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A Letter
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Forcing California Homeowners To Continue Bankrolling A Fraud And State-Sponsored Industry Infomercials
An Opposition to AB 770 - Assemblymember George Mullin's bill to create a Homeowner Association Ombudsman
December 09, 2005
By
Donie Vanitzian
(View author info)
Copyright Donie Vanitzian
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Last year Arnold Schwarzenegger ignored HOA Bills; this year he has signed bills that provide some additional protections and rights for residents who live in homeowner associations.
However, they are only a small beginning in the "lopsided laws" to quote another poster -- that allow boards, and attorneys to unlawfully "ignore their fiduciary duties to homeowners, along with financial misappropriation of funds, lack of true audits, misleading financial records, excessive fines, selective enforcement of the CC&Rs," and in too many cases downright criminal behavior of board members in harassment, and even battery of homeowners, many who are elderly.
"A full reform is needed." The slow moving Legislature, and Assembly is providing small amounts of relief, but still no real solutions, other than law suits, which are expensive and often times unsuccessful because of the money involved to fight against associations who use, often illegally, thousands in homeowner reserve funds on attorney fees.
AB 770 - Assembly member George Mullin's bill to create a Homeowner Association Ombudsman, that involves homeowners in the process -- not a "special interest" group could be the start to an answer.
It might cost homeowners $2.00 a month, per door. That is a pitance if we can find a way to get some protection without spending thousands in a lawsuit.
It would need overseeing, that is for sure.
Lets remember, Homeowners, by Corp Code statues are required to be involved in their communities, and can be sued for not taking their responsibiities seriously to allow for boards to continue in their illegal behavior.
WE need education in solutions -- and that is what I am going to work on happening.
WE can Lobby for education for persons buying into HOAs, or already a part of community, before they "are trapped" not knowing their rights, and how to be involved.
Lets take a positive approach, and be solution oriented here.
Sharon Stephens
HOA Voice Coalition
Posted Jan 12 2006 9:43PM CET
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Sharon Stephens
(View Profile)
Cathedral City, California |
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The following message was recently sent to Assemlyman Mullin concerning AB770.
Dear Assemblyman Mullin,
I am writing to you in the hope that my inputs on your bill will be taken into consideration because I am an expert in this field. I am an expert because I am a Certified Mediator and an Ombudsman for CID/HOA's. I have held this position for more than four years, and as such have more experience in this area than most other persons. I am an individual, not a "management company." To do my job I must be as educated in the requirements of Davis-Stirling and other laws as the Certified Community Manager. At the same time, I must be a professional neutral and Certified as a mediator.
First, let me say that I understand your intent. Education, informal mediation, and formal mediation/arbitration are the correct solution to California's growing CID/HOA problems.
However, let's look at the original definition of the word "Ombudsman." An Ombudsman's job is to facilitate communication. It is communication between individual homeowners, homeowners and their Board of Directors, and homeowners and their community management companies that needs to be improved.
As a state assemblyman I understand that your solution to this problem might be to get the state involved. However, how is the state with an office in Sacramento going to help increase communication between neighbors in San Clemente, CA? The answer is, it's not. Increased communication has to be done at a grass roots level for each individual CID/HOA within the state.
What does an Ombudsman do when they increase communication? They avoid problems within the community before they ever boil up to the court system. An Ombudsman is nothing more than a mediator operating in an informal mediation setting. Formalizing a state Ombudsman system that mandates communication with Sacramento only complicates the communication process. Now, rather than two neighbors talking with a professional neutral, you have two neighbors attempting to communicate long distance with a third party. Communication is difficult enough when you can sit down face to face. It becomes incredibly difficult when you complicate it with time and distance.
As to the education requirements your bill mandates, I whole heartedly agree with them. Forcing members of CID/HOA Boards of Directors to read their own CC&R's should be mandated. However, you do not need to re-invent the wheel. There are a multitude of good courses offered within the state by professional education groups that are already available to educate willing Board members. These are the same classes and programs that I and other professional neutrals use to become experts in a given area. The state does not have to create its own education program. What it needs to do is review the certification processes for the professionals that are already involved in this field and mandate who needs to have what type of certification.
For example, not every homeowner within a CID/HOA needs to be an expert on this type of law. At the same time forcing volunteer homeowners, who are not being paid, to become CID/HOA experts just because they have been community minded enough to volunteer for their Board of Directors is not the solution either. There are well trained managers and neutrals that are professional, moral, and already involved in this field. If a Board of Directors wishes to "do it themselves" by hiring qualified professionals, then the state needs to support this attitude. What the state needs to do is support those of us in the private sector that are doing a good job already, not create a separate state agency to replace us.
In my own personal situation, I became involved in my own crisis-ridden HOA, and experienced the benefits of mediation first hand. I found that legitimate conflicts were worsened by neighbors' distrust of each other as well as the association. This situation wasn't altogether surprising, since my association had already sued itself through a class action lawsuit on one occasion and declared bankruptcy on two other occasions. Because there was no simple way to pursue conflict management, every dispute wound up requiring legal action. Our legal costs literally drove our HOA into bankruptcy.
Even with state law mandating Alternate Dispute Resolution processes for CID/HOA's, the problems were piling up. This was because no matter how small the problem, it only gets worse over time. The smallest problem, which could have been resolved with common sense if attended to within the first 30 days, got pushed into formalized ADR processes that still frustrated home owners and stretched their financial resources.
So what is the solution to these on-going problems? Basically, the answer is timely communication. If two neighbors have a problem with each other, waiting six months to go through a formalized ADR process is not going to make it any easier to resolve. The same is true for trying to resolve problems long distance through Sacramento. What is needed is an on-site problem solver who has the trust of both the neighbors and the HOA.
How is this possible? It's possible the same way that corporations around the world avoid problems. Corporations have people on retainer to resolve problems. Sometimes those people are lawyers. However, there are also people such as professional Human Resource experts, Engineers, and other types of problem solvers. One of these problem solvers is the professional Ombudsman.
A professional Ombudsman on retainer to an HOA is not some kind of paid mouth piece to justify the actions of the Board of Directors. The Ombudsman is a professional neutral who can listen to both sides and explain in the simplest terms to both sides what the real problem is. The Ombudsman can also make suggestions to both sides as to how to shortcut the problem solution.
Having an Ombudsman does not even have to cost the individual home owner anything more than a few cents per month as a retainer fee. Costs for resolving specific problems can be borne as hourly costs for that individual dispute. As different Boards realize that an Ombudsman actually reduces their overall costs by resolving problems before they become major, these Boards can employ the Ombudsman to do preventive maintenance. Preventive maintenance by an Ombudsman can mean simple overview to actually getting involved in every complaint by a home owner to the Board or management Company. Remember, the purpose of an Ombudsman is to facilitate communication. What better way than calling the individual homeowner and making sure that their complaints have been satisfied? If the homeowner is not satisfied, then the Ombudsman can step in and get them the help they need from whatever source is necessary.
In summary I would like to say that there is no such thing as a magic cure-all to the CID/HOA problems which face California. However, I offer these statistics. Using the methods I've outlined above, my own HOA has been able to resolve over 100 problems a year for the last four years, with only one home owner complaint having to go to outside mediation/arbitration. The key is to resolve problems before they become major. I believe this track record can be expanded to other CID/HOA's and eventually throughout the state.
William Mills
Service 1st Mediation & Arbitration Services
Bill Mills:
Profile:
Lawn and Garden industry professional who has been newly elected to an interim board of directors for a HOA. Our HOA is presently involved in fighting the same type of activity as the Loma Vista HOA in San Juan Capistrano. Our HOA, The Coast, is located only a few miles from Loma Vista and is even having to fight the same law firm Nordberg et al.
Posted Jan 11 2006 8:53PM CET
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Bill Mills
(View Profile)
San clemente, California |
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Anybody who lives in an hoa needs to make copies of this letter, and pass it around your neighborhood, with instructions for them to sign the bottom, and forward it onto the legislators.
This is one of the more damning pieces of legislation to potentially hit homeowners in the pocket pook. right up there with the davis stirling cid act - and it is an act portrayed by state actors.
Posted Dec 19 2005 5:49AM CET
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Username withheld
, ot |
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Sometimes you just wanna scream "GET OUT OF OUR HOMES!!!" Why do these politicians really think this is going to work?
They seem to more often support the Homeowner Association industry than the homeowners!
The politicians make the ombudsman for homeowner associations sound like it is such a great deal. We tried to look at both sides of the issue. After doing some research and reading this article to Mullin, we are convinced that it just won't work. Can't those politicians see that?????
Like many of the other tax payer funded bureacratic quagmires - it will be a waste. Geez, if these politicians would just focus on keeping the citizens of America safe and stop messing around in our home lives and our wallets we would all be better off.
This ombudsman will be just another homeowner association cash cow that will eventually lead to fattening once again, the coffers of the HOA vendor litigators. Yet another costly or complicated legal hula hoop for HOA "inmates" to jump through.
Thank goodness for the homeowner adovcates and forums such as AHRC that shine the light on what is happening out there in the world of HOA fiefdoms. We would have had no idea this stupid ombudsman idea was pending in the legislature.
The newspapers sure aren't covering these matters! Wonder why????
This is a message to all you homeowner association industry vendors, lawyers, and politicians - GET OUT OF OUR HOMES!!! YOU ARE NEVER WELCOME!!!
Posted Dec 14 2005 8:02PM CET
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Username withheld
, ot |
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Thank you for posting this informative and insightful letter in exposing so many of the hidden agendas that take place within Associations and the entire industry that exists today. I have more rights as a tenant now than I had as a homeowner within a CAI affiliated condominium complex.
The ever increasing monthly HOA dues left nothing to show for it but a deteriorating complex with a large price tag that ended up costing me everything of value. Ruthless attorneys that profit from the ignorance of board members who are in over their heads, leave a bleak future and little to be desired from community living within a CID.
After my experience I too would not trust any elected official influenced by what has become a very questionable industry. We need to change the laws to better protect the homeowner from problematic Associations.
Shelly B.
Posted Dec 14 2005 8:17AM CET
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Username withheld
Los Angeles, California |
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