Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Told Ya So

USAToday:
AVONDALE, Ariz. — A modest housing tract, set amid pecan trees here in suburban Phoenix, faces big problems: About 40% of its homeowners aren't paying their association fees, leaving neighbors with higher assessments and reduced services.
"We're looking at a very deep hole," says Kent Miller, president of the Los Arbolitos Homeowners Association in Avondale. "I don't know how we're going to get out of it. We've put liens on all the (delinquent) properties, but it doesn't do any good."


Told ya. HOAs are joint and several obligations. Everyone is liable for everything. Now is the time for viligance. Oftentimes the developer or people on the HOA board know city council members. Don't let the HOAs get dissolved and the obligations subsumed by the municipality.

15 comments:

wagga said...

First you should tell us all you're doing better - maybe post those photos? We _were_ worried about you.

Casey Serin said...

Score another one for the specuvestors like me...! We buy some juicy condos, take some illegal cash back, and don't pay a dime.

Responsible people get to bail us criminals out yet again!! Win-win! America, what a country!

Lou Minatti said...

Hmmm.

Akubi said...

@Lou,
Is Alexsandr Bernik related to Casey?

Vote on the L.A. Land reader poll: Richardson's foreclosure -- personal or political?

H Simpson said...

Not just Az Dawg.

I was on the club launch going out to the sailboat this weekend when a couple members were discussing the same issue at a new development outside Boston.

One gave the other the same advice you have in that last sentence.

Seems like everyone is trying to shaft someone. The innocence of America is over..

h.

Lou Minatti said...

Seems like everyone is trying to shaft someone.

When in recorded history have humans not stepped on each other to get ahead?

Yacht clubs. My Dad belongs to two of them. One in Florida and one in New Hamshah. There are few other places where you can go and see a core of phony high-grade assholes coalesced into one place.

Casey Serin said...

Seems like everyone is trying to shaft someone.

Well, I certainly recall with fondness the first time I was shafted. He and I then snuggled together all night... it was kind of magical. ;-)

Northern Renter said...

Hey Casey,
Magical, eh? Was it a unicorn? Whinny-whinny situation, I assume.

NR

Unknown said...

A Casey Serin in Washington!
Rep. Laura Richardson has THREE homes that she bought and are now being foreclosed on, yet she was able to loan herself $77,000 to run for congress during that same time. She must have been a Casey Serin in training.

Now she is doing all she can to bail flippers like herself out with OUR money.

"We need to put a better process in place, so a person's home is not being sold up underneath them," she said. "We have to improve the way we respond to this crisis." -Laura Richardson

http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_9366061

Property Flopper said...

Welcome back Dawg, good to see you're feeling a little better at least.

I've got a question for the crowd - I have some cash that was sitting in a CD (yeah, I know... but it was paying North of 5% and it was easy). Anyhow, renewal time and they've dropped the rate to 1.84%. Not going to happen.

Any suggestions on a good place to park some cash for the next year? Next several years?

I've got some ideas, but this crowd is usually good for some inovative thinking.

Casey Serin said...

Any suggestions on a good place to park some cash for the next year? Next several years?

I have some inside information on a top-secret fund that will pay out a guaranteed 5% monthly return. No scam! You have my word. ;-)

Rob Dawg said...

everbank foreign currency cds have aus 5.25% and swiss franc 0.35%.

us cd rates are an insult.

segfault said...

Capital One has some good CD rates, but their method of calculating early withdrawal penalties for 12-month and longer CD terms is unusual (and tipped in their favor).

Peripheral Visionary said...

Welcome back, Rob.

I've always felt that uptight, nosy neighbors are the best kind available--and that goes double in a condominium development. As is becoming apparent, one person's business in a planned community can turn out to be everyone's business. There is something to be said for a homeowner's association which goes to great lengths to keep close tabs on residents.

On a related subject, a major development in Utah has gone bankrupt:

SunCrest developer surrenders, hopes to sell in June

Not sure if SLMG is covering this or not (and he may have some connections to the development in question.) Key quotes:

"The bankruptcy won't affect Draper city anytime soon, either, Ahlstrom said. However, any buyer who takes over for SunCrest will have to work with the city on myriad issues."

"Draper city is a co-defendant with SunCrest in several pending court cases. The city also has asked SunCrest to repair roads in the development that were constructed poorly, at a cost of $25 million. In addition, a new buyer may have to renegotiate development agreements and will be required to build under a strict geological hazards ordinance enacted in December 2007."


If it's sounding like this might be a mess, that would be an understatement. The development is in a terrible position, built on top of a ridge that is more loose sediment than soil. There are severe problems with the landslides, deterioration of the access roads (only a few years old), weather, and on and on.

I have serious doubts about whether they will find a buyer, especially given current market conditions. The thought that the city (Draper) will not be affected is wishful thinking; I suspect most likely scenario is that the city will be picking up the tab for fixing the mess, if it's fixable at all. Their comfort will be in knowing they're not the only municipality in that particular bind.

Anonymous said...

PV,

That's something I've wanted to cover. Thanks for the reminder.

Unfortunately it's not the only Utah developer, "adapting" plans.

I'll have a story soon. It's something on my radar.