Published November 15, 2004

 

We always hear how easy it is to remove an unwanted board. Or how grateful we should be that there are "volunteers" willing to work for the good of the owners. Homeowners all over the nation contradicted these easy solutions and tried to show how far some of these power-hungry "dictators" are willing to go to avoid being recalled or replaced by election.

 

Don't get me wrong. There are many very good and honest board members who are willing to work hard for the welfare of the community. But according to estimates of informed government agencies, this is not the case in more than 10% of all associations. These power-hungry board members are protected by our law -- or more so the lack of it. Add a complete lack of enforcement and you have the reason why so many owners are suffering from abuses by the "bad" board members.

 

Since most of these "bad" board members are not "bad" by nature, it is the obvious lack of accountability and liability that leads to the many ugly headlines we read and hear about daily in the media.

 

Here is an e-mail, showing how far certain board members will really go to get rid of a dissenter. Please read this e-mail -- and you know that the conspiracy theories are not far-fetched, as the industry partisans always want legislators to believe.

 

The main players of this planned conspiracy:

Board Members of the Nottingham Country Community Improvement Association, Inc. ;

Principal Management Group (PMG) -- Chairman Texas Senator John Carona;

Attorney Michael T. Gainer, Houston, a well known member of the Community Association Institute, ranked second on the list of foreclosure filings, according to HOA DATA.

READ HERE HOW TO CREATE THE CONSPIRACY TO GET RID OF A DISSENTER

After reading this e-mail exchange, you know exactly how far some owners will go to protect their power position on the board. No doubt that they are willing to jump across the lines of normal ethics, knowing that there will be no punishment, even if statutes are violated.

• Do you understand now why so many owners are asking for term limits for board members?

• Do you understand now that there is more to serving as a board member than just working for the welfare of the community?

•  Do you understand now that owners need government protection against these kinds of conspiracies?

• Do you understand now why owners are asking for reforms of association laws that include the necessary enforcement?