Independent American Communities
Exposing residential real estate corruption & educating consumers in search of the American Dream #ValueMyRights #HOA #Condo #AffordableHousing #Homeowner
By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities Two years ago, Liberty University filed a lawsuit, in an attempt to convince the courts that 400 homeowners with properties near Ivy Lake should be forced to form a homeowners’ association to pay for $1 million in repairs to a dam. The HOA, if approved, would have transferred …
Continue reading "Homeowners avoid forced HOA to pay for new dam at Ivy Lake (VA)"
By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities In 2012, California Attorney Tyler Berding published an article on his website, Condo Issues, making his case that an association governed community is purely ‘contractual.’ In Berding’s opinion, ‘community associations’ are not governments, because, in theory, members voluntarily agree to CC&Rs and Bylaws for the good of the …
Continue reading "HOAs, condos, & co-ops: Quasi-governments or ‘contractual communities’?"
By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities Highlights of court rulings on legal disputes between association-governed communities and their members or third parties. This South Carolina case should serve as a home buyer beware warning. When you buy into a golf community, or any other amenity-rich community, subject to Covenants, Conditions, & Restrictions that require club …
Continue reading "HOA, condo, co-op litigation and case law news (Aug./Sept. 2018)"
By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities Legislative sessions are winding down across the U.S. And some states, once again, considered bills that are intended to rein in abuse and corruption of a virtually unregulated industry: association-governed, common interest communities, more commonly known as homeowners’ associations or HOAs. As explained in a previous post Recipe for …
Continue reading "It’s time to deregulate homeowners and restore private property rights"
By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities Two great articles to share today! Despite rumors you may have heard about apathy in HOAs, homeowners in Arizona and California are standing up for their rights, and going public with their fights against injustice. California man takes a stand for free speech Patrick Foley, a San Diego …
Continue reading "HOA battles: homeowners stand up for their rights"
By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities Let’s explore some practical affordable housing options, looking outside the HOA Box. For more than forty years, real estate stakeholders have promoted their ideal of the association-governed corporate community. The trade groups at the forefront of this 50-year-old housing experiment have managed to build more than 344,000 association-governed communities, …
Continue reading "How about some truly affordable non-HOA housing options?"
Boucher v 111 E Chestnut Ruling was filed June 14, 2018. By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities The attorney for defendants in Michael Boucher v. 111 E. Chestnut Condominium Association has filed an appeal to Illinois Supreme Court, asking for a reversal of the Appellate Court Opinion in favor of the Plaintiff. In case you …
By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities This month, IAC shares four new reports of housing discrimination involving a variety of privately-governed communities. FL Attorney General takes on condo association in Fair Housing discrimination lawsuit It’s rare to see an Attorney General investigate complaints involving association-governed communities. But in this case, Pam Bondi ended up with the …
By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities 90-year-old woman stuck with flooded basement, no A/C for over two months Ameera David 5:59 PM, Aug 15, 2018 6:00 PM, Aug 15, 2018 ST. CLAIR SHORES (WXYZ) - A basement in shambles is what 90-year-old Lillian Arnone has to look at every day. The St. Claire Shores homeowner …
Continue reading "Homeowners, residents cope with dysfunctional, abusive HOAs"
What takes priority: a community’s right to limit traffic, or the safety of its school children? By Deborah Goonan, Independent American Communities Every year when it’s time for children to go back to school, it’s inevitable. We see reports of homeowners’ associations board members that feel the need to do something about the presence …
Continue reading "Fair Housing discrimination: the HOA war against the school bus"
