Chapter NineteenIIIIntroduction
We’ve nearly arrived at the end and so it's time to reconsider how this unfortunate situation might be reversed.
add a dash of accountability
The whole of the CID industry rests upon a two layered foundation. The first layer of support requires the continual maintenance of a legal environment in which
there exists no accountability or oversight. The second layer of support is the reasonable assurance of an American public stricken with such a debilitating case
of apathy that they are not able to recognize this industry’s first layer of support.
If either of these conditions improves in the slightest degree, the CID industry as we know it today will collapse.
Due to the intense lobbying efforts of the CAI to ensure that the American homeowner remains a soft target, and the absence of any effective opposition, the courts have been willing to relieve the private, residential corporate government of all the responsibilities of the entities it clearly emulates. The HOA often does the work of a municipality but is not required by the courts to observe the common limitations imposed on a municipality. In this state, the private corporate government is free to misbehave in any way necessary to turn a profit for it’s financial backers.
If state legislatures were to pass laws allowing homeowners in CIDs to take their grievances to a state attorney general, just like an American citizen, the CID industry would collapse. An industry that is so dependent on operating with impunity is so vulnerable that just that one little bit of oversight is all it takes to topple it. And that is why the CAI is desperate to see to it that homeowners in CIDs are not afforded any of the protections enjoyed by American citizens living outside of a CID community.
all fall down
Just for a moment, imagine what would happen if legislation of this sort did become law in your state. Rogue board members know if they harass homeowners with
their usual trumped up, petty, nuisance assaults, they may very well find themselves trying to explain their irrational behavior to a judge. Once they realize
they can be held liable for their misdeeds those misdeeds will no longer occur. Those HOA board members who get on these boards for all the wrong reasons, and
having no real desire to serve their community, will disappear.
Without the thousands of rogue boards stirring up trouble all over our mythical state, management companies and association lawyers would lose a considerable portion of their business. The loss of this “conflict revenue” would drive many property management companies out of business, and force many association attorneys to seek greener pastures. In this fairytale environment, where the golden goose is no longer within reach, the CAI would probably dissolve. You can see how nervous this scenario makes them. All that has to happen is for the public to get fed up enough to want to do something about it and it’s over.
Of course there is one other way this industry could slowly pass out of existence. It might just die of neglect.
just say no
After my own experiences living in CID housing I have come to the conclusion that this type of property is condemned from the very moment of its inception, and
therefore uninhabitable. So when the opportunity presented itself I committed the ultimate act of HOA rebellion - I just said no!
In refusing to ever own any residential property encumbered with deed restrictions, and all the evil that always accompanies them, I did my infinitesimal little bit to bring the nightmare of CID housing to an end. When an opportunity presents itself to you, I hope you’ll consider doing the same. Let’s practice a little.
there’s no place like home
Just as in the final moments of the Wizard of Oz, I want you to click your heels together three times and repeat after me, “I will never buy a home in a CID again.”
There, doesn’t that feel better?
If you follow that advice, you may not end up in Kansas, if that is your goal, but you certainly won’t end up in one of those nasty American gulags either. I have taken this cure and the results are wonderful. It had been so long, I had almost forgot what it was like to live the original (not the corporate) version of the American dream.
that which is old is like new again
Today, I have a beautiful home, in a wonderful neighborhood, in an equally wonderful community. Yes, life here is just about as sweet as it can get without being
fattening. In my new neighborhood, there are no covenant violation patrols. No one is taking notes. No one is peeking over back
fences. In my new neighborhood, there are no boards of directors holding secret meetings, and no one gets nasty letters from property management companies, or threats from association
lawyers. In my new neighborhood, the neighbors are friendly and congenial and the property values are rising steadily.
Fifty years ago, the environment I just described to you was often refereed to as the American dream of homeownership, and I am confident it will be again one day. It just may take a little time and effort on your part.
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