It was all so simple in the beginning. Build new houses in a residential association, give the HOA  the authority to tax the homeowners and the responsibility of providing the services normally provided by the municipal government.  The local municipality still collects the full tax but no longer provides the services.  Is it fair?  Is it right? Probably not but it was simple.

Was it then necessary to take what was once an easy to read one or two page “contract” known as the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions and just keep adding more covenants, more restrictions, more conditions and empowering association boards and managers to become more intrusive and more abusive?  When the world was given a mere 10 Commandments that covered everything they needed to lead a good life, why do American homeowners need a tome of do’s and don’ts on how to live in their own homes? Haven’t we gone too far?

David Kahne joins us On The Commons this week.  David, an attorney in Houston, Texas has represented homeowners in their legal battles with their homeowner associations.  He has been active in trying to get homeowner friendly legislation enacted in Texas.  He has presented in numerous homeowner sponsored conferences.  The most recent conference held in Houston was just a couple of weeks ago.  Participants discussed the issues and talked about possible fixes.  We’ll talk to David and learn about the conference, legislative successes from the last session and we’ll find out what is on the agenda for next year’s session.  One of the greatest benefits of meeting as a group is the benefit of brainstorming.  We will hear about some very interesting ideas and comments that came out of this conference.