Free Republic

The lethality of Home Owner Associations (HOAs) stocked with resident Condo Commandos involves the characteristics of narcissists with delusions of something between grandeur and Godhood. Texas HOA wars are quickly beginning to rival those taking place in Southern Florida. A conservative talk show host from Central Florida E-mailed, wanting more information about what could be happening that is so bad, we’re begging Tallahassee to rally to our defense in the March legislative session. Go to the link below to watch a video of a Homeowners’ Association Board Fist Fight in Houston: (1) Caution: Liberal Use of FU__ can be heard!!...

Committees are now drafting bills to be presented in the March session of the Florida legislature. If enough citizen input is received demanding regulation of single family residences in Florida’s gated communities and regulation of drug-re-hab centers now being located in private neighborhoods (which may or may not be gated), relief just may be coming for oppressed homeowners, their families, their children! About ten years ago, the Flower Pots bill was successfully passed which regulated only residents of condo communities. However, the State of Florida was reluctant to do anything about giving protection to those of us who own and...

A Korean war veteran in Greenfield says his flagpole stands for freedom. His homeowners association says the flagpole breaks the rules. The dispute stems from American and Missing In Action flags in Robert and Judy Willits' front yard. The couple moved to the Fieldstone neighborhood last Christmas. This summer they installed the flagpole. "It means a lot to me. We fought for that flag," Robert Willits said. Both Robert and his brother, Lester, served in the Korean War. Robert was injured. Lester never came home. "Lester is still there. So I'm going to keep it up," Robert Willits said. Last...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (CBS Tampa) – A veteran could lose his home because of a small American flag he has placed in a flower pot in front of his home.

The Stars and Stripes are at the center of controversy. At least at Larry Murphree’s home. “I want it to go away. It’s such a minor little thing and they keep coming after me,” he explained. “They” is Murphree’s homeowner’s association. He’s lived in the Sweetwater community for years, and been at odds with the HOA for more than two. All over a flag. The veteran decided to put one in his flower pot, and has been fined as a result. “They just sent me a letter that says I owe them around $8,000 and they put a foreclosure lien...

Blind woman suing nudist community that told her to get rid of service dog In 2011, a medical condition caused Lutz, Florida woman Sharon Fowler to lose her vision. Legally blind, she had to acquire a service dog, named Laura. Ms. Fowler and her husband, Craig, moved into the Paradise Lakes Condominiums complex in 2012 with Laura. However, after they had settled in, Sharongot a letter from the property’s management that was very upsetting, as WTSP 10 News reports. She was told that because Laura, a black Labrador, was over the 25-pound weight limit, she needed to go. This, despite...

A DeBary man is at odds with his homeowner's association over a 7-foot-tall replica of the Statue of Liberty.   The DeBary Plantation HOA wants Lon Neuville to remove the patriotic display, but he says he's not going down without a fight. The property management company says this is not about Lady Liberty; it is about having the same rules for all 1,300  families who live at the subdivision.  The homeowner says the HOA approved his statue and then changed its mind, and he will fight to keep it in his yard.           "Several people have told me they...

If I’ve learned anything from this site over the years, it’s that homeowners’ associations are evil and to be avoided. Sometimes you don’t have a choice, though: the home of your dreams or basic neighborhood amenities require it. And sometimes, as one Kentucky woman discovered, not joining the HOA means you can lose your house. If that sounds farfetched, well, a quick look through the Consumerist archives shows us that it’s happened before. In one horrific case, a man set his house on fire after a court awarded ownership of it to his HOA over a dispute regarding…unpaid dues and...

A Miami Shores couple is taking the city to court over veggies. For 17 years they grew vegetables in their front yard. But last May, Miami Shores’ Code Enforcement officers inspected Hermine Ricketts and husband Tom Carroll’s property and informed them that they were breaking the law by having a vegetable garden in front of their home. … Miami Shores passed an ordinance that went into effect last May which banned front yard vegetable gardens. The city threatened Ricketts and Carroll with fines of $50 a day, or about $1,500 per month, if they did not uproot the garden. Unable...

<p>A wrongful death suit filed by the parents of black teenager Trayvon Martin who was shot to death by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman has been settled, according to documents filed in a Florida court yesterday.</p> <p>Trayvon Martin's parents have settled a wrongful-death claim for an amount thought to be more than $1 million against the homeowners association of the Sanford subdivision where their teenage son was killed.</p>

Denver mom Sarah Cohen says drawing sidewalk chalk art is one of her three-year-old daughter Emerson's "simple pleasures in life.""It's definitely better than video games," Cohen told KCNC. However, the homeowner's association in Cohen's neighborhood feels differently. They say Emerson's drawings -- usually of hearts and flowers -- are distracting and offensive blights on their community."My initial reaction was, 'You have to be kidding me," Cohen said. The association, called Innovations and Courtyard Traditions at Stapleton, temporarily banned children from drawing on sidewalks, saying anything that offends, disturbs or interferes with the peaceful enjoyment is not allowed on shared spaces.They...

When his HOA said he couldn't display the American Flag, this was his response: I don't have further detials, but I kinda like the guy...

Lesbian Couple FAKED Hate Crime By Painting Their OWN Home With 'Kill the Gays' To Frame Neighbors After Spat Over Dogs 18 May 2012 [Pic in URL] Caught: Aimee Whitchurch, 37, left, and Christel Conklin, 29, right, are accused of forgery, false reporting and criminal mischief A lesbian couple that claimed their neighbors spray painted 'Kill the Gay' on their condo are being accused by the police for doing the deed themselves. The Douglas County Sheriff's Office in Colorado has issued a warrant for Aimee Whitchurch, 37, and Christel Conklin, 29, for forgery, false reporting and criminal mischief. In October...

SANFORD, Fla. — The people who could end up paying the financial price for the shooting death of Trayvon Martin are, ultimately, the homeowners of the Retreat at Twin Lakes development, say specialists who deal with homeowners associations. If George Zimmerman, their crime watch program captain, is charged with and convicted of killing Martin, the community's association and property management company probably will be sued by the victim's family over the way the program was established and operated, said Donna Berger, a lawyer who specializes in homeowners association law. "They may wind up getting sued and getting hit with hundreds...

I am currently witnessing a neighborhood drama that I’m sure plays out on a daily basis in communities across the country. Neighbor A is originally from Wyoming. This probably means nothing to most of you, but having lived in that state for a while, it conjures up a specific archetype for my family — a person who prefers to keep to him or herself but is friendly when forced into proximity with others and figures that laws perceived to be absurd or overreaching are not worth following. This doesn’t present much of a problem in Wyoming where there are more...

Police in Florida have released audio tapes of 911 calls regarding the killing of an unarmed black teenager by a white neighborhood watch volunteer. George Zimmerman shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin during a confrontation inside Zimmerman's gated community in Sanford, Florida last month. Zimmerman claimed it was in self-defense, but Martin did not have a gun. Following accusations that the shooting was racially motivated, the Justice Department announced Monday that it would investigate the shooting. "He committed no crime. My son wasn’t doing anything but walking on the sidewalk," Martin's mother Sybrina Fulton said on the "Today Show," adding...

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (CBS) – Kimberly Bois’ tiny front yard garden isn’t much to look at right now. But in a few weeks, it’ll be in full bloom, and every blossom will cost her dearly. Even though she says her builder gave her permission to do a little planting, the current condo board now says she’s in violation. They’re charging the Portsmouth, New Hampshire homeowner $50 a day for being so petal pushy. That fine has reached close to $6,000, plus the board’s legal fees.“It’s just not a happy place to live anymore for me,” says Bois, who planted the small...

She found out it's possible to owe nothing to the bank and lose your home anywayIn a tough housing market, many people are underwater on their homes. But it’s also possible to owe nothing to the bank and lose your home anyway, as a North Miami-Dade condominium owner found out. Christy, a woman who lived at the Jade Winds condo complex in North Miami Beach, said she owned her place outright and pad the condo fees automatically, but ended up getting kicked out over a $200 monthly assessment. Christy, who only wanted her first name published, said her trouble started...

Between 1764 and the Declaration of Independence in 1776 Americans produced a rich series of pamphlets and resolutions listing their grievances against the central government of the British Empire. As I have pointed out before, reading those pamphlets is very helpful in understanding what the Constitution really means. And ignorance of them contributes to common constitutional mistakes. These pamphlets are particularly useful in comprehending the Founders’ version of federalism. This is because the constitutional balance between states and federal government partly reflected what the Founders had wanted the balance to be between colonies and imperial government. One of the most...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: It's not a good day for the left and you're not gonna hear much about this. The media is not gonna talk too much about this. Colorado voters have rejected an attempt to raise state income and sales taxes to fund education. ... With 38 percent of precincts reporting," that's when I printed this out, "Prop 103 was going down in flames across the state; 35% in favor of raising taxes, 65% against." What's the final number here? Da-da-da-da-da-da. It's about that. Sixty-five, 35% is about what it ended up. Also true in Denver. That was the...