Once it was a rare that a Catholic Priest was a pedophile. When the rare pedophile was exposed the Church moving the Priest to another Parrish. Most people lived in denial; the Catholic Diocese would not allow this. But they did. Then woman (and young men) began to speak up about sex abuse by their employers and/or politicians. Human Resources did the correct thing ... they fired the troublemaker and went into damage control and denial.
So too go HOA boards and the industry that protects them. The spin they put on the abuse is that it's all anecdotal. Same old story, different industry. Google searches turn up 250,000+/- articles/sites on HOA tyranny or similar. There have been 16,744 HOA lawsuits in AZ since 2007. Most people never bother to post their bad experience. Most don't sue. Parents of sexually abused children didn't speak up bc of the shame associated with the crime, neither did the sexually abused women/men of employers. HOA Boards shame and shun a homeowner whenever that Member addresses the abuse. Make them look like a loon!
It's time the courts and politician take the complaints of HOA abuse seriously. Insurers are equally complicit. The feedback I get and what I've seen at the Legislature the most frequently abused people are single woman, vulnerable people who live on fixed incomes, and physically or emotionally challenged people. The very same people pedophiles and employers seduce. It took pedophile crimes several decades before the media starting following them seriously. So too will it take HOA abuse. When abused the natural reaction is to flee. It's difficult to stand up to authority. If you've been reading previous posts you'll remember the woman who was jailed after exposing board members who were embezzling. It's tough.
Find out what's happening in Tucsonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Let's start by talking. Without communication, liability for board members will grow. Yesterday I was reminded that after a board member leaves the board they still must hold what they know in a confidential manner ... Chucky Cheese and Gladys Kravitz should be reminded of that.
If you have suffered HOA abuse, contact HOATruth.com. Dennis Legere is the principal advocate. Or you can reach me at EarsUp@iCloud.com. Full disclosure, neither are attorneys. We do this bc we don't like bullies. FREE.