Las Colonias Reform Committee

HOA Citizens

When the Last Bird Sings –

Life In a Homeowners Association

Lawyers in elegant offices
Elegantly oppress
The weak, the poor, the shallow pockets.
For those deep pockets
Deep in sin
At any cost they must win
They blindfold Justice
So it not injustice see
Their briefs, their laws
Their intellectual claws
Make blue skies smog
And the truth a fog
As on barren bough, the last bird sings
The lawyers have their final fling
Life they have killed
The graves they have filled
They smile
They close the file

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OPEN LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR of Florida (excerpted)

Dear Honorable Governor Jeb Bush,

With all due respect, we, the members of Cyber Citizens for Justice, Inc., a Florida Not-For-Profit Corporation, founded to unite Floridians in their quest to improve the daily lives of CITIZENS in our State through advocacy, education and legislative, would strongly urge you to sign an executive order creating a new bipartisan Task Force to promote new legislation and the necessary enforcement of the Florida Statutes regulating Home- and Condo-Owners Associations and CDDs.

It is imperative to protect the citizens of this Great State of Florida living in mandated property associations against the unjust treatment they have received in recent years. Constitutional Rights have been taken away and dictatorships have been established all over the U.S. protected by unjust legislation. Many citizens, especially retirees living on a limited budget, are unable to protect the given rights in our courts through lack of necessary funds.

Influenced by the lobbyists of the industry our legislators have not been willing to address these problems despite the huge outcry by many citizens all over the State. Other States like Nevada and Arizona, both States with a big percentage of citizens living in Mandated Properties, have already recognized the necessity of changes by holding Senate and Committee-hearings.

I don't feel it's necessary to talk to you about all the "horror stories" from around the State since I assume you're well informed about the events regarding these issues in Florida.

Sir, with all due respect and as a final request, we ask you to ensure that the committee members be elected on an even level and that would mean that home- and condo-owners' representatives would have seats on this
Task Force. Please consider that there are many organizations lobbying on behalf of the industry. As a case in point, the Community Association Institute (CAI) presents itself as the speaker of homeowners' interests.

Unfortunately, upon closer examination their major function is as an industry trade organization with
membership consisting primarily of members from the industry related trades.

With best regards

Board of CYBER CITIZENS FOR JUSTICE, INC.

Is your board competent? Do you trust your management firm? Is your HOA attorney working to protect you from fraud?

Editor’s Note: Read how several Arizona HOAs were taken in by just one management company to the tune of $500,000. Keep in mind when reading: What were the HOA boards doing? What were the HOA attorneys doing? Who is responsible for this gross negligence? Not the homeowners, surely!

Please feel free to print, copy and distribute at cost only. It is produced by volunteers for Citizens Against Private Government HOAs, Inc., Scottsdale, AZ, a non-profit organization. For more information visit our web pages at &

G. K.

HOA Citizens

Board member Phil Schlecht faced the president of Starpoint Management Systems with a very clear message. "I said, 'I want you to go withdraw the money now, in cash, and transfer it into our account,' " Schlecht said. "He said, 'I can't do that.' "

Breckenridge was hardly alone. When Starpoint filed for bankruptcy in December it owed at least $500,000 to more than 30 Valley homeowners associations. The associations are trying to figure out how to recover the money and what to do if they cannot.

If a Starpoint official is convicted of taking the money, the associations could recover the funds through insurance policies. If the money isn't recovered, members' dues could increase. Starpoint President Roy Brown, also known as Albert L. Brown, has pledged to repay the associations. The association sued Starpoint, went to the police, and will use a bankruptcy attorney to make a claim for its money. Brown twice took the Fifth Amendment when an attorney asked him if he still had an association's funds or knew where the money was.

An investigator with the Attorney General's Office is contacting associations about Starpoint. Gilbert police said they are conducting an "embezzlement-type" investigation, and Mesa police also are investigating.

Beth Mulcahy, a Phoenix attorney who represents more than 300 associations, said the case is isolated, but added, "It's a serious, serious problem for the associations that are affected by Starpoint." Attorney Curtis Ekmark represents Breckenridge and two other associations that sued to try to recover a combined $118,000. "The biggest question is: Where did it all go?" Ekmark said.

"Obviously, that's a concern," said Ekmark, the attorney.
But Brown counters that he needs a cash flow to pay people back. He said his new company has made enough changes in personnel and practices to avoid similar problems.

He organized the new corporation in October. Its office is in Phoenix, in the same suite used for Starpoint.

Chris Fiscus,The Arizona Republic (excerpted)

Feb. 08, 2001

Editor’s Note: This sad situation is hard to explain. Nobody on any of the boards of directors saw any evil? BODs are bound by the business judgment rule, simply stated, “If you don’t know or understand, you are required as a fiduciary to the homeowners to get expert advice”.

And where were the HOA attorneys? Why weren’t they brought into the picture early on? Or, were they? And they did nothing. Maybe the attorneys were too busy sending intimidating letters to homeowners about fines, rule infractions and late assessment payments. Mr. Ekmark, mentioned above, is a long-term CAI member and attorney. Perhaps he was too busy fighting against homeowner reform at the Legislature to provide important advice to the homeowners.

As for Beth Mulcahy, also mentioned and sister-in-law to Ekmark, all she can say, with a reported 300 associations that she represents, is: "It's a serious, serious problem for the associations that are affected by Starpoint." No s—t, Dick Tracy! What is she doing to protect the associations that she represents? Oh, I know – “Not my job”.

If the Arizona laws provided for the licensing of HOA management firms, subjecting them to strict financial reporting requirements, maybe Starpoint would not have happened. If the Legislature required training classes for HOA boards maybe the board would known that something was amiss from the very start. IF, …. (See the next report on the status of the Arizona Legislation).

Status of Arizona Legislation

Yesterday's Government committee meeting of the Arizona legislature had its demonstrators from HSHIA calling attention to the lack of enforcement provisions. Let's keep up the publicity and the pressure.
I found it interesting that Sen. Smith is still a die-hard anti-homeowner legislator. In the article, he claims to be planning to speak about other enforcement provisions with the Attorney General and County Attorney(s). Great, but "he'd prefer to reform homeowners associations without excessive government intervention". In spite of strong demands for effective enforcement of the laws, he's still defending homeowner associations -- doesn't want to put too much of a burden on them -- at the expense of our civil liberties which you would have thought came first. My conclusion:

“When you enter into an HOA-controlled property you lose your civil liberties and your government doesn’t want you to know that”.

G. K.