Search▶ HOA Lawyers Bingo, bango, bongo or just BING Twitter Facebook Google Avvo.com While it's true that you find more than a million links for the topic above at the sites searched, you may not need to go any further than your neighborhood HOA to understand the powerful link between your association and the legal counsel they have hired▶ It also won't take you long to realize that the very same legal counsel is the primary roadblock to real transparency within your association, or at least that is the observation of this HOA citizen journalist. https://goo.gl/G4uGDn If you read the a series of search results and archive on topic (# transparency ), the question of how much or how little transparency exists in the typical common interest development (aka HOA) is answered only by personal experience ▶ As for our Inland Empire, Southern California HOA, the # transparency  experience is uneven, at best ▶  In California, the complicated Davis-Stir...

Posted in triplicate ( a Trilogy ) around these # ALTACITIES  is the following # SocialCurrentSee archive that is a fitting precursor to the allied post on our NEXTDOOR Trilogy message board: Justification to consider a service like NOMOROBO ® is found in the following LINK▶ http://goo.gl/S9QR53 ▶ an account of a national cancer charity that has raised millions via telemarketing robo calls while allegedly spending annually about 2% of income on actual charitable support of cancer patients and causes.  When and if you get such a call, do you generally ask the caller (usually a paid solicitor) what is the percentage of fund-raising and administrative costs for their organization?  Block such calls with  NOMOROBO  ® ▶ http://goo.gl/9vDlH4 ▶ to save your time and money. By the way, in the professional world of USA philanthropy, the benchmark standard is for administrative and fund-raising costs for charitable fundraising should be under 15% of total dollar...

#ALTACITIES story:"Victims rec'd foreclosure notices B4 NV joined a 2012 USA settlement when 49 states sued banks" | https://t.co/smcEhCJvbn — Mike Foxworth (@ALTALOMAN) January 27, 2016 FLASHBACK VIDEO (circa 2012 : the un-viral version) In the second-highest multi-state settlement in history, federal officials, attorneys general from 49 states, and the nation's five largest mortgage financiers have reached a settlement worth more than $25 billion for the American foreclosure crisis.  What follows is more of the from the source of our lead tweet for this post, referencing news from the   Nevada Review-Journal with more  #SocialCurrentSee  from that source below.  ▶ Bingo, bango, bongo or just BING NEVADA has some 3,200 common interest developments (aka HOAs) with more than 530,000 residents in these communities, according to CAIFR . Tweets by @RJblogs LAUNCH A "NEXTDOOR"NEIGHBORHOOD FOR YOUR COMMUNITY Flip②▶

As the task of whistleblower is usually defined, homeowners in common interest developments (or HOAs) don't have an inviting territory to attempt such pursuits.  In fact, these bastions of private governments are far less conducive to tracking misdeeds by those in power than virtually any other governmental setting on any level. This difficulty to find an track, or document illegal acts by boards, managers, even legal counsel for an HOA is compounded by the widespread reluctance of local media to investigate reported deeds within the confines of an HOA. Flip②▶ STORIFY ♥ FLIPBOARD ★ BLOGGER ▲ ALTACITIES ® 1200+ followers on FLIPBOARD [ View the story "'Get out of jail' card for HOA Boards" on Storify ] "Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently." ~Henry Ford #dailyqotd #qotd http://t.co/fq1zI7UyVq — Mike Foxworth (@ALTALOMAN) July 14, 2015

The actions of the board of directors for a typical common interest development, homeowners association (HOA) are typically and legally accountable to the homeowners, but only if the homeowners demand that accountability.  When stories of alleged malfeasance become public (like the one cited below), one has to wonder if the homeowners were really paying attention and what happened to transparency and due-diligence, two other values in governance that are often sacrificed when boards go astray. Flip②▶ STORIFY ♥ FLIPBOARD ★ BLOGGER ▲ ALTACITIES © Now with 1,200+ followers on http://socialcurrent see.com [ View the story "Malfeasance by HOA Board in self-dealing" on Storify ] "Turn your wounds into wisdom." ~Oprah Winfrey #dailyqotd #qotd http://t.co/fq1zI7UyVq — Mike Foxworth (@ALTALOMAN) June 22, 2015

Granted, the following story from California's eastern neighbor, Nevada (NV), is probably an exception and extreme case as to how HOA control can go wrong, but the complicity of the legal establishment in the cover up of details must be a cause for alarm.  Taking up the case for transparency, accountability, and due-diligence is the NV press, led by the respected Las Vegas Review-Journal. Given the details of the case that are known, one can't help but muse that the prosecution case cover-up is due to possible incrimination of other authorities in high office either in Nevada or beyond. Flip②▶ STORIFY ♥ FLIPBOARD ★ BLOGGER ▲ ALTACITIES © Now with 1,000+ followers on http://socialcurrent see.com [ View the story "No 'silver lining' yet in NV HOA case" on Storify ] "Turn your wounds into wisdom." ~Oprah Winfrey #dailyqotd #qotd http://t.co/fq1zI7UyVq — Mike Foxworth (@ALTALOMAN) June 22, 2015

Certification exams for professional managers in any field are common, but not really well known in the property management realm. These exist on a spotty state-by-state basis. Colorado is one state that is embarking upon a new testing system for HOA managers while reports from the area indicate that 25% of those who take their exam are failing, required to take the test a second or third time. Flip②▶ STORIFY ♥ FLIPBOARD ★ BLOGGER ▲ [ View the story "Colorado has rocky start to HOA exam" on Storify ] Ward Lucas, formerly of Denver's 9News and now author of the book, "Neighbors at War!," sits down with host Jon Caldara to discuss the dark side of homeowners associations. He is a leading advocate for accountability, transparency, and due diligence in HOA management and governance. "Very often a change of self is needed more than a change of scene." ~Arthur ... #dailyqotd #qotd http://t.co/fq1zI7UyVq — Mike Foxworth (@ALTALOMAN) Ma...