"Excellent, informative and instructional. In Defend Your Condo & Homeowner Rights, Dr. Joyce Starr describes the punitive and abusive nature of runaway condo and HOA boards (how they run away with your rights!) and precisely what to do about it." – Gary Hoch, Atlanta
Toxic mold, costly balcony renovations, whistleblower SLAPP suits, condo commandos, property manager kickbacks, the pitfalls of arbitration, greedy attorneys, and pet owner rights! Condo rights expert Dr. Joyce Starr presents a self-help guide for distraught condo and homeowner association (HOA) members. Targeted as a condo whistleblower over toxic mold, the author prevailed in a landmark legal case -- a SLAPP suit involving her cat! The author presents critical strategies for defending and protecting your rights. Discover how to stop Board abuse – including harassment, retaliation, and frivolous legal actions. This book is your armor and shield if/when your condo board or HOA board turns your life upside down. Dr. Starr served as a Board member during the entire episode. Self-help strategies offered in this work are steeped in first-hand experiences. Little has changed since her case unfolded. The playing field is still weighted against unsuspecting owners. After three long years, she prevailed! Her vital insights include:
How to defend yourself against condo commandos;How to deal with frivolous lawsuits and slapsuits;How to recognize and stop kickbacks and crimes;How to respond to warning letters;How to interact with condo attorneys;How to defend yourself in arbitration; andHow to control your emotions and fight for your rights.
Backstory: As a newly elected Board member, the author discovered mold in her condominium corridors. Reporting the mold to the president, she inadvertently delayed a plan for a multimillion dollar balcony renovation - with generous kickbacks for the property manager. The property manager tried to drive the author out of the building via a SLAPP suit that cost the association over $30,000. Board members blindly went along because: a) they wanted the association to repair their balconies; and b) they didn't believe that black mold could make them sick. A Board member leading the offensive against comprehensive mold remediation told unit owners: "The only way mold in this building can make you sick is if you lick it off the walls." The president declared: "I have no health concerns about the mold. We should remove it. But I am not the least bit worried that it will make anyone sick."
Dr. Starr has authored 25 books - eight on your condo/HOA rights - including: Defend Your Condo & Homeowner Rights, Condo Mold, Condo Owners Versus Condo Renters and Smoke Free Condos. As a Board member, she identified black mold in the condo corridors and forced the Board to remediate. Subsequently, as Board treasurer, Dr. Starr saved her Association over $50,000 by renegotiating a $1.7 million assessment loan for both mold remediation and balcony renovation, while directing the effort to ban smoking in condo units in 2012. She also launched a successful two-year campaign to stop the use of Roundup pesticides on community property. You can reach her via the "contact us" pages at DrJoyceStarr.com and StarrPublications.com.
