Jonathan Friedrich the HOA Superman Joins the Dark Side

The good news is that Friedrich’s body of work clearly shows that while he may join the Dark Side, it is highly likely that he will lighten it up, rather than the other way around.

Posted By the CotoBlogzz

Jonathan Friedrich, an outspoken lobbyist for homeowners' rights on June 27, 2011 filed an ethics complaint against the  Nevada Common Interest Community Commission, and the next day  served the Nevada Real Estate Division administrator Gail Anderson with a summons.  Or as Hubble Smith of the Las Vegas Review Journal writes in a piece titled HOA Advocate files ethics complaint “Somebody's got to fight for the little guy, and when it comes to homeowners' rights, Jonathan Friedrich looks like Superman -- just a little on the short and thin side, and without the muscle

Months earlier, Friedrich presented his "Wheel of Horrors”  during the rally on February 7, 2011 which goes something like this: CICC:  Common Interest Community Commission NRED:  Nevada Real Estate Division and  NRS116  - The Law Work together to bring the following horrors to Nevada homeowners:

• • Long delays in responding to owners' complaints.
  • Non-mandatory meeting with ombudsman.
  • Allows boards to charge special assessments without a vote.
  • Allows kangaroo courts known as HOA hearings.
  • Mandatory expensive arbitration.
  • Biased arbitrators allowed to make awards against owners.
  • Board members not required to take training.
  • Incompetent inspectors issuing violations.
  • Ombudsman's office does not protect homeowners.
  • Requests for advisory opinions go unanswered.
  • Violates due process to owners.
  • Allows unlimited fines by boards
• Allows sub & master associations to issue fines for the same "violations".
• Allows attorneys to take retaliatory actions against owners.
• Collection companies charging excessive fees.
• Management companies responsible for illegal towing of vehicles.
• A homeowner facing an HOA bully board will soon find the horrors spinning out of control as he tries to navigate the oppressive bureaucracy that is the HOA industry.
• A small problem quickly becomes a huge problem for the homeowner, as he finds horrors in every direction he turns.

Anyone living in a common interest development who has ever voiced a complaint against his or her homeowners association board of directors can easily relate to Friedrich’s Wheel of Horrors. But just as the little guys are flocking to Friedrich for inspiration, Friedrich goes to the Dark Side.  Last week, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval appointed Jonathan Friedrich to the Nevada Commission for Common-Interest Communities and Condominium Hotels.

Now, to make matter worse, we continue to argue that the Stanford Prisoner Syndrome afflicts most common interest development board of directors a few days after they are elected – the notion that otherwise insignificant individuals with the power to control a community, do so ruthlessly for no apparent reason. The Stanford Prisoner Syndrome is not restricted to homeowners association, but is also prevalent in local, regional, state and national governance.

The good news is that Friedrich’s body of work clearly shows that while he may join the Dark Side, it is highly likely that he will lighten it up, rather than the other way around.