Have you heard the one about homeowner associations being “democracy, up close and personal”?  How about homeowners in HOAs are better able to influence their immediate neighborhoods than their counterparts who live in the real world?  And one of my all time favorites, “If you don’t like the rules, you can change them.” See, there is absolutely nothing to worry about, it is all oh so very civilized.

Or is it?

Some Texas homeowners actually believed all that jazz.  They thought they had a say in their neighborhood and decided bans on fences or fence heights to preserve the view of a nonexistent golf course made no sense.  So, they did what any concerned person would do, they tried to amend the governing documents to change outdated restrictions and pave the way for a more friendly place to live.

Joining us On The Commons this week is Bill Davis.  Bill, a Texas attorney, represents homeowners who find themselves having to protect their rights and their homes from the associations they have the misfortune of belonging to.  We’ll talk to Bill about a particular association and find out why, as a “legal formality” the association sued 120 members who signed a petition to amend the governing docs.  We’ll also talk about some of the “games” attorneys and associations play to circumvent the rules, and in some cases, the laws.

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