HOA Nut House

Is there more on this story? Where is this happening?

This is exactly the kind of unconscionable act that results from the phony "fiduciary responsibility" promoted by the CID industry. The BOD of this HOA should take a good long look at what they have accomplished in the name of "protecting property values". What the hell is wrong with people ...

This would be the lovley San Antonio Texas, And you thought Florida has Problems!

Tom Newton's the HOA lawyer for my neighborhood and I have been in litigation with him representing the ProComm management company and Pulte Homes. What a dumbass.

Newton is very active throughout the 35 sub-association Stone Oak Association...where homeowners all have TWO separate sets of CC&Rs with conflicting rules. This provides Mr Newton with a rich environment of ambushing confused homeowners with threats of foreclosure and excessive "collection fees" that have to be paid under the threats of foreclosure. The collection fees often amount to quadruple or more of the original "debt" (Mafia dues payments...not legitimate services).

This behavior - specifically refusing to contact the homeowners before foreclosing on their house and claiming he's scared to call them on the phone or knock on their door in person - fits the definition of COWARD.

This is probably the most infuriating behavior of the entire HOA industry, and it is the behavior that created every problem I've ever had with these parasites. This leads to trouble when they make statements like "There's no requirement in the CC&R contract that we personally communicate via telephone or email or in person".

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/coward

cow·ard –noun

1. a person who lacks courage in facing danger, difficulty, opposition, pain, etc.;

What he's really afraid of is that this problem might get resolved without the necessity of his "legal services" if the management company or Board member were to contact them and treat them like human beings and NEIGHBORS. There is no neighborliness in these MAFIA*. Ugliness and hate dominate their aura.

In my personal opinion, the use of foreclosure or even threats of foreclosure used to obtain tripple+ the original dues as "collection fees" equates to extortion racketeering. There's also a general malicious intent to cause a hardship upon people who are already in dire straits - which brings questions of moral turpitude.

This behavior should be criminal - and disbarment is justified in my humble opinion!

Rich Flocker

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/moral%20turpitude

moral tur·pi·tude
Pronunciation: -'t&r-p&-"tüd, -"tyüd
Function: noun
1 : an act or behavior that gravely violates the sentiment or accepted standard of the community
2 : a quality of dishonesty or other immorality that is determined by a court to be present in the commission of a criminal offense

People need to take responsibility for their actions. How long did these folks live in this community? Did they think that assessments were optional? "The couple says the HOA dues were simply not a priority..." This tells me that the couple knew what they were doing, knew it was wrong, and knew there would be consequences. This couple should count their blessings. In most states, you steal goods or services and you end up in jail.

"They say certified letters from the HOA's attorney went unopened or thrown out because they thought it was junk mail." Last time I checked, you had to sign for certified mail. I don't know about you, but when I get a certified letter I take it seriously. What thinking person actually believes this self-serving excuse? Has anyone ever received "junk mail" from an attorney that came CERTIFIED? When's the last time you received a certified letter and threw it in the trash UNOPENED? Human curiosity alone would make any normal person at least open the envelope to see what's inside. This claim by the couple simply defies logic.

"There's no way in hell this association should do this to retired people or disabled people" Why? If you retire or become disabled are you magically exempted from paying your bills? Should people with white hair and wheel chairs be allowed to take whatever they want from local shops and grocery stores without paying because they are "retired" or "disabled?" Sounds like another case of entitlement thinking. I'm old. I'm disabled. Therefore the rules no longer apply to me. I’m old, someone else should pay my bills.

I'm sorry, but I just have no sympathy for people like this. Had they not paid their property taxes, the same thing would have happened and there wouldn't be sanctimonious self-righteous websites like this crying about how UNFAIR it is. This is not an HOA problem or a lawyer problem. I didn't read where the city was coming after them for back taxes or the Mortgage Company either. Obviously this couple knows what it means to pay bills. They just thought they could get away with not paying their association assessments, that's all. The real COWARDs here are the homeowners who actively avoided responding to repeated attempts to contact them via mail "the legal standard in most states" and now choose to let the newspaper do their fighting in the arena of public opinion.

This couple CHOSE not to pay their assessments. This couple CHOSE to not to act responsibly. This couple CHOSE to let their home go into foreclosure. They could have avoided this situation at any time by behaving like adults. I've not heard anyone argue that they are mentally incompetent, but maybe they are. I don't know. But assuming they are not, then THEY are responsible. Not the Association. Not the association’s attorney. Not the company that purchased their home at foreclosure. Dan and Elaine Lambert orchestrated this train wreck and I don't feel the least bit sorry for them.

When people take responsibility for their actions, these types of stories will become harder and harder for sensationalist reporters to find.

Tom Newton = CAI

President Elect....Tom Newton, Jr.
734-7488
tnewton@asdh.com

http://www.caisa.org/BOARD.html

Nobody has argued that the Lambert's should be excused from responsibility for paying assessments.

The issue is the means employed by the HOA to collect.

This was a matter for a small claims court judge. The HOA could have used that process, and gotten every penny to which they were entitled.

Folks are pointing fingers at HOA lawyers in cases like this because the HOA lawyers (usually CAI-affiliated) have used cases like this to pad their legal fees based on the available equity in the home.

Do a google search on "Winona Blevins" -- another Texas foreclosure case involving a CAI affiliated attorney and management company. Fortunately, that 83 year old widow was assisted Pro Bono by a NON CAI attorney who successfully countersued (the HOAs assessments were bogus in the first place) and she got her home back.

And just for good measure, google "Augustus H. Shaw IV." Another CAI luminary.

HOAs should have the same right to collect amounts due under contract as any other business -- AND NO MORE.

To permit otherwise is to invite this type of abuse.

Ben Dover, Homeowner

Again Ben D is arguing that someone else should take responsibility for the actions of these two elderly miscreants. I may be mistaken, but my guess is that the “process” the association used was dictated to it by the governing documents for the association, laid out in black and white for everyone, including our two brave and noble scofflaws, to see. I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase: “If you don’t want to do the time…” That could easily be changed to: If you don’t want to loose your home, pay your bills on time!

You want the Association to be at fault because these two chose not to pay their assessments and then chose to ignore repeated attempts to collect the debt owed.

In my humble opinion Ben D, if you and other bleeding hearts are looking for a poster child for your “all HOAs are evil” campaign, you could have done better than these two.

I don't think Brother Ben is wantin the HOA to be "at fault," Mr. TR.

Ben just don't understand the CAI way of doin' business. So let me explain.

As a member of the pretigious Junior College of CAI Lawyers, I an my colleagues train HOA Boards of Directors on their, uh, responsibilities.

We tell 'em about foreclosure, an then we kind of gloss over that "small claims court" option.

See, there ain't no money in that option for me.

Usually, this brings in big fees for me, the HOA gets their money, an nobody gets hurt except the homeowner, (or FORMER homeowner!).

Sometimes word about that pending foreclosure leaks out to a few folks I might owe a favor to, an dey get da house for pennies on the dollar. Ain't my fault!

Its only when de press gets wind of this stuff, (like wit dat ole Blevins bitc - er, woman), or when a judge starts askin questions (as he did with Brother Augustus H. Shaw IV), that things get dicey.

But TR, you sound like you cut from the right stuff to fit right into dis industry. So I'm goin to ask my pal Frank Wrathbone at CAI National to send you a free copy of my book, "I Wanna be a HOa Lawyer" by me, Velvet Jones Esq. Then you can stop postin' messages an start cashin checks wit de rest of us!

"No justice, no peace!"

Velvet Jones, Esq.

Somebody should take Tom Newton's car, hang a roach clip from the rear-view mirror, some spilled coke on the front seat, couple of shells and beer cans on floor with a .45 in the glove compartment and shove it into the handicap stall in front of the courthouse.

THIS is the problem:
During all of this, no one with the HOA or its attorney ever picked up the phone and called or came to the Lambert's home. They never simply knocked on the door and tried to talk to them about why they were not paying their fees.

The association should be interested in collecting assessments, not homes. Florida recently passed laws to require associations to give homeowners more notice and more time before filing a foreclosure action.

Another common problem I see? Property managers collecting the assessments and sending collections to the attorney - without ever bothering to contact the board. So the board has no idea what is going on. This is terrible and should be prohibited. In many cases, the board can work something out with the homeowner BEFORE it goes to the attorney. The Board has an obligation to know what is going on in their association - and certainly to know who is sent to "collections"!

Huh? Nothing "artfully dodges" the attorney's key role in these "equity stripping" scams.

Let me ask you something, "MyTake". Associations exist, for good or for ill. So, given the fact that they DO exist, do you think that none should ever get legal counsel?

What if an attorney does the following for assessment collection NOT fines:
1. Insists that no "collections" account be given to him/her without a corporate officer's signature on the request.
2. Not accept any collections unless the board provides proof that at least two letters have gone out to the homeowner.
3. Not accept any collections unless the board acknowledges that an attempt was made to call the homeowner.
4. Verify the assessments, debt and attempt to call the homeowner.
5. Attempt to work out a payment plan with homeowner.
6. Follow the statutes of the state, and provide every possible notice to the homeowner, BEFORE filing a lien.

If you had more attorneys taking these steps, do you think it would be an "equity stripping scam"? Reality check said, "As is usually the case, the facts are a shade of gray rather than black and white, and in some cases the owners are just as (or even more) culpable for the circumstances than the association or the attorney."
This is a true statement. Sometimes the homeowner IS to blame - and IS not paying assessments, sometimes for months, which puts the burden on the other homeowners. It is not always the association attorney attempting to "strip equity". On the other hand, should there even be foreclosures for assessments? Most judgments can also attach real property, if there is a deficiency after collecting personal property. I am not sure that foreclosing is necessarily wrong - what is wrong is not giving the homeowner every possible attempt to pay the amounts owed, or to arrange a payment plan. This also is to the Associations advantage, because by the time the association begins foreclosure proceedings, the homeowner is often not paying the bank, either.

And with the above, if you feel that no associations should ever seek legal counsel, for collecting late assessments by legitimately delinquent homeowners (not to mention contract and other legal matters that arise), then you dont understand the mess that NO legal assistance can cause in an association. I am not talking about a small association that can readily handle their own issues, or that have no need for an association in the first place. I am, however, talking about those associations that have significant common property, and many homes/units.

Until associations are re-structured, there will be a need for attorneys. It might be more beneficial for those who live in HOAs to try to find a lawyer who WON'T engage in "equity stripping scams". They do exist.

Why do I get the strange feeling that Anon-0 is really Pat or Anon-1??

And also why don't you log in under a real name, Anon-0? If you want to email me, I will be happy to give you "references" so you can actually verify my motives.

Then you won't be able to simply disparage. You are dead wrong.

However, I do have to say that this does seem to b e a waste of time. I didn't sp;end time looking up the statutes, providing a coherent explanation of law (that would be valid in ANY state, since it is basic concepts), if it is not going to be of any use to anyone.

It appears that you don't have anything to say, at all - your intent is merely to smear. WHy do you feel the need to do so, repeatedly - without addressing any issue or any question or anything I said.

Show me ONE thing I said that was incorrect. I didn't. If you have any knowledge whatsoever of law, you would understand that the basic concepts and processes are generally pretty similar from state to state. Specifics may vary, but common law contract law, for example, is not much (if any) different in Arizona than it would be in Washington, or Florida or New York.

The reason you don't is because you can't.

So Pat, or Anon-0, why don't you address a specific issue now?

I never lived in a HOA, nor will I ever. Just moved out here in Monument, CO and on paper we have one, except it has never been active. We is great because I doubt people that buy $300K+ homes would park a beater out front or not do the yard work. I gues sI could be wrong, but for the most part it seems everyone has nice homes and yards and there is no active HOA (so why pay HOA fees for nothing?)

I am surprised the HOA president did not knock on the door and ask for dues. My Grandmother was a HOA president, and the year that most people ever paid was the years she was in office (for lack of better word). She went door to door and people that never paid, paid. Sometimes all those people need is a little nudge.

Placing a lien is all that is needed to collect someday. After all we are only talking about a $150K house not a $1.2 Million dollar place.

Really do HOA's really work? I myself do not see them working. Our old place in MI was a vulantary HOA of $30 a year...LOL That paid for a picnik....

Home owner association's that foreclose on a disabled couples home and sell it for pennies on the dollar, in my opinion "pure and simple" are just plain evil.
People must remember "karma." GOD has a natural order of things.
Explain your reasoning to the Creator , you sorry azz individuals!.