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Information about AARP - Sacramento Lobbyists AARP - Sacramento Lobbyists Sacramento, California 0000 Phone:     Fax: Rank: No ranking. Summary: AARP has been telling homeowners it is their national policy not to be involved or take positions on homeowner association bills. Other Information: However, activists report that AARP lobbyists like Lupe Dela Cruz use their volunteer lobbyist Karen Rasch who has teamed up with Majorie Murray. Murray asked AHRC about presenting the "Bill of Rights" published on AHRC to Sacramento lawmakers and she now promotes heself as the "homeowners representative" and lists herself and Rasch as "Homeowner Bill of Rights Coalition" in goverment legislative records) lobby and meet with legislators, consultants and CAI special interests on homeowner association bills behind the scenes e.g. AB2289 by Christine Kehoe. Sacramento AARP leaders and lobbyists, foreclosure lawyers, and industry lobbyists barter behind closed doors to write laws that take control of private property to line industry leaders pockets. Posted May 2002 Mr. Lupe Dela Cruz - Chief Lobbyist - AARP - Sacramento, California - 2002 AARP - Friend or Foe of Association Homeowners - Kehoe's Office Confirms that AARP is a Sponsor and/or Supports AB2289 - May 20, 2002

3. 45,000 members cancel AARP memberships     Media report estimate that 45,000 members cancelled their medicare memberships after the Bush Medicare bill supported and lobbied for with the help of AARP became law. Posted Jan 17 2004 8:31PM CET     Username withheld San Juan Capistrano, California   2. A Bill That Will Multiply Homeowner Foreclosures     AARP, Consumers Union, Grey Panthers and Congress of California Seniors Lobby for A Bill That Will Multiply Homeowner Foreclosures Seniors, Hispanics, Asians and moderate income citizens will lose more homes to association collection lawyers May 02, 2002 By AHRC News Services Sacramento, California, - Lobbyists on the payroll of the Congress of California Seniors, AARP , California Association of Realtors, Older Women's League, Consumers Union ,and Grey Panthers have been working with homeowner association (HOA) collection lawyers (CAI and ECHO) and their protege managers (CACM). They have been working on a bill (AB2289) that will give collection lawyers more power and money and multiply foreclosures in homeowner associations . The organizations lent support to a bill in February 2002 that said: This bill would permit the association to use a sale by a trustee to enforce the above-described lien only if the assessment imposed exceeds $5,000. This bill would also make technical corrections. The collection lawyers then launched their attack. They first of all eliminated the $5000 provision completely. Then they systematically went through each section of the current law, and at every stage gave themselves even more rights to legal fees, collection costs - and to top it all, 12% interest in addition. They have truly created a vise for each and every homeowner in order to extort even more money from them. Here is a sample a portion of the bill(shown in italics) - it includes existing law. The board can levy huge assessments on property owners with a 30 day notice. (d) The association shall provide notice by first-class mail to the owners of the separate interests of any increase in the regular or special assessments of the association, not less than 30 nor more than 60 days prior to the increased assessment becoming due, unless the declaration provides a longer time period, in which case the longer time period shall apply. Assessments are delinquent 15 days after the due date ( Some CCRs give homeowners 30 days. Homeowners who cannot pay these sudden, huge assessments will quickly lose homes to the collection lawyers.) (e) Regular and special assessments levied pursuant to the governing documents are delinquent 15 days after they become due. If an assessment is delinquent the association may recover all of the following: Homeowners will be subject to "reasonable" managers and lawyers costs and fees. (Reasonable has very strange definitions in certain situations. e.g.managers are now routinely charging $300-to over $500 to add a new homeowner to their billing records. Lawyers and rental judges charge homeowners $250 to $500 per hour.) (1) Reasonable costs incurred in collecting the delinquent assessment, including reasonable attorney's fees. (2) A late charge not exceeding 10 percent of the delinquent assessment or ten dollars ($10), whichever is greater, unless the declaration specifies a late charge in a smaller amount, in which case any late charge imposed shall not exceed the amount specified in the declaration. Lawyers and Mangers give themselves 12 % interest per year for late charges, bookkeeping costs, and lawyers fees etc.. (The CCRs of some HOAs do not have late charges or interest.) (3) Interest on all sums imposed in accordance with this section,including the delinquent assessments, reasonable fees and costs ofcollection, and reasonable attorney's fees, at an annual interest rate not to exceed 12 percent, commencing 30 days after the assessment becomes due. The lawyers grant themselves an exemption from the maximum interest rate imposed by the California Constitution. (f) Associations are hereby exempted from interest-rate limitations imposed by Article XV of the California Constitution,subject to the limitations of this section. CAI lobbyist Skip Daum (Capital Communications) paid $80, 000 this past year to a number of politicians. The other lobbyists have given much more. CAI, ECHO and CACM, are celebrating. The nine politicians on the California Housing Committee in effect just gave them a a major pay increase at the expense of the homeowners. Angry association homeowners are demanding that AARP, Consumers Union, Congress of California Seniors, Grey Panthers, Older Women's Leagure and California Association of Realtors cease the backroom dealing and support to such an anti homeowner bill. Posted Nov 29 2003 8:19AM CET     Username withheld San Juan Capistrano, California   1. AARP- Letter regarding AB2289     AARP - Friend or Foe of Association Homeowners Kehoe's Office Confirms that AARP is a Sponsor and/or Supports AB2289 May 20, 2002 By American Homeowners Resource Center Sacramento, California, - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - An Open Letter to AARP Mr. Lupe Dela Cruz Chief Lobbyist AARP Sacramento, California Dear Lupe: You keep telling homeowners that AARP's national policy prevents you from getting involved in CID issues and AB2289. However, Michael Miiller, consultant on the bill, and all the bill analysts keep telling homeowners that AARP is a key lobbyist on this bill. Here's an excerpt from a letter we received from Christine Kehoe's office today: This bill is sponsored and/or supported by AARP, Consumers Union, Grey Panthers and Congress of California Seniors. These are well-respected organizations with long histories of working hard to protect the rights of seniors and consumers. They are not intending to do anything to harm homeowners. A couple of weeks ago you told us that you had discussions with CAI,CLAC,ECHO and CACM lobbyists and you agreed not to oppose AB2289 as long as they removed a "private right of action" they had inserted into the bill. You also told us that , "AARP has no position on AB2289 and no one from AARP was involved in discussions with the bill author". Clearly, there is a contradiction between what you are saying and Kehoe's office is saying. What is the truth? The heart of the original bill was the requirement that a homeowner incur $5,000 of unpaid assessment prior to the filing of a non-judicial foreclosure. This was gutted from the bill after the first hearing. Did AARP support the removal of the $5,000 minimum? Does AARP oppose its removal? AARP is funded by the membership fees of seniors. As a large number of these live in homeowner associations, should not AARP be supporting that $5000 minimum provision, instead of opposing it? Michael Miiller states that AARP is supporting the bill in its present form. Your actions are adversely affecting the well being of 7 million consumers in homeowner associations, many of whom are seniors. You have a responsibility to see that AB2289 does not adversely affects these consumers. CAI, CLAC, ECHO and CACM are NOT friends of seniors and homeowners. In fact, seniors are one of the groups that they specially prey on. I hope that you will galvanize your members into contacting their representatives to ban the use of non-judicial foreclosure for delinquencies on homeowner assessments and to cap lawyers' fees and costs. The threat of non-judicial foreclosure is the most powerful and inhumane weapon that a lawyer can use to extort unlimited lawyers' fees from homeowners. You asked us to continue sending you copies of our analysis and press releases. Both you and your offices have been receiving these from us on a regular basis. Please look at the following concerns we are expressing about AB2289 and let us know your thoughts on them The bill adds new sections to the law in favor of the collection lawyers and managers, and clarifies other sections in their favor: 1. Civil Code 1361.5 allows association boards to deny access to a homeowner to his property 2. Civil Code 1365.3 Renotification can also mean more fees and costs that the homeowner will be charged 3. Civil Code 1367 In the past, there was a gray area in the law whether certain late charges and other fees (in addition to attorney fees) were included in costs. This new section now explicitly includes them. This bill started out as a simple, good bill. It required a minimum of $5000 in delinquent assessments and fees before an association could start a non-judicial foreclosure. But the CAI lobbyists quickly moved in and gunned it down because it threatened their very lucrative practice of dunning homeowners. In its place, Assembly member Christine Kehoe has substituted a bill that contains one minor consumer protection feature. This largely meaningless morsel masks the more serious piling on of additional fees and costs for homeowners in favor of CAI lawyers and mangers. She should either drop this bill completely or restore the $5,000 minimum for non-judicial foreclosure and take out these giveaways to the lawyers. As it stands, this bill gives much more power and money to the association and their lawyers. We look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, American Homeowners Resource Center P. O. Box 97 San Juan Capistrano, CA 92693 (949)366-2125 American Homeowners Resource Center (AHRC) is grassroots coalition of homeowners working to protect the American home. They have been analyzing and providing input on legislation for 12 years. Members of the coalition include people in in all professions and walks of life have been a resource to the public, government, businesses and the media. Posted Nov 29 2003 8:17AM CET     Username withheld San Juan Capistrano, California

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