On the Commons with Evan Mckenzie
On The Commons turns 10 years old this month. Our special guest is Evan McKenzie as we celebrate 10 years and kick off a brand new season of On The Commons.
For years housing consumers have been told that associations protect property values despite the fact that there was no real evidence or data to support this pie-in-the sky notion. With the current downturn in the economy what seems to be emerging is that not only do associations NOT protect property values since they are not immune from the world around them but they can actually diminish values. While it is a fact that many associations are under water, the exact number is not known. And for those that are, will they come back? What happens to property values in those developments? How many people and how many lives will be adversely affected because of the association?
On The Commons this week we are joined by Professor Evan McKenzie. Dr. McKenzie is a professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago and the John Marshall School of Law as well as a practicing attorney, author and blogger. He is the author of Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Government. His second book is due out soon. Please join us On The Commons. We'll take a look at the big picture of the health of HOAs, and where the individual homeowners stand in all this. We also get a sneak peek at his new book and maybe some ideas for a third one? Join us and find out.
Download | Duration: 00:56:36
(00:22:48) It's like something you would see in Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia. People think these things don't go on. But we know they go on every day in condo and homeowners associations. These people who have no idea how to use power at all. They won't even accept limits on their power. They don't even know what the law requires of them, these directors. They go by what some lawyer tells them to do, which the lawyer tells them to do only because he or she knows they can get away with it. Because the only recourse you have is some civil suit. Here in Illinois, we don't have an Ombudsman. Most states don't. There's nowhere for owners to turn. If the lawyer tells them "Oh, just jack 'em around. Who cares what the rules are? Who cares what the law says? It doesn't make any difference. The transaction costs of enforcing an owner's rights are so great that they are hardly ever able to do it." (00:23:40)
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Thank you for transcribing that anonymous! I just borrowed it for my blog (proper attribution of course!):
http://falmouthairparkhoa.blogspot.com/
This is precisely what is happening to me in my HOA here.
The governing documents, the general laws of the state...none of it mean anything to these directors here.
The HOA attorney encourages them to pursue anything they like, with no regard for the law.
I am suing my HOA Pro Se; just as Prof. McKenzie predicted, there is no other recourse.
Thanks for a terrific program Shu!
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I, too, have experienced extreme frustration with the arrogant directorship of our association that does as they please knowing that it will cost me a small fortune to stop them. We're supposed to be able to bring issues to Small Claims but the Small Claims Commissioner admitted at the outset of the case that she knew nothing about HOA law and wasn't really excited about learning about it. So her judgment used a technical flaw in the original case write up to make no decision at all. That brings me to the decision that I will not use Small Claims any more and I will be using Superior Court where the costs are much higher. That's where we're headed because I cannot live under the stressful, harassing and criminal behavior exhibited by our directors. And they use the dues money that we pay to defend their actions. That in itself is criminal. I will not be treated the way I am treated and these arrogant, stupid people will not continue to waste my money and then ask for more. This form of government must be made illegal and enforceable through some reasonable means within reach of ordinary people. I beg anyone with the power and means to assist the private homeowner to please help us.
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