Reform the Housing Market

November 11, 2008

By AHRC News Services Staff

First of all, congratulations on being elected President of the United States. Your steadiness of temperament, insight, and freedom from the intellectual and attitudinal shackles of the past appealed to a people tired of the self-defeating mindset of those who have ruined this country with their greed, selfishness and self-aggrandizement. The people of this country clearly wanted a new beginning, not to jettison the wisdom of the past, but to rescue it from those who had trampled it underfoot in their headlong rush for obscene wealth at the expense of the people.

You have recognized that the economy is the most urgent priority facing this country. You have also recognized that it was the fraud, corruption and abuse in the housing market that triggered the current catastrophe where Americans are losing their homes, jobs and life-savings. The purpose of this letter is to highlight some of the central causes of this crisis so that it will never inflict such pain on the American people again.

The American Homeowners Resource Center ("AHRC") was established in 1990 to be a voice for the ordinary American homeowner. It is a non-profit, grassroots, nationwide group of homeowners who seek to protect the American home from the predatory grasp of those who seek to commoditize the home for their own nefarious purposes. In 1997, AHRC created a website ( www.ahrc.com ) to better enable homeowners to share their experiences, publish their ideas on how to improve communities, and to unmask corruption when they found it. It has grown by leaps and bounds, and the website today averages 100,000 hits a day, or 3 million a month. While AHRC has had a particular focus on the 55 million Americans who live in homeowner associations, its range of interest encompasses the entire housing market.

AHRC believes that a number of principles must guide a nation's policies towards housing.

First, and most importantly, a home is a sacred place. We believe that you know this from your own experience. It is where Americans live, move and have their being. It is where they raise families, share their most precious moments, most profoundly live out their lives, and experience that sense of freedom without which no person can truly be said to be fully human and happy.

Second, as a corollary to this first principle, no federal, state or local economic or social policy can undermine or conflict with this fundamental goal. In particular, homes cannot be commoditized and made into economic pawns for the wealthification of the few. We have seen how this practice of securitizing mortgages has led to the downfall of the economy both in this country and around the world.

Third, the role of government in housing has to be as non-intrusive as possible. Its role is to protect and serve, not dominate and control. In homeowner associations - which have mushroomed in the last 50 years - the latter has predominated. Homeowner associations are private government that intrude on a citizen's life more than any other branch of government. They dictate what flowers you can plant, whether you can install a basketball hoop, whether you can fly the American flag - and fine you if you dare to do any of these things. And if you do not pay the fine, they will send their lawyers after you, who will rack up thousands in legal fees, and foreclose on your home if you not pay. In effect, the American home has been converted into a cash register for the numerous grasping hands of lawyers and other vendors with the connivance of judges.

This letter is not the place for a full exposition of the problems in the housing market. If you desire it, we will be happy to provide any further information that you need. However, there is one particular aspect that we would like to draw to your attention.

We recognize that you are in the midst of drawing a group of people around you to help you with the many issues that face you as the new President. We also recognize that your task requires the hiring of quality people, and that this task is a massive one, demanding the screening of countless candidates. To help you in that task, we would like to suggest the names of some people whom you should NOT hire. We list them here for a variety of actions that they have taken in the housing field. But the common element is that they all have not protected the sanctity of the American home. We will be happy to provide details if necessary.

Willie Brown, former speaker of the California Assembly. He is the one, who as speaker, initiated the Davis-Stirling Act - the legislation that made California homes into cash registers for lawyers and other vendors. He also stated in a C-SPAN interview that he authored the system of superdelegates in the Democratic Party to nullify the voice of the ordinary homeowner.
Gray Davis, former governor of California. When he was in the California State Assembly, Willie Brown tapped him to author the legislation that would turn California homes into cash registers for lawyers and other vendors. He hired the chief lobbyist for homeowner associatons, Katherine Rosenberry, to write the legislation. She testified a few years ago that Gray Davis asked her to take care of the lobbyists.
Jackie Speier, congresswoman from California. As a member of both the California Assembly and Senate, she refused to introduce legislation to curb the abuses in homeowner associations, even though homeowners repeatedly asked her to do so.
Janet Napolitano, governor of Arizona. Homeowners in homeowner associations in Arizona report that they repeatedly asked Janet Napolitano both when she was Attorney General and Governor, to investigate the fraud and corruption in homeowner associations. She refused to so.
Dan Lundgren, former Attorney General of California, and currently a House member of the Congress. Even though homeowners filed numerous requests asking him as Attorney General to investigate housing fraud in homeowner associations, he refused to do so. One homeowner, Jim Trautman, who had been working to clear up corruption in his homeowner association, appealed to Lundgren for help after he had been hit with fraudulent judgments. Lundgren refused to help. Eventually, Mr. Trautman committed suicide.

This is only a small, partial list, but they represent the very people whom citizens want to remove from the political arena. They are some of the reasons why people want change. They represent the very mindset that you campaigned to change. We are working with the victims of home foreclosure fraud on a more comprehensive list and will be sending it to you. In addition, other homeowners from around the country will be contacting you with other names from their parts of the country.

We know that the task facing you in so many areas is daunting. But as a home is built brick by brick, so a nation is built by the contributions of each citizen. We hope that the above helps in the re-building of a nation that has been ravaged beyond recognition in recent years.

We pray that your resolve will not falter as you begin this massive task of reconstruction.