one of the HOA members in my old neighborhood was a retired judge. Made everyone’s life a living hell. UNTIL a small group of teenagers painted up his car and home MULTIPLE times. He moved. God bless those bottle kids.
Agree 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000% I live in one and had I known what I was buying into I would have never done it. Soon we'll sell this place and the next place I live NO HOA.
Three years after the 2014 foreclosure attempt, a jury finally awarded Mr. Friedrich 70% of the fees previously paid to the HOA plus 20k in punitive damages. That was the ruling that HOA appealed and took to the supreme court. The supreme court then affirmed the original ruling in 2019, which subsequently allowed Mr. Friedrich to sue the HOA for attorney fees. In March 2020 (6 years later) he was awarded about two-thirds of those fees and received a check for $188,118.51.
This shows a big problem of the US legal system: In Germany, if you win, you win. If you win, the party that lost has to pay everything. Their lawyer, the court, your lawyer, and every cent you had to invest to get your right. Nobody should have to pay anything to get his right! Those who violate other people's right have to pay!
@@DrJesus-km7gf No, they can't do that. They can only get their rights. If they win, the court has ruled that they are in the right, and if they are in the right, they didn't get away with shit, they just got their right. It's the other way around: right now they can get away with shit because it doesn't matter if they're in the right or not, they can sue you and even if they lose, they can ruin you in the process and end up getting what they wanted that way even though they were never in the right. They don't hit you because they were in the right or win in court, they hit you because they have more money than you and at some point you won't be able to defend yourself because you'll be stuck with your legal fees even if you win.
It took me twenty two years to gain control of the HOA I live in. And once I had the proper safeguards in place and the proper iron clad amendments made, I permanently disbanded it.
Charlie Runs - unfortunately they may have been many board members and some moved away. No it’s better to just sue the HOA and make the board members in charge of the pocket book now just pay him and say nothing. I wouldn’t want to anger this man.
It seems unlikely the HOA would have the funds. I can't imagine his neighbors being too keen on his taking all their dues meant to go toward amenities, either. No winners in this case outside the lawyers.
@@JKiler1 absolutely! He is not part of the HOA. They had zero authority over him. It would be people of he bankrupted every homeowner and official in that HOA.
I recently bought a new home. I relied on realtor websites to search. In the criteria for what I was looking for, I expressly clicked no HOA for my search. I’ve heard so many horror stories about abuse and embezzlement by HOA’s. My mother in law was being harassed by her HOA for frivolous things. I told her to asked to see the books. Incredibly, the harassment stopped. I told her to pursue the demand to see the books and get other residents to join her. Turns out the Pres. and secretary were embezzling money. The HOA has since been dissolved. She’s the hero of the community and her neighbor made me some of the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had for pushing her to pursue it. No HOA’s
The version of HOA I approve is "let's all pool some money to maintain the common areas". But that has mutated into "we're gonna foreclose your home because your blinds are the wrong shade of beige".
Narcissists/sociopaths/psychopaths LOVE to get on the “board” of HOAs so they can exert control and dominance over the homeowners that are just trying to live a decent life. Often, they embezzle HOA funds. Nothing is wrong with any HOA, it’s just who moves into the neighborhood and cons themselves onto the board.
My ex boyfriend's parents bought their home just before he was born. His mom told me ( while he and I were still a couple ) that their neighborhood went HOA 7 years after they bought the house. They were told they could join if they wanted, it wasn't forced on anybody at the time. His parents said no they were not interested and were given everthing in writing with a stamp date on it. One day they got a letter saying they owed thousands of dollars in late fees to the HOA, his mom and dad sent them a letter with a copy of the non joining agreement. They went on to tell the HOA if they wanted to start something with them they would file legal actions in court ( my ex's mom is a contract lawyer and his dad is a criminal defence lawyer ) the HOA hasn't bothered them since.
This is not an isolated incident. There are many cases of HOAs going after people who never joined the HOA, or have exercised some sort of escape clause. Often it occurs when a non-HOA neighborhood elects to start an HOA, but some opt not to join. Other times a developer buys up land adjacent to existing homes, and the new development become an HOA, but the existing adjacent homes are not, but the HOA treats them as if they are.
@@jsmith1746 ... that's true I heard of a number of cases like that going on right now in a few states ( California New York Florida and two or three others if I remember right )
It should be straight up Illegal to send letters like that. It should be illegal for any HOA to try to get people to join if a HOA. It's insane to me that a HOA can have this kind of power to foreclosure , In my mind HOA's are just small communities that maintain common areas.
They were never designed for single family homes, but for condos. It was to pay for the upkeep of the building, not tell neighbors how their yard should look. Funny thing to me is, HOA people who want to be in one, justify paying HOA dues to keep their property value up.
I'll never understand why anyone wants HOA anymore. I do deliveries in a HOA property every now and again and some of the "members of the board" constantly try to make me pay for the privilege to use the roads when I make deliveries
@@benjaminchisolmjr7863 not that many or there would be so many videos you wouldn't watch them and local legislatures would take action to stop others from encroaching on the bullying usually reserved for government.
Stay far away from HOAs, they can literally turn your life into hell. I can’t understand why would people want to pay someone to tell them how to handle their property and the excuse of keeping the neighborhood to a certain standard sounds like BS to me. It’s nuts
I have to think the majority of the time you don't have those issues. Lived under my HOA for almost 30 years w no drama. The fees we pay are worth the amenities we get in our case.
My issue with an HOA is they can foreclose on your property for not paying their dues, even if you're making your mortgage payment. Why not allow a lien instead? But to take the property is outrageous!
because they cant forclose someone elses property over 200 dollars. they do indeed act via lien. people on the internet dont know what they talk about.
@@LucidDreamer54321 AAWWWWWWEEE!! Damnit! Dam HOA! Still that's a bit over a third what he was asking, including the courts decision in his favor. But it would've been nice to see him win the 300k.
I bought my house and made sure there was no HOA. 4 years later I have a HOA sending me a letter. They claimed that if we didn’t join the city would put a lean on our house. I contacted the city and found out that wasn’t true. Now the HOA is saying they don’t know if we are apart of them or not....I think they realize they can’t force my neighborhood to join. However I have a lawyer on top of them already because I am not playing with these people.
Dude their doing the same at my mom's. I went up there and told them everything is being recorded and I want to speak to whoever sent this letter. They brought up the owner and he tried to intimated me, I told him thank you for the evidence of your misrepresentation and your threats. I told him from here on out your gonna be talking to my lawyer. My lawyer told me no more letters will be sent to her or her community. Apparently we weren't the only ones that were pissed. Your not taking advantage of my mother tf
You should contact your title company before a lawyer. The title company's job is to make sure everything you are responsible for is listed on your title policy. Lawyer is a good idea, but this is exactly why you pay for a title search when you buy a home. If they missed something, the title company is responsible to pay it, not you. A lawyer will be happy to take 300-600$ an hour to read and call your title company which you can and should do for free, unless you just like to pay things unnecessarily.
A man of principle. A principled man. A man of integrity. The HOA? Not so much. What stamina, perseverance, determination and courage he has demonstrated.
I asked my dad what an HOA is. He said "they are criminals that operate through legal extortion. Pay the dues or they take your house. Either way they get your money"
What makes me mad is they're EVERYWHERE. Been searching for weeks for a house. Not a single one is independent. All (even apartments) are under control of an HOA. This is ILLEGAL: making me pay HOA fees on top of property taxes. One HOA will cost over $12K in three years! Nope. Not even going to look at the house.
ITCHYisVegeta you would be right; my HOA came up with a rule that on garbage day, all garbage cans had to be taken in off the street by 10:00 a.m....most of the HOA members were retired, but the rest of us worked. They wanted us to come home from work to put the garbage in side...crazy.
We were considering one, then received their covenants book. When I got to the part that said they could come into your home to "inspect", I called the realtor and told him never in this lifetime.
I once lived in a townhouse that had an HOA. I hated everything about their "Do's and Don't. I sold my townhouse at a big profit than my original purchase price, and vowed to never again be associated with another HOA! The property I now live in has been in my family since 1865. While many of my neighbors belong to an HOA, I don't. They have tried to dictate what I do on my property, but fail at every attempt to harass me into joining. When I explain my reasons as to why, they shut up and leave me alone. 😇
My friend live in a HOA and everyone had acreage and was only allowed to clear a certain amount of the land back off the road. He had a couple trees removed and the sent him a fine. The next day he had the whole property cleared then had sod laid he had the best looking property in the neighborhood.
No, friend, we do not live in the land of the free. That's just a leftover phrase that pings people's patriotism. History tells us what real freedom looks like; it's nothing at all like what the U.S. is today. Consider: _"On the eve of World War I, government expenditures were less than 2 percent of GNP and 99 percent of the population paid no income tax. The income tax had just been introduced, but the top rate was only 7 percent and applied to incomes exceeding $500,000. The federal government had around 400,000 employees, less than 1 percent of the labor force. About 165,000 troops were on active duty. No federal regulations of capital or labor markets existed. Agricultural production and distribution were also unregulated."_ _"There was no minimum wage rate and no social security. One area where there was a rather aggressive interference in the economy concerned the rates and tariffs that the railroads charged. Antitrust was also strong._ *The conflagration of World War I marks a violent break with the letter and spirit of the Constitution.* _Property rights were suspended on a large scale. There were wide‐scale nationalizations of rail, telephone, telegraph and to a lesser degree ocean shipping. Over 100 manufacturing plants were nationalized. The government got involved in labor‐management relations under the Adams Act in 1916. Conscription was instituted. The Espionage Act was passed in 1917. The Sedition Act of 1918 imposed penalties for anti‐government expression, subverting the Bill of Rights. The novelist, Upton Sinclair was actually arrested for reading the Bill of Rights and Roger Baldwin, one of the founders of the American Civil Liberties Union, was arrested for reading the Constitution. President Woodrow Wilson accomplished all this under emergency powers granted to him by Congress in 1916."_ Excerpted from www.cato.org/publications/commentary/democracy-vs-liberty-trump-fails-understand-founders-have-all-presidents
@@RichardHarlos I didn't respond to the title. I actually watched the video where the home owner states himself that he was awarded fees and past HOA payments.
When we moved last year from California to Idaho, we made sure to buy a house that wasn’t part of an hoa...it wasn’t easy due to all the new developments being hoa’s. The house we finally bought had originally been an hoa, but 15 years ago the neighbors got together and disbanded the hoa. The community told the hoa board that they were all adults and didn’t need a group of entitled people telling them how to maintain their own property.
@@crashnburn586 they just said it wasn't easy to find a non-hoa home in a state that Trump won by almost 30%. So, whatever point you think you're trying to make isn't going to work.
@@crashnburn586 Considering that they dont want to be ruled by an authoritrian hoa, im guessing they didnt vote for trump. Also, since they were smart enough to not want an hoa, that means they didnt vote for trump. A record amount of college and high scool drop outs voted for trump. A record amount of people with college degrees voted for biden. These statistics are online for anyone to look at. That explains why trump can lie about a stolen election and so many stupid people believe him
Lived for 1 year in a gated community that charged $400 a month in HOA fees and if you ever complained about anything, the people in charge of the HOA would forbid you from contacting them at all. Half the time the gate to get in and out wouldn’t work and I never got a key to the gate door to get in or out in the whole year that I lived there, even though they told me there was one. After I complained one time, I was banned from contacting them ever again. I was locked out on several occasions with no recourse. Biggest legal consumer rip off…HOA fees.
In 50 years of life, I've never heard a positive story about an HOA, not one single story. I remember many times the late wife and I out house hunting and we found several really nice houses at really good prices but we turned them down because they were a part of one HOA or another. We didn't turn them down based on that aspect, but at the time I didn't know what they were (I was young) and my late wife was from Japan (only been in the U.S. for a few years before we got together). So we did some research and inevitably discovered MANY complaints about which ever one we were snooping into and decided it was not a good thing.
Agreed. Made that mistake once. Got two petty notices about my lawn too high. I was out of town both times, and a third about a car in my driveway that hadn't moved in 3 days. Never again.
@@michaelmartin9903 those greasy morons send me warning lettera and fines about a trailer parked in my driveway, funny thing is i dont have a trailer and the address was wrong but they had my name on it... they are sub human shitsickles
Help! Being held captive by an asshat hoa. Says I have for cones on the ground under a FIR TREE! . Thats nature. All they are is power hungry people that should mind their own business .
I bought my first house in a community that has a HOA. I didn’t know what a HOA was or what actually mean to live with one (I moved from another country to USA). The other day I fixed the stairs of my house’s front door as it was incredibly deteriorated over the years (seems it wasn’t done for many years). Then days later I got a letter from the HOA threatening me to change the conditions of the stairs back to how It was otherwise they will sue. Needless to say I was very surprised and mad at the same time seeing this over reaction for me only trying to make my house to look cleaner and prettier. Will never move in a community that has HOA next time I move.
I’m 52 now. I’ve always lived in the county areas and never knew what a HOA was until I was 40+ so when a friend told me about her situation I was floored that it even existed in America. Sounds like wannabe politicians trying to exert a tiny amount of power on society of doormats.
HOA is the reason my wife and I sold our house, bought 5 acres, and built another one on independent land. When I have to ask permission to put up a swing set for my kids, something is wrong.
Steve Lehto (Lehto's Law, here on RUclips) had a segment where he talked about a Florida homeowner who got a judgment against a bank, who refused to pay. Got an "order of execution" and showed up at a bank branch with deputies and a truck and threatened to take out the judgment in confiscated furniture & fixtures. One phone call by the bank manager and he got a certified check.
Joseph Erhardt Steve Lehto is a douche. He will ban anyone who posts proof in the comments that he was incorrect about something. Then if you email him about it he will respond that it’s his channel and he can block whoever he wants for any reason. He sucks as a lawyer that’s why he has all the time to do videos.
We need more honest people like him who aren't afraid to stand up for the truth. The reason HOA's think they can get away with things like this is because most people buckle. Respect.
Kristen Jett. They seem to do nothing but harass the people that live in them. They illegally boot cars for not parking in garages, illegally harass people for placing alternative landscape, try to illegally include people in them that don't belong to them, and harass the downtrodden elderly for faded paint. Hoas do nothing good, ever
My parents lived in a 40 year old retirement community in Florida. Out of 950 homes, all but 31 were on leased land with short term leases (5 years). A Wisconsin REIT bought the property and began raising the monthly HOA fee from about $150 a month to as much as $900 per month resulting in home values plummeting. My parents lived in one of 31 homes and my father rallied the other 30 home owners to support him in a fight (moral support not $$$). After trying to negotiate for years, my father found and read the original founding documents and deeds of the complex and the "estate" section. He realized that the estate section owned the main road coming into the complex and the guard shack at the entrance. He drew up papers and told the landlords that they would begin charging a $10 per entry fee to all vehicles coming into the complex or close the entrance and main road to all except the 31 homes. The company offered to bring their HOA fee back to the $150/month which he rejected and they finally agreed (in writing and forever) to $0/month and reimbursement for all fees paid over the $150/month. Year later they came back and said they were going to start charging the estate section other fees, such as garbage pickup and clubhouse fees. My father pointed out that there was no reason that they could not re-implement the closing of the road and entry fee. They dropped it but he didn't and got them to put in writing that no fee of any type would ever be charged to the members of the "estate" section. And no, he refused to give up the estate sections right to the entrance or main road.
I only ever lived in 1 HOA that was true to its constituents. At that time, I worked 6 day weeks. And honestly, yard weeds were getting out of hand a bit. They sent a letter noting the infraction. But instead of a fine, they included a list of landscapers who lived within the community who offered discounted rated for fellow residents. THAT is how an HOA "should" handle possible infractions
He needs to be awarded all fees, double again for committing fraud, and the board members need to be held individually accountable and liable, with criminal charges for each of them.
If you give someone a tiny bit of power, it's grotesque how much it goes to their head. I have never met an HOA board member who wasn't a toxic bastard who sought dominion over others, primarily to make other miserable and for no other reason. Never, ever, move into an HOA unless you want to have overlords who hold power over every single aspect of how you handle your home, including forcing you pay to have work done that you have no interest in.
Not all people. But definitely some. That's for sure. All one has to do when in power is begin with the end in mind. How do you want this to end? Keep that in mind and you'll never disappoint your clients.
@@davidhutchinson5233 it's too many to count. if there's a societal attitude towards HOA which there is now... Then something has to change because it is a clear problem.
An elderly woman in Albuquerque New Mexico was suddenly surrounded by a new development of houses in a supposed gated community and an HOA they began telling her what she could have in her yard and how she had to get rid of all this and that and everything this lady laughd at them and put a brand new porcelain toilet in her front yard and put flowers in the tank which of course made the HOA mad. She finally told them that they couldn't touch her at all because she was grandfathered onto the property and they couldn't do anything about it
hey i know one person no HOA can touch for 1 simple reason :: the scumbag HOA trys to include her property into it and herass her -- they end up taking a swim in sement shues !
One way to keep a HOA from bothring you :: build a working reactor in the garage or basement !! Unless the HOA board members are insane they will leave you alone And wont come nere your home ! I herd of somebody building a reactor in there garage ! Dont remeber were it was !
I live where there is an HOA. They exist because people like me want to own property but have no desire to bother with taking care of gardens, grass, roof leaks, etc. My HOA largely leaves me alone. I forget they exist for the most part, but they keep up where I live beautifully. All utilities other than electric are included in my HOA fees. There are no special assessments because my HOA keeps a healthy reserve, even in pandemic times. Heated garage, pool, etc. none of which I have to bother with, which makes me happy. I get there are a lot of bad HOA’s out there, but like people, it’s best to evaluate each one individually.
In private neighborhoods the roads are (very often) not owned or maintained by the city or county. The HOAs in these private neighborhoods are therefore responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the neighborhoods private roads, parks, HOA swimming pools, club houses, garden areas, etc. Without the HOA dues; the neighborhoods facilities would soon be in horrible conditions: the roads for instance would be nearly impossible to drive on. I have seen this before in my business (land surveyor). Where the HOAs do not maintain the roads as they are supposed to. They often are found to be spending that HOA dues money on meetings at expensive venues and trips for the board members and families instead. Property values plummet as people do not want to repair their cars every time they drive to and from their homes, on torn up roads. That was the original idea for HOAs. Greedy assholes and assholes with dictator complexes have thoroughly destroyed the original good intent and the purpose for HOAs to the point that many despise them. I purposely sought out a home that was not part of an HOA. I passed on a few very nice homes to do it too. I am one who despises them for what they become not for what they were originally intended.
@@fauziashah1978 if it takes you a term paper to answer simple question maybe it shows you learnt nothing at school. Maybe you should learn again to answer simple question with simple answer.
Our HOA board started having secret meetings then a neighbor sued the HOA and grounds that the HOA rules do not permit secret meetings, the HOA agreed to stop before court trial, then the entire HOA board all resigned, lots of rumors on what they were up to.
Good job to you and your neighbors. It usually doesn't work out so well Secret meetings are unlawful in many states but many boards know how to get around it.
@Sphincter Says what? To add more, our HOA used our savings fund to hire a law firm to defend their "rights" to have secret meetings, they lost, but it must have been very important to them to keep things quiet, there are around 800 homes size of a small town
@@nikotesla2071 Actually, he entered into a HOA contract when he bought the home. It was the validity of the contract that paved the way to the Supreme Court. Had there been no contract, there would be no trial. Also, in other videos he concedes to signing the contract, which are verified by the trial summaries. He had every intention to pay for the HOA services received (just like his neighbors) and then he found a way to get out of them, while still receiving those same benefits (courtesy of his neighbors picking up the tab).
@@kisshooters69 Sigh...ok boomer, in simple terms (I'll go slow you you can follow along), it's an abbreviation or acronym for "F*ck You"....more commonly used in internet slang or chat texting culture. I know it's sometimes hard for you older generation folk to understand new slang, but it's ok. You can learn something new everyday right? 😁😁😁
@Samuel Shin WTF are u so salty about? I was simply responding to a troll comment to my post...I wasn't extolling the virtues or vices of each generation (which every generation has). BTW I'm not even a millennial so this makes your comment even funnier 😂
I don't blame him at all! I got a realtor to help me find a house. The first thing out of my lips was that I didn't want a home in an HOA. The first house she showed me was HOA. I forgave that but still said no. You'd think the realtor would have had more respect. Nope. Met her at another home and as you go into the development it said HOA. i turned around and ieft. Called the realtor and fired her. She threatened me with court. I said please do. Got another realtor and she found me a beautiful home without HOA. It's out in a rural area, but that's what I ask for to begin with. The fired realtor never took me to court.
Dude's a freaking hero. HOA's are intrinsically corrupt. They may start with good intentions, (sometimes) but bad people gravitate towards being involved in HOA's and they almost ALWAYS become despotic types whose attitude is "you don't get to decide what you do with your property, WE do. Now shut up, sit down, pay us whatever we demand and don't do anything on your property that we don't like. We own you and we'll ruin you if you make a fuss." My wife and I passed on probably 75 homes before we found our current house because they all had HOAs. Nearly all new construction falls under increasingly restrictive and abusive HOAs, and I'll be dam$%#% before i let a tiny little committee of Karens and assorted despots before i let them tell me what i can or can't do on my property.
A good many years ago I told someone I would never buy a home in an HOA. He said, then you will never buy a home. Odd, I'm a home owner with no HOA. I have NO use for HOAs.
It started off well intended to keep people from parking broke down vehicles in your yard or hoarding garbage but it went to far when you get warnings for grass being over an inch or a political sign on the yard, stupid crap like that!
Yeah, HOAs. We are all charged the lake fee, now. Used to be just the properties edging the "lakes" But, we have No water craft, we don't fish, no radio controlled boats, etc. We have no need for the oversized ponds.🙄 But yet, we are charged for upkeep of them. It even used to be an ugly weed-filled hole in the ground for several years. And, the meetings when we can vote on anything, or have our say, are always on a night we have something else committed to.
They weren’t “wrong”, they were knowingly CRIMINAL! That’s like cartels charging extortion fees. It’s blatant Harassment, blackmail, extortion. Holding your home hostage!
except the HOA will just pass the fees off to the homeowners as a special assessment. Sue the HOA members individually so they have to sell off their own homes to make the payments. Two birds-one stone. the fees get paid and the evil HOA members have to move.
Helped my brother in law stain his fence from the ugly raw wood to a cedar color. It looked so nice when we finished it. Problem is he didn’t get HOA approval before we did this, which by the way took us two full weekends to do. They told him he would have to pressure wash the fence back to the original color. He calls me and tells me this and I explained we could pressure wash the fence as all he wanted but it wouldn’t make a bit of difference…we’d have better luck burning it. Still he tried…to no avail. So he explained to them that there was no way to get the fence back to the old color, to which they said…Then replace it. This was a huge backyard so the cost of having it completely replaced…13 thousand dollars! So the fight began…and they almost lost their home over this high profile fence staining case! Eventually a court sided with them and also made the HOA pay for their legal fees and they said if they had to do that the HOA would go bankrupt…which opened a whole new can of worms as to what was happening with HOA dues.
My neighbor in in the middle of painting their home, almost done. I think it looks better. I think all the fencing we have is cedar with 501 stain except mine. I do not know why, it was painted by the precious owner. It is the same color as the house trim. I think it was originally Apache White (a contractor's pale yellow color). I never found a match for the house color but any repainting has all been trim, so-far. Paint lasts much longer on cedar. None of my neighbors have cedar so they start having issues after only 5 or 10 years. Mine is nearly 20 years old.
Most of the time, "extra" dues go into the pockets of the board members. They will print up fake invoices for fake services rendered, and hope they don't get audited. Crooks.
Those board members get elected then get in there and realize that it doesn't cost as much the maintain the community .and there is a lot of money. That no one knows about .because everyone believes it's going to the community. So they get their greedy hands on the money and start shoveling it in their pockets.then they get even more greedy and start raising dues . Basically it's extortion
The irony is that HOA's were devised as an instrument to uphold property values. Yet now with all the never ending horror stories involving HOA's nationwide, it seems like in many more cases now, the mere existence of an HOA immediately crosses properties off the list of potential home buyers. HOA's attracted power hungry individuals edged on by greedy lawyers and questionable maintenance companies. They've done this to themselves.
Exactly. I'm still young and renting, but will be looking to buy in a couple years. The second that I hear of an HOA or a Strata I ain't getting anywhere near that property.
HOA's were devised as an instrument to keep minorities and poor people out of more affluent white spaces. When that was deemed illegal to do directly they were then used indirectly towards the same ends. Nowadays they are ostensibly used to preserve neighborhood standards and property values, but in reality are just a tool for power mad neighbors/the land developer to control a private citizen's home and life for pleasure and/or profit. Never buy HOA, dissolve them where possible, and always read the purchase agreement.
THIS! YOU ARE CORRECT!!! HOAs ABSOLUTLEY lowered the value of homes for me so much that I would not even consider buying ANY HOME in a HOA!!! I moved my family from northern Mi to southern Mi and the areas in SW Mi have HOAs all over. we spoke to many realtors and a few told us that our ABSOLUTE NON NEGOTIABLE REQUIRMENT of NO HOA was unrealistic for the areas we wanted to live to be close to my new job. they tried to tell me that HOAs were fine and not to be scared of them. I asked them all the same question... Do YOU live in a HOA? every single one of them had the same answer! NO they don't live in a HOA!!! one of the realtors would NOT stop sending us houses within HOAs so I told her we were no longer willing to work with her due to this and blocked her everywhere. The other ones got the hint and stopped sending us houses in HOAs. we found a great house with no HOA in a great area. even has a pool.
Kind of a nice little microcosm of government, isn't it. Started for legit purpose, but then got increased in power and corrupted by lack of express limitations.
I lived in a new townhouse that had an HOA and the dues started at $50 a month and every year went up a few dollars. I didn't move because of that or them but ended up moving into an established neighborhood with no HOA and let me just say there's no feeling like not having these idiots looking over your shoulder and denying you for simple things you should be free to do on your own property.
Owning a house but not being allowed to do anything to it without permission from peers seems like a massive restriction of liberty and therefore very anti American.
I love living in a neighborhood where most the houses on my street were built in the 70s. It’s a good safe neighborhood and everyone maintains their yard on their own because it’s just the type of culture here. We don’t need an HOA forcing us to keep up our property. The city does do checks on external upgrades to make sure no houses are falling apart, to keep property value high. But I can paint my house whatever color I want, don’t have to check in with someone before I park my car in the front of my house, pay extra dues just to live there, none of that crazy stuff. I thought about building new but there were only plots in HOA areas. Tiny yards and huge houses and I wouldn’t even be allowed a fence for my dog. No thanks
That’s what the ruling was. $15,000 in back dues that he paid and then $320,000 for his lawyer. That’s all he would be entitled to. If the HOA doesn’t pay or tries something else he can then sue for damages that their lack of payment has caused him. It could be $5. but the courts will add much more. He would not be entitled to anything more than his out of pocket expenses to make him whole. Courts don’t give out punitive damages for stuff like this. A Jury might but once they appealed and went to the states Supreme Court there is No jury. And courts do not award extra money for inconvenience to someone. Only for Bodley harm that lasts a long time or life or damage to their reputation that caused a harm. Loss of job, loss of client, loss of friends, family.
can't get blood out of a turnip. should have paid the court ordered fine/loss. that would have been admitting they were wrong. they could have made settlement w/o admitting wrongdoing and left it go.
M.A.R.N .E - well he can if he wants to spend more money sizing the HOAs assets, A building, computers, the HOA gate (sell it for scrap) stuff like that. Even better if he seizes the community pool (if they got one).
@@auntiem873 Ignoring proof that the guy's home was not part of the HOA is willfully harmful and I would think the court would want to discourage this behavior by assessing damages.
It would be justice if the HOA was forced to pay his court costs and all the HOA fees he ever paid because it was malicious prosecution. They had the documents showing he wasn't part of the HOA from the get go.
I remember my mom telling me when she and my dad lived in Florida the termites ate the garage door to the point it was falling down. HOA gave them a 40 hour notice to get it fixed or be fined $2,000(hoa was the ones who were actually supposed to fix it not them) and then after rushing to fix it they get slammed with another notice saying they had 24 hours to paint it the right color. The best part out of this is the HOA was supposed to spray for termites and clearly they never did.
What did you expect? When you give thugs and opportunity to have power *without checks and balances* they become tyrants. See also: cops without internal affairs or good sheriffs.
Could definitely file a complaint, announce in their board meeting what they were doing so the rest can hear. Once that's done and no reparations were made in most cases you can sue
Well if I had termites I would not wait for the door to fall down or for harassment from HOA, nor would I care if they were negligent re spraying for termites b/c first sign of a termite I d be on it.
Not only time, but determination, perseverance, integrity, intellect, honour, courage etc etc etc. Many have plenty of time but very few would do this or be capable of doing anywhere near this protracted effort to correct a wrong. An impressive person indeed 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I know a woman they tried to pull this crap on. She never fell for it and knew her home was there prior to the HOA and was not automatically made part of it without her choosing to sign on. When they tried to enforce their rules on her property, she won. That was not the end though, they continued to post notices and fought everything she tried to do on her property. They thought if they made it hard enough she would just cave and obey WRONG! She filed a harrassment lawsuit against the HOA for their repeated interference with her property knowing full well they had zero right to do so.
THE HIGH PRICE FOR... Justice is obscene. No matter if you are fighting a HOA or freedom in the court. When your accusers have almost infinite amount of finical resources, your odds of winning are remote.
I bought my home in 2018 w no hoa. One of the home owners asked me to help him start an HOA! I told him, "no thank you", I have zero desire to be in an HOA. We live in the country about 15 minutes from most stuff I want or need to do. HOA are a nightmare!
Even if it was a criminal case the HOA, or any association, LLC etc. is defined as a person and would absorb the conviction as a whole. The criminals running the enterprise may be replaced but would not be personally charged. They wrote corporate law this way so they can steal your money and walk if they are sued. Guess who ends up paying the fines. It isn’t their money. The only difference is if they steal federal money. Meaning tax fraud etc. Then someone may go to prison. That is why all of them have off shore accounts. When they get out of prison they still have all the money they stole.
Mike Powell not necessarily true that the money needs to be federal. If the fraud is bad enough there’s a thing called “piercing the corporate veil.” Essentially meaning that those people committing the fraud would be charged criminally without the protection of a corporate entity.
As a Realtor, I always explain the pro’s(few) and cons(many) of owning a house in an HOA. If I could legally tell clients not to buy homes in an HOA I would.
I own a townhouse in an HOA community. I have lived here for 4 years. It costs me $150/month. It’s a bargain. That price includes insurance on the home and all exterior maintenance and repair. They clean out the gutters, pressure wash the exterior, perform termite inspections, paint the exterior wood and do all the landscaping. There was a mild drainage issue behind my house, so the HOA had a French drain installed. When the roof has to be replaced, the HOA will pay for it. The people in the HOA office are respectful and helpful. There are HOAs out there that are great, including mine. Not all HOAs suck.
I pay $238 a month and it has gone up 4 times since I moved in 3 yrs ago. For that money they cut the grass and clear the snow that is over 3 inches. It can take 2 days to do it. Last year they charged an extra $200 because there were 2 small snow storms the entire winter season and they claimed they needed more money. They maintain common areas but do not fix anything else around our houses. They fine us at every opportunity and without warning
I love the HOA "Architectural Review Boards" that never have a licensed Architect on them. I show up, say they're full of BS, and they ask me who are you to gainsay the board? My response, "I'm an Architect"
The architecture committee isn't actually architects. It's a committee that reviews development plans to make sure they're in line with the overall esthetics of the community
I have a problem in my HOA. We purchased a condo on the river but we are on a canal sort of and it has a dock for a pontoon boat. Well I can’t put a pontoon boat because when the tide goes out all sludge is sticking out of the water and it’s not deep enough and the H away refuses to dredge it. Then next door the bank foreclosed on the home and it’s been sitting there for a while now and all the back deck is rotted and that’s my view. Do you know if I have any legal recourse?
I have a problem in my HOA. We purchased a condo on the river but we are on a canal sort of and it has a dock for a pontoon boat. Well I can’t put a pontoon boat because when the tide goes out all sludge is sticking out of the water and it’s not deep enough and the H away refuses to dredge it. Then next door the bank foreclosed on the home and it’s been sitting there for a while now and all the back deck is rotted and that’s my view. Do you know if I have any legal recourse?
If they don't pay the settlement he could do just that. There was an incident years back where Bank of America attempted to foreclose on a man's house that he owned free and clear. He sued them and won a settlement that BoA refused to pay. He got in contact with the local sheriff, then they went to his local branch and chained the door shut in the middle of the day. The bank manager conferred with his superiors and was allowed to go inside to execute a check to pay the settlement.
When we were looking to buy our first home in the 90’s and found the perfect house, we were told it was an HOA community, I had no idea what that meant. After I was told what it meant, how the hell can someone buy a house and have someone else tell you what you can and can’t do to your house? I would never buy a HOA house.
Then never buy in a city, they have as much control. I know someone in Mill Creek, they said she had to tear out her flowers since they were purple. They do a lot more too. I told my agent NO houses in Mill Creek.
well, let's see. FIRST, no one is telling you what you can or can't do, it's in the agreement/by-laws you signed. They should only enforce the agreement. SECOND, a lot of hoa's eliminate the exterior yard cutting and landscaping, saving you tons of time you can spend with your families. not all are bad, it's the ones with stay at home anybodys that are the problem.. the big hoa's tend to have the most corruption, and the ones with multiple homes with relatives on the board-so that you end up with too many of one family on the board creating their kingdom.
one of the HOA members in my old neighborhood was a retired judge. Made everyone’s life a living hell. UNTIL a small group of teenagers painted up his car and home MULTIPLE times. He moved. God bless those bottle kids.
Sounds like a great neighborhood 🙄
@@angelasmith1112I second that. ❤ sometimes you need street justice!
Lol, same kind of neighborhood where kids steal the entire bowl of candy on Halloween.
@@angelasmith1112: sounds as if the HOA couldn't keep order despite all the pettifogging rules. 😂😂😂
that was you and we salute you but be honest, it was you
I owned one home in an HOA.
They do nothing - and even charged us to leave the HOA when we sold the home.
Never again.
HOA’s should be outlawed.
here here
It’s literally the concept of a pyramid scheme. Paying phantom dues for the top people to pocket and send out bs expense reports.
You can't outlaw contracts.
@@irl8796 The board is elected by the residents. YOU pick who gets paid, and how much.
Agree 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000% I live in one and had I known what I was buying into I would have never done it. Soon we'll sell this place and the next place I live NO HOA.
Three years after the 2014 foreclosure attempt, a jury finally awarded Mr. Friedrich 70% of the fees previously paid to the HOA plus 20k in punitive damages. That was the ruling that HOA appealed and took to the supreme court. The supreme court then affirmed the original ruling in 2019, which subsequently allowed Mr. Friedrich to sue the HOA for attorney fees. In March 2020 (6 years later) he was awarded about two-thirds of those fees and received a check for $188,118.51.
Thank you
makes me happy. wish it was 100%
Thanks for doing the leg work. I had to know.
You sir, are a saint
WAY TO STICK IT TO THE MAN!!
This shows a big problem of the US legal system: In Germany, if you win, you win. If you win, the party that lost has to pay everything. Their lawyer, the court, your lawyer, and every cent you had to invest to get your right. Nobody should have to pay anything to get his right! Those who violate other people's right have to pay!
Well I guess I'm moving to Germany then...
Sounds good in theory. But, it makes suing a large company/wealthy person nearly impossible
That doesn't sound good at all. Corporations could easily get away with shit.
@@DrJesus-km7gf No, they can't do that. They can only get their rights. If they win, the court has ruled that they are in the right, and if they are in the right, they didn't get away with shit, they just got their right. It's the other way around: right now they can get away with shit because it doesn't matter if they're in the right or not, they can sue you and even if they lose, they can ruin you in the process and end up getting what they wanted that way even though they were never in the right. They don't hit you because they were in the right or win in court, they hit you because they have more money than you and at some point you won't be able to defend yourself because you'll be stuck with your legal fees even if you win.
The lawyers are the ones that make the laws. This will never change in the US.
It took me twenty two years to gain control of the HOA I live in. And once I had the proper safeguards in place and the proper iron clad amendments made, I permanently disbanded it.
That sounds like it could be a movie.
Great job!!
careful, hes a hero
@@dillondana8273 Im no hero....Just a troll lol
Not all heroes wear capes! Good job sir/m'am
The HOA should be required to repay him all the money that he paid in court costs plus the HOA dues he ever paid.
He should sue the members of the HOA in their individual capacity.
Charlie Runs - unfortunately they may have been many board members and some moved away. No it’s better to just sue the HOA and make the board members in charge of the pocket book now just pay him and say nothing. I wouldn’t want to anger this man.
It seems unlikely the HOA would have the funds. I can't imagine his neighbors being too keen on his taking all their dues meant to go toward amenities, either. No winners in this case outside the lawyers.
@@ghostfox8550 meaning that the HOA has spent around the same. Should we assume that they have unlimited funds and disregard the source?
@@JKiler1 absolutely! He is not part of the HOA. They had zero authority over him. It would be people of he bankrupted every homeowner and official in that HOA.
I will live in a tent before living in an HOA. How this type of organization is even legal is mind bogggling.
Prime example of American corruption.
We'll, look at our government. What they are doing to our country is illegal and we , just mere common people, pay for it. 😥
@@markasread4349 You mean sentence structure not spelling because his spelling is fine.
@@teamofone1219 Boggling does not have 3 g's in it :P
@@SevenRiderAirForce and that is the only spelling error, what is your point?
I recently bought a new home. I relied on realtor websites to search. In the criteria for what I was looking for, I expressly clicked no HOA for my search. I’ve heard so many horror stories about abuse and embezzlement by HOA’s. My mother in law was being harassed by her HOA for frivolous things. I told her to asked to see the books. Incredibly, the harassment stopped. I told her to pursue the demand to see the books and get other residents to join her. Turns out the Pres. and secretary were embezzling money. The HOA has since been dissolved. She’s the hero of the community and her neighbor made me some of the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had for pushing her to pursue it. No HOA’s
The version of HOA I approve is "let's all pool some money to maintain the common areas". But that has mutated into "we're gonna foreclose your home because your blinds are the wrong shade of beige".
Narcissists/sociopaths/psychopaths LOVE to get on the “board” of HOAs so they can exert control and dominance over the homeowners that are just trying to live a decent life. Often, they embezzle HOA funds. Nothing is wrong with any HOA, it’s just who moves into the neighborhood and cons themselves onto the board.
@@ErikaLaGrande the problem is the power structure allows for it to easily happen. Just like Government, Unions and very large corporations...
And they clash with the lemon green slacks your wife wore yesterday!
Sadly that is what HOAs have devolved into.
It just kinda proves that communism doesn't work at any scale, not even a few homes in a community.
My ex boyfriend's parents bought their home just before he was born. His mom told me ( while he and I were still a couple ) that their neighborhood went HOA 7 years after they bought the house. They were told they could join if they wanted, it wasn't forced on anybody at the time. His parents said no they were not interested and were given everthing in writing with a stamp date on it. One day they got a letter saying they owed thousands of dollars in late fees to the HOA, his mom and dad sent them a letter with a copy of the non joining agreement. They went on to tell the HOA if they wanted to start something with them they would file legal actions in court ( my ex's mom is a contract lawyer and his dad is a criminal defence lawyer ) the HOA hasn't bothered them since.
This is not an isolated incident. There are many cases of HOAs going after people who never joined the HOA, or have exercised some sort of escape clause. Often it occurs when a non-HOA neighborhood elects to start an HOA, but some opt not to join. Other times a developer buys up land adjacent to existing homes, and the new development become an HOA, but the existing adjacent homes are not, but the HOA treats them as if they are.
@@jsmith1746 ... that's true I heard of a number of cases like that going on right now in a few states ( California New York Florida and two or three others if I remember right )
That is what I call FIRE POWER wuth extra ammo 😁😍😍🤩🤩😁😁😁😁😁
Good for them!!
It should be straight up Illegal to send letters like that. It should be illegal for any HOA to try to get people to join if a HOA.
It's insane to me that a HOA can have this kind of power to foreclosure , In my mind HOA's are just small communities that maintain common areas.
HOA's should be illegal. It's a machine rife with extortion.
They were never designed for single family homes, but for condos. It was to pay for the upkeep of the building, not tell neighbors how their yard should look.
Funny thing to me is, HOA people who want to be in one, justify paying HOA dues to keep their property value up.
I'll never understand why anyone wants HOA anymore. I do deliveries in a HOA property every now and again and some of the "members of the board" constantly try to make me pay for the privilege to use the roads when I make deliveries
This man deserves a medal on behalf of the American people.
How many of these people actually get away with this bullsh##.
@@benjaminchisolmjr7863 not that many or there would be so many videos you wouldn't watch them and local legislatures would take action to stop others from encroaching on the bullying usually reserved for government.
No
Stay far away from HOAs, they can literally turn your life into hell. I can’t understand why would people want to pay someone to tell them how to handle their property and the excuse of keeping the neighborhood to a certain standard sounds like BS to me. It’s nuts
@@marite135 exactly 💯.... I'd never pay someone to tell me what I can do with my property.
I would never buy a home in any HOA, ever. Too many horror stories about them.
I'm living one NOW !!!!
True. Look for deed restrictions instead. They help maintain value without having "overseers".
some areas, like Houston, its nearly impossible to NOT live in one... sucks...
I was looking at one and the HOA was almost 1k a month. Nah! In Houston, hahaha.
Oh Gosh. I bought my first home and it's got 2 HOAs! A gated community one and a general area.
Why anyone would want to belong to an HOA is beyond my comprehension. I refuse to let anyone dictate what I can or cannot do on my property.
I have to think the majority of the time you don't have those issues. Lived under my HOA for almost 30 years w no drama. The fees we pay are worth the amenities we get in our case.
You do not know how life works@@ksrmk
@@unfeomateo Because my experience does not match yours? Got it.
@@ksrmk it works until it doesn't... and then it becomes a nightmare that you cannot get out of unless you sell.
I did for 5yrs. Living hell. Never again.
My issue with an HOA is they can foreclose on your property for not paying their dues, even if you're making your mortgage payment. Why not allow a lien instead? But to take the property is outrageous!
because they cant forclose someone elses property over 200 dollars. they do indeed act via lien. people on the internet dont know what they talk about.
In April 2020, he got $188,118.51 as partial reimbursement for his expenses.
"Partial"? That doesn't mean he signed off on that amount ONLY, correct?
@D Sandoval Yes, he did accept it. The choice was either take that or take nothing.
@@LucidDreamer54321 AAWWWWWWEEE!! Damnit! Dam HOA!
Still that's a bit over a third what he was asking, including the courts decision in his favor. But it would've been nice to see him win the 300k.
Thank you
I would have asked for refund of dues paid plus interest and attorney fees.
I bought my house and made sure there was no HOA. 4 years later I have a HOA sending me a letter. They claimed that if we didn’t join the city would put a lean on our house. I contacted the city and found out that wasn’t true. Now the HOA is saying they don’t know if we are apart of them or not....I think they realize they can’t force my neighborhood to join. However I have a lawyer on top of them already because I am not playing with these people.
from the UK, whats a lean
Lean as promethazine?
@@kevn9002 😂
Dude their doing the same at my mom's. I went up there and told them everything is being recorded and I want to speak to whoever sent this letter. They brought up the owner and he tried to intimated me, I told him thank you for the evidence of your misrepresentation and your threats. I told him from here on out your gonna be talking to my lawyer. My lawyer told me no more letters will be sent to her or her community.
Apparently we weren't the only ones that were pissed. Your not taking advantage of my mother tf
You should contact your title company before a lawyer. The title company's job is to make sure everything you are responsible for is listed on your title policy. Lawyer is a good idea, but this is exactly why you pay for a title search when you buy a home. If they missed something, the title company is responsible to pay it, not you. A lawyer will be happy to take 300-600$ an hour to read and call your title company which you can and should do for free, unless you just like to pay things unnecessarily.
A man of principle. A principled man. A man of integrity.
The HOA? Not so much.
What stamina, perseverance, determination and courage he has demonstrated.
anytime an HOA loses its a win for humanity
HOAs only exist in the Stupid American States, this is not a problem of the humanity
I asked my dad what an HOA is. He said "they are criminals that operate through legal extortion. Pay the dues or they take your house. Either way they get your money"
That is a perfect way of explaining what these bastards are!
Sounds like ALL government
They should all be brought up on RICO charges and locked away for good.
Not legal in WA. Move
Do they not tell you that there's an HOA?
I will never buy a home with an HOA attached to it because of things like this.
What makes me mad is they're EVERYWHERE. Been searching for weeks for a house. Not a single one is independent. All (even apartments) are under control of an HOA. This is ILLEGAL: making me pay HOA fees on top of property taxes. One HOA will cost over $12K in three years! Nope. Not even going to look at the house.
ITCHYisVegeta you would be right; my HOA came up with a rule that on garbage day, all garbage cans had to be taken in off the street by 10:00 a.m....most of the HOA members were retired, but the rest of us worked. They wanted us to come home from work to put the garbage in side...crazy.
We were considering one, then received their covenants book. When I got to the part that said they could come into your home to "inspect", I called the realtor and told him never in this lifetime.
@@ediththrift1209 That's not owning a home, that's renting. BS!
Exactly. HOA's are just for Karen's to have a sense of control over people. So dumb.
Having an HOA is like having a second IRS 😂
Nope. IRS far more honest and above board. (Which should also tell you what I think of HOAs)
I once lived in a townhouse that had an HOA. I hated everything about their "Do's and Don't. I sold my townhouse at a big profit than my original purchase price, and vowed to never again be associated with another HOA! The property I now live in has been in my family since 1865. While many of my neighbors belong to an HOA, I don't. They have tried to dictate what I do on my property, but fail at every attempt to harass me into joining. When I explain my reasons as to why, they shut up and leave me alone. 😇
NEVER join one unless already platted that way.
My friend live in a HOA and everyone had acreage and was only allowed to clear a certain amount of the land back off the road. He had a couple trees removed and the sent him a fine. The next day he had the whole property cleared then had sod laid he had the best looking property in the neighborhood.
"I sold my townhouse at a big profit" This is why people endure HOA's. Greed.
@@toriless never join one period lol
They should've paid him back. We Live in the land of the free till you move to HOA community.
No, friend, we do not live in the land of the free. That's just a leftover phrase that pings people's patriotism. History tells us what real freedom looks like; it's nothing at all like what the U.S. is today. Consider:
_"On the eve of World War I, government expenditures were less than 2 percent of GNP and 99 percent of the population paid no income tax. The income tax had just been introduced, but the top rate was only 7 percent and applied to incomes exceeding $500,000. The federal government had around 400,000 employees, less than 1 percent of the labor force. About 165,000 troops were on active duty. No federal regulations of capital or labor markets existed. Agricultural production and distribution were also unregulated."_
_"There was no minimum wage rate and no social security. One area where there was a rather aggressive interference in the economy concerned the rates and tariffs that the railroads charged. Antitrust was also strong._ *The conflagration of World War I marks a violent break with the letter and spirit of the Constitution.* _Property rights were suspended on a large scale. There were wide‐scale nationalizations of rail, telephone, telegraph and to a lesser degree ocean shipping. Over 100 manufacturing plants were nationalized. The government got involved in labor‐management relations under the Adams Act in 1916. Conscription was instituted. The Espionage Act was passed in 1917. The Sedition Act of 1918 imposed penalties for anti‐government expression, subverting the Bill of Rights. The novelist, Upton Sinclair was actually arrested for reading the Bill of Rights and Roger Baldwin, one of the founders of the American Civil Liberties Union, was arrested for reading the Constitution. President Woodrow Wilson accomplished all this under emergency powers granted to him by Congress in 1916."_
Excerpted from
www.cato.org/publications/commentary/democracy-vs-liberty-trump-fails-understand-founders-have-all-presidents
They will pay him back because he was awarded attorney's fees and 15k in HOA fees returned.
If you don't like HOA fees, then don't be a fool and buy a home that requires entering into a HOA contract.
@@nomosnomosowicz7379 , watch the video instead of responding to the title.
Begin at 1:50 and listen carefully until 2:30.
@@RichardHarlos I didn't respond to the title. I actually watched the video where the home owner states himself that he was awarded fees and past HOA payments.
When we moved last year from California to Idaho, we made sure to buy a house that wasn’t part of an hoa...it wasn’t easy due to all the new developments being hoa’s. The house we finally bought had originally been an hoa, but 15 years ago the neighbors got together and disbanded the hoa. The community told the hoa board that they were all adults and didn’t need a group of entitled people telling them how to maintain their own property.
And how do you vote Democrat or Republican?
@@crashnburn586 they just said it wasn't easy to find a non-hoa home in a state that Trump won by almost 30%. So, whatever point you think you're trying to make isn't going to work.
@@crashnburn586 Well, they said they were adults, so the clear answer to that question is Democrats! You utter peanut.
@@woopimagpie 😂😂😂
@@crashnburn586 Considering that they dont want to be ruled by an authoritrian hoa, im guessing they didnt vote for trump.
Also, since they were smart enough to not want an hoa, that means they didnt vote for trump. A record amount of college and high scool drop outs voted for trump. A record amount of people with college degrees voted for biden. These statistics are online for anyone to look at. That explains why trump can lie about a stolen election and so many stupid people believe him
Lived for 1 year in a gated community that charged $400 a month in HOA fees and if you ever complained about anything, the people in charge of the HOA would forbid you from contacting them at all. Half the time the gate to get in and out wouldn’t work and I never got a key to the gate door to get in or out in the whole year that I lived there, even though they told me there was one. After I complained one time, I was banned from contacting them ever again. I was locked out on several occasions with no recourse. Biggest legal consumer rip off…HOA fees.
i thought the people in the community vote for the board of HOA?
In 50 years of life, I've never heard a positive story about an HOA, not one single story. I remember many times the late wife and I out house hunting and we found several really nice houses at really good prices but we turned them down because they were a part of one HOA or another. We didn't turn them down based on that aspect, but at the time I didn't know what they were (I was young) and my late wife was from Japan (only been in the U.S. for a few years before we got together). So we did some research and inevitably discovered MANY complaints about which ever one we were snooping into and decided it was not a good thing.
My best advice: Never buy a house in an HOA. Never. Ever.
Agreed. Made that mistake once. Got two petty notices about my lawn too high. I was out of town both times, and a third about a car in my driveway that hadn't moved in 3 days. Never again.
Good advice. Now, try and find one. HOAs have been become the norm in new communities.
@@michaelmartin9903 those greasy morons send me warning lettera and fines about a trailer parked in my driveway, funny thing is i dont have a trailer and the address was wrong but they had my name on it... they are sub human shitsickles
In some areas its almost impossible to buy a home built after 2000 that is not in a hoa
Help! Being held captive by an asshat hoa. Says I have for cones on the ground under a FIR TREE! . Thats nature.
All they are is power hungry people that should mind their own business .
I bought my first house in a community that has a HOA. I didn’t know what a HOA was or what actually mean to live with one (I moved from another country to USA). The other day I fixed the stairs of my house’s front door as it was incredibly deteriorated over the years (seems it wasn’t done for many years). Then days later I got a letter from the HOA threatening me to change the conditions of the stairs back to how It was otherwise they will sue. Needless to say I was very surprised and mad at the same time seeing this over reaction for me only trying to make my house to look cleaner and prettier. Will never move in a community that has HOA next time I move.
I’m 52 now. I’ve always lived in the county areas and never knew what a HOA was until I was 40+ so when a friend told me about her situation I was floored that it even existed in America. Sounds like wannabe politicians trying to exert a tiny amount of power on society of doormats.
HOA is the reason my wife and I sold our house, bought 5 acres, and built another one on independent land. When I have to ask permission to put up a swing set for my kids, something is wrong.
5 acres are usually R5 and not HOA's.
He should "foreclose" on them if they don't pay.
Steve Lehto (Lehto's Law, here on RUclips) had a segment where he talked about a Florida homeowner who got a judgment against a bank, who refused to pay. Got an "order of execution" and showed up at a bank branch with deputies and a truck and threatened to take out the judgment in confiscated furniture & fixtures. One phone call by the bank manager and he got a certified check.
@@josepherhardt164 I remember seeing this on tv.
So true
Joseph Erhardt
Steve Lehto is a douche. He will ban anyone who posts proof in the comments that he was incorrect about something. Then if you email him about it he will respond that it’s his channel and he can block whoever he wants for any reason. He sucks as a lawyer that’s why he has all the time to do videos.
@@jefferyepstein9210 and what was he wrong about?
We need more honest people like him who aren't afraid to stand up for the truth. The reason HOA's think they can get away with things like this is because most people buckle. Respect.
Truth is most people can not AFFORD it. He can and did. He is due recover now.
I don't think most people can afford 300k in legal fees.
Thank goodness for this man, we all owe him a lot.
PUT A COURT LIEN ON THE HOA ASSETS FOR NON PAYMENT OF THE COURT AWARD. CHARGE INTEREST TOO
That's what I was thinking.
Hey got 70% of his legal fees paid . The HOA finally gave up
@@niyablake only 70%? why not 100%!!!
@@Baebon6259 That's what the judge ordered
Yup because that’s what they do to tons of people everyday, give em a taste of their own horseshit.
The HoA is ran by a bunch of Karen’s and their husbands friends friends , plain and simple.
Just FYI, the technical term lol for a male Karen is Chad.
Best comment Bahahahahaha
Couldn't have said it any better haha
What's a Karen?
Kristen Jett. They seem to do nothing but harass the people that live in them. They illegally boot cars for not parking in garages, illegally harass people for placing alternative landscape, try to illegally include people in them that don't belong to them, and harass the downtrodden elderly for faded paint. Hoas do nothing good, ever
For anyone interested, The court awarded him $180,000 for legal fees.
Good on you for fighting for your rights to not be shaken down by thieves 👏👏👏
My parents lived in a 40 year old retirement community in Florida. Out of 950 homes, all but 31 were on leased land with short term leases (5 years). A Wisconsin REIT bought the property and began raising the monthly HOA fee from about $150 a month to as much as $900 per month resulting in home values plummeting. My parents lived in one of 31 homes and my father rallied the other 30 home owners to support him in a fight (moral support not $$$).
After trying to negotiate for years, my father found and read the original founding documents and deeds of the complex and the "estate" section. He realized that the estate section owned the main road coming into the complex and the guard shack at the entrance. He drew up papers and told the landlords that they would begin charging a $10 per entry fee to all vehicles coming into the complex or close the entrance and main road to all except the 31 homes. The company offered to bring their HOA fee back to the $150/month which he rejected and they finally agreed (in writing and forever) to $0/month and reimbursement for all fees paid over the $150/month.
Year later they came back and said they were going to start charging the estate section other fees, such as garbage pickup and clubhouse fees. My father pointed out that there was no reason that they could not re-implement the closing of the road and entry fee. They dropped it but he didn't and got them to put in writing that no fee of any type would ever be charged to the members of the "estate" section. And no, he refused to give up the estate sections right to the entrance or main road.
Great story, thanks for sharing it!
🙌🙌🙌❤️👊
sounds like a load of crap lol
❤🤣
Your father is brilliant and an amazing person to not give up a fight that was very difficult to win. BRAVO to your father.👏👏👏
There is a simple way to stand up to HOA owners. NEVER, ever, EVER buy a home within an HOA subdivision. NEVER.
Simplistic
You do realize neither did he, it solved NOTHING!!!
I only ever lived in 1 HOA that was true to its constituents. At that time, I worked 6 day weeks. And honestly, yard weeds were getting out of hand a bit. They sent a letter noting the infraction. But instead of a fine, they included a list of landscapers who lived within the community who offered discounted rated for fellow residents.
THAT is how an HOA "should" handle possible infractions
He needs to be awarded all fees, double again for committing fraud, and the board members need to be held individually accountable and liable, with criminal charges for each of them.
When I moved to Phoenix in 1999 I remember hearing of a home owner who gunned down two members of his HOA. I understand why.
Good.
Kill them all
@No Recourse certain kinds of folks like to label anything they don't like as socialism, even when it very clearly is not
If you give someone a tiny bit of power, it's grotesque how much it goes to their head. I have never met an HOA board member who wasn't a toxic bastard who sought dominion over others, primarily to make other miserable and for no other reason. Never, ever, move into an HOA unless you want to have overlords who hold power over every single aspect of how you handle your home, including forcing you pay to have work done that you have no interest in.
Big ditto! HOA people are the worst.
ITS THE WHITE COMPLEX . History shows whites are greedy and dumb.
Not all people. But definitely some. That's for sure. All one has to do when in power is begin with the end in mind. How do you want this to end? Keep that in mind and you'll never disappoint your clients.
@@davidhutchinson5233 it's too many to count. if there's a societal attitude towards HOA which there is now... Then something has to change because it is a clear problem.
It's what petty tyrants do for retirement....
I will never pay someone to tell me what I can and cannot do at my home. HOA should be outlawed.😊❤
An elderly woman in Albuquerque New Mexico was suddenly surrounded by a new development of houses in a supposed gated community and an HOA they began telling her what she could have in her yard and how she had to get rid of all this and that and everything this lady laughd at them and put a brand new porcelain toilet in her front yard and put flowers in the tank which of course made the HOA mad. She finally told them that they couldn't touch her at all because she was grandfathered onto the property and they couldn't do anything about it
hey i know one person no HOA can touch for 1 simple reason :: the scumbag HOA trys to include her property into it and herass her -- they end up taking a swim in sement shues !
I always thought "grandfathered" was a prank by jim
One way to keep a HOA from bothring you :: build a working reactor in the garage or basement !! Unless the HOA board members are insane they will leave you alone And wont come nere your home ! I herd of somebody building a reactor in there garage ! Dont remeber were it was !
What total morons. She’s probably the kind of neighbor most of us would like
@@tww1981The nuclear boy scout? Honestly I think a critical nuclear reactor is less likely to kill you than a HOA and considerably more useful too!
Pay the man! I can’t ever wrap my head around why HOAs even exist.
I live where there is an HOA. They exist because people like me want to own property but have no desire to bother with taking care of gardens, grass, roof leaks, etc. My HOA largely leaves me alone. I forget they exist for the most part, but they keep up where I live beautifully. All utilities other than electric are included in my HOA fees. There are no special assessments because my HOA keeps a healthy reserve, even in pandemic times. Heated garage, pool, etc. none of which I have to bother with, which makes me happy. I get there are a lot of bad HOA’s out there, but like people, it’s best to evaluate each one individually.
@@technomewmew smh
@@technomewmew So does that mean that you are lazy?
Uppity "WHITE" attitudes...
In private neighborhoods the roads are (very often) not owned or maintained by the city or county. The HOAs in these private neighborhoods are therefore responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the neighborhoods private roads, parks, HOA swimming pools, club houses, garden areas, etc.
Without the HOA dues; the neighborhoods facilities would soon be in horrible conditions: the roads for instance would be nearly impossible to drive on. I have seen this before in my business (land surveyor). Where the HOAs do not maintain the roads as they are supposed to. They often are found to be spending that HOA dues money on meetings at expensive venues and trips for the board members and families instead.
Property values plummet as people do not want to repair their cars every time they drive to and from their homes, on torn up roads.
That was the original idea for HOAs.
Greedy assholes and assholes with dictator complexes have thoroughly destroyed the original good intent and the purpose for HOAs to the point that many despise them.
I purposely sought out a home that was not part of an HOA. I passed on a few very nice homes to do it too. I am one who despises them for what they become not for what they were originally intended.
HOA is a nightmare. I feel they own my property but I am paying for them to have an income. How did such a corrupt corporation become legal.
why did you buy HOA house?
@@Spitamen you must not live in the US .
@@fauziashah1978 why do you think so? How do I know what is HOA and why should anyone avoid them?
@@Spitamen should I do a term paper to answer your question?
@@fauziashah1978 if it takes you a term paper to answer simple question maybe it shows you learnt nothing at school. Maybe you should learn again to answer simple question with simple answer.
If you are an HOA...
I just have one thing to say...
"We're comin'!"
Our HOA board started having secret meetings then a neighbor sued the HOA and grounds that the HOA rules do not permit secret meetings, the HOA agreed to stop before court trial, then the entire HOA board all resigned, lots of rumors on what they were up to.
Good job to you and your neighbors. It usually doesn't work out so well Secret meetings are unlawful in many states but many boards know how to get around it.
@@user-uf9xj3wg9h i think they may have wanted to sell our HOA owned well to a private company, for a kick back, but not sure
Stealing
@Sphincter Says what? To add more, our HOA used our savings fund to hire a law firm to defend their "rights" to have secret meetings, they lost, but it must have been very important to them to keep things quiet, there are around 800 homes size of a small town
@Asphincter says what? hahahaaaaa. do you live in an hoa home, or do you work for an hoa? Hey time shares are wonderful too! Let me sell you one.
Why would I buy a property knowing a bunch of other people are gonna tell me how to live in it, and charge me for their "protection?"
@Simeon 2 -
its called paying the protection money to a slightly soft washed Ma-fia
@@Killerspieler0815
There's no better explanation than that.
The old protection racket, that is extortion.
Legalized extortion and racketeering.
Don't. Go live in the woods
HOA:Where not one of those Gustapo hoa's you hear about.
State Court: Youve been found guilty of fraud😂
Wow, that's multiple counts of mail fraud, and a class-action suit. The HOA scammers should go to prison.
"We are not one of the Gestapo organizations" Says the guy who was stealing from community members who were not part of his little organization.
After he tried to foreclose the guys house when he stopped paying dues. Gestapo is exactly what they are.
@Steven Harvey -
HOA is just an other word for a 1943 "Blockwart"
@@Killerspieler0815 good one
He's the reason some of the units aren't part of his little country. The guy you're qouting built the units and sold them.
yeah I thought that was funny. Legal thievery is all it is, just like mortgage companies.
The shame here is someone without deep pockets would not have been able to defend themselves. But good for this guy, I'm glad he saw it through!
Rusty Shackleford and then everybody clapped
Pro tip: don't buy a home in a neighborhood that wants and enforces a HOA if you don't want a HOA.
@@nomosnomosowicz7379
Did you even listen, he was not given a choice.
@@nikotesla2071 Actually, he entered into a HOA contract when he bought the home. It was the validity of the contract that paved the way to the Supreme Court. Had there been no contract, there would be no trial.
Also, in other videos he concedes to signing the contract, which are verified by the trial summaries. He had every intention to pay for the HOA services received (just like his neighbors) and then he found a way to get out of them, while still receiving those same benefits (courtesy of his neighbors picking up the tab).
Lol people that can't afford lawyers don't live in communities with HOA's
Everyone who was wrongfully told to pay the fees could join together in a class action suit.
Good Man I WILL sleep soundlier tonight knowing true justice was actually served
I love the sign on his house and the pink flamingos....it's like a big FU to the HOA 😂
Most definitely 🙊
@@kisshooters69 U!
@@kisshooters69 Sigh...ok boomer, in simple terms (I'll go slow you you can follow along), it's an abbreviation or acronym for "F*ck You"....more commonly used in internet slang or chat texting culture. I know it's sometimes hard for you older generation folk to understand new slang, but it's ok. You can learn something new everyday right? 😁😁😁
JangX I am a boomer and I find your response hilarious!
@Samuel Shin WTF are u so salty about? I was simply responding to a troll comment to my post...I wasn't extolling the virtues or vices of each generation (which every generation has). BTW I'm not even a millennial so this makes your comment even funnier 😂
I don't blame him at all! I got a realtor to help me find a house. The first thing out of my lips was that I didn't want a home in an HOA. The first house she showed me was HOA. I forgave that but still said no. You'd think the realtor would have had more respect. Nope. Met her at another home and as you go into the development it said HOA. i turned around and ieft. Called the realtor and fired her. She threatened me with court. I said please do. Got another realtor and she found me a beautiful home without HOA. It's out in a rural area, but that's what I ask for to begin with. The fired realtor never took me to court.
Dude's a freaking hero. HOA's are intrinsically corrupt. They may start with good intentions, (sometimes) but bad people gravitate towards being involved in HOA's and they almost ALWAYS become despotic types whose attitude is "you don't get to decide what you do with your property, WE do. Now shut up, sit down, pay us whatever we demand and don't do anything on your property that we don't like. We own you and we'll ruin you if you make a fuss."
My wife and I passed on probably 75 homes before we found our current house because they all had HOAs. Nearly all new construction falls under increasingly restrictive and abusive HOAs, and I'll be dam$%#% before i let a tiny little committee of Karens and assorted despots before i let them tell me what i can or can't do on my property.
99.99 percent of people cant afford to take their HOA to court
My grandpa always told me "No matter the cost never compromise what's right".
Your grandpa was a smart, brave and principled man.
pay back all the money he's been paying for all those years.
Plus court costs!
Dang right!!!
with daily compounding interest
@Mr Jones um lol .. wait what? Trump? I think you meant the Demo-rats
@@marikiemarie7622 no, he's right. dump trump and the redumblicans.
Am I the only one wondering where part 3 is 👀😂 this man deserves every dime back & I hope he got it!
I feel happy hearing, this made my day
A good many years ago I told someone I would never buy a home in an HOA. He said, then you will never buy a home. Odd, I'm a home owner with no HOA. I have NO use for HOAs.
Good for you, eldor. I don’t own a house but when I do I’m make sure I don’t have no dam hoa
No HOA would want my home in it!!
It started off well intended to keep people from parking broke down vehicles in your yard or hoarding garbage but it went to far when you get warnings for grass being over an inch or a political sign on the yard, stupid crap like that!
Yeah, HOAs. We are all charged the lake fee, now. Used to be just the properties edging the "lakes"
But, we have No water craft, we don't fish, no radio controlled boats, etc. We have no need for the oversized ponds.🙄 But yet, we are charged for upkeep of them. It even used to be an ugly weed-filled hole in the ground for several years. And, the meetings when we can vote on anything, or have our say, are always on a night we have something else committed to.
Some home buying websites have "No HOA" as a selling point.
Sue the HOA for all legal fees. They were wrong, they pay for their stupidity.
@mothman1967 -
Also sue the humans behind the HOA until they become some of the poorest homeless
They weren’t “wrong”, they were knowingly CRIMINAL! That’s like cartels charging extortion fees. It’s blatant Harassment, blackmail, extortion. Holding your home hostage!
except the HOA will just pass the fees off to the homeowners as a special assessment. Sue the HOA members individually so they have to sell off their own homes to make the payments. Two birds-one stone. the fees get paid and the evil HOA members have to move.
Sir i can only say the very very best of Irish luck too you. God bless you all. 🙏 ❤🎉😢from Ireland 🇮🇪 ♥️ 🙌.
WE NEED TO GET RID OF THESE SUPRESSING HOA'S
Helped my brother in law stain his fence from the ugly raw wood to a cedar color. It looked so nice when we finished it. Problem is he didn’t get HOA approval before we did this, which by the way took us two full weekends to do. They told him he would have to pressure wash the fence back to the original color. He calls me and tells me this and I explained we could pressure wash the fence as all he wanted but it wouldn’t make a bit of difference…we’d have better luck burning it. Still he tried…to no avail.
So he explained to them that there was no way to get the fence back to the old color, to which they said…Then replace it. This was a huge backyard so the cost of having it completely replaced…13 thousand dollars! So the fight began…and they almost lost their home over this high profile fence staining case! Eventually a court sided with them and also made the HOA pay for their legal fees and they said if they had to do that the HOA would go bankrupt…which opened a whole new can of worms as to what was happening with HOA dues.
My neighbor in in the middle of painting their home, almost done. I think it looks better. I think all the fencing we have is cedar with 501 stain except mine. I do not know why, it was painted by the precious owner. It is the same color as the house trim. I think it was originally Apache White (a contractor's pale yellow color). I never found a match for the house color but any repainting has all been trim, so-far. Paint lasts much longer on cedar. None of my neighbors have cedar so they start having issues after only 5 or 10 years. Mine is nearly 20 years old.
Most of the time, "extra" dues go into the pockets of the board members. They will print up fake invoices for fake services rendered, and hope they don't get audited. Crooks.
Those board members get elected then get in there and realize that it doesn't cost as much the maintain the community .and there is a lot of money. That no one knows about .because everyone believes it's going to the community. So they get their greedy hands on the money and start shoveling it in their pockets.then they get even more greedy and start raising dues . Basically it's extortion
The irony is that HOA's were devised as an instrument to uphold property values. Yet now with all the never ending horror stories involving HOA's nationwide, it seems like in many more cases now, the mere existence of an HOA immediately crosses properties off the list of potential home buyers. HOA's attracted power hungry individuals edged on by greedy lawyers and questionable maintenance companies. They've done this to themselves.
Exactly. I'm still young and renting, but will be looking to buy in a couple years. The second that I hear of an HOA or a Strata I ain't getting anywhere near that property.
HOA's were devised as an instrument to keep minorities and poor people out of more affluent white spaces. When that was deemed illegal to do directly they were then used indirectly towards the same ends. Nowadays they are ostensibly used to preserve neighborhood standards and property values, but in reality are just a tool for power mad neighbors/the land developer to control a private citizen's home and life for pleasure and/or profit.
Never buy HOA, dissolve them where possible, and always read the purchase agreement.
THIS! YOU ARE CORRECT!!! HOAs ABSOLUTLEY lowered the value of homes for me so much that I would not even consider buying ANY HOME in a HOA!!!
I moved my family from northern Mi to southern Mi and the areas in SW Mi have HOAs all over. we spoke to many realtors and a few told us that our ABSOLUTE NON NEGOTIABLE REQUIRMENT of NO HOA was unrealistic for the areas we wanted to live to be close to my new job. they tried to tell me that HOAs were fine and not to be scared of them. I asked them all the same question... Do YOU live in a HOA? every single one of them had the same answer! NO they don't live in a HOA!!!
one of the realtors would NOT stop sending us houses within HOAs so I told her we were no longer willing to work with her due to this and blocked her everywhere. The other ones got the hint and stopped sending us houses in HOAs. we found a great house with no HOA in a great area. even has a pool.
Kind of a nice little microcosm of government, isn't it. Started for legit purpose, but then got increased in power and corrupted by lack of express limitations.
This is the nature of man. All organizations should plan ahead knowing that miscreants will attempt to hijack its power.
I remember this story from years ago. Good for him
The truth must NEVER be silenced.
I lived in a new townhouse that had an HOA and the dues started at $50 a month and every year went up a few dollars. I didn't move because of that or them but ended up moving into an established neighborhood with no HOA and let me just say there's no feeling like not having these idiots looking over your shoulder and denying you for simple things you should be free to do on your own property.
So you moved because of them
Owning a house but not being allowed to do anything to it without permission from peers seems like a massive restriction of liberty and therefore very anti American.
@@Oli-Johnson It's more than that. They tell you what to do and if you don't pay they can evict you. Sound familiar?
@@jakejones5736 And if they make the "dues" sky high the homeowner has no recourse. They are unaccountable to anyone.
I love living in a neighborhood where most the houses on my street were built in the 70s. It’s a good safe neighborhood and everyone maintains their yard on their own because it’s just the type of culture here. We don’t need an HOA forcing us to keep up our property. The city does do checks on external upgrades to make sure no houses are falling apart, to keep property value high. But I can paint my house whatever color I want, don’t have to check in with someone before I park my car in the front of my house, pay extra dues just to live there, none of that crazy stuff. I thought about building new but there were only plots in HOA areas. Tiny yards and huge houses and I wouldn’t even be allowed a fence for my dog. No thanks
I'm no attorney but "negligent misrepresentation" sounds like this homeowner is going to get his money back and then some.
That’s what the ruling was. $15,000 in back dues that he paid and then $320,000 for his lawyer.
That’s all he would be entitled to. If the HOA doesn’t pay or tries something else he can then sue for damages that their lack of payment has caused him. It could be $5. but the courts will add much more.
He would not be entitled to anything more than his out of pocket expenses to make him whole.
Courts don’t give out punitive damages for stuff like this. A Jury might but once they appealed and went to the states Supreme Court there is
No jury. And courts do not award extra money for inconvenience to someone. Only for Bodley harm that lasts a long time or life or damage to their reputation that caused a harm. Loss of job, loss of client, loss of friends, family.
can't get blood out of a turnip. should have paid the court ordered fine/loss. that would have been admitting they were wrong. they could have made settlement w/o admitting wrongdoing and left it go.
Randolph - yep and no one In The unit / housing development 1 would have been the wiser.
M.A.R.N .E - well he can if he wants to spend more money sizing the HOAs assets, A building, computers, the HOA gate (sell it for scrap) stuff like that.
Even better if he seizes the community pool (if they got one).
@@auntiem873 Ignoring proof that the guy's home was not part of the HOA is willfully harmful and I would think the court would want to discourage this behavior by assessing damages.
A true American hero! I hope he gets the fees he paid to the HOA back.
It seems that it is always the worst sort of people who jockey their way onto an HOA. Miserable, power-hungry people.
Now sue the members of the board of the HOA personally.
In Texas, they are immune from lawsuits.
@@attabanana4709 Then hang 'em, yee haw!
He's asking for the sum of the fraud plus legal fees. It's not like he's going for punitive damages. He is being reasonable.
It would be justice if the HOA was forced to pay his court costs and all the HOA fees he ever paid because it was malicious prosecution. They had the documents showing he wasn't part of the HOA from the get go.
HOA board needs to pay the guy's legal fees and the HOA's legal fees from their personal pockets, not HOA treasury.
“God-complex” couldn’t be more accurate
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🔥🔥🔥😂
@chris kibodeaux no judge *has* agreed with the idiot here.
I remember my mom telling me when she and my dad lived in Florida the termites ate the garage door to the point it was falling down. HOA gave them a 40 hour notice to get it fixed or be fined $2,000(hoa was the ones who were actually supposed to fix it not them) and then after rushing to fix it they get slammed with another notice saying they had 24 hours to paint it the right color. The best part out of this is the HOA was supposed to spray for termites and clearly they never did.
Had an HOA force everyone to paint their houses. And guess what, they were all stucco and only about 15 years old!
What did you expect?
When you give thugs and opportunity to have power *without checks and balances* they become tyrants.
See also: cops without internal affairs or good sheriffs.
Could definitely file a complaint, announce in their board meeting what they were doing so the rest can hear. Once that's done and no reparations were made in most cases you can sue
@@ICYDRAGONS there's always the problem that when suing an HOA, it has infinite resources to fight you, using your own money
Well if I had termites I would not wait for the door to fall down or for harassment from HOA, nor would I care if they were negligent re spraying for termites b/c first sign of a termite I d be on it.
"Its just not gonna happen" I love this guy.
HOA's is like having another tier of government bureaucracy.
Never underestimate how much time a retiree has to devote to a cause.
Not only time, but determination, perseverance, integrity, intellect, honour, courage etc etc etc.
Many have plenty of time but very few would do this or be capable of doing anywhere near this protracted effort to correct a wrong.
An impressive person indeed 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I know a woman they tried to pull this crap on. She never fell for it and knew her home was there prior to the HOA and was not automatically made part of it without her choosing to sign on. When they tried to enforce their rules on her property, she won. That was not the end though, they continued to post notices and fought everything she tried to do on her property. They thought if they made it hard enough she would just cave and obey WRONG! She filed a harrassment lawsuit against the HOA for their repeated interference with her property knowing full well they had zero right to do so.
I had a similar situation in Tennessee happened to me, let's just say I didn't let them off cheap 😁
Further cases like these will be easier to win mow that there is precedent. This man deserves a medal
THE HIGH PRICE FOR... Justice is obscene. No matter if you are fighting a HOA or freedom in the court. When your accusers have almost infinite amount of finical resources, your odds of winning are remote.
I bought my home in 2018 w no hoa. One of the home owners asked me to help him start an HOA!
I told him, "no thank you", I have zero desire to be in an HOA. We live in the country about 15 minutes from most stuff I want or need to do. HOA are a nightmare!
Anyone go to jail for fraud, seems like lying and collecting money is against some law.
Negligent misrepresentation, not criminal.
@user unknown misfeasance
Even if it was a criminal case the HOA, or any association, LLC etc. is defined as a person and would absorb the conviction as a whole. The criminals running the enterprise may be replaced but would not be personally charged. They wrote corporate law this way so they can steal your money and walk if they are sued. Guess who ends up paying the fines. It isn’t their money. The only difference is if they steal federal money. Meaning tax fraud etc. Then someone may go to prison. That is why all of them have off shore accounts. When they get out of prison they still have all the money they stole.
Nope how about Hilary Clinton and her emails nope
Mike Powell not necessarily true that the money needs to be federal. If the fraud is bad enough there’s a thing called “piercing the corporate veil.” Essentially meaning that those people committing the fraud would be charged criminally without the protection of a corporate entity.
As a Realtor, I always explain the pro’s(few) and cons(many) of owning a house in an HOA. If I could legally tell clients not to buy homes in an HOA I would.
Keep us updated.
I own a townhouse in an HOA community. I have lived here for 4 years. It costs me $150/month. It’s a bargain. That price includes insurance on the home and all exterior maintenance and repair. They clean out the gutters, pressure wash the exterior, perform termite inspections, paint the exterior wood and do all the landscaping. There was a mild drainage issue behind my house, so the HOA had a French drain installed. When the roof has to be replaced, the HOA will pay for it. The people in the HOA office are respectful and helpful. There are HOAs out there that are great, including mine. Not all HOAs suck.
I pay $238 a month and it has gone up 4 times since I moved in 3 yrs ago.
For that money they cut the grass and clear the snow that is over 3 inches. It can take 2 days to do it.
Last year they charged an extra $200 because there were 2 small snow storms the entire winter season and they claimed they needed more money.
They maintain common areas but do not fix anything else around our houses.
They fine us at every opportunity and without warning
I love the HOA "Architectural Review Boards" that never have a licensed Architect on them. I show up, say they're full of BS, and they ask me who are you to gainsay the board? My response, "I'm an Architect"
Ohhhh don't EVEN get me started on the arc
The architecture committee isn't actually architects. It's a committee that reviews development plans to make sure they're in line with the overall esthetics of the community
I have a problem in my HOA. We purchased a condo on the river but we are on a canal sort of and it has a dock for a pontoon boat. Well I can’t put a pontoon boat because when the tide goes out all sludge is sticking out of the water and it’s not deep enough and the H away refuses to dredge it. Then next door the bank foreclosed on the home and it’s been sitting there for a while now and all the back deck is rotted and that’s my view. Do you know if I have any legal recourse?
I have a problem in my HOA. We purchased a condo on the river but we are on a canal sort of and it has a dock for a pontoon boat. Well I can’t put a pontoon boat because when the tide goes out all sludge is sticking out of the water and it’s not deep enough and the H away refuses to dredge it. Then next door the bank foreclosed on the home and it’s been sitting there for a while now and all the back deck is rotted and that’s my view. Do you know if I have any legal recourse?
@@rockn997 you cant fight city hall....they will win them all
Maybe he should “FORECLOSE” on the HOA, See how they like it.
If they don't pay the settlement he could do just that. There was an incident years back where Bank of America attempted to foreclose on a man's house that he owned free and clear. He sued them and won a settlement that BoA refused to pay. He got in contact with the local sheriff, then they went to his local branch and chained the door shut in the middle of the day. The bank manager conferred with his superiors and was allowed to go inside to execute a check to pay the settlement.
Excellent idea.
@@brianm6117 I remember that, he showed up with a truck to take the office equipment. It was great.
This man is amazing! 👏 Good job.
There should be a sign that says, "Just say NO to HOAs!" LOL
When we were looking to buy our first home in the 90’s and found the perfect house, we were told it was an HOA community, I had no idea what that meant. After I was told what it meant, how the hell can someone buy a house and have someone else tell you what you can and can’t do to your house? I would never buy a HOA house.
Then never buy in a city, they have as much control. I know someone in Mill Creek, they said she had to tear out her flowers since they were purple. They do a lot more too. I told my agent NO houses in Mill Creek.
@@toriless Let's hope he is a well adjusted human, who does not live in such pseudo-human environment.
well, let's see. FIRST, no one is telling you what you can or can't do, it's in the agreement/by-laws you signed. They should only enforce the agreement. SECOND, a lot of hoa's eliminate the exterior yard cutting and landscaping, saving you tons of time you can spend with your families. not all are bad, it's the ones with stay at home anybodys that are the problem.. the big hoa's tend to have the most corruption, and the ones with multiple homes with relatives on the board-so that you end up with too many of one family on the board creating their kingdom.