On December 21, 2012 my Petition to the White House to declare that the people living in HOAs are still citizens of this country and of their respective state (White House petition to defend US citizenship of people in HOAs) failed to receive the necessary submissions for a WH response. That petition failed miserably, evidencing a very narrow understanding of the actions necessary for HOA reform legislation. This lack of interest and concern denied reformers an opportunity to create a dialogue with Washington on a problem facing homeowners in all the states.
A petition related to citizenship and a united country (grant the State of Louisiana to withdraw from the United States of America ) did get the 25,000 submissions (just under 39,000 submissions) and received a response from the WH, Our States Remain United. Shame on all those advocates seeking reforms who failed to see an important opportunity to advance national awareness of and the need for HOA reforms across the country and in every state.
HOA Constitutional Government 
A petition to build a Death Star got over 34,000 signatures
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/secure-resources-and-funding-and-begin-construction-death-star-2016/wlfKzFkN
and received an official response from the White House
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/isnt-petition-response-youre-looking
Read the whole response. It’s classic, funny, and was written by somebody who obviously read the original petition.
Geroge, you can continue to be a bitter man, and — like the industry’s shills — blame the homeowners and their apathy for all of the problems. But the failure was yours. You consistantly fail to clearly communicate and market your point — whatever it is, I’m still not sure — to your audience.
As others have said, be concise and use clear language. Don’t be “too clever for your own good” by emulating the lawyers with their legalese and psuedo-legalese (or is it pig-legalese?). After all, documents that require an attorney to decipher is one of the root-causes of the H.O.A. mess, and you frequently come across as somebody trying to be part of that problem rather than part of the solution.
He who has ears let him hear. Or, listen to Silence
Let me say that I appreciate your comments, but I am somewhat confused.
Are you a person who does’t understand or one who understands but is hesitant to educate others who, as you argue, don’t understand? By your comments, speaking of others and not yourself, you seem to one who understands.
I welcome all who understand to join in and fill in the gaps they see in my messages.
George,
I apologize if I sound harshly critical, but what I’ve seen in the short time I’ve been involved is not impressive.
Like you, I have been trying to make others understand, but not for nearly as long as you have.
And like you, I am frustrated with my audience.
So I can choose to either
* continue to be frustrated that my target audience doesn’t appreciate what I am trying to tell them [i.e., the audience is failing me], or
* stop being “too clever for my own good” and figure out a better way to get my (and our) message across [i.e., I am failing my audience].
The first choice — to blame others — is easier, but ineffective.
The second option is much harder, especially since it means that we are countering decades of lies and propaganda that have been accepted as common wisdom; ie, “HOAs protect property values”, “HOAs are democratic”, “HOAs are voluntary contracts”, etc. But since we — and I include myself — have been failing, it’s the choice we need to make.
Many of your points are well taken.
I absolutelly agree with you that HOAs — and corporatism in gneral — are a threat to our civil liberties.
And the apathy — and ignorance and fear — of the homeowners is part of the problem. And we need to take that into account. I’d point out that in addition to normal human nature, much of the blame falls on the industry, which has done much to create and foster that apathy and ignorance and fear.
But in addition to being frustratd with our audience, I am also frustrated with us — the people who want to change the system. I see a lot of arms flailing about and wheels spinning in place, but no concrete proposals to fix the problem *. While “return constitutional rights” and “enact a bill of rights” are wonderful ideas that I agree with, they are platitudes — and ones that we obviously have not sold to the public.
I’m not sure how to fix what’s wrong with our movement. But if we don’t admit that what we’ve been doing is not working, we can’t fix our problems.
In his “Position Statement On Common Interest Developments” (2007?), Robert Metcalf stated his belief that the HOA issue is going to be the civil rights struggle of this generation.
History is written by the winners. Given the realities of the legislative and judicial process — which is something we seem to ignore — we need to be doing a better job of both coming up with ideas and making them happen.
* with the exception of Barba Hogan’s 2008 “A Handbook For Texas Legislators Relating to Homeowners’ Association Issues”, which did an incredible job of explaining the problem and offering concrete legislative solutions. She put a lot of thoughtful and thorough work into it. Anyone who wants to change the system should read it, even if they don’t necessarily agree with her.
However, at 40 pages long, most people were not going to read it. Unfortunately, her web site, TexasHoaIssues.com , is no longer around, and as far as I know her “Handbook” is no longer available on the world wide web.
when did this white house petition stuff start in general? i’d not heard of it;
I believe if that petition was “worded” differently (in a more simplistic. clear language) it would have gotten a lot more support. The petition sounded too much like the Succession Petition and that in itself could have immediately turned a lot of people off. Most people in this country is not for that Succession Movement.
However, I took the time to read it because I have some understanding of how “abusive” HOA’s are. Most folks are not aware that by signing up to be part of a HOA that they are basically “giving up their rights to freedom and peace of mind as a property own.” Or will the property ever be yours if you belong to a HOA?
i signed the petition and put it on my f.b. page. Try re-wording it maybe in more simple, straight forward, terms. Most members of HOA don’t even realize how powerless they are…..they don’t even realize that the HOA’s authority supercedes the mortgage holders. The HOA can take your property faster than the bank through forcible entry if you are behind on your assessment fees. The fees could be $500 your mortgage could be $2000. Even if your mortgage is current the HOA has the right to take you to court and take your home for $500 plus cost if you can’t pay them. No arrangements made. Just move out when the judge makes the decision in favor of the HOA and most of the time he/she will because they’re in bed together.
Most people are oblivious to the above scenerio. If you would include in the petition the possible damage that an HOA can do I believe that you would get the necessary signatures. No one wants to lose his/her property over some bull.
amen! and don’t put one word in there about any benefit they provide; that’s the guise under which they operate!
Unfortunately, often many will not sign e-mail petitions for fear of exposing their e-mail address. Better results sending out a USPS chain petition. Your efforts are greatly appreciated and are supported by _www.hoaabuse-corruption.com_ (http://www.hoaabuse-corruption.com)
everyone should have a free throw-a-way e-mail address to use;