On the Commons with Jan Bergmann
Hosted and produced by Shu Bartholomew, On The Commons is a weekly radio show dedicated to discussing the many issues surrounding mandatory homeowner associations, the fastest growing form of residential housing in the nation.
Much like a bunch of dominoes artfully set up in neat, precise rows, our entire economy is failing. Knock one domino over and you have a chain reaction and they all fall, one after the other. Pull the rug out from under one industry and they all come tumbling down. It is no surprise that times are tough all around. And in time past, when things got bad families, friends and communities rallied around and endured the bad times together. But times they are a changing. Communities, once the glue that kept everything together, appear now to be exacerbating some of the problems.
On The Commons this week we are joined by Jan Bergemann. Jan, President of the Florida based Cyber Citizens for Justice, is the "go - to" person in Florida when people have problems with their associations. He maintains a couple of web pages, www.ccfj.net and ccfjedu.net and is a wealth of knowledge about all things related to association issues. Please join us On The Commons. We will talk about the problems that seem to arise right from the very beginning when a developer gets into trouble to the problems that arise as foreclosed properties grow in number and the remaining homeowners decide they can no longer shoulder all the "common" expenses.
Much like a bunch of dominoes artfully set up in neat, precise rows, our entire economy is failing. Knock one domino over and you have a chain reaction and they all fall, one after the other. Pull the rug out from under one industry and they all come tumbling down. It is no surprise that times are tough all around. And in time past, when things got bad families, friends and communities rallied around and endured the bad times together. But times they are a changing. Communities, once the glue that kept everything together, appear now to be exacerbating some of the problems.
On The Commons this week we are joined by Jan Bergemann. Jan, President of the Florida based Cyber Citizens for Justice, is the "go - to" person in Florida when people have problems with their associations. He maintains a couple of web pages, www.ccfj.net and ccfjedu.net and is a wealth of knowledge about all things related to association issues. Please join us On The Commons. We will talk about the problems that seem to arise right from the very beginning when a developer gets into trouble to the problems that arise as foreclosed properties grow in number and the remaining homeowners decide they can no longer shoulder all the "common" expenses.
Download | Duration: 00:56:42
In late 2007 our HOA board for Vista Del Lago Estates in Lake Havasu Arizona, voted to enforse the failure to build on time clause in our CC&R's. The presidint of the board assumed those of us who had not yet built our homes were specualtors thus he was going to "incentivize us to build by fining us $20.00 per day, 7 dqays a week until the home was permitted for occupancy. The problem is the 4 or 5 of us with empty lots could not get construction loans in early 08 becasue of the economic downturn. Construction loansw simply could not be had. Not long after the daily fines began to accrue I received a letter from a local realtor who said he represented a home owner in our assciation who was aware of the penalty who offered half of what I paid for the lot. Later I found out the realtor was president of the board and the one making the offer was also a board member. To date I've incurred over $10.000 in fines and just received a notice of lien. Although highly unethical and akin to kicking a guy when he is down it appears to be legal...Anyone here with a similar experience?
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This is an amazing violation of your individual property rights. Does the constitution even exist in modern America anymore?
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