For years (since 2005) the public in general, the media, and state legislators have been targets of CAI’s “satisfaction” surveys sponsored by its affiliate, The Foundation for Community Associations Research. This year a study was conducted by HomeAdvisor this past September in an effort to uncover the attitudes of US HOA members across the country regarding life in an HOA.
The HomeAdvisor study confirms the 2015 online polls by two homeowner rights advocates, Sara Benson (Chicago) and Jill Schweitzer (Phoenix), on homeowner satisfaction with HOAs. In stark contrast, not surprisingly, the Combined Advocate Surveys, as I refer to them, revealed opinions and views refuting the results of the CAI “happiness” surveys. It appears that the CAI studies were happiness studies of happy HOA members.
“There are a lot of Americans who do not care for democracy. They do not mind [failing] to follow the Constitution, or that [it] poses a danger to democracy.[1]
The HOA legal structure and scheme is basically authoritarian in nature: strong central power, limited political freedoms, no accountability, and under the rule of man, not law.
“There are some people [authoritarian followers] for whom the system of checks and balances are bothersome and annoying, and dislike the noise and chaos of democracy”.[2]
“People who score high in authoritarianism, when they feel threatened, look for strong leaders who promise to take whatever action necessary to protect them from outsiders and prevent the changes they fear.”[3]
The HOA is truly a totalitarian democracy.
“A totalitarian democracy . . . retains full power of . . . the right of control over everything and everyone. Maintenance of such power, in the absence of full support of the citizenry, requires the forceful suppression of any dissenting element except what the government purposely permits or organizes.”[4]
The authoritarianism of HOA-Land [5] is masked by a thorough indoctrination[6] that the real estate subdivision is a democratic community because the members are allowed to vote, as meaningless as it is. It seems that the more predisposed to authoritarian control the more the member acts as a diehard, dogmatic, true-believer in the BOD.
In 2019 I conducted a limited study on authoritarian followers in HOAs following the stablished research procedures[7] to determine the extent of authoritarianism in the HOA setting.[8] I found that,
“High RWA followers can be found in HOA members. My concern focused on the blind, to me, acquiescence to whatever the BOD told the members what it wanted approved, especially when it involved amendments to the governing documents. When presented with hard, concrete evidence of violations of the law or governing documents, the majority of the members just gave the BOD a blank check.”
The above chart (responses to 30 questions) shows the degree of authoritarianism based on percentages: the higher, the stronger the authoritarian presence. “3Q” reflects HOA responses to 3 strict “control” preference questions in the survey, as a BOD member or not. The middle 2 bars reflect all the results from all HOA respondents and the lower 2 reflect HOA members or not – the public.
The prevalence of authoritarian followers is clearly indicated with respect to the HOA’s “enforcement” attitude. The authoritarian culture of HOA-Land contributes to the decline in American democracy. “[Authoritarians] seek to . . . rewrite social contracts, and, sometimes, to alter the rule of democracy so they never lose power. Alexander Hamilton warned against them.”[9]
This study on HOA-Land authoritarianism is consistent with research findings with respect to the general public and political leanings.[10]“[Authoritarians] understand their role, which is to defend the leaders, however dishonest their statement, however great their corruption, and howeverdisastrous their impact on ordinary people and institutions.”[11]
[4] George K. Staropoli, “HOA political dynamics: totalitarian democracy,” The HOA-Land Nation Within America, StarMan Publishing (2019). J. L. Talmon quote.
[5]Authoritarianism: favoring complete obedience or subjection to authority as opposed to individual freedom..
[6] CAI’s effect on the BOD, the members — especially the loyal “followers” — and the public in general stems from 45 years of indoctrination by means of the CAI School of HOA Governance. See in general, Restructuring HOAs: “CAI School and member benefits” pt. 2(2020).
My response to CAI’s statement below is simple: “Facts are the enemy of truth” (Man of La Mancha play, Cervantes). With all the gall CAI tells GEICO to seek the truth and read its Satisfaction Surveys and see how much HOAs are beloved.
I am forwarding my Restoring the Lost ConstitutionTo HOA-Land collection of publications and allow GEICO to make an informed decision.
In response to GEICO Insurance’s “HOA Cynthia Advises New Neighbors” commercial, Community Associations Institute (CAI) is deeply disappointed by the company’s inaccurate portrayal of homeowners associations and the 2.5 million volunteer board members elected to serve their communities.
GEICO’s attempt at comedy about a family moving into a community association is disrespectful and insulting to the millions of volunteers and hundreds of thousands of professionals who work tirelessly and proudly to build communities people are proud and privileged to call home. Community associations, also known as condominiums, homeowners associations, and housing cooperatives, are home to 73.5 million Americans.
Learning the facts about HOA living is so easy to do, a caveman could do it. According to the 2018 Homeowner Satisfaction Survey, independently conducted by Zogby Analytics for the Foundation for Community Association Research, residents in associations are overwhelmingly in support of their community association experience, manager and elected board members.
These are the facts and not the easy, stereotypical and condescending messages designed to get a cheap chuckle.
CAI invites GEICO to take 15 minutes to discuss the value of community associations and how they bring people together, strengthen neighborly bonds, and promote a sense of belonging—especially now.
Thomas M. Skiba, CAE Chief Executive Officer Community Associations Institute
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George K> Staropoli is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Much to my surprise and astonishment I stumbled upon CAI’s press release on its website.[1] It informs the reader that all is well with the HOA legal scheme and there are no waivers of constitutional rights or other constitutionality problems. In fact, CAI claims that the Constitution protects the CC&Rs’ contract.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, Americans do not waive their constitutional rights when they move into a community association. In fact, courts have found that community association residents, by enacting reasonable rules for their own communities, are actually exercising their constitutional rights of association, contract, expression and assembly. . . . By purchasing homes in association-governed communities, buyers enter into constitutionally protected agreements with their neighbors.
The U.S. Constitution gives community association residents the right to govern their own communities without the need to get government’s permission to adopt rules. This prerogative is at the core of individual property rights and is a tradition that dates to the very founding of our nation.
I am not surprised at CAI’s failure to mention yours truly by name, the only outspoken advocate on HOA constitutional violations[2] that emphatically objects to and challenges CAI’s simplified arguments that misrepresent the law.
First paragraph fallacies:
Apparently agreeing to free speech restrictions on displaying signs or flying the flag and due process protections are not considered a waiver or surrender of rights by CAI. CAI’s position that the right to associate and to enter into private contracts is protected by the Constitution is a false and naïve argument. Can you and I privately agree to violate the Constitution, and to associate in community where its government is not subject to the same restrictions as public government?
There are conditions for a voluntary waiver and surrender of constitutional rights that the CC&Rs agreement fails to meet, especially when it comes to implied waivers — those not specifically stated. But somehow the courts enforce the CC&Rs as if they met the requirements for constitutional waivers, like the Twin Rivers[3] case that CAI is relying on. CAI doesn’t mention its amicus curiae that argued “In the context of community associations, the unwise extension of constitutional rights to the use of private property by members (as opposed to the public) raises the likelihood that judicial intervention will become the norm . . . .” If no rights were waived, why then is CAI so concerned about restoring them?
I have raised the valid argument of misrepresentation in the selling process and that the buyer was misled and not fully informed as to the consequences of his entering HOA-Land. No one, who firmly believes that HOAs are good for America, has stepped forward and publically signed the Homeowner Association Consent to be Governed Agreement: A Model Act[4] that a sign-off of explicit waivers and surrenders of constitutional rights (in paragraph 3), including a waiver of the equal protection of the laws.
Second paragraph fallacies
I explain in “HOAs violate local home rule doctrine” (see note 2 below) that HOAs are allowed operate far beyond state laws relating to home rule statutes, granting HOAs independent political government powers are denied to legitimate home rule communities. Consequently, HOAs are being treated with special laws for special entities in violation of the Constitution, federal and state.
The question that I have raised, and ignored by CAI in its release and in other communications, is summed up in the following statement: “The policy makers have failed to understand that the HOA CC&Rs have crossed over the line between purely property restrictions to establishing unregulated and authoritarian private governments.” In essence, HOAs have been allowed to operate outside the Constitution as authoritarian independent principalities, violating the fundamental principles and values underlying our American way of life.
While CAI publicizes its claims to be working for productive, healthy and desirable communities, it is apparent that these communities are not part the American system of democratic government. It advertises that it is an educational organization, yet conducts surveys to promote its view of what is good for HOA-Land.
References
[1]https://www.caionline.org/PressReleases/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx? sourcedoc=/PressReleases/Media%20Statements/Homeowners%20and%20Constitutional%20Rights.doc&action=default. October 7, 2015. (I don’t know how long this has been there, but CAI has revised its website recently.)
[4] An example: “d). I understand that the association, as a private entity and not an arm of the state, is not subject to the restrictions and prohibitions of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution that otherwise protects the rights of the people against actions by public government entities; (g) that there are no equivalent clean or fair elections procedures to protect the integrity of the HOA election process as found in public government elections.” http://pvtgov.org/pvtgov/agree-disclose-license.pdf.
HOA Constitutional Government 