Date: Thursday, November 30, 2000 7:29 PM

Senator Tom Freestone
Senate Building
Phoenix, Arizona 85007

Re: Arizona Senate Committee Study on Homeowners Association

Dear Senator:

I find it necessary to bring to the attention of the Senate Study Committee that not all homeowners are disgruntled, and that there are others too.

I, for one, like homeowners associations, and particularly I just love my Association. My desire to serve my wonderful community has driven me to offer my candidacy to the Board of Directors when a vacant seat on the Board came about, and indeed the Board appointed me, and I have become a director myself. This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me in my entire life.

Briefly, I want to tell you what I love about my Association.

I love the fact that membership in the Association is mandatory in our community, because otherwise most people would prefer to remain non-members.

I am grateful to the developer for leaving us his great CC&Rs, especially the portions about restrictions.

I love to be restricted from so many things, but I love even more to have these restrictions imposed upon my neighbors.

I also love the provision that gives the Board the authority to modify, amend and create new rules and restrictions without any limitation. This shows that the CC&Rs are a living document which the Board can utilize for controlling disobedient homeowners.

We in our Association do not welcome homeowners’ initiatives of proposed amendments to the CC&Rs, therefore we do not submit such proposals for the homeowners vote. We prefer to have full control over any amendment process, because most homeowners just want less restrictions, and this will endanger our existence.

I love the powers that the CC&Rs give to the Board. Especially, I love the fact that the Board, the Directors and the Management are not accountable for their actions. This frees us from fear, so we can perform in any way we choose for the greater good of the community.

I love to pay assessments to the Association in addition to the property tax that I pay to the County. While the Association gives me benefits and services, the County provides hardly any service at all. I don’t know anybody in the County office, but I know everybody on our Board and Committees.

Even prior to my appointment to the Board, when I kissed their butt they always responded positively to me. In order to receive even more benefits, I became a Board member myself, and now people can kiss my butt too.

I love getting violation notices from the management, because it is done out of sincere care and concern for the market value of my property.

I love to pay fines for violations, even if they are what some people call petty violations. Especially I like the threats of liens or foreclosures. But I love even more to be the one who sends such notices to my neighbors, and this is part of my personal motivation of being a Board member.

I love the fact that the Board is in charge of everything. People who demand checks and balances don’t know what they are talking about. What’s better than having all the authority vested in one body, our beloved Board?

I love the fact that the Board is empowered to fill so many functions, and everybody should appreciate the great job that we are doing. Where else can you find one body of fine people who have no special qualifications, that acts as a legislature, police force, judge, jury, court of appeals and executioner? I just call it efficiency.

Unfortunately, even in our Association there are some disgruntled homeowners. Some people you can never satisfy. Instead of appreciating the cleansing that we have achieved in our neighborhood, they always talk about their deprivation of civil rights, due process, liberty, dignity, privacy and other such things.

It’s hard for me to understand them. Didn’t they agree to give up all these rights when they moved into our neighborhood and became part of our community? I really don’t know why these people need rights, instead of just being grateful for their fortune to live in our manicured neighborhood. I think that these people just got their values mixed up.

I love the fact that the State is reluctant to interfere with the actions of our beloved Board, because really what we are doing in our Association is none of the State’s business.

I love being able, as a Board member, to peek into my neighbors backyard and check on them and see what they do, and then tell them what’s wrong with the way they conduct their lives. They should be grateful for this, and I can’t think of a more fun way to spend my time.

I love the fact that the Board and its directors and officers are protected by an insurer that will provide legal defense for us even if we act illegally or not in good faith. This makes it even more desirable to be on the Board, because I know that nothing bad can ever happen to me.

I love to participate in closed executive meetings of the Board, because only there we can act without the disgruntled homeowners watching us and complaining. I really feel important to be in an executive meeting, and people respect me even more.

I also like it when they complain in open meetings, and the Board members remain indifferent and just laugh at their face, because the homeowners are powerless and their complaints do not mount to anything. Some people just can’t help it but always complain.

They refuse to recognize that they signed a contract with the Association and freely agreed to abide by all the covenants, conditions and restrictions. So really, they should now shut up instead of complaining.

But above all, I just love to have control, especially over my neighbors.

I find that serving my Association is highly rewarding, and I urge your Committee not to listen to the few complainers, but rather see the big picture and the positive contribution that we make to society.

Please don’t forget that we relieve cities and counties from providing services to our community and thus allowing them to use our tax money more efficiently and get re-elected.

We also nurture a profitable industry that includes management companies, lawyers, insurers and others, and if you pass legislation that will take some of the power away from us, this industry will get hurt.

So I trust that you will do the right thing and leave us to continue with the subjugation of the homeowners for the greater good of humanity.

Very Truly Yours,

Patricia Lilliput
Board Director
Rolling Hills Homeowners Association
Arizona
United States of America

After 3 years and more than $100,000 out of her pocket, the court has not yet made any ruling regarding the validity and legitimacy of the special election, and instead of writing philosophical essays and attending to her desert garden, Mika has been writing court briefs, motions and memorandums.

Lately, Mika became involved with the Arizona grassroots movement to enact legislation which would restore homeowners in associations their denied constitutional rights to due process and equal protection under the law.

Between court hearings and depositions, she has found the time to delight her fellow activists with her satirical writings about HOAs’ affairs.

This is a sample of her writing. The letter to Arizona Senate Committee from the fictional Patricia Lilliput was in fact sent to the Committee members.

Apparently, they were not moved by it, and the conclusions of the Committee’s study are recorded by Mika in her personal account of what the Committee really did.

If you enjoy reading these samples, please let us know – Mika has more to offer.

Click here to email MikaSadai.