|
|
|
|
| Orange County, California -
THIS IS NOT JUST ABOUT CONDOS. DON'T WRITE THAT DEPOSIT CHECK FOR THAT NEW HOME UNTIL YOU HAVE READ THIS BOOK!
Go Undercover Behind the Scenes
Learn the truth about living in deed-restricted communities presented for the very first time by the Los Angeles Times, COMMON INTEREST LIVING column authors, Donie Vanitzian and Stephen Glassman, who have investigated the industry, analyzed "forced-community" living and discovered the secrets of boards, management companies and their attorneys.
The "housing" industry generates several billion dollars a month in homeowner association fees. Where that money goes, who gets most of it and why homeowners are the "bankers 'til they're broke" of the industry that purports to represent them, is told for the FIRST TIME in VILLA APPALLING!
The following are excerpts from (c) Villa Appalling! Destroying the Myth of Affordable Community Living by Donie Vanitzian and Stephen Glassman (2002):
Excerpt from Villa Appalling! section "The Myth of Affordability" page 245:
"It is extraordinary how quickly the advertisements claiming to sell "affordable" housing were discontinued by marketers for the housing industry. Once the permits were granted and the legislative bills codified, legislatures too, began dropping the word affordable from their repertoire quicker than rumors of crabs in a whorehouse. Like prostitutes trying to shed the negative label attached to their profession, common interest development (community) industries and everyone hooked up to the same deed-restricted intravenous feeding device, tried to shed their own negative labels. Unlike prostitutes who start out striving and working toward a better life hoping for positive change, this won't be possible for the industry given the lives they have ruined along the way. As it is said in the profession, they "lost the plot.""
Use "The Affordability Richter-Scale Table" on page 274 to help you determine if you can afford to purchase that deed-restricted townhouse, condo, mobile home, house, empty lot or mixed-use commercial-residential common interest development -- or if you own, if you can afford to stay.
Excerpt from Villa Appalling! section titled "This Wasn't Exactly What We Had In Mind" page 277:
"Suddenly, that affordable and carefree home, and the lifestyle that was supposed to come with it, is mired in a frenzy of problems. These problems present themselves in ridiculous flyers, telephone tag, letter writing volleys, and disasters that are hopefully temporary, but are usually permanent and complicated. If litigation is in progress, the politics of obstruction allow boards to use these tools to seek, search, and destroy the homeowner-litigant, their witnesses and their evidence. Any communication from your homeowner association, management company or board attorney addressed to you, must be responded to in writing immediately. The homeowner's conspicuous enemy is time. It takes time to protect yourself. And time is money."
Excerpt from Villa Appalling! section titled "There is Nothing Carefree About Living Here!" page 285:
"Today, you've just moved in. Tomorrow, your (California) homeowner association can have you arrested and committed to a "facility designated . . . by the State Department of Mental Health . . . for 72-hour treatment and evaluation."
Use the Calculation Tables and "Ten Major Risks Chart" in this Villa Appalling! section to calculate what your so-called "investment" is REALLY worth.
Excerpt from section "Just Do The Math: It's Not An Investment," page 302:
"Association spending interferes with and reduces your equity. Even if you are an "original owner," the money you spent in maintenance reduces your equity. Special assessments reduce it further. The longer you live there, the more likely you are to get hit with a major special assessment to fix a failing part of the infrastructure or a "failing building." In one southern California deed-restricted "community," all the homeowners were advised, not by the board, but by the "community" newspaper, that they are going to incur an expense of close to one million dollars to bring the sprinkler system into compliance with FCC (right, the Federal Communications Commission) specifications for radio controlled systems."
Excerpt from Villa Appalling! section titled "This is "All For Your Protection" ~ Just Sign It!!" page 61:
"Much of the buyer's problems are caused by their own diversions, inattention, and sloppiness. Buyers are usually put off the scent by brokers and agents who attempt to focus their attention on superficial details, such as the bathroom tiles, fixtures, window treatments, color of the carpets, and the make of kitchen appliances. Instead they should be concerned with the financial viability of the homeowner association, the type of neighbors they will now be forced to live among, the integrity of the buildings comprising the complex, and the property itself. Worry about the washer and dryer later. Buy the house without these items if you have to, but concentrate on the main course, not the side dish."
Read the Villa Appalling! section titled "We Will Make You Pay: From Beyond The Grave" page 311, the authors talk about "Dying With Deed-Restrictions" and how to try to protect your estate from the vultures in your homeowner association who can hardly wait to get their hands on your "investment" - that's right, they want your assets.
"Opting in" is the industry's excuse for hiding the truth. "Exit Strategy" is the industry's excuse for taking as much money from the homeowner as the industry can before they lose him. Living with deed-restrictions is so severe that the only "exit strategy" homeowners have is, suicide, murder, sell and move, foreclosure or forfeiture.
Too trusting, and believing they are doing the right thing, many buyers empty their savings accounts to buy into what they believe will be a carefree, trouble-free purchase. It is often too late when they learn such housing is neither. These purchases drain buyers and their bank accounts dry.
Your home is not an investment and never will be. Regardless of what you have been told by those eager to sell you "space" in a deed-restricted complex, an "investment" does not include a personal residence.
Living with deed-restrictions is not cheap. Homeowners living inside a common interest development need to take extra precautions to protect their interests. Your household budget needs to include "protection" money.
Common Interest Developments (CIDs) give homeowners an illusion of independence, when it actually promotes dependence. The trade off for homeowners that depend on the homeowner association to "do it all" is an unexpected loss of freedom and a diminished quality of life.
The success of the modern-day deed-restricted residential commons depends on the constant replacement of those who can no longer afford to stay and pay.
(c) 2002. Donie Vanitizian and Stephen Glassman
VILLA APPALLING! 2003 ORDER FORM
Name:_________________________________________________________
Address:
___________________________________________________________________________
City:_____________________________________________________State:___________Zip:______________
Please send _______Copies at $44.99 each: $_____________
All CA Residents must add 8.25% Sales Tax: $____________
Shipping and Handling, $6.00 per book: $____________
Do NOT send cash.
Enclosed is my ___check ___money order in the amount of: $___________
Please charge my credit card:
Total: ____________
Card Type (circle one): Visa MC Amex Discover
Name on Card:
___________________________________________________________________________
Card No._______________________________________ Expiration Date:
____________________________
Signature:
______________________________________________________________
SEND TO:
Billing Address (if different from shipping address):
Name:___________________________________________________
Address:_______________________________________________________________________________
City:__________________________________State:________________________Zip:_________________
SHIP TO ADDRESS:
Name:____________________________________________________
Address:________________________________________________________________________________
City:___________________________________State:_______________________Zip:_________________
SEND PAYMENT TO:
Villa Appalling Publishing, Inc.
P.O. Box 451278
Los Angeles, CA 90045
|
|
| |
|
View Comments (3) | Post a comment |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
