Make sure your community isn't run by “HOA Nazis”

Any visitor to Florida who takes time out from the usual tourist traps and drives around the state will see the signs “deed restricted community” everywhere they go.

Those signs mean that the people who live in a particular deed restricted cluster of homes are governed by by-laws usually put in place by the original developer and handed off to the homeowners when the development is completed.

It is estimated that more than two-thirds of Floridians live in deed restricted communities and pay fees that range from $100 a month to $1,000 depending on the amenities to a Homeowners Association run by a board of elected residents.

It is quite difficult not to live in a community without a HOA as they seem to be everywhere and if you want to own a newer house or condo there is practically no chance.

In the main the idea of a HOA is a good one. It looks after the communal good such as making sure that the community pool is kept clean and common grass areas are mown and watered.

But HOAs have now a terrible reputation in the state as those boards of directors – many consisting of retirees with lots of time on their hands – find innumerable ways to annoy and harass their fellow residents.

The St Petersburg Times recently reported that small civil matters between HOAs and residents are clogging up the state’s courts and it documented the case of one man who had spent $100,000 in legal fees because he wanted to park his truck on the driveway and the HOA said he had to park it in his garage.

Disputes over the condition of a resident’s lawn, the size and shape of a mailbox, the color of a driveway and whether a flag can fly outside the house have all taken up a court’s time.

So many HOAs were persecuting residents who couldn’t keep their lawns green because of Florida’s drought that the legislature this year passed a law saying residents could do away with their lawns and replace them with less thirsty gardens no matter what the HOA said.

There is a lot of string feelings about HOAs as the comment section on the truck parking story revealed. “HOA Nazis are the bane of society,” said one man.

“HOAs are becoming a hated form of housing. Like George Orwell's Animal Farm, all homeowners are equal, but board members are always more equal than their neighbors, and HOA lawyers are the pigs at the trough making millions from petty disputes,” said another.

There are some great bargains to be had in Florida’s property market at the moment but any purchaser should check to see how many disputes the HOA is in before buying.

As Prem kicks off, Americans sated by ‘summer of soccer’

The English Premiership starts again this weekend but unlike other years American soccer supporters are not desperate for a football fix. The highly promoted “summer of soccer” just finished in the US and over the last few weeks Americans in staggering numbers have filled stadiums around the country to watch some of the world’s best teams – Real Madrid, the two Milans, Barcelona and Chelsea for example – play each other as well as US opposition.

A few days ago a crowd of 93,137 in Los Angeles saw Barcelona trounce LA Galaxy and the few thousand fans supporting the home side did cheer a spectacular free-kick goal from David Beckham, who is moving along his path to yet another redemption

Earlier, the same city saw 81,224 turn up to watch Chelsea play Inter in the concocted World Soccer Challenge. More than 71,000 were in Baltimore for a leg in the same tourney between Chelsea and AC Milan. And 42,531 turned up for the AC - Inter derby near Boston. In total nearly 350,000 people watched the six-game tournament which was won by Chelsea.

Elsewhere two crowds of more than 65,000 turned up in Seattle to watch the home team Sounders, with ex Premiership players Kasey Keller and Freddie Ljungberg aboard, lose to first Chelsea and then Barcelona. The whole extravaganza wound up last Sunday with 72,368 people watching Real Madrid sweep aside (Washington) DC United 3-0.

There are two main takeaways from the last few weeks. One is that, despite conventional wisdom, many Americans love football and will pay to watch the game. The caveat is that it has to be played by the best in the world.

Consequently, two, they will never support the local league in the US in big numbers while it turns out competition that is about on a par with the lower standards across Europe.

While Beckham has raised the profile of the game in America the quality of football on sale from Major League Soccer has gone down. It wasn’t that long ago that MLS teams routinely beat European opposition on their pre-season visits.

Not this year. Even MLS’ best squad lost in a penalty shoot-out to Everton, the first time the Americans have lost the “All Star Game.”

Paradoxically US soccer players are getting better but many now bypass MLS and head overseas rather than work for the ludicrous wages on offer. MLS controls salaries and new players start at $34,000 a year.

American players will this upcoming season appear in all major leagues – Spain’s La Liga excepted now Jozy Altidore has signed for Hull City – and there are bunches playing in lesser divisions everywhere as chronicled by Yanks Abroad.

Why “cash for clunkers” leaves “scappage”in the dust

Why is it when it comes to marketing and selling the Americans still leave the Brits in the dust?

It doesn’t need a marketing genius to understand why the US’s “cash for clunkers” plan caught the nation’s imagination scheme and ran out of money in less than a week while the UK’s “car scrappage scheme” has taken more than two months to burn through its allocation of cash.

This great idea to boost the countries’ respective car industries was conceived in Britain but as has happened over the decades the Americans came up with the marketing pizzazz.

Let’s face car scrappage scheme sounds boring. And worse the word scrappage contains a not very well hidden four-letter word, tailor-made to cast doubt on whether buyers will be getting a good deal.

Also car scrappage scheme doesn’t make it with headline writers.

Cash for clunkers on the other hand creates a great mental picture and the alliteration is an absolute winner with journalists. Even the plan’s official name CARS (Car Allowance Rebate Scheme) is clever.

I have never considered myself a copy writer but “bungs for bangers” would definitely have created a lot more buzz in the UK and sums up the government’s plan to bribe folks into buying a new car. Any other suggestions gratefully accepted.

The long-time negative on Britain is that the country is full of bright people, who can invent and design lots of great stuff but unfortunately those same folk have no respect for the science of actually selling what they make and look down on salesmen.

Now I haven’t lived in the UK for nearly 25 years so I had hoped something would have changed. And I am sure there is improvement. But when I see phrases like “car scrappage scheme” I know sales and marketing still doesn’t get much respect in the UK.