"HOAs can be extremely "up close
and personal" and that is not a good thing. As for democracy,
it is almost nonexistent in kontrolled kommunities around the
country." Shu Bartholomew, onthecommons.us.
Hosted
and produced by Shu Bartholomew, On The Commons is
a weekly radio show dedicated to discussing the many issues surrounding
mandatory homeowner associations, the fastest growing form of residential
housing in the nation.
Proponents
of homeowner associations would have us believe that HOAs are "democracy
up close and personal". They insist the owners have more control
over the neighborhood than they otherwise would and being neighbors, the
leadership would be of the kinder, gentler variety than the further removed,
less personal municipal government could provide. They've
got part of it right, anyway. HOAs can be extremely "up close
and personal" and that is not a good thing. As for democracy,
it is almost nonexistent in kontrolled kommunities around the country.
Neighbors
and community members can be a little too close for comfort when it comes to
providing any kind of governance that is needed to run a development.
Personality clashes, personal feelings and long standing
friendships/animosities are more than likely to interfere with any requirement
for fair dealing. This lack of neutrality and imbalance of power can make
life inside the borders of associations a living hell.
Joining
us On The Commons this week is Billy Martin. Billy
lives in a townhouse development in Houston, Texas where his first battle with
the HOA was over a flag. The issue wasn't whether or not he had the right to
fly the flag but a dispute over the placement of the flag. It went to
court and Billy won. The judge agreed that the flag was on private
property and not HOA controlled property. That, however, is not the end
of the story. What happened next is terrifying. We will talk to
Billy and find out what he discovered when he came home from a trip and found
his house had been vandalized.
On The Commons is broadcast every
Saturday from 2-3 PM ET on Radio Fairfax. In the Northern Virginia
area, On The Commons can be heard on Cox Cable, Channel
37 and Verizon Channel 37. On Comcast channel 27 in Reston in addition to
several more cable channels all across Northern Virginia. To listen LIVE
globally on the internet, go to http://www.radiofairfax.com and
click on “Stream Radio Fairfax” and if you are on the go, on
your mobile devices, http://tunein.com/radio/Radio-Fairfax-s24818
The show will be available on http://onthecommons.us/ shortly
afterwards. Please also visit our archives at http://onthecommons.net .
Shu
Bartholomew
Host
and producer
On The Commons is produced by OTC
Multimedia Productions
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