession, the senior citizen, the fixed income families, and...
PART II: KEEP FILING CALIFORNIA STATE BAR COMPLAINTS AGAINST ERRANT ATTORNEYS - BUT ESPECIALLY HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATION ATTORNEYS-- Make the Bar Care!Lets spare each other the niceties of: ?there are good ones and there are bad ones,? because we already know that -- and -- this article is not about that. She then says with a cheeky little grin, ?ok, ok yes, there are some good lawyers out there.?
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest gladiator of them all?As I stood atop the Roman Colosseum during a recent trip, emotionally gripped by its horrific history, I couldn?t help but make the connection between the ancient gladiator and my role as in-house attorney,?.. For starters, lawyers are often referred to...
Management company's tape-recording tactic puts homeowners at riskQuestion: Because our management company has been sued before, it has a policy of recording all incoming and outgoing phone calls. Before a management employee answers the phone, there is an automatic announcement warning callers they are being recorded....
Of Trial Lawyers, the AAJ and the Democratic PartyThe National College of Advocacy and AAJ Education maintain two distinct programs that recognize AAJ lawyer member efforts in pursuit of advanced legal learning and professional development?the Achievement Recognition Program and Advanced Studies in Trial...
Laguna Woods Village CC&Rs, What CC&Rs? I Got Your CC&Rs Right Here!Coto de Caza is not the only place where the board of directors consistently either disregard the civil code, governing documents (Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions - CC&Rs) or even the moral code.
What is better in HOA Management? Transparency and Accountability or Feel Good?May 22, 2007Mostly as a result of the Enron and Worldcom scandals, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 and commonly called SOX; was enacted to provide business executives with less wiggle...
HOW DO OWNERS SPELL L-A-W S-U-I-T? SENATE BILL NO. 127!XThis author asks WHERE ARE THE PENALTIES AGAINST MANAGEMENT COMPANIES AND BOARDS? WHAT?S THE PENALTY FOR BREAKING THE LAWS THAT THESE LEGISLATORS ARE PASSING?
Two of the Worst & Most Detrimental Laws to Hit California are Sponsored by None Other than: California Association of Realtors (R) The Gold is Gone --No more gold in the Golden State!Dear Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger,SHATZI! PLEASE REMEMBER YOUR PROMISE TO US. Please listen to the people who support you and look to you to help us! When you first began buying property in California NO ONE told you what you could or could not do...
THE LAW OF INTENDED CONSEQUENCES - WHAT A DIFFERENCE A "WORD" MAKES: NO! ON ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 563It apparently does not matter that titleholders with a vested interest in their property cannot get their legislators to carry legislation to help US, but, they can waste taxpayer funds by preventing the bills WE WANT and NEED by CHANGING *ONE* WORD in an...
EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! OOPS! WE JUST HAD THE MEETING! YOU MISSED IT!!So THIS is what the Senate calls an "Open Meeting." How many Open Meetings have THEY been to? Obviously not many. ROTFLMAO!
CAN YOU OUTSWIM YOUR HOA SHARKS? or will you drown trying?Owning, let alone living in an HOA is a tough JOB and requires you be physically fit, possess a certain sophistication of the processes, and have the character let alone stamina, that allows you to be persistent in a manner that indescribable to REAL...
HEY GRAY PANTHERS! YOU GOT IT WRONG!(c) D. VanitzianMay 16, 2007The Gray Panthers are on record as SUPPORTING A BAD BAD BAD BAD BILL: Senate Bill Number 948. SHAME ON YOU. Where the heck are you getting your information from?
The Law of Unintended Consequences: Legislation and HOA BOD Cause and Effect: Clueless in my CARComing off a most improbable but successful campaign to defeat SB 670 author and HOA advocate Vanitizian thanks supporters making a connection between the quality of legislation being passed in Sacramento, and the quality of life in most homeowners...
Paraphrasing the LA Times on Defeat of SB670 & Wicked Twin Witches of the West - SB 127 & AB-980Taking a page out of the OC Register?s ?paraphrased reporting?, an article written by LA Times staff writer Diane Weder titled ?Bill to limit transfer fee founders?, published appropriately on May 13, 2007, quotes the president of the statewide Realtors...

Private Transfer Tax - Good for the Common Interest Development (HOA/CID) Industry or Good for the Politicians?When we received our copy of the report that the California Association of Realtors (CAR) used to Sponsor and help draft transfer fees, we were confused. Given that Vanitzian has become an icon in Sacrament (some say a thorn in the legislature's side),...

Chuck Chuckles: Senator Schumer, That isThose who do not know, go to law school. Those who do not do, blame. Those who do not know and do not do, join the US Congress. Senator Schumer has asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate if rising gas prices are the result of oil...

Lawyer seeking condominiums' business goes over the lineQuestion: I manage a large condominium project in Los Angeles. Unsolicited, an attorney sent me an invitation to meet with him over lunch. He then phoned me several times, including the day before the lunch, explaining the purpose was to speak only with...

CONDOMINIUMS ARE A GREAT INVESTMENT- FOR LAWYERSAbout every two months I get a call, or a client comes in to ask me about condominiums. It usually starts off with, ?I bought this adorable little condo? and then the upstairs neighbor had a flood?. And then the Homeowners Association refused??
Pssst, Can I Interest You In a Lawyer?When there are too many policemen, there can be no liberty.When there are too many soldiers, there can be no peace.When there are too many lawyers, there can be no justice.Lin Yutang (1895-1976), Chinese-American writer, translator, and editor.This...

Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest gladiator of them all?As I stood atop the Roman Colosseum during a recent trip, emotionally gripped by its horrific history, I couldn?t help but make the connection between the ancient gladiator and my role as in-house attorney,?.. For starters, lawyers are often referred to...

The Scrutiny of Lawyers?There are plenty of jokes about lawyers, but everyone investigating them knows it can be a challenging task?, reads the preamble to an article by Ames Alexander, an investigative reporter
















Advertisement






Select Blogzz & click icon
function jumpMenu(){
location=document.jump.menu.options[document.jump.menu.selectedIndex].value;
}
BlogSpot FeedBurner CotoBlogzz BraveNet Y!360
Archived Issues
General Information
HOA Resources
Emergency numbers
Public Safety Resources
Crime Watch
Sex Offenders in the Area
Real Time Traffic Report
LA Times Orange County
Subscribe
- What is RSS?
Area Links
ORANGE COUNTY BLOGS:

R
To subscribe/unsubscribe to the CotoBuzz Journal or send Letters to the Editor : click here or send email to:
The CotoBuzz Journal P.O. Box 154 Trabuco Canyon, CA 92678 (509) 355-8895

Privacy Policy Need Help? Contact Us Administrator: cotobuzz@yahoo.com