How much independence do you really have in your HOA-governed common interest community? Does your HOA work for or against its property owners and residents? What are the risks of owning property and living in HOA-governed communities? What role does government play in establishment and regulation of more than 300,000 HOA-governed communities in the U.S.?
For answers to these questions and more, you’ve come to the right place.
Independent American Communities (IAC) is a blog with a mission to inform and educate readers about the economic, political, and social realities of HOA governed Common Interest Developments (CIDs), also known as community associations or homeowners associations.
Association Governed Housing communities include Mandatory-Membership Homeowners’, Condominium, Cooperative, or Property Owners’ Associations, as well as Master Planned Communities, some of which are established as Special Tax Districts.
IAC includes thousands of HOA Common Interest Development (CID) articles that cover current events, case law, legislative, and political news analysis, and market trends. Unlike HOA-industry published blogs, IAC takes a consumer protection and advocacy perspective, focusing on the concerns of individual housing consumers — home buyers, homeowners, tenants, and other interested parties.
IAC documents harm to housing consumers, based upon the erroneous assumptions that HOAs protect property values, and that CIDs save local governments money.
CID- HOA issues go far beyond the sometimes crazy covenants, restrictions, and rules. At issue is how we govern and manage our communities, and the value we place on individual rights.
About Deborah Goonan
Deborah Goonan is the Administrator of Independent American Communities (IAC), a Housing Consumer Education blog focusing on HOA governed Common Interest Developments.
IAC documents legal, social, and economic challenges in U.S. association-governed common interest communities, and explores various solutions to HOA problems.
Goonan has authored thousands of posts on IAC, providing relevant analysis of real estate news and trends, exposing residential real estate corruption, and tracking important legislation, case law, and federal policy affecting housing consumers.
See media and publication citations for Deborah Goonan here.
Information and analysis is aggregated from thousands of reliable and diverse sources, including print and broadcast media, trade group research, U.S. Census and HUD surveys, case law and legal publications, and personal interviews with current and former residents of association-governed communities.
Goonan supports amending state and federal policies to strengthen and uphold private property rights, civil rights, and civil liberties for housing consumers, no matter where they choose to live. Additionally, she supports common sense policies that promote a diversity of healthy living environments for U.S. residents — including new construction of non-CID and non-HOA housing.
Disclaimer:
Please know that I am NOT an attorney, and that opinion, analysis, and information provided on Independent American Communities or in communication with readers is not to be construed as legal advice.
This site is not intended to provide specific advice related to personal issues with your HOA. Please consult a qualified professional, such as an attorney, if you are having a problem with your HOA.
As a member of the independent media, my mission is to educate housing consumers and bring broad public awareness to the important issues affecting residents of HOA-governed Common Interest Developments.
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