Elected Officials
Sugar Land, Texas
Homeowners are welcome and encouraged to join Texas Homeowners for HOA reform. http://www.texashoareform.org/
HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP IS A LEGALIZED DOG FIGHT THAT NEVER STOPS

If you own "something" within a common interest development with a homeowners association don't worry about property rights because you don't have any.  Why?  You don't own "property."  What you own is "liability."  Because you now own a "liability," you are a dog in a fight to keep your personal assets from diminishment.  Your dogfight is with the other dogs who are mauling your freedoms, livelihood, and bank accounts.  They are rabid dogs frothing at the mouth for another bite of your ass-ets.

The authors of Villa Appalling! warn buyers when purchasing this particular type of housing to allow extra income in their budgets to include "protection money."  Part of that "protection money" will be sucked up by attorneys you will be forced to hire at any given time during your ownership.

No matter how desperate the owner is to hire an attorney, be forewarned about a new breed of lawyers who are basically "hugs and smiles" while feigning concern for your homeowner association- related problems.  Too many of these [starving-looking- for-fresh- revenue] attorneys will often want to get somewhere using the fastest lane -- YOU are the fast lane for that attorney.  Why?  You are a PAYING client.  In laymen language, that could equate to a lawyer "using your money as THEIR training wheels to a speedy financial success."  Where else would those individuals be able to attain status and financial success so quickly with nothing more than supplying clients with their "opinion" right or wrong, its still just an "o-p-i-n-i-o- n" for a fee.

One of the quickest ways for those in that profession to make the biggest bucks is to find a "dogfight" and there are plenty of those out there from association to association.

Optimistic that this scenario will change?  Don't be.  Not too long ago I attempted to contact a particular Legislator in an attempt to "work with" him/her to try to deliver the homeowner vote so that we might have someone, anyone, in our legislature that would listen and assist the owners rather than the special interests.  I was told back then, that that person was not interested in the homeowner vote (a) because of homeowner apathy, meaning they cannot be counted on to deliver a vote, and (b) because they were "homeowners. "  Fast forward to a more recent conversation with an attorney who was coincidentally in a fairly powerful position in that particular Legislator's office before the Legislator left office.  The attorney wants to pick my brains for ways to gain homeowners as clients as this person says to me in so many words, that's a goldmine ripe for the pickin'.  I casually bring up the aforementioned Legislator and campaigning, and the homeowner vote; and this person proceeds to tell me without missing a beat that the Legislator would not have been interested in the homeowner vote because the Legislator is/was only interested in "businesses" and now this person says "I have to go to lunch."  



[FN1] See generally Vanitzian, Common Interest Developments- -Homeowners Guide (Thomson/West, 2006-2008)