“NEIGHBORS AT WAR” -- WILL THAT TITLE STILL BE TRUE IN 2013?

By Jan Bergemann

Published January 4, 2012

  

I am just reading the latest book written by famed investigative reporter Ward Lucas: “Neighbors at War; The Creepy Case Against Your Homeowners Association.”

 

Even if I know and have read about most of the cases Lucas is talking about in his book, the contents of this book is a serious reminder of a system that has clearly failed the citizens of this country. Where in the world can neighbors violate the Constitution – or plainly ignore the Constitution – and can get away with it? Where in this world can ordinary homeowners ignore the Constitution, only to be told by courts that they had every right to do so?

 

This book shows in no uncertain terms that there are communities in this country where simple civil rights can be trampled upon and freedom of speech is laughed at. There are large areas in this country – a country that is praised in its national anthem as “…The Land Of The Free…” – where the Constitution just doesn’t exist, invalidated by the seemingly “holy” contract law.

 

Every legislator in this country should be required to read this book – so they all understand that they created lawless communities within the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA .

 

In my opinion Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin would have been proud of some of the ways certain board members with the help of their attorneys trampled on the rights of fellow homeowners, even took their homes for simple violations like not taking trash cans inside at a pre-determined time, not cutting bushes to a certain size if the board so demanded – or simply flying Ol’ Glory from a flagpole in their front yard.

 

Don’t believe that happened? There are more then enough court rulings that prove these stories to be true.

 

2012 has been an especially nasty year for many members of community associations. We saw many families lose their homes – not because they were not paying their regular maintenance fees, but because of special assessments levied by associations to make up for budget shortfalls caused by their neighbors not paying at all, or banks and/or mortgage companies not paying their fair share, being exempted from paying by legislators who obviously felt sorry for the incompetent bankers who helped themselves to golden parachutes when their financial empires collapsed.

 

Let’s make it very clear: These families lost their homes because of a system that ignores basic rights given to the citizens of this country by the United States Constitution. You can be sure that our founding fathers would turn in their graves if they knew that the Constitution they wrote – and defended with their lives -- has been invalidated by so-called community association laws.

 

Members of our Armed Forces are dying daily in defense of our freedom and the rights of foreign nationals – mostly in foreign countries. But our legislators allow members of community associations to trample upon the rights of their neighbors, whose constitutional rights are clearly ignored.

THE LAND OF THE FREE?

 

Members of community associations desperately need a BILL OF HOMEOWNERS’  RIGHTS – to reestablish the rights and protection our funding fathers tried to give ALL citizens of this country, not just the citizens living outside of community associations.

 

I can only hope that the YEAR 2013 will be a better year for the members of community associations. It’s desperately needed!

 

Bills that are being filed in the Florida Legislature for the upcoming legislative session are a serious attempt to take the first steps in the right direction in order to rectify many of the wrongs we are seeing daily in our community associations. But the help of the homeowners living in these associations is needed to convince legislators to enact these bills. We all should fight for

FAIRNESS IN ASSOCIATIONS!

 

I wish all of you a HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013 -- health, wealth and happiness – and the enactment of the bills that will help to protect the citizens living and owning property in community associations.


 
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Jan Bergemann

Jan Bergemann is president of Cyber Citizens For Justice, Florida 's largest state-wide property owners' advocacy group. CCFJ works on legislation to help owners living in community

associations. He moved to Florida in 1995 - hoping to retire. He moved into a HOA, where the developer cheated the homeowners and used the association dues for his own purposes. End of retirement!

  

CCFJ was born in the year 2000, when some owners met in Tallahassee - finding out that power is only in numbers. Bergemann was a member of Governor Jeb Bush's HOA Task force in 2003/2004.

  

The organization has two websites to inform interested Florida homeowners and condo owners:

News Website: http://www.ccfj.net/.

Educational Website: http://www.ccfjfoundation.net/.

   
We think that only owners can really represent owners, since all service providers surely have a different interest! We are trying to create owner-friendly laws, but the best laws are useless without enforcement. And enforcement is totally lacking in Florida !

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