Jan Bergemann is the President Cyber Citizens For Justice. He was born and raised in Germany, he's worked in Europe and Africa and he's a certified chef. In 1995 he moved to St. Augustine Florida in a development with an H.O.A. Ever since then, he's been taking the fight to over-zealous H.O.A's. I recently conducted an interview with Bergmann, here is that interview.
What happened in St. Augustine?
Our developer cheated us back and forward. When we (a group of 63 neighbors) finally sued him for breach of contract and false disclosure, we found out that he could use our association dues to defend our lawsuit. At that time HOAs were still regulated under FS 617. And despite the fact that false disclosure was a felony 3.degree, SA and AG refused to prosecute. “No money for that in our budget!” We finally settled. I moved out and live since 2005 in a HOA free zone!
I went – together with some neighbors – to Tallahassee. We were able to make some changes to the laws, especially with the help of Governor Jeb Bush’s HOA Task Force in 2003/2004. I was a member of that task force. Today no developer can use association funds to defend – or file – a lawsuit paid with association funds as long as the community is developer controlled.
What is your general take on community HOA's?
The general idea was good! It went totally overboard when associations were allowed to regulate the lives of the members. Private property rights are no longer in existence in mandatory homeowners’ associations. I think the system has failed the owners and needs a serious overhaul in order to make it owner-friendly. Due to total lack of supervision they have turned into a breeding ground for mini-dictatorships creating many useless lawsuits pitting neighbors against neighbors. “In former times neighbors brought neighbors in need chicken soup and/or cookies. Nowadays they are serving them with lawsuits and foreclosure notices!”
How many times do you hear: "You moved into a community with an HOA, you signed the documents, if you don't like it, move out? What do you think about that statement?
First of all: It shows the stupidity of the system. A wide majority of the HOA wars and/or lawsuits are not caused by the contents of the original governing documents, bur by changes to these documents, selective enforcement and total misinterpretation of the rules and regulations. Add election fraud, kickbacks and/or embezzlement and you know that the fights are not over provisions written in the initial contract. I still haven’t seen the contract that says: “Owner A is responsible for paying the bill owner B for the bulk cable contract if owner B stops paying his/her monthly dues!”
What is your best recommendation for "the people" those I refer to as "the peasants" (which includes myself). What should they do when they are busy trying to live their lives and some management company is measuring their mulch?
Organize the neighbors – remind them that they could be the next one targeted – and oust the board. Neighbors have to understand that overeager management can be a financial liability for the owners. There are many examples of very costly lawsuits lost by associations.
Replace the former board with owners willing to use common sense! Then remove the overeager management company. Many managers fail to understand that they are just hired hands, not the folks running the show. A well-run association can be an asset to the owners. But owners forget: Association members’ homes are collateral for legal fees if the association loses lawsuits. We have seen many associations having to levy special assessments to pay for the cost of lawsuits. In some extreme cases owners woke up finding a lien was placed on their homes, liens placed there by the prevailing party in these lawsuits. Owners have to understand this, even if they “don’t want to get involved!”
Bergman has two websites worth checking out and bookmarking. Here they are and enjoy the music.
http://www.ccfj.net/
http://www.ccfjedu.net/
