Le Cirque Du Directors & Lawyers at Laguna Woods Village

LETTER

This went to the Globe today June 21, 2012, to be published in the next issue.  I doubt it will appear. If this single thing doesn’t upset you then you have either decided to join the ranks of those who just have so much money to live on for the rest of your lives that you just can’t spend it all or you have not been paying attention. This is just one single thing that has been a part of the overall and overwhelming abuse heaped upon us for all the years any of us has lived here. I apologize for the run on sentences. I am just very upset. We moved here before we were to retire so we could set down roots and live here for the rest of our lives. That isn’t going to happen.

Is it any wonder that our assessments are rising so fast and our services are so bad. This week alone we have had landscape crews mowing, blowing and making general upset and noise for 7 solid days. They haven’t even done a decent job of trimming this time. Equipment has been left behind at night and just thrown into the bushes. Residents are expected to move around them, not them around residents. It is no wonder that the costs for landscaping in Third Mutual alone have risen so fast and so far that they are greater than water costs. 

Remember the newly-seated majority on Third Board immediately put back into the budget $500,000 that had been removed from this year’s budget by the “old majority.”  The new majority is:  Mike Straziuso, Sy Wellikson, Rae Tso, Isabelle Muennichow, Denise Welch, and Won Chang.  Let’s call it the spendthrift slate.  The overage in the budget for landscape is a disgrace while buildings are falling down around our heads because of dry rot. I am certain that the situation in United is just as bad. There is no reason to have to listen to the cacophony of landscaping equipment for unending days at a time. We have an incompetent in the office of Treasurer. No oversight. Rampant spending. You can look for more of the same behavior funded by the sources mentioned below in the upcoming election.

There is no reason for the members of this community to have to put up with any of the abuse that is going on. Our boards continue to make rules which tighten and tighten their control over our lives and increase fees to the point of driving people out who have lived here for a long time. There is no reason for the members to sit back and allow this to continue.

The Mutual Boards are not being honest with the members. The management system is a disgrace. Nobody seems to remember who lives in this community and why it was developed in the first place. I have no saintly crown  for Ross Cortese. He was a businessman who was in the business of building and developing communities. He made his personal fortune doing it.  He was not a man to be venerated years later by presidents of mutual who are just looking for excuses to continue a policy that is long past its reason. This community was built for active seniors who cared to live out their lives in peace and enjoyment. Instead we have been saddled with controversy, sly maneuvering, opacity in governance and backbiting by boards and management because the purpose has been forgotten. The purpose and reason for their existence is to enhance the quality of life for the membership. Instead they are petty dictatorships being run by egos without bounds.

The next election is going to be very interesting. It has been alleged that an insurance agency and a real estate agency have both heavily funded slates of candidates for election (to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars.) Vicious fighting goes on during board meetings at every single meeting; between both board members themselves and boards vs. members. It is all about power; who has it and who wants it. None of it is about the membership and quality of life. People running for the boards next year are people we are all familiar with. There will be some newcomers to the races. It behooves each of us to be reminded of the saying that “those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it.” You might keep that in mind when selecting candidates to vote for. There are people who are unable to do anything other than be on some board in order to fulfill their needs (power and the ability to spend millions of dollars with impunity.) They show up and run over and over and over again for various positions. Some resign for the odd reason but they pop back up again when they feel better over and over and over. For them it is not about what is good for the community, the corporation, the membership. It is all about what they as individuals need to feed their giant egos. It isn’t their money they are spending. It is YOURS.  Remember the favorite sayings of directors past “sometimes you have to eat a crap sandwich” and “let’s just do it and if it is not legal we will fix it later.” Look for even more escalation in United. We know of one former president making the election re-run this fall.

Yesterday’s performance of Hart King and Coldren regarding the Trust and the analysis performed by Paul Hastings, LLP was as expected. It was another high priced spin job applied to the report of the second set of lawyers intended to show GRF and their lawyer in a better light than the report did.  Questions, from directors and members alike, not on the lawyer’s agenda went unanswered. Questions that might hold GRF responsible for its actions.  It is blatantly obvious that GRF has been told that any and all assets removed from the trust (Broadband) must be returned to the trust. And here we are with an article in the Globe saying GRF had to buy Broadband back at auction during the bankruptcy proceedings of Capitol Infrastructure/Connexion. What did this cost us?  Nice show yesterday.

Katie McDaniel

 COMMENT:

Mr. Foster

How much did this cost us?

this is not a comment, it is a question

and I, and many others, want  an answer

Joe Fischler

If you would like to make a comment about a specific news article, editorial or commentary and have it considered for publication in the CotoBuzz Journal as a Letter to the Editor, please send it to buzz@cotobuzz.com --. Do not send attachments- or mail to Letters to the Editor, c/o CotoBuzz, P,O. Box 154, Trabuco Canyon, CA 92678 Letters should be brief, and may be edited for clarity and length.. They become the property of CotoBuzz Journal  and may be republished in any format. Please include your full name, mailing address and daytime phone number (your number will not be published).

RELATED STORIES

LETTERS

LWV Open Board Meetings Memo

We received a follow up letter, posted below,  to a GRF resolution  outlining rules of engagement for open board meetings (click here for copy) scheduled for approved today.  We asked  Ms. Donie Vantizian, co-author of the long-standing Los Angeles Times column "Associations"  to comment on the merits of such letter, and have included her response under Comments below

GRF Rules of Engagement Good For Folsom? First, does this new "SHUT UP!" Rule (click here for copy of GRF resolution dealing with rules of engagement) ) apply only to the Folsom Prison inmates at Leisure World or does it apply also to the residents?

GRF Rules of Engagement Innovation, or Self-preservation?If you would pay attention ((click here for copy of GRF resolution dealing with rules of engagement) ) to what the residents are telling you, you wouldn't have to be so scared and try to impose illegal sanctions against the people who are paying the bills.  The residents would not be angry. 

GRF Rules of Engagement Restrict Resident Participation The GRF resolution (click here for copy) about to be finally approved at the next GRF Board meeting - Tuesday after next (August 5th), is an effort to greatly restrict resident participation in their meetings.  Click here for additional information

Different Homeowners Association, Same Issues                      
 I assume that you are a member of the Walnut Creek Leisure World Association, or is this another HOA in the area? We have had many comments of similar problems by HOA's who happen to run into our website and I'm glad that you contacted me. 

The Right LWV Leadership for Such a Time as This?
Is this general manager (Milt Johns) over his head in his management skills? Can someone come out with only experience from the garden to manage a 90 million dollar business without a conflict of interest? When is the last time Mr. Johns lowered our costs...

Working to Serve, Or Serving To Work - Letter to OC Register Columnist
Another good column. I was wondering if there was ever any serious consideration to any non-union government employee for the position of publicly elected Sheriff by either the Register or Supervisors? That is all I see in your Top Five selection and...

To Destroy a Community, or to Destroy the Status Quo?XThat is the Question in this Letter to the Menifee SCCA Board of Directors
First of all I have no intentions or no desire to destroy "our community". However, I must ask you to please define what you think the community is, what it is you think I am threatening to destroy?Secondly, Sun City has been declared a "blighted...

September  2008 ISSUE We do not make jokes, we simply watch the LA Times, the Orange County Register and CID/HOA board of directors and report the facts!

LETTERS  Public Relations for LWV or  for  Service Providers - The Golden Age or the Golden Parachute?  August 13,  2008   By LWV, Maxwell Bendarien PCM of California, the management company for Laguna Woods Village, demanded management fee increases which raised the fee from $363,700 in 2006 to $654,100 in 2008.  In just two years, the management fee has increased by 79.8%.  What could possibly justify this sort of increase when the annual inflation rate was running just above 2% over the same time frame.  Of course PCM has a perfectly good rationale for this increase.  PCM’s explanation?  “The largest portion of the increase in the management fee is due to the additional costs that are incurred by PCM of CA due to lawsuits and community activists exercising their rights. The increase of almost $200,000 was negotiated by PCM of CA to cover increased legal fees, increased insurance premiums for Errors and Omissions (E&O) insurance, and Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance, and increased public relations related costs, ”  according to statements contained in a local newspaper - I’m sure that the fact Mr. John’s, the managing agent for LWV, recent divorce settlement, had no impact on his need for additional funds. If we rationalize this statement step by step, we must first ask what lawsuits are pending.  This is a difficult question since the boards of LWV have repeated that there areno lawsuits pending.  If this is true, then what lawsuits are anticipated?  And, of course, why are they anticipating lawsuits?  Is this a tacit admission of malfeasance and impending judgment?  Is there some conspiracy that would prompt a RICO investigation?  It simply boggles the mind to speculate. Next we must consider community activists who are exercising their rights.  I believe that this refers to increasing requests for financial documents.  Several directors have stated that they are often refused access to documents or they receive them so heavily “redacted” that the documents they receive are useless.  You could argue that residents might only have access to heavily edited documents (although that flies in the face of at least the spirit of Davis/Stirling and the governing documents of LWV.)  But directors are covered by confidentiality requirements and should have free and full access to all financial records.  If PCM actively interferes with free access, they are preventing the directors from exercising their fiduciary responsibility.  In fact, this is why Davis/ Stirling specifically grants them free access to these records.  Has PCM created a different state with some unique set of laws? Why is there a large increase in errors and omissions insurance?  If increased requests for financial documents were coupled with anticipated lawsuits, the logical explanation would suggest that PCM is trying to hide the horrendous lack of oversight that past mutual boards have exercised—giving PCM free rein over spending up to and including haircuts, lavish gifts, parties, and questionable “business meals” that are approved without question. That would suggest an increase in insurance rates is a logical consequence. It is certainly reasonable to say that LWV needs increased public relations.  Several residents have pointed out that while Leisure World was a readily recognized senior CID, Laguna Woods Village has abandoned that recognition and has had virtually no presence on the internet.  Up to a month ago, it was virtually impossible to bring up LWV by searching for senior communities or retirement communities.  This is a readily identifiable current need.  However, the only entity that required better PR in 2007 and 2008 was PCM which has increasingly come under fire from concerned residents demanding access to financial records.  PCM suffered serious damage to its image when two years of credit card records showed the extent of co-mingled funds, haircuts, Starbucks visits, On the Boarder meals, Las Brisas fetes, premium Angels tickets, $400 earrings, and on and on.  PCM, though, is a for-profit corporation while the housing mutuals are nonprofits.  Rumor has it that the recent attempt to survey residents’ satisfaction with PCM turned out so abysmally that the survey was scrapped over a technicality.  All of this questionable activity has resulted in PCM hiring a full time PR specialist (Rasmussen)—using resident member money of course. One must note a few additional fascinating aspects of this increased management fee. The increased fee is now totally controlled by PCM, a private for-profit company owned by Disbrow and Olsen.  PCM has steadfastly refused to allow access to details of employee salaries due to privacy rights and the private nature of PCM itself.  Thus we can expect less oversight of management expenses which now include staff support and, according to Janet Price at a committee meeting, is another term for parties, free lunches, gifts, and incentives,  To make matters worse, unspent budgeted monies used to be carried over to the subsequent year’s budget and used to reduce any increase in assessments. With the monies buried under management fees, spent or unspent, this money is now a gift to PCM with a no-return stipulation. The quandary for concerned LWV residents and concerned directors is the near impossibility to oversee PCM.  In addition to indecipherable records, PCM regularly moves budgeted items from one budget line to another.  Thus it is impossible to look at budgets from year to year and accurately review each expense.  It appears reasonable that some expenses will increase while others decrease, but moving expenses from account to account effectively hides the activity.  It would take a forensic audit to decipher the actual transactions, much less determine if they are usual and reasonable in accounting terms.  And this does not address issues such as the many for-profit subsidiaries of PCM and their financial involvement in virtually every operational area of LWV from internet services to real estate.  It does not address the question of whether PCM is running subsidiary businesses out of the LWV Community Center, rent-free, which are not support activities for LWV.  Nor does it address the apparent violation of California Civil Code 1363.2 which states that all moneys deposited by the managing agent must be covered by insurance provided by an agency of the federal government.  Of course this last may be petty, but with the recent failure of two area banks, it would seem that fiduciary responsibility and prudence would dictate a more conservative approach.  But then again, it’s not as if it were PCM’s money; there is always more where that came from—out of our pockets. If you would like to make a comment about a specific news article, editorial or commentary and have it considered for publication in the CotoBuzz Journal as a Letter to the Editor, please send it to buzz@cotobuzz.com --. Do not send attachments- or mail to Letters to the Editor, c/o CotoBuzz, P,O. Box 154, Trabuco Canyon, CA 92678 Letters should be brief, and may be edited for clarity and length.. They become the property of CotoBuzz Journal  and may be republished in any format. Please include your full name, mailing address and daytime phone number (your number will not be published). COMMENTS CotoBlogzz Tagzz - use any number  of social networking managers  to share this (or any other articles in the Internet) with others...click here and select social bookmarkings threads RELATED STORIES New Golden Rain Foundation Rules of Engagement On the heels of the Golden Rain Foundation?s (of Seal Beach) decision to appeal the recent Court of Appeals decision, on a financial transparency lawsuit, to the state Supreme Court, the embattled GRF HOA board of directors recently decided to enact... $2 million Verdict Returned Against Homeowners Association Conduct constituted malice, oppression, or fraud and committed by one or more officers, directors or managing agents of the HOA - Presiding Juror Earlier this week a jury in a case filed in Superior Court of California Riverside, a jury ruled in favor... GRF 2009 Budget Review, Be There or Be Out of Luck! Letter from LWV resident M. Curtis inviting concerned residents: Tomorrow (Tuesday, July 22) at 9AM, in the Community Center Board Room, GRF will have a Special Corporate (all boards) meeting to review next year's budget. See the... Different Homeowners Association, Same Issues I assume that you are a member of the Walnut Creek Leisure World Association, or is this another HOA in the area? We have had many comments of similar problems by HOA's who happen to run into our website and I'm glad that you contacted me The Right LWV Leadership for Such a Time as This? Is this general manager (Milt Johns) over his head in his management skills? Can someone come out with only experience from the garden to manage a 90 million dollar business without a conflict of interest? When is the last time Mr. Johns lowered our costs... Working to Serve, Or Serving To Work - Letter to OC Register Columnist Another good column. I was wondering if there was ever any serious consideration to any non-union government employee for the position of publicly elected Sheriff by either the Register or Supervisors? That is all I see in your Top Five selection and... To Destroy a Community, or to Destroy the Status Quo?XThat is the Question in this Letter to the Menifee SCCA Board of Directors First of all I have no intentions or no desire to destroy "our community". However, I must ask you to please define what you think the community is, what it is you think I am threatening to destroy?Secondly, Sun City has been declared a "blighted... RELATED VIDEO CLIPS June 2, 2009 GRF Meeting - The Shut Up Rule in Effect All residents want form Mr. Stuller is a little R.E.S.P.E.C.T - Click here for the rest of the story Desperate HOA Directors - Your Are Out of Order! June 2, 2009 Golden Rain Foundation annotated board Meeting - as Board President denigrates fellow director and cancer patient Michael Curtis, while defending property management company's actions  Click here for the rest of the story..  Desperate Directors of Laguna Woods - The Facts Behind the Fiction Part Two - Click here for video If you thought farming subsidies were bad, you should see the Laguna Woods Village nursery subsidies!  Click here for video clip Keep out! - Nursery is a Dangerous Place...... for Inquiring Min What we do with your money is none of your business: Click here for  video clip Do not Ask, PCM Won't Tell: The LWV Accounting System - O RELATED STORIES       To Recall or No Recall, & The HOA Hall of Shame The Hen House Guarded by the Fox in Laguna Woods Village's Foster's Farm & the Hall of Shame  - News This Friday at 2:00 PM Posted by CotoBlogzz  | 06/17/2009 04:00 PM Laguna Woods Village, CA -Whether the United Board recall is absolutely necessary is debatable.  What is not debatable is the Golden Rain Foundations  board’s behavior during the June 2, 2009.  When all residents wanted was a little respect, board president Erwin Stuller resorted to unnecessary defamatory and personal attacks.  What is more appalling is that the rest of the board failed to step in and apply a modicum of decorum to the proceedings.  Such behavior is not only despicable but calls for an apology and stepping down. The video clip capturing Mr. Stullers less than despicable behavior during  the proceedings are quickly becoming a rallying cry against abusive HOA directors. Hoist By Their Own Petard - Fuses get shorter in Laguna Woods Village Posted by CotoBlogzz | 06/03/2009 05:00 PMLaguna Woods Village, CA -So, exactly what happened during yesterday?s Golden Rain Foundation (GRF) board of directors meeting in Laguna Woods United Recall Petition Signed Sealed and Delivered - Finance Committee Meeting Laguna Woods Village, CA - As promised, earlier today United Mutual director Michael Curtis during the Finance Committee Meeting, delivered a petition to recall certain United board boards, with close to 100 verified signatures over an above the required... United Board Recall In Final Stretch ? 4th of July in June! Laguna Woods Village, CA - Change is in the air. So is anticipation, excitement, thrill and for some, fear. Fear that their telephones are bugged. Fear of retribution. Fear of the unknown. Prosecuting Mr. Curtis - or is it Persecuting? Posted by CotoBlogzz | 05/26/2009 8:30 PMPCM General Manager Milt Johns, taking exception to the coverage by Orange County Register of the recent exile of United Mutual Director Michael Curtis from his own community, documents his displeasure at the.. Laguna Woods Village - United Board on Official Notice TO: United Board:About a month ago, the official "United Membership List" was provided to me by Bill Hart. I believe it is dated April 29th. This is being used to verify all signatures on the Removal (or recall) Petition, so that the official... The $5 Million Landscape Budget and Recall Petition Laguna Woods Village, CA - We have been to Laguna Woods Village. We have seen Laguna Woods Village. The place is nicely kept, but how many gardeners does it take to justify a $5 million/year budget?That is the question residents are asking, as the... How to recognize a cheater The traditional cheater is, for example, the crude sneak thief. He is also the small-time bureaucrat or politician on the take. He needs little skill and much gall to extract his living. But he lives in constant danger of being caught in the act and... Laguna Third Mutual's President Queries Answered Which wolf will you feed today? Posted by CotoBlogzz | 05/06/2009 9:00 AM | Have you heard the story about an old man who keeps struggling with two constantly fighting wolves? The first wolf represents truth, the second represents evil. When he... Laguna Woods Village Budget I keep hearing at all the committee meetings, the capital expenses being approved come out of reserves and will not add anything to our monthly assessments.I beg to differ. Law?  What Law?  WE are the Law!  Recent find of Original Documents were mailed to each President (GRF, Third Laguna Hills Mutual and United Laguna  Hills Mutual), together with information sheets from OriginalTrust and amendment to the Trust dated Jan. 9, 1969. These documents stated how and why Ross Cortese, the developer of Leisure World Laguna Hills, changed the concept of Leisure World Laguna Hills from a Senior Citizen non-profit Co- operative to a Senior Citizen non-profit Condominium Complex. New Golden Rain Foundation Rules of Engagement On the heels of the Golden Rain Foundation?s (of Seal Beach) decision to appeal the recent Court of Appeals decision, on a financial transparency lawsuit, to the state Supreme Court, the embattled GRF HOA board of directors recently decided to enact...      Cynthia Conners Being Asked to Resign Posted by CotoBlogzz | 2/10/2009 5:40 PM The Laguna Woods Village Shareholders Committee is asking Third Board director Cynthia Conners to resign her positions on the board for a number of alleged ethical violations. New Third Laguna Hills Mutual of Laguna Woods Village Board Seated  The Third Laguna Hills Mutual of Laguna Woods Village seated the new board for that housing mutual today. Officers include Carol Moore, President; Stan Feldstein, 1st Vice President; Don Lippert, 2nd Vice President; Kathryn Freshley, Secretary. The voting was done by secret ballot and the anticipation of the members present was that business would proceed without the roadblocks of the past year. The Devil Made me Do It - Blame it on the Loopholes During Thursday?s CZ Master Association?s Candidate?s Night designed for Coto de Caza residents to meet the candidates running for two seats on the CZ Master board, the first question mischaracterized our position, asking an either or question: ?Buzz... The Right LWV Leadership for Such a Time as This? Is this general manager (Milt Johns) over his head in his management skills? Can someone come out with only experience from the garden to manage a 90 million dollar business without a conflict of interest? When is the last time Mr. Johns lowered our costs... $2 million Verdict Returned Against Homeowners Association Conduct constituted malice, oppression, or fraud and committed by one or more officers, directors or managing agents of the HOA - Presiding Juror Earlier this week a jury in a case filed in Superior Court of California Riverside, a jury ruled in favor... GRF 2009 Budget Review, Be There or Be Out of Luck! Letter from LWV resident M. Curtis inviting concerned residents: Tomorrow (Tuesday, July 22) at 9AM, in the Community Center Board Room, GRF will have a Special Corporate (all boards) meeting to review next year's budget. See the... Different Homeowners Association, Same Issues I assume that you are a member of the Walnut Creek Leisure World Association, or is this another HOA in the area? We have had many comments of similar problems by HOA's who happen to run into our website and I'm glad that you contacted me The Right LWV Leadership for Such a Time as This? Is this general manager (Milt Johns) over his head in his management skills? Can someone come out with only experience from the garden to manage a 90 million dollar business without a conflict of interest? When is the last time Mr. Johns lowered our costs... Working to Serve, Or Serving To Work - Letter to OC Register Columnist Another good column. I was wondering if there was ever any serious consideration to any non-union government employee for the position of publicly elected Sheriff by either the Register or Supervisors? That is all I see in your Top Five selection and... To Destroy a Community, or to Destroy the Status Quo?XThat is the Question in this Letter to the Menifee SCCA Board of Directors First of all I have no intentions or no desire to destroy "our community". However, I must ask you to please define what you think the community is, what it is you think I am threatening to destroy?Secondly, Sun City has been declared a "blighted... HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATION TITLEHOLDERS ARE "HUMAN CAPITAL" by D. Vanitzian(c) 2007 Donie VanitzianWhen criminal liability is not charged against the "criminals" in an association, then the titleholders become the Human Capital used to fund the criminal activities and wrongdoing. HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATIONS: A CLUB YOU DON'T WANT TO BELONG TO This ain't no party! This ain't no disco! This ain't no community! Dare's role in Pastures cost association $100,000 By BRENDAN J. LYONS, Senior writer First published: Sunday, Times Union August 12, 2007. Republished with permissionAugust 12, 2007 ALBANY -- An advocate for the Historic Pastures Homeowners Association, which lost more than $100,000 in... HIRING AN ATTORNEY CAN BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH LEGAL BLACKMAIL--TAKING CLIENTS HOSTAGE- Q: How can you tell when an attorney is lying? A. His lips are moving.August 10, 2007 If California can place caps on spending and caps on fees of various types of businesses -- then it needs to put caps... BRING BACK GOVERNOR PETE WILSON by Donie Vanitzian, JD(c) 2007 D. VanitzianYou can?t have a good old boys and girls club without a little help from friends in high places, of course, a little help from California?s State Bar wouldn?t hurt either. [FN1]Forget for a moment that the term... Should I stay or should I go - in/from my HOA? X First was the Delegate?s Corner blasting CZ Master Association board of director?s critics for speaking out against a corrupt delegate system and electoral process in favor of direct elections, consistent with current legislation, and consistent with the... Casta Courier Coverage of Unhappy Campers at Leisure World I'd like to comment on the following paragraph that was in your publication "The Casta Courier" on July 19, 2007. The second paragraph reads as follows: SPENDING OTHER PEOPLE?S MONEY by Donie Vanitzian, JDX(c) 2007 Vanitzian I mean really! How difficult is it to spend other people?s money? Cheech!! It?s a no brainer, especially with no statutory accountability. "Hey man, it ain't difficult" one board member tells me, he says "no one gives s**t." He proceeds to point to his... Critics do not attend board meetings - GRF that is! Critics do not attend Home Owner Association Meetings to learn of actions deemed necessary by their Board!August 6, 2007 Critics are principally individuals who fail to attend Home Owner Association Meetings to learn of actions deemed necessary... The New Seven, err... Eight Wonders of the World CZ's definition for leadership is that whenever questions are raised, the canned response is ?Remember the Reserves?! Now CZ Spin Machine has to be the Eight Wonder of the World!- August 6, 2007 The results of the NOWC?s New Seven Wonders of... "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... Lawyer seeking condominiums' business goes over the line Question: 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 LAWYERS About 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?? Paraphrasing the LA Times on Defeat of SB670 & Wicked Twin Witches of the West - SB 127 & AB-980 Taking 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),... Management company's tape-recording tactic puts homeowners at risk Question: 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 Party The 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, 2007 Mostly 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!X This 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. 563 It 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. Vanitzian May 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 CAR Coming 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...