Change of Season

Fall is here!  Leaves are scattering in the wind.  With that in mind, it is a good idea to be aware of your association’s bylaws when it comes to fall cleanup.  Looking ahead to the near future, Halloween is just around the corner.  The kids are anxious to get into their carefully selected costumes to enjoy the night of autumn frolic.  While the candy is certainly good, it is also worth checking what your association permits in terms of Halloween decorations and the coveted time of tricks and treats.

The Inactive Governing Board...

Individuals who live in homeowners’ associations are dependent on their governing board to enforce the law of the land as well as making decisions that affect everyone in the community. But what happens if your board doesn’t do those things? In my source (see link below) a homeowner wrote a letter stating that their HOA governing board has not held a meeting in years and does not respond to letters or inquiries. The reply to this letter stated that it is the responsibility of homeowners to prompt their board into action, because there are “no state agencies to help homeowner associations.” The response also stated that the writer of the letter refer to the governing documents for procedures and any available meeting minutes. This is the kind of situation that no homeowner should be involved with. LandArc remains in regular contact with governing boards of the communities we manage.


Click here to view my source for this post:

http://www2.tbo.com/lifestyles/life/2012/sep/16/banewso3-take-action-to-get-hoa-board-back-on-trac-ar-501116/

Board President Steals $500,000 from HOA

The president of a Florida Homeowners Association is charged with stealing more than $500,000 from the community he was supposed to serve. While David Meadows claims that the charges are beyond his comprehension(see source below), his actions during the past four years leave a lot of questions. Money intended for the HOA community Meadows' administered went, instead, to a number of other places, ranging from Meadows’ own mortgage to businesses he used to run. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s the structure of the board itself. Instead of the traditional officers, the only board members in charge of this community were Meadows and his wife. Allegations show that Meadows did not manage this HOA, he ruled it. Due to his ownership of multiple units in the community, he controlled the votes performed. The property management company performing services to the association also belonged to Meadows. Many community owners also complained about receiving outrageous fines from the association ranging from possessing satellite dishes to having bent screens on their homes. These violations would cause Meadows to charge these homeowners $100 a day. Meadows allegedly used these fees to pay back money he owed through the companies he managed. The homeowners in this HOA can only hope that justice will be served.

Click here to view the source used in this post: http://www.newschief.com/article/20120912/NEWS/209125007/1021/NEWS01?p=1&tc=pg

Florida HOA Charged with Discrimination

A Florida homeowner’s association was recently charged with discrimination concerning one of its residents. Townhomes of King’s Lake HOA Inc. in Gibsonton has been charged with violating the fair housing act by trying to evict a family for having too many kids living in the household. Six, to be exact. The charges against the HOA and its former property management company, Vanguard Management Group Inc., were filed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Townhomes of King’s Lake threatened to evict this family unless they reduced the number of people living in the household. Well, that is easier said than done. This is a family with about eight people: six kids, probably two adults. How should a parent feel if they are told that two of their kids can no longer live with them? The HUD determined that policies such as this may prevent families with children from living in their communities with their unlawful discriminating restrictions. They also noted that the town of Gibsonston, where King’s Lake is located, permits up to eleven people to live there. That’s five more people than allowed by King’s Lake.

To view the source used in this post, click here: http://www.mortgageorb.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.12324

Some Facts about Labor Day

Did everyone have a great Labor Day weekend? This is often viewed as the last opportunity to have a little fun before the end of summer. However, Labor Day has a much deeper history than that. It was first celebrated in the late 19th century in recognition of the triumph of labor unions over the unfair working conditions of that time. This was during the industrial revolution, when sweatshops were common and benefits nonexistent. There were also floods of immigrants surging in from Europe and Asia, all searching for new opportunities to support their families in the New World. The triumphs of unions over the corporate empires of the late 1800s, paved the foundation for the future of America.


The future we enjoy today, in the present, is the result of Labor Day. It is because of Labor Day that we are able to set a lawn chair out in the sun, fire up the grill, and enjoy the unofficial end of summer. Instead of being forced to work long hours for very little, as they did during that time. You can’t take advantage of the amenities at your homeowners association under those kinds of conditions. You can’t spend time with your family, pursue a hobby, or do anything enjoyable if you have to work eighteen hour days and are still be unable to make ends meet. Times are difficult now, but they were even more difficult then. We owe a lot to Labor Day.


To read more about Labor Day, click on this link: http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/laborday.htm#pagecontent

Grand Opening of Del Webb Amenity Complex

In recent weeks, Del Webb Sweetgrass celebrated the grand opening of their 27,000 square foot Lakehouse amenity complex. This active lifestyle community was the first to be constructed in the Houston Metro area. The grand opening event will take place Saturday, September 8th from 5pm-8pm. Some of the flavorful amenities offered at the Lakehouse are: a recreation and fitness center; outdoor and indoor swimming pools; small arenas for sports such as tennis; and many more.

Del Webb Sweetgrass opened 18th months ago to support the large number of baby boomers who are becoming senior citizens. There is surely a great future for Sweetgrass and all the other communities that promote active lifestyles for the aging American majority.

To read more about this event, click on the following link:

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=147717&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1727364&highlight=

Could This Happen in Your Community?

The regulation differences between states can often be difficult to follow, especially if you live in an HOA community that receives services from a different state. Issues can also arise from conflicts of interest between public organizations and HOA communities.
Here is a recent instance of a legal dispute between a public organization and an HOA community: a property in Virginia has a gravel road winding right through the center of their land. Three years ago the owners barred public access to this road. An action that caused a non-profit public organization to file a lawsuit against the property owners. The dispute here was whether the road running through HOA community was public property by right. For information about the particulars to the dispute, click here: http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/cailaw/issues/2012-08-15.html
At first, the property owners were ordered by a trial court to remove the gates barring public access to the road. However, the HOA community appealed to the State of Virginia Supreme Court, which found fault the trial court’s decision and reversed the previous ruling. This barred public access to the road running through the property of the HOA community once again. Is this something that could happen in your community?

Survey Shows High Satisfaction in HOA Communities

As indicated by a recent survey, the majority of homeowners in homeowners associations are satisfied with their communities. Since the times are tough and many homeowners’ have found themselves in hot water, it is impossible to please everyone who lives in home owners associations. However, the number of dissatisfied HOA members reflected in this survey are very low, less than ten percent, while more than seventy percent have claimed they are satisfied with their HOA communities, and approximately twenty percent are neither satisfied nor unsatisfied. Through all indications, it would seem that HOA boards are doing a sufficient job at managing the communities they are responsible for. Click here for more information about this survey.

Would you say that the results to this survey are accurate? Leave any comments you might have in the space available below.

Del Web Performs Home Redesigns

In the past five years, Del Webb has used homeowner feedback to redesign model homes in two of their active lifestyle communities.  The neighborhood in Cane Bay was launched five years ago.  Using that same formula, Del Webb is continuing work in their Charleston location.  At present, 500 out of 1000 planned homes are open.  Del Webb is also seeking feedback from owners and users on the topic of home style changes and extras they would like to see.  For more information on this subject, click here.

A Shift in Perspective

A recent survey performed by Pulte group, parent company of Del Web, indicates a shift in traditional retirement views. According to their findings, many Americans continuing to work after retirement, staying close to home instead of streaking south to soak up some sun. This shift in retirement views over the years has prompted Del Webb, a California based company, to construct active lifestyle retirement homes further north in Michigan and Ohio and other Midwestern areas. With the bulk of the baby boomers generation approaching retirement, some are concerned about the fate of active lifestyle communities as this generation moves upward in age to the 80s and 90s. It really depends on how retirees wish to spend the rest of their lives: some prefer to continue performing work-based activities that they enjoy doing, and some have had enough of work, wanting nothing more than to settle down somewhere closer to family. To apply a well known cliché: “to each his own.”


For further information about this topic, click here.

What's Your Favorite Amenity?

A big question for those searching for a home in an HOA community is what kind of amenities are available.  Whether you have lived in your community for a long time or are considering a move in the near future, amenities are probably on your mind.  What would you say is your favorite amenity at your HOA community or what amenities are you looking for while selecting a community?  Post your favorite amenity in the comment box below.