whaaaw....!
Its better living in Europe.
Is it because of the cacti cactuses color that Texans prefer the green bills
in the desert ?......
Never mind guys.
Jos
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Anderson" <ww5l@gte.net>
To: <TOWERTALK@contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2003 7:54 PM
Subject: [TowerTalk] Re: OT: HOA's
>
>
>
http://www.dallasnews.com/localnews/stories/040803dnmethomeowners.a8fd6.html
>
> Fellow Tower Talkians:
>
> Some TT members were having trouble getting the above link on a story
> about homeowner's associations to show up on line, so I copied it in
> text form and am sending it here, hope no one minds the lengthy e-mail.
> Even the "printer friendly" version would just show gibberish, so here
> it is in case you had trouble reading it. The story is copyrighted in
> Wednesday's Dallas Morning News on the front page of their Metropolitan
> (Local News) Section for those of you in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
>
> Tom, WW5L
> Colleyville TX
>
>
> Bill seeks to rein in homeowners groups
>
> Judicial limits proposed on power to foreclose for unpaid dues
>
> 04/08/2003
>
> By ROY APPLETON / The Dallas Morning News
>
> Texas homeowners associations, those proliferating tools for
> neighborhood protection and control, are
> trying to preserve their ultimate weapon - the power to put their
> debtors' homes up for sale.
>
> Across the state, and increasingly so in the Dallas area, the private
> groups use the threat of foreclosure -
> and the occasional auction of property - to get homeowners' attention
> and extract delinquent dues.
>
> "Foreclosure is a last resort," said Kim Perry, president of the Dallas
> area's largest property association at
> Stonebridge Ranch in McKinney. "But it is the only stick we have to
> ensure that everybody pays."
>
> A bill before the Senate Intergovernmental Relations Committee Wednesday
> would require property
> associations to obtain a court order before auctioning a person's house
> - an extra step rarely taken in and
> around Dallas County.
>
> Associations are fighting the measure, which also would limit their use
> of attorneys, apply open records
> and meetings laws to the groups and, as it now stands, limit
> foreclosures to debts at least a year old. The
> bill excludes condominiums.
>
> "This is the largest threat to the viability of homeowners associations
> that we've seen," said David Smith,
> legislative coordinator for Dallas-based Texas Neighborhoods Together
> and its more than 1,000
> associations.
>
> Judicial oversight would increase the time and cost of debt collections,
> which would inhibit some groups
> from taking action, Mr. Smith said. It would force associations to raise
> dues and delay upkeep, he said.
>
> Supporters of the bill say court review is important to ensure fairness.
>
> "Having the impartial involvement of a judge is worth the cost," said
> Rob Edwards, an aide to state Sen.
> Jon Lindsay, R-Houston, who introduced the measure. "This is not about
> killing associations. We're just
> trying to be reasonable."
>
> Foreclosure threat
>
> The foreclosure stick has long raised an outcry in the Houston area,
> where critics have counted more than
> 15,000 association filings from 1985 through 2001.
>
> It's also being brandished more frequently in the Dallas area, where 92
> people lost their homes last year
> for association debts typically ranging from $500 to $1,000, said George
> Roddy, president of Foreclosure
> Listing Service. And 30 properties were auctioned this year through
> February.
>
> Association lawyers typically send collection letters to homeowners
> owing dues - and if necessary add
> their property to the monthly sale at county courthouses. The debtors
> usually pay up.
>
> That's what Don Paolello did earlier this year in Arlington. He owed
> Creekside Park Residential
> Association $350 in past dues, ignored collection letters and found his
> home on the auction block in
> January.
>
> "I can't believe they have the right to do that," said Mr. Paolello, who
> paid nearly $1,500 - including legal
> fees - to retain his home.
>
> Nearly 50 million Americans live in more than 250,000 property
> associations, according to the
> Virginia-based Community Associations Institute. The number keeps
> growing as more cities require that
> new subdivisions with shared amenities have these groups to cover
> upkeep. Mandatory dues fund the
> work.
>
> Associations also enforce deed restrictions and other land-use rules
> that members approve. They play
> important roles in protecting neighborhoods and property values,
> supporters and critics agree.
>
> Foreclosure has been used to address unpaid dues since 1987, when a
> divided Texas Supreme Court
> decided that the mandatory assessments on each property in an
> association were in effect a contract and
> overrode the state's constitutional homestead exemption. The exemption
> protects homes from forced sale
> for debts other than taxes, purchase loans and construction
> improvements.
>
> "There's no way ... [a homeowners association] should be able to
> foreclose on your home," said Harvella
> Jones, whose Texas Homeowners Advocate Group believes the actions are
> unconstitutional. For now, she
> is supporting Mr. Lindsay's bill.
>
> 772 homes auctioned
>
> Last year at least 772 houses, townhomes and condominiums in Collin,
> Dallas, Tarrant, Denton and
> Rockwall counties were posted for auction - up from 592 in 2001 and 406
> the year before, according to
> Mr. Roddy.
>
> The increase in association foreclosure listings tracks Dallas-area
> postings by mortgage lenders and is
> "relative to the economy and [loss of] jobs," Mr. Roddy said.
>
> "All you have to do is look at the local economy," said Ms. Perry, whose
> 6,200-home Stonebridge Ranch
> association led the five-county area with foreclosure filings last year
> with 50 postings. Only one of those
> ended in a forced sale.
>
> Stonebridge provides 290 acres of swimming pools, lakes and open space.
> Dues are $586 annually, and
> the association offers payment plans for those struggling to pay and
> typically doesn't pursue foreclosure
> until about $1,000 is owed, Ms. Perry said.
>
> Critics say some associations are too inflexible and too often driven by
> attorneys and property
> management companies that benefit financially from collections.
>
> "Good homeowners associations will work with you, but unfortunately some
> of them can be incredibly
> aggressive," said David Kahne, a lawyer and longtime critic of
> associations around Houston. "The bank
> will work with you, your doctor will work with you, the credit card
> company will work with you. If you
> lose your job, if your kid gets sick, if you become disabled, you
> shouldn't lose your home."
>
> People buy into an association's rules and dues when they buy into its
> world. And they can live with the
> requirements, work to change them or move, said Ken Nelson, a Plano
> resident and president of Texas
> Neighborhoods Together.
>
> "Most people are satisfied with what's going on," he said.
>
> Not Marty Carpenter, who has fought with Deerfield Homeowners
> Association in Plano over his fence
> and has questioned $500 fines being levied against others for burned-out
> mailbox lights.
>
> "You get a group of people with not enough to do, and if you stand up to
> them it's like a colony of ants,"
> he said.
>
> E-mail rappleton@dallasnews.com
>
>
> Online at:
>
http://www.dallasnews.com/localnews/stories/040803dnmethomeowners.a8fd6.htm
>
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