MSN.COM has recently featured on its web page, if viewed with MS Internet Explorer browser, Debora Vrana’s article, The Runaway Power of Homeowners Associations (see note 1 for viewing information). This article contains a link to the Citizens for Constitutional Local Government web site and quotes its president, George K. Staropoli, as saying,
“No one tells buyers what deep doo-doo they can get into . . . It’s a government outside the U.S. government.”
“Page view” counts of this web site have reached monthly averages in just one day — over 1,400 page views bringing the total web site count to over 50,000. This response to the MSN article reflects a hunger by homeowners and home buyers for the truth about planned community living with its authoritarian, private governments operating outside the US Constitution protections of our liberties and freedoms. HOAs are regarded by the courts as private organizations that are not subject to the same US Bill of Rights as all other public government bodies — federal, state, city and municipal governments.
This jump in the Citizens’ web site viewers is a result of the feature placement of the HOA article warning the public of serious problems with HOA living, and also reflects the fact that no such information is available in the consumer and home buyer by the protection agencies at the state level — nothing by the appropriate state consumer protection agency, Attorney General, real estate department, HOA ombudsman, or other such agency whose mission is consumer protection. Rather, these agency web sites provide links to the industry promoters of HOAs in a blatant one-sided support of these private governments that deny constitutional protections.
Every viewer must demand from their state representatives and agency officials an answer as to why this is allowed to happen, and why the state is participating in hiding the truth from the public.
Note 1. Viewing information
MSN selects items to be featured. If the article is not found by clicking on left-side image ‘next’ until There Goes the Neighborhood image appears, enter the following web address — http://realestate.msn.com/buying/Articlenewhome.aspx?cp-documentid=653570
AOL or others using Netscape must switch to your MS IE browser, which is included on all Windows computers. After connecting with AOL or your browser, just bring up MSIE and then go to Msn.com
HOA Constitutional Government 