VETERANS AFFAIRS 18

Hi all,
Here is the latest mail:

http://www.military.com/NL_MR/1,14852,6572,00.html

Dave

Cold War Article

Hi Dave

Your article in the UCO Reporter on the cold war activities of the Gov't and the Mob was quite interesting. Your article ends with Johnny Roselli in prison. As a lifelong reader of the world of Organized Crime I thought I had remembered that he had been murdered. Referring first to a biography I have on Sam Giancana and then Googling J. Roselli I see my memory is right. In 1976 his "chopped up remains were found floating in a sealed oil drum" in Florida.

Like the Lt says Be Aware

As many of you may know at the start of every Delegate Assembly meeting the Sheriff's office reports on any incidents in the Village in the past month and generally has little to report. It is then added that we must be alert of our surroundings when outside the Village.

This was brought home for me and my girlfriend late one night when we came out from the Regal Movie Complex on SR7. As we walked to our car I heard her talking to someone and turned to see a Sherrif's Deputy who asked her where we were parked as he walked with us to our car. Our car was parked only about 2 spaces in and we were fine. We thanked him for looking out for us and we feel appreciative of the Sherrif's Office efforts.

BLOG BIRTHDAY

Hi All,

Early in the morning of December 30, 2007 your BLOGMEISTER “gave birth” to this, BLOG. It was designed from the outset for the Unit Owners of Century Village. The very first post lay out why this BLOG was necessary. An extract from that Post follows:
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Sunday, December 30, 2007

WHY WAS THIS BLOG CREATED

“You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” ~John 8:32

Hi All,

With the latest CV Forum guidelines, I believe that the Forum has been reduced to a Bulletin Board for Fluff and Papp rather than substantive inquiry. It should be allowed to experience the ignominious demise it deserves.
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Researched data is regularly referred to as "opinion" by the Forum Managers.
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No criticism of the current Administration is tolerated even if it might be well deserved. Worse yet, UCO is presented as the only valid source of the "Full Facts" and the "Real Truth"! Simply ludicrous.

No controversial issues are entertained. Any non-compliant post is summarily deleted and declared "inappropriate"…..Etc….!!
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Our BLOG gained acceptance slowly; but has achieved some degree of acceptance and usage by our Unit Owners.

Following are some statistics as to usage of the BLOG since inception:
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Number of posts: 1087
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Number of Unique visitors: 5,517
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Number of visits: 60,091
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Number of pages viewed: 147,783
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60,091 visits came from 77 countries/territories
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TOP TEN COUNTRIES OF VISITOR ORIGIN
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1) UNITED STATES
2) CANADA
3) UNITED KINGDOM
4) ISRAEL
5) ARGENTINA
6) INDIA
7) GERMANY
8) AUSTRALIA
9) SPAIN
10) HUNGARY
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TOP TEN UNITED STATES OF VISITOR ORIGIN

1) FLORIDA
2) NEW YORK
3) MASSACHUSETTS
4) CALIFORNIA
5) TEXAS
6) NEW JERSEY
7) GEORGIA
8) PENNSYLVANIA
9) VERMONT
10) CONNECTICUT
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We have managed all of this with no one being banned and very few postings deleted; these deletions were beyond the pale as to decency, or consisted of SPAM, and are well below one, one hundredth of one percent of entries made.

With your help we will continue to grow and hopefully provide more useful information to our Unit Owners.
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Happy and healthy New Year to you all

Dave Israel

Congratulations, Dave

On the occasion of your first year anniversary of the creation of this blog, I wish to congratulate you for your continuous work on freedom of expression for the unit owners in a Legally run Century Village.

Much truth has been communicated from you and those that have the same passion for legal , to the chagrin of those who are members of the second force.

Wishing you continued success, health and happyness for the New Year.

Rosa J. Flum
----------------------------------------------------------------
Your BLOGMEISTER replies:

Thanks Rosa and all who find this BLOG useful and informative. I hope it is carried on for as long as our Unit Owners see need for it.

Later I shall post some year end statistics.

As always, I ask that all BLOGGERS spread the word, help others get on the BLOG, and provide a Forum for Free expression and Accurate Information sharing.

Happy New Year.

Dave

WHOSE COMPUTERS ARE THEY? - AND WHO SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO THEM?

WHOSE COMPUTERS ARE THEY? – WHO SHOULD BE ABLE TO USE THEM?
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Fresh from her position as Administrator of the CV Q & A, (that worked out well) Carole has re-emerged As The Supreme El-Presidente of the Century Village Computer Club (CVCC).
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Why do I say such a thing, you may ask! Fair question; let’s look at the following Email apparently written by CVCC President Carole:
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From: Olddiva@aol.com
To: Olddiva@aol.com
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Sent: Monday, December 08, 2008 12:58 AM
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Subject: cvcc an important request for your help................k
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Dear Members, We need your help! As many of you are aware, WPRF has notified us that they intend to open our computer classroom to the public.

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Last year, they donated 3 computers to our room for the use of our students, and now they have informed us that they want us to make 3 computers available in our room for public use.
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The room would be open to the public at all times, except during the time we have classes or lectures scheduled.
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A huge number of us are strongly opposed to this idea, as it was our members money that has paid for the computers, and other equipment that is in the classroom, and we are concerned about what condition we would find our teaching computers in.
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This room would not be 'policed' by anyone while it is open to all those who wish to use it. We have difficulty seeing how all the equipment would be kept safe from theft or use by people who wander into the room.
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As you know, the room isn't even open to those of us who are members of the club, except during the time that we may be attending a class or lecture. Here's how you can help:
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1) We have a petition, stating that we do not agree with WPRF's decision, available for your signature at the General Membership Meetings. If you agree that we should not have to share our classroom, please take a minute of your time to sign it.
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2) If you would like to write a letter or an email of protest to my attention, please do so. My email address is dancelatin@msn.com.
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3) We also strongly encourage you to attend the Operations Committee Meeting to be held on Tuesday, December 30 at 10:00am, to express your thoughts directly to the officers of UCO and to Anita Cruz, Vice President of WPRF. The more people who attend, the greater chance we have of 'winning the battle'.
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Please try your best to attend this meeting. The future of our club may depend on it. Thanks for listening, and thanks for anything you can do to help with this dilemma.

Best regards,

Carole
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Ok! Let’s look at this Email:


Your BLOGMEISTER has long desired to join the CVCC; as I have 50 years of hands on experience with computer based analysis, Operations and Security; both Mainframes and PC’s. I think that I might have something to contribute, and of course working with those of like background in the CVCC, much to learn!!
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Why haven’t I done so? Because of nonsense like this Email above;

I have been told by some who are in the CVCC that it is run like a prison camp; endless pointless rules; I am told that it is run by a small clique who enjoy telling people what to do and how to do it, does this sound familiar, as related to the “Tile People, “Plumbers”, and where to have a “High School Reunion” tripe of the CV Q & A??
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Can you imagine; not even the members of the Club can use the computers unless they do so in the context of an official class format.
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The real issue however is the admission in the Email that “last year, WPRF donated 3 computers”
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Ok, what does that mean; does that mean that Mark Levy bought these 3 computers out of pocket; or does it really mean that WPRF bought those computers using Unit Owner Money? This is a critical question, because if those machines were purchased with Unit Owner money, then every computer literate Unit Owner in CV should be allowed to use those machines.

Furthermore, I suspect that over the years, since the inception of the CVCC , Unit Owner money may have been used to purchase more than just the three computers mentioned in the email.
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I have asked Anita Cruz about this and she has agreed to advise me as to how many, if any, fall into this category.
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Anita is busy and this will require research into archived records, so this research will be as time and priorities allow, which is perfectly reasonable.
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As to the issue mentioned in the Email “This room would not be 'policed'!

Such language, So typical of an authoritarian mind set!
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The idea that our Unit Owners need to be “Policed”, simply ludicrous; how about guided, assisted, instructed, aided…Etc.

Such an approach might lead to more dues paying members and perhaps a relaxation of President Carole's autocratic grip on the CVCC. Believe it or not there are undoubtedly some Non-CVCC Unit Owners who might like to join if the Club were less authoritarian - I certainly would!
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As to attending the Operations Committee meeting on Tuesday 30 December; good idea, although non Committee members may not be allow to speak during actual debate, (Oh yes folks – Open Meetings are dead in certain committees) You may get to talk before the vote is taken, if indeed the issue comes to a vote.
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Your money may have paid for some of those machines, if so, we must insist on our fair and proportional access to them.

Dave Israel

PS:

The following is extracted from the CVCC Web Site, History page:

REF:

http://cvcc.centuryvillagewpb.org/history.htm

“John Ford whose tenure as President marked a major step up in the impact the club was making at Century Village. John's vision and unbounded energy sparked a rapid expansion of club activities. It was he who pressed Village Management for the financial aid that sparked an explosive increase in our ability to keep up with the demand for increased services and equipment”

So, I ask again; Who paid for the CVCC Computers – Who should have access to them?

Dave

GUN CLUB CAFE

We recently went into the new Gun Club Cafe at the Crosstown Plaza on Community and Military. It has been renovated very nicely. The waitresses were very friendly. We were four. Food was great. We met a few people from our village there. All in all, it is great. Now, let's talk about prices. The bill for breakfast for the four of us, including tip, came to $40. Now that's $10 a piece.

Let's compare this to Bagels and More just across on Okee. The food is always great. We meet dozens of people from our village. Everyone is friendly. The customers, the waitresses, even the owner at times sits down with us and jokes around. Now, the bill: It tops $4 plus $1 for tip for $5. That means it is one-half the price of GCC. B&M is the best buy and you meet the best friends and have a better time. That's how I feel; how do you?

VETERANS AFFAIRS 17

Hi All,
Here is the latest mail


http://www.military.com/NL_MR/1,14852,6551,00.html

http://images.military.com/NL_WK/1,14845,6528,00.html


Dave Israel

MARS ROVER

Hi All,
Just think about it!

Dave Israel

Transponders Refunds?

What is the possibility of receiving a refund for a transponder, which is not used, now that one of my auto's refuses to be abused, and it's drivers' anxiety level rises upon approaching,either transponder's lanes..?.

Praise for former volunteer

Anonymous said...
Too bad that all of you can recognize the slight to Dave and his committee, and not a single one of you has ever recognized the slight that was perpetrated on Howie Silver. I often read how wonderful Channel 63 is nowadays, but if it were not for Howie Silver, there would never have been a Channel 63.

I DISAGREE, as on more than five times; I volunteered to assist Howie Silver in his efforts on Channel 63 – before he quit. I even asked the Chair, Ken Davis to invite Howie to work with us after he quit in the restoration of the Channel. I also encouraged Howie directly to come back to work on Channel 63, and offered to personally bring him up to speed on the new software we have installed. Howie chose not to return, and that is his right. I again thanked Howie for his help during the Becker & Poliakoff presentation, when a projector was needed and Howie helped us find the one that was available. Maybe He just feels he has done enough, for now!
Ed Black

CONTRACTORS AND HANDYMAN - CHECK THEM OUT FIRST - IT'S THE LAW

Hi All,

The use of Licensed, Insured and Certified Contractors is very important to all of our Villagers. The following extract applies:

REF:

http://www.pbcgov.com/pzb/building/building_safety/unlicensed_brochure.pdf

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Each year the staff of the Construction Industry Licensing Board of Palm Beach County assists the public in recovering several hundred thousands of dollars in would-be losses.
YOU…can be your best defense against losses by not dealing with uncertified contractors….
Using a qualified, licensed contractor is not just a good idea…IT’S THE LAW.

Please take the time to read over the Referenced Site.

Dave Israel

FACT CHECKING - AND THE UCO REPORTER

FACT CHECKING – AND THE UCO REPORTER:
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In the “Fountain of Misinformation” department, VP Jerry Karpf never disappoints.
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On page 9 of the January 2009 UCO Reporter, in his article on Maintenance, he refers to “The Department of Licenses”.

Good luck with that one Jerry there is no Florida Department of Licenses. What I assume is meant, if you wish to determine if a Contractor or Handyman is licensed in the State of Florida,

is The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
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Following is the URL for the Site where you may check on a Con tractor or Handyman by Name, License number, City or County or License type.
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Given the proclivity of VP Karpf to shoot from the hip and his repeated failure to check the accuracy of his quoted “facts”; it might be wise for him to stop writing in the Reporter or perhaps the UCO Reporter could train a squad of Fact Checkers to filter the flow of errors!
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Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

https://www.myfloridalicense.com/wl11.asp?mode=0&SID=

Licensee Search :

The DBPR Online Services website provides information about applicants and licensed individuals for those professions and businesses that are regulated by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. If you would like to download general information (e.g. mailing addresses) about a particular group, please visit our free download site by clicking here.
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Select Search Type:

Search by Name
Search by License Number
Search by City or County
Search by License Type

Dave Israel

SINGLE POINTS OF FAILURE

SINGLE POINTS OF FAILURE – DISASTERS IN THE MAKING FOR CV

The following Comment was posted elsewhere in the BLOG:
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“prof pls said...

H. Silver may have worked on Channel 63 but for his own glory, he refused other volunteers and was a one man Committee, he did not care about the village, he dropped us in it when he quit and refused to help those trying to pick up the ball. He obviously has serious problems displayed at the Delegate Mtg, they should not be dumped on the village.Where is professional management that would know which Committees are not functioning for the benefit of the village?
Dec 22, 2008 9:29:00 AM”
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Your BLOGMEISTER can directly identify with this issue.

I do some peripheral work from time to time on the Channel 63 Committee, which now consists of Ken Davis, Ed Black and, as noted, yours truly; most importantly, others are in training; this includes Mike McNellis. Additionally, Ed is preparing an SOP with step-by-step instructions on how to update the Computer Graphics so that any computer literate type may learn to prepare and upload new material. I hope to be one of the first to work from this SOP and to assist in picking up some of the work load.

Previously, as the Commenter noted, the Committee was Howie Silver; although to his credit he did train Sadie Lovenger to post new graphics on the system, Sadie trained me and I am very appreciative of her efforts.
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I was taught very early in my career in the Intelligence Community never to be the only person who was knowledgeable on an important project, this problem is called “The Single Point of Failure” syndrome. This simply means that if the individual drops out for any reason, the project comes to a screeching halt.
Very nice, if you enjoy personal aggrandizement, but potentially very damaging to the project.
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The Channel 63 operation is technically complex, it is, after all a mini-TV station. There are a number of pieces of equipment involved which require careful patching and maintenance from time to time and there is much to be learned about the Hardware Computers and Software that make up the Graphics Creator and Player systems.
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Previously these sorts of maintenance problems were handled by a third party support entity at the cost of $350.00 per hour. The current Committee has eliminated this noisy filter and we now deal directly with the provider of the Hardware and Software; thus far at no Tech. support cost.
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The updating and care and feeding of the Computer Graphics system that we all view on Channel 63 has taken literally hundreds of hours of detail work by Ed Black; this work is ongoing without end and others are becoming progressively involved. You can thank these volunteers for the steady improvement of our Public Information Channel, CVTV-63.
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What does this all mean; simply put, there is no room in our Village for single person Committees. There must be apprentice programs initiated for all important Committees. There can be no “Shoot from the hip” philosophy in the running of our little City.
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There must be a program in place to encourage Research, Science, and Adherence to the Law, in all things. I reiterate, we are running a small City here and there must be no “Single Points of Failure”

Dave Israel

Free Calls to America From Almost Anywhere

http://callingamerica.com/
Friends overseas can call from their pc to your phone.
12/18/08 By JOHN BIGGS
In trying times like these, every little bit helps, even if it’s just saving the price of a phone call. CallingAmerica.com is a new ad-supported Web service that lets you make phone calls to any number in the United States from any computer with a Web browser and a broadband connection.
The service, which begins Thursday, requires you to view a short ad before you place the call. The audio is played through the browser, and the site uses your computer’s microphone to transmit what you say.
There is a limit to the fun, however. Unregistered users can make calls of up to two minutes; registration — which is also free — gives you unlimited calls of up to 15 minutes. While it’s not as versatile as other Internet calling services like Skype or Vonage, it is enough to make a few quick calls while on the road without racking up long-distance charges. Most important, the service works domestically and all over the world. That means you can call the United States free from any cybercafe or Internet-enabled computer virtually anywhere. While it might not be as cozy as a call from a phone booth in London, the service is certainly cheaper. Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

Jerry Flum Says:

You should prepare yourself to be fed pablum when reading the Uco Reporter.

Here a good example...read the article by Kurt Weiss in the January UCO Reporter, page 8, THE MILLENNIUM AGREEMENT: AN EXPLANATION and compare that article with the letter that was sent in the packet to all unit owners with the Millennium/UCO Agreement at the end of 1999, signed by the very same Kurt Weiss.

CABLE COMMITTEE - IS IT NEEDED?

Hi All,

One of the great anticipations in my life is the arrival monthly of the UCO Reporter. It is without question a UCO House Organ, which spews syrupy sweetness, erroneous statements and ignores the reality of the many problems we have in CV. The January 2009 issue is no exception, the UCO Officer Corps is a target rich environment, and some of them emit a never ending stream of error and oversight. Let’s look at one:

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On page 5, in UCO VP Jerry Karpf’s column we find the following:

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“As most of you know at this time, we have hired a company to negotiate a new contract with Comcast. Thanks to the skills of Myron Solomon, George Lowenstein and Dorothy Tetro, they have worked out a great deal for Century Village.”

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OK, what do you BLOGGERS think about that statement?
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As Chair of the Cable Committee, and in the name of every member of the Committee, I do not think much of it at all. The facts are quite different; first of all, CSI is not charged with merely negotiating a contract with Comcast; CSI will survey every potential provider of content, in order to obtain the best entertainment package for our Village as regards services and price.

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Secondly, these “skilled” actors never even imagined that such a negotiating company as CSI existed, until your Cable Committee found them. They never imagined that there was the potential for large fees to be paid by a provider for the right to gain access to our village.

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Finally, the “Great Deal” negotiated with CSI as to their compensation package was a joint effort, orchestrated by your Cable Committee and UCO.

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If one analogizes the effort to a football game, the play went as follows: the Cable Committee was the first to carry the ball and gained 70 yards. UCO then carried the ball the remaining 30 yards for a touchdown. Indeed admirable play, but don’t you think that our Cable Committee deserves a mention in the same breath as the “three skilled persons” mentioned in the article.

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VP Karpf and the “Three Skilled Actors” take note. The message you are sending through this statement, in the UCO Reporter, suggests that you view the efforts of our Cable Committee as superfluous, and that you clearly feel that you four can do a better job! Just say the word, here in this BLOG, and I shall promptly resign from the Cable Committee; I cannot speak for the others on the Committee.

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Dave Israel
Cable Chair

VETERANS AFFAIRS 16

Hi all,
Here is the latest mail:

http://images.military.com/NL_WK/1,14845,6508,00.html

I highly recommend the Afghan article; it brings to crystal clarity the ongoing effort to scour the ends of the Earth for certain Terrorists.

Shortly after 911, names were inscribed on a list that will never be erased. Our Nations finest are prosecuting these reprobates wherever the Intelligence leads, under incredibly difficult conditions, and this effort will never stop, until a sample of their DNA lies quivering in a lab for positive identification.

Never forget these agents, both Military and Civilian, who carry out these policies, at great risk to their lives.

Dave Israel

Only Your Kind of Music

Try Pandora, click title or http://www.pandora.com/
Use it for uninterrupted, commercial-free music. It’s completely free, and you set up stations according to your personal preferences.
Sometimes it begins with music that is “similar to your choice” but then after a minute it focuses on exactly what you requested (most of the time).
Doo Wop forever!

Rate Your Handyman

DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE HANDYMEN WHO ADVERTISE IN THE VILLAGE.
IF SO, PLEASE RATE THEM AS TO GOOD WORK, REASONABLE COST.

AL HANDYMAN CV RESIDENT 315-0728 478-2058
TIM HANDYMAN PAINTING, REPAIRS 352-5493
LENNY LEVARITY , WALLS, 319-8611
ED WOOD CV RES. 688-7979
JIM WILSON PLUMBING 433-9909
FRANK FERRANTE ELECTRIC 385-4424
BURT FIRESTONE 478-1937
PRIDE CONTRACT 1-800-955-1086, REP. 1-888-406-9092
JAY REMODELING 255-1000
HERB CV RES. 686-8968
BRIAN 792-6634
ILYA BIRD CV RES. 686-9879 CELL (646)266-1900
FRANK FALINE SCREEN, WINDO 697-9027 CELL 954-270-0600
HY 641-4339
JOE VILLAGE HANDYMAN 689-1704
JOE CARRIKER 840-6345; CELL 667-1040
MILTON 687-4541
MIKE 616-4389 CELL 632-0541
DAVID MOYERS 686-6640
JAY STOUTE PAINTER 407-686-5144
VALS 845-1428 845-8850 PAGER 551-2365
SEACREST 833-6411 EXT 49
TINTING SOLAR ENRGY 968-7520

INSURANCE 2009

HB 601 Compliance

I can not find any information for Condo owners compliance with hazard and liability insurance provisions for 2009, thank you for your kind attention.
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The query above came from a CV Resident by way of the “Contact Us” channel in the BLOG Sidebar. It is of interest to all of our Unit Owners.
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Identifying information has been redacted for reasons of privacy. All, highlighting in red below is mine,
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It is strongly recommended that all BLOGGERS read the entire Insurance statute:

FS 718.111 (11) (g)

Dave Israel
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First I have extracted the originating language from HB 601, upon which the Statute is founded:
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REF: http://www.ccfj.net/PB08H601.html
Commencing Circa line 43…..Requiring that an

association require each owner to provide evidence of a current policy of hazard and liability insurance upon request; limiting the frequency with which an association may make such a request; authorizing an association to purchase coverage on behalf of an owner under certain
circumstances; providing for the collection of the costs of such a policy; providing responsibilities of the unit owner and association with regard to reconstruction work and associated costs after a casualty loss;
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Following is the relevant extract from FS 718:
REF:
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http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=Ch0718/ch0718.htm

FS 718.111 (11) (g) 1., 2., 4.

(g) Every hazard insurance policy issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2009, to an individual unit owner must contain a provision stating that the coverage afforded by such policy is excess coverage over the amount recoverable under any other policy covering the same property. Such policies must include special assessment coverage of no less than $2,000 per occurrence. An insurance policy issued to an individual unit owner providing such coverage does not provide rights of subrogation against the condominium association operating the condominium in which such individual's unit is located.
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1. All improvements or additions to the condominium property that benefit fewer than all unit owners shall be insured by the unit owner or owners having the use thereof, or may be insured by the association at the cost and expense of the unit owners having the use thereof.
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2. The association shall require each owner to provide evidence of a currently effective policy of hazard and liability insurance upon request, but not more than once per year. Upon the failure of an owner to provide a certificate of insurance issued by an insurer approved to write such insurance in this state within 30 days after the date on which a written request is delivered, the association may purchase a policy of insurance on behalf of an owner. The cost of such a policy, together with reconstruction costs undertaken by the association but which are the responsibility of the unit owner, may be collected in the manner provided for the collection of assessments in s. 718.116.
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4. Unit owners are responsible for the cost of reconstruction of any portions of the condominium property for which the unit owner is required to carry casualty insurance, and any such reconstruction work undertaken by the association shall be chargeable to the unit owner and enforceable as an assessment pursuant to s. 718.116. The association must be an additional named insured and loss payee on all casualty insurance policies issued to unit owners in the condominium operated by the association.
----------------------
I hope this answers the question.
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Dave Israel

TEST

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dogs back ryryry

Dave

Beware of Broward Factory Service

Don't sign a long-term service contract with Broward Factory Service. They'll rip you off

on every little job by saying they charge extra for it since it doesn't come under the contract.

REAL ESTATE VALUES

Why home values may take decades to recover
Some see 2006 as 'lifetime' peak in prices
By Dennis CauchonUSA TODAY
More room to fall?

For every $100 spent on a house in 1950 the investment rose slightly through 2002, then soared to about $192 in 2006, adjusting for inflation. Then credit dried up, and the bust began.
Rick Wallick moved into a new, three-bedroom $200,000 home in Maricopa, Ariz., in October 2005. Today, the home is worth $80,000.
The disabled software engineer stopped making mortgage payments this month. His $70,000 down payment is now worthless. His dream house will be foreclosed on next year.
"We're so far underwater it's not funny," says Wallick, 57, who had to return to his original home in Oregon to care for a sick family member and tend to his own medical problems. Wallick, one of the hardest-hit victims in one of the states hit hardest by the housing crisis, lost 60% of his home's value in three years.
His story is an extreme example, but home values have fallen so sharply since hitting a historic peak in the spring of 2006 that many Americans are wondering how much more prices can sink.
As painful as the decline has been, history suggests home values still may have a long way to drop and may take decades to return to the heights of 2½ years ago.
"We will never see these prices again in our lifetime, when you adjust for inflation," says Peter Schiff, president of investment firm Euro Pacific Capital of Darien, Conn. "These were lifetime peaks."
The boom in home prices — fueled by heavily leveraged loans built on low or even no down payments — made it easy to forget that housing values had been remarkably stable for a half-century after World War II, rising at roughly the same pace as income and inflation. Prices soared in most of the country — especially in Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada and metro areas of Washington, D.C., and New York — during a brief period of easy lending, especially from 2002 to 2006. That era's over.
So far, home values nationally have tumbled an average of 19% from their peak. As bad as that is, prices would need to fall as least 17% more to reach their traditional relationship to household income, according to a USA TODAY analysis of home prices since 1950. In that scenario, a $300,000 house in 2006 could be worth about $200,000 when real estate prices hit bottom.
The price plunge has wiped out trillions of dollars in home equity and caused the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Susan Wachter, professor of real estate at the University of Pennsylvania, fears that foreclosures and tight credit could send home prices falling to the point that millions of families and thousands of banks are thrust into insolvency.
"Homes are different than other goods and services," she says. "The fragility of our banking system is tied to the value of homes."
Home values have fallen before — during the Great Depression and in Texas after a 1980s oil boom, for example — but those drops were a response to other economic forces. This time, the housing price collapse is the cause of the nation's broad economic troubles, not just an effect.
"If we have another 20% decline in prices, we'll need another bailout of banks similar to what we just did," Wachter says.
Other economists see a brighter picture in the long term. Wachovia economist Adam York expects home values to keep falling until 2010 but is optimistic they will recover.
"The one saving grace is the population is growing by 3 million people a year," he says. "They need to live somewhere. That means more roofs."
Until recently, homes were stable, unspectacular investments, not get-rich-quick schemes.
Nationally, the typical existing home was worth roughly the same in 2000 as it was in 1950, after adjusting for inflation, according to Yale University economist Robert Shiller.
Newly built homes generally were bigger and more expensive than older houses. As time passed, that meant Americans lived in larger, more valuable homes overall. But a house, once constructed, grew slowly in value. California in the 1970s, Texas in the 1980s and Florida on-and-off for a century were conspicuous exceptions to the rule.
Despite only modest increases in value, homes were smart investments. Owners lived in a house, then got their money back when they sold. That's a better deal than renting. Borrowers got tax breaks, too, and built equity that could be leveraged into bigger houses as their incomes grew.
From 2002 to 2006, houses went from being a tortoise to a hare in the investment world. Home sale profits and relaxed lending standards such as lower down payment requirements and adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) made it possible for buyers of all income levels to pay more for houses.
When the housing bubble began to deflate in 2006, history had a sobering lesson to teach. Home values had closely tracked three common-sense measures for many years:
•Income — Home values floated at about three times average household income from 1950 to 2000. In 2006, the average household income was $66,500. Under the traditional model, home prices should have been about $200,000. Instead, the typical home sold for $301,000.
•Rent — Homes traditionally have sold for about 20 times what it would cost to rent them for a year. In 2006, houses were selling for 32 times annual rent.
•Appreciation — Existing homes grew in value by less than 0.5% per year, after adjusting for inflation, from 1950 to 2000. From 2000 to 2006, home prices rose at an average annualized rate of 8.2% above inflation and peaked with a 12.3% jump in 2005. Housing prices began to fall in the second quarter of 2006.
Inflation could help homes recapture their old prices, if not their value. But when inflation is factored in, home prices might not return to their 2006 peak for many years. Housing prices are meaningless if you don't adjust for inflation, says Schiff, the investment manager.
He points out that gold peaked in 1980 at $850 an ounce in response to inflation and the Iranian hostage crisis. It never recovered. Today, it sells for about $750 an ounce and would have to top $2,000 an ounce when adjusted for inflation to match its value in 1980.
"That's the nature of bubbles," Schiff says. "The price never comes back."
An extreme relaxation of lending standards inflated the housing bubble.
"Shoddy underwriting on mortgages" is the primary cause of the housing crisis, says York, the Wachovia economist. "People got caught off-guard by how bad it was."
Millions of home buyers — poor, rich and middle class — were approved to buy homes at prices that had been out-of-reach just a few years earlier. Lenders offered low introductory "teaser" rates on adjustable rate mortgages and approved borrowers based on artificially low mortgage payments, not the higher ones that took effect later.
What else changed:
•Optional payments on principal — In 2005, 29% of new mortgages allowed borrowers to pay interest only — not principal — or pay less than the interest due and add the cost to the principal. That was up from 1% in 2001, according to Credit Suisse, an investment bank.
• No verification of income — Half of mortgages generated in 2006 required no or minimal documentation of household income, reports Credit Suisse.
•Tiny down payments — In 1989, the average down payment for first-time home buyers was 10%, reports the National Association of Realtors. In 2007, it was 2%.
Low down payments and ARMs gave homeowners enormous financial leverage to pay high home prices. Leverage boosts buying power through debt, the same way a 100-pound woman uses a lever to jack up a 3,000-pound car.
Consider a couple with $20,000 cash. In 2006, they easily could get a 5% down mortgage to buy a $400,000 house. Today, a 10% down payment would limit the couple to a $200,000 house.
"Leverage matters a lot when you buy a house," says University of Wisconsin economist Morris Davis, an expert on housing prices and rents. "We're not going to go back to the days of only 20% (down payment) mortgages, but the days of putting nothing down are long gone."
Easy access to borrowed money reset all housing prices, even those paid by cautious borrowers. People of all income classes moved up a notch, Census Bureau housing data show.
The sale of new homes costing $750,000 or more quadrupled from 2002 to 2006. The construction of inexpensive homes costing $125,000 or less fell by two-thirds. The biggest boom was in the middle. Homes costing $200,000 to $300,000 became affordable to millions of families.
The failed titans of home lending — Countrywide Financial, IndyMac Bank and Washington Mutual — specialized in high-risk, highly leveraged loans.
"The price correction has been severe, rapid and probably permanent because lending standards have changed," says mortgage credit analyst Suzanne Mistretta, a senior director at Fitch Ratings, a bond rating company. "We are not going to see 2006 peak levels for a very, very long time."
The Great Depression of the 1930s was preceded by a real estate bubble, also fueled by loose lending standards and shrinking down payment requirements. Those real estate problems — and solutions — echo today's.
Florida real estate was the epicenter of speculation in the mid-1920s. Developers ran up prices by selling to borrowers who put as little as 10% down. Those were shockingly risky loans at a time when the standard mortgage lasted five years and required a 50% down payment.
The risky loans went bad first, but it was the spread of credit problems to the supposedly safe loans — five years and 50% down — that caused the housing market to collapse.
The five-year loans required no payments to reduce principal. Homeowners expected to refinance mortgages when the loans expired, usually with the same lender. The stock market crash led to a "liquidity crisis" — no money to borrow — that dried up mortgage refinancing.
Millions of families lost their homes to foreclosure. Falling prices on nearly everything — homes, farm crops, wages — made consumers reluctant to buy and banks afraid to lend.
As part of the New Deal, the government took control of millions of loans and restructured them into something new: the modern mortgage, with 20% down and principal that is repaid over the life of the loan. The government extended the mortgages to 15 years, then 25 and finally 30.
When World War II ended in 1945 and the Baby Boom began the following year, the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage became a cornerstone of society and led to unprecedented levels of homeownership.
This resilient home finance system should recover in a few years, some analysts say.
National Association of Realtors chief economist Lawrence Yun predicts home prices will keep falling in 2009 but could return to their 2006 peak in three years, not counting inflation.
He says the bubble largely was confined to four states — California, Nevada, Florida and Arizona. "People who bought at the peak in those states will need time for prices to recover, even up to five years," he says. Yun says people who buy now "have much less risk of price declines and a great possibility of price gains."
The danger of rapidly falling home prices is that — similar to the Depression — potential buyers and lenders will stay away, fueling even sharper price declines.
During the housing boom, buyers expected prices to rise, so they were quick to buy, borrow and pay a premium. As prices drop, home buyers wait for better deals. says economist Dean Baker of the liberal Center for Economic Policy Research in Washington, D.C.
Lenders want bigger down payments to protect against the falling value of collateral. Homeowners lose equity, so they can't buy other houses. "Price declines can be a self-reinforcing mechanism," Wachter says.
An out-of-control price collapse would have dire consequences, Baker says. Even the most conservative banks would find themselves carrying portfolios of toxic mortgage loans.
If housing prices don't stabilize at traditional levels, financial troubles could spread everywhere — to credit cards, car loans and commercial mortgages, Baker says. "The waves of bad debt will just keep coming," he says.
Baker and Wachter want the U.S. government to take aggressive steps to help homeowners, not just financial institutions. They support expanding programs that restructure troubled mortgages to prevent a flood of foreclosed homes from coming on the market and driving prices below their traditional level.
Rick Wallick is an example of how even cautious borrowers can be hurt by a price collapse. He made a 35% down payment on his house and got a 15-year, fixed-rate mortgage at 5.75%.
Arizona's real estate mess wiped him out anyway. Now that he's in Oregon, he's renting out his Arizona house at a loss and can't afford to keep two homes.
Wallick's Arizona house is surrounded by countless foreclosed homes and empty lots. He told his mortgage company that his December payment will be his last. "It may ruin my credit rating, but I can still buy food," he says.
Shelley McComb used a no-money-down, interest-only ARM to pay $199,000 in December 2006 for a new three-bedroom home near Birmingham, Ala. The house's assessed value briefly rose to $225,000.
Now, she needs to move to Atlanta where her husband got a promotion. The McCombs put their home up for sale in March. After getting no offers, they dropped their price to $179,000. They'd settle for $160,000.
Shelley McComb, 30, who manages a doggie day care center, says, "I wish we'd rented.

ENJOY, MIKE

POTS, CELLULAR, VoIP and Gate Security

"How does the thing work?
Electricity; the high priest of false security"*

* Sherlock Holmes and The Pearl of Death - 1944.
---------------------------------------

Hi All,
Every year around the time when The Snowbirds return to Century Village, an issue arises in the Security Committee; of which I am a member.

"Why Can't I use my Cellphone to call in Guests thru the gate via the Automated Guest Entry System (AGES)"? Many of these folks have given up their Plain Old Telephone System (POTS) landline and use Cell phones exclusively.

The majority of the Committee thus far has always decided against allowing this, the reasoning being that "it is desireable that the Unit Owner be physically present in their unit when calling in a guest". Clearly, using a Cell Phone would allow the Unit Owner to call in from anywhere.

I have repeatedly suggested that the committee is fighting a Technology Wave of inexorable power, but to no avail.

This is easy to enforce, because there are dedicated number blocks which equate to Cellular Telephones and they are easy to look up. However, it should be noted that the Telephone Number Portablity Act pokes a bit of a hole in this patina of security because it allows you to Port a Landline number to a Cell Phone: REF:

http://www.law.duke.edu/journals/dltr/articles/2004dltr0006.html

The Technology Wave is about to expand exponentially:

a new technology is spreading called "Voice over Internet Protocol" (VoIP). This technology will poke a much bigger hole in our sense of Security here in CV. These calls consist of digitized voice routed over the INTERNET, and there are no dedicated number blocks uniquely associated with VoIP. In fact, when you subscribe to a VoIP service, you may use your existing Florida local Plain Old Telephone System (POTS) number, and it is not subject to being readily detected as a VoIP number, nor is any other VoIP number that you may be assigned.

So; if you subscribe to a VoIp service which is National in coverage, a Unit Owner with such a service could call in a guest via their VoIP service from anywhere in the country.

The AGES would not know the difference nor can UCO look up the VoIP number when the Unit Owner registers it for the Call in system; it will look like any other Landline Telephone Number.

Dave Israel

Mellow Bloggers' Christmas

Thanks to Mike

Alternative to Speedbump?

http://www.shinyshiny.tv/2008/12/should_we_expec.html#more

How about this on the entrance of CV?

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE BROWSER

Hi All,
It should not surprise our BLOGGERS to know that they are an eclectic group. This is reflected in the broad choice of Web Browsers that they use to "surf" Cyberspace. There have been, to date, 57,574 visits to our BLOG.

The BLOG statistics reflect the following Browser usage:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BROWSER..............NUMBER ..........PERCENTAGE

Internet explorer .......45,785 ................79.52%
Firefox .....................8,888 ................15.52%
Safari .......................2,449 ..................4.25%
Netscape .....................262 .................0.46%
Chrome .........................84 .................0.15%
Mozilla ..........................45 .................0.08%
Seamonkey .....................35................. 0.06%
Opera ............................21 ..................0.04%
Blazer .............................2................ >0.01%
Camino ..........................2 .................>0.00%
Netfront .........................1 .................>0.00%

While the vast majority of our BLOGGERS use IE, a significant group do not; what are your experiences and opinions of these other Browsers, I think many of our BLOGGERS would be interested.

Dave Israel

W.P.R.F. MONEY

Does anyone remember the amount of money George said was coming to residents after the lawsuit was settled? I seem to recall about $12. and some odd cents per month, I could be wrong. Our letter from WPRF says $10.61 minus, minus which leaves us with a decrease of $6.91. I am not questioning the overall increase of $3.70 just the beginning sum from WPRF of $10.61. Can anyone help?

-----------------------------------------------------------

Your BLOGMEISTER replies:

---

Very interesting question Grace:

---

Following, enclosed in quotation marks, is the critical section of the Arbitration agreement as regards financial settlement:

---

Start Extract-----

“Para. 3 Payment:

After the Effective Date, in full and final settlement of any and all claims in this Arbitration and/or Litigation, WPRF agrees to make the following payments;

1. On the Effective Date of this agreement, WPRF shall pay to UCO the amount of $400,000.00 to reimburse UCO for litigation fees and expenses incurred;

2. On or before June 1, 2009, WPRF shall pay to UCO the amount of $200,000.00 for additional expenses incurred;

3. Beginning on or before the 10th day of January 2009, and on or before the 10th day of the next 23 months (for a total of 24 months) WPRF shall pay $100,000.00 per month into the Operating Account. The funds for these payments shall be made from the existing residents’ reserve account; the remaining balance necessary to make the foregoing payments into the Operating Account shall be paid by WPRF as necessary.

UCO waives any rights with respect to any amounts currently in the residents’ reserve account. The payments set forth herein shall not be deemed Operating Expenses by WPRF.”

---

End extract-----

In addition to the monetary component, the personal lawsuit by WPRF against UCO President George Loewenstein; will "go away" by means of joint party stipulations.

REF:
W.P.R.F., Inc. v George Loewenstein, Case No. 50 2007 CA 017430.

And

Arbitration Case No.32 181 Y 00138 07.

Now the number of interest as regards the question at hand is the $100,000.00 per month.

Divide by 7854 units yields: $12.73 per unit; adjusted of course for the standard fractional apportionment in your Associations for 1 or 2 bedroom Apartments.

So, how did it get reduced; I do not know, but I would suggest consulting Monica Wells at WPRF, she will know and she has been very helpful to me on such issues in the past.

Once you find out, please append the explanation to this Post.

Dave Israel

CVNewspaper

Since the UCO Reporter, represents the views of those associated with UCO, with
the exception of a few other contributors, all sanctioned by the editorial board,
other than the blog, there is no other outlet for suggestions,opinions etc.
Perhaps the time has come for a complete make-over,which would embrace the entire
community, from name change to begin with.
Does anyone else share my thoughts?

VETERANS AFFAIRS 15

Hi All,

Here is the latest mail:

http://www.military.com/NL_MR/1,14852,6497,00.html

Dave israel

Comcast News from Seattle

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/brierdudley/2008480563_brier08.html

As goes Seattle, so goes Florida? Click on the link.

Security Committee Speed bump decision

If Security wants to penalize offending drivers who hit the gates, invite the Sheriff to file accident reports and the offending driver to report incidents to their insurance companies. Each such report will have greater impact on the offender than causing all resident to suffer for the few!

If we had to report each 'accident' in hitting the arms their insurance costs might drive these poor drivers off the road, instead of driving the rest of us to distraction.

If the Security committee doesn't think this would work, why does a former police officer on this committee believe it would work. Certainly this problem can be resolved without such penalties being placed upon all of the 'safe drivers' of the village.
Perhaps we need to petition the committee to revoke such a poor choice and implement the above plan to try this for 90 days, costing us nothing, injuring no one and eliminating additional rear end collisions due to the added complexities placed on the few who will not find this cumbersome method easy to deal with.

Just a differing point of view!
Ed

How are the Whiteflies

Hulett showed up while I was away and offered to 3-treat around our 24-unit bldg for $600. I still have not seen any whiteflies here. Is the spraying widespread in the Village? Any updated info would be welcome, we have a movement to let the hedges go and replace with cocoplum someday.
What did Grace do?
Have the flies eaten Lanny's hedges yet?

Here I come to save the day

How about some of these guys to tame our vision impaired drivers. They could take care of Grace’s ‘speed bums’ too, sorry Grace your typo hit my silly bone.

SPEED BUMP - PRO AND CON

Hi All,
As many of you are aware, there have been two "traffic calming" devices placed in the transponder lanes at both entrances to our Village, one at each entrance. These devices are referred to as "speed bumps".

"In another Comment stream, Anonymous said...
Whoever authorized the speed bumps at the entrances should be shot.
Dec 5, 2008 6:23:00 PM"

A bit draconian I think but clearly this issue is a major point of controversy developing in our Village..

The fundamental driver of this action is the incredible rate of gate crashing, which is recently 15 broken gates per month, about one every other day!!

I have done a bit of research on the issue and there are indeed problems with Speed Bumps, if people are not educated as to their placement, purpose and design parameters.

The devices in use at our gates are made of hard rubber, they are two inches high at maximum and 10 inches wide, they extend across the entire lane.

These devices are designed to be crossed at a speed between two and five miles per hour, in essence they require a dead stop, as is required at our transponder gates.

Can they cause suspension damage, can they cause injury to your back, can they cause you to loose control of your car? The answer is yes, IF YOU EXCEED THE DESIGN PARAMETER AS TO SPEED.

If you cross at the design speed of 2 - 5 MPH none of the consequences listed will occur and we will stop experiencing gate breaks..

If I have any criticism, it is that there was not a proper vetting of the intent to place the Speed Bumps in advance, there has not been sufficient education of our Unit Owners, so there will be incidents of crossing at higher speed than the devices are designed for and this will indeed lead to problems.

Please SLOW DOWN, and give the project a chance to work. Meanwhile I will research as to the availablility of an off the shelf Speed bump with a more gentle slope.

Comments strongly solicited!

Dave Israel

Delegates Meeting

I have just walked out of the delegates meeting after suffering through mulitple questions from the floor that are made without a microphone. It is unbelievable that in today's technical world we are incapable of providing microphones for any and all speakers. This meeting is being filmed for showing on Channel 63 with the intent that all residents would have the opportunity to know what is going on in the village. It must be just fascinating to watch a meeting with long dead spots where the concerns of the people are being asked. Many people have the same questions, it would be nice to hear the question asked and answered. This is a subtle slap to the sunshine laws, an open meeting where the people have no clue as to what is being said.

VETERANS AFFAIRS 14

Hi All,
Here is the latest mail;

http://images.military.com/NL_WK/1,14845,6466,00.html

Dave Israel

CV TELEVISION - CALL FOR IDEAS

Hi All,
Soon discussions will begin with CSI (Communications Solutions, Inc.)

The purpose of these discussions will be to craft an RFP (Request for Proposal).

The RFP will be presented to all potential Providers of TV and Broadband Services; each of which will be asked to bid for the rights to provide services to CV Unit Owners.

This BLOG is to request your ideas as to what you would like the CV entertainment service package to look like:

What channels, INTERNET, Village wide WiFi, foreign language channels, out of state channels, Canada channel...Etc...??

Think globally, and imaginatively; help your Cable Committee to put together the best possible package at the lowest possible price.

Dave Israel,
Cable Chair

Speaking of Term Limits

Are the Democrats aware that two can play the "backdoor third term" game and bring W. and all that president's men back? Maybe it's time for a restraining order, if not a Constitutional Amendment, barring former presidents and family members from even approaching the White House. (Commenters, play nice.)

CV FUND - PEOPLE HELPING PEOPLE

Hi All,

It has not gone unobserved in these troubled economic times that there are those among us; your neighbors and mine who, for any number of reasons beyond their control, are in financial trouble.

One of our caring neighbors, Jean Dowling, who was involved in a previous effort to help CV Unit Owners in need, has galvanized a new effort to create a Self-Sustaining organization to resurect this People-Helping-People effort.

This entity is called simply; CV Fund.

Your BLOGMEISTER is honored to be asked to assist in this effort which is just getting up and running. In the furtherance of this enterprise, we have created a BLOG Site dedicated to CV Fund Operations.

Please See: http://cenvill-help.blogspot.com/

For more information, and If you feel you can help please call Jean Dowling at the number listed in the new CV Fund BLOG. Please advise me here if you have any problems accessing the BLOG.

Dave Israel

VETERANS AFFAIRS 13

Hi All,
Here is the latest mail:

http://www.military.com/NL_MR/1,14852,6473,00.html

Dave

Big Car vs. Little Cartoon

The way the auto industry is picking on editorial cartoonists, you'd think that Don Imus was back in town doing color commentary on a college basketball game.

http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2008/12/01/moudakis-toon-evokes-backlash-from-auto-industry/

http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2008/11/26/editing-cartoons-good-or-bad-for-the-industry/

In addition, no sooner did Jim Borgman of the Gannett-owned Cincinnati Enquirer do a cartoon about how the foot-dragging of the auto industry on obvious advances should be immortalized than the paper made Borgman accept a buyout as an editorial cartoonist. Don't cry for him; he's still drawing the comic strip Zits. Okay, you can cry now: I can't link to the image in question.

CONDO AGE RESTRICTIONS IN AN ERA OF REAL ESTATE BUST

The following article extracted from the Wall Street Journal will prove interesting:

REF: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122809427244267951.html




Thanks to Lona O'Connor of the Palm Beach Post for the reference.

What is your Association doing to deal with this problem

Dave Israel
----------------------------------------------------------------

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla

For Sheldon Behr, buying a condo in Century Village East has meant the chance to live out his retirement years with other older adults who enjoy golf, long walks and comedy nights at the clubhouse. But with the financial crisis deepening and the housing market stalled, a growing number of units at the 55-and-over community are lying vacant.

Some residents are now considering the once unthinkable: letting younger people in -- a proposition that has pitted neighbor against neighbor. "We don't want someone to come in and suddenly have a flock of kids," says Mr. Behr, 65 years old, who opposes the move. "That'll destroy our village forever."

At "active adult" developments across the U.S., residents are debating whether to scrap the age restrictions that have helped define their way of life for almost five decades. Proponents of "age desegregation," as it's known in the industry, say opening the doors to people under 55 is the only way their once-idyllic enclaves can stay afloat amid a worsening economic climate.

From Florida to Arizona, condos are sitting idle as potential buyers find themselves stuck, unable to sell their houses and relocate. Residents of one New Jersey 55-plus development are living next to open foundations, with only 32 of 175 planned homes sold. And with retirement accounts hammered by the investment markets' plunge, people living in these communities are falling behind on homeowners' dues and scaling back on clubhouse activities.

But desegregation is nonetheless a hard sell among some residents of these developments, who say the change would ruin the dream they bought into in the first place. An influx of younger residents could also affect relations with surrounding neighborhoods. Municipalities have long favored developments for retirees because they don't require additional services like schools.

"Towns see these people as contributing to the tax base but not costing the community so much," says William Frey, a demographer with the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. "But there is a whole host of ancillary services that go with having lots of young children and teenagers. Then, you're talking about a significant increase in municipal expenses."

No one is predicting that age-restricted living will disappear entirely. But the financial downturn could be the tipping point that forces some places to reinvent themselves.

Many of these communities had already been struggling with declining sales as aging baby boomers either postpone retirement or opt to retire elsewhere. Last year, about 1.1 million households could be found in active-adult settings, down from 1.8 million in 2001, according to the National Association of Home Builders. And in a recent survey by AARP, the membership group for older Americans, almost nine in 10 people said they don't want to move at all in retirement; instead, they want to "age in place."
Retirement communities were popularized in the early 1960s by real-estate entrepreneurs like Del Webb, whose Sun City developments promoted the idea of a leisure-filled lifestyle specifically for older adults. In Arizona, California and Florida, retirees lined up to buy one-story villas bordering golf courses.

Usually run by elected boards of homeowners, these communities have spread to the Midwest and Northeast in recent years. They usually offer activities geared toward retirees, feature strict rules about homes' appearances, and have their own security staff and volunteer "posses" to keep an eye out for violations.

Typically, 80% of residents in active-adult communities must be at least 55 years old to meet federal regulations that allow developments to exclude children. (Many neighborhoods have rules requiring one household member to meet the age requirement.) Some enjoy low taxes. Residents of Sun City, a retirement community in Sun City, Ariz., for instance, don't pay city taxes because the development is technically unincorporated. They also pay relatively low school taxes, making their overall tax burden one-half to two-thirds lower than people in nearby towns, according to the Arizona Department of Commerce.

Last year, residents of the nearby Sun City Grand in Surprise, Ariz., voted to lower their age requirement to 45 from 55 -- though children under age 19 still aren't allowed as permanent residents.
The board of the 9,802-unit development, built in 1996, "felt like it would help our community financially in many areas," says Meda Cates, membership director for the Sun City Grand Community Association. "As people grow older, they stay home more. They don't golf, they don't use the facilities or the restaurants."


John Longabaugh, a city councilman who lives in the development, puts it this way: "If everybody's 80, nobody's using the two weight rooms."
Since Sun City Grand relaxed its age restrictions, the community has drawn people like Tom Butler, 48, a kitchen designer, and his wife, Jill, who is 53. The place popped up on their radar a year ago, when Ms. Butler visited her daughter-in-law's grandparents, who live in the community. She says she was "totally charmed by it," and drawn to the "plethora of activities." This fall, the couple bought one of Sun City Grand's "Casita" models, a ranch-style home with a pool and a guest house. "Sometimes, people look at us and say, 'You're not old enough to be here,' " says Ms. Butler. "But we take it as a compliment."

No one tracks the number of active-adult communities that are lowering their age limits or dropping them altogether. But developers and homeowners' associations say it's becoming the strategy-of-last-resort the longer homes sit vacant. Leisure World in Mesa, Ariz., has loosened its age requirements, and the homeowners' association at Arizona Traditions, another development in Surprise, is mulling whether to lower the minimum age to 45. In New Jersey, the age restrictions have been lowered or dropped for at least nine new projects, while an additional 10 planned developments were scrapped altogether, says Jeffrey Otteau, president of Otteau Valuation Group Inc., a real estate market-analysis firm in East Brunswick, N.J.

At the Esplanade in Hudson, Mass., near Boston, people 55 and older can buy two-bedroom condominiums for about $250,000. Movies play on a big-screen TV in the common area on Saturday nights, regular groups play dominoes, and there are leaf-peeping outings to New Hampshire.

But since it broke ground in 2005, only two-thirds of the Esplanade's 140 units have been sold. The company has recouped $20 million of its $32 million in construction costs, says Joanne Foley, the attorney for MP Development LLC, which built the Esplanade. So last March, MP petitioned the town of Hudson to allow it to sell condos there to younger buyers.
Lou Tagliani, a 67-year-old retired physicist, is among the residents who have spoken out against the plan. He and his wife moved into the Esplanade because "we want to live with people our own age and interests," he says. Bringing in younger people "would change the general complexion of the community."

So far, homeowners in Mr. Tagliani's camp are winning: Hudson's town government in September denied the developer's request, saying that changing the rules would be unfair to residents who already had purchased units. In an effort to stave off an appeal by the developer to state officials, residents are hosting open houses and tours for prospective buyers their own age. Ms. Foley says relaxing the rules wouldn't harm the community, but so far, MP has no plans to appeal.

In Century Village, the three-decades-old retirement development in Deerfield Beach, some units are empty because grown children who inherited them can't sell them. Kenneth Barnett, the treasurer for the village management, says often the families don't pay the insurance or the monthly dues, which amount to about $5,000 a year for each unit.

The community is composed of 254 white stucco condominium buildings, nearly all governed by their own board of directors. Those boards are generally allowed to approve sales to people under age 55. Until recently, such sales were almost unheard of. But with two-bedroom condos that would have sold for $120,000 two years ago now as low as $40,000, younger people living in the area are now trying to move in, and are arguing their cases to condo boards.

Martin Cohen, an 88-year-old retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and resident of Century Village, voices common concerns about younger people moving in: "They speed. They use Century Boulevard as a race track," he says. But some buildings have decided they prefer that scenario to empty units.

Roy Landesman, an 89-year-old retired door-hinge salesman from New York, says 10% of the units in his condominium building are vacant. So his building is letting younger families move in; he now has a neighbor in her 20s. Century Village East's Master Management, which maintains the development, including its 16 swimming pools and 765 acres of palm trees and canals, "doesn't like it, but I don't care what they say," Mr. Landesman says.

Donna Capobianco, president of Master Management, says the community is financially viable as it is, and that there are many older retirees who want to move into Century Village, but who are waiting for prices to drop even more.

A 'Natural Way' to Live
Newer retirement communities could go the way of Pine River Village, originally sold as a 55-plus development in Lakewood, N.J. Over the past three years, hundreds of potential buyers had joined the waiting list for Pine River, but by this November, only 32 houses had been sold of the 175 that were planned. The developer, Ralph Zucker, appealed to Pine River's residents a few months ago to agree to let him eliminate age restrictions from the rest of the development, which they did. Now, he is trying to persuade the town to approve the plan.

Lakewood Mayor Raymond Coles says that township officials are sympathetic, but they are trying to sort out whether it's legal to change the zoning because the project is part of a redevelopment zone that specifically called for senior housing.

Residents have spoken up at public meetings in favor of the request. They say they realize that Mr. Zucker can't maintain the development, with its fitness center, indoor pool with a retractable roof, and elaborate landscaping, without monthly dues from more residents. They also worry that unless dozens of houses are built on the vast expanse of cleared land they can see out their windows, their property values could slide; they paid between $350,000 and $700,000 for their houses. Their monthly homeowner's association fees of $260 a month, based on 175 houses, could also climb sharply.

Some are tired of living in a construction zone. Mordechai and Hadassah Goodman moved to Pine River in February after retiring from Chicago to be closer to children and grandchildren. But as the finishing touches were being put on their home, construction in the rest of the community was grinding to a halt. Their manicured lawn borders acres of plowed-up dirt, cinder-block outlines of future homes, and 9-foot-deep foundations on otherwise vacant lots.

"I was out here playing football with one of the grandchildren -- and kicked the ball right into [an open] basement," says Mr. Goodman, a 71-year-old retired math professor.

To ease residents' concerns, Mr. Zucker has agreed to group younger buyers on one side of the village, create separate entrances, and plant shrubbery -- or even build a fence -- in between, if the plan is approved.
Some of Pine River's residents acknowledge that they're having to adjust their expectations for retirement. Mrs. Goodman, 64, says she's now looking forward to having younger neighbors: "It seems like a more natural way to live."

Sparring Partner

I miss my sparring partner. Since the Blog issued some guidelines
to be able to post one of our bloggers has avoided blogging. I was
all set to use this very intelligent 13 letter word on him and I am not
able to because he is missing. I am in agreement with the rulings
of the board but I feel that no blogger should have been singled out.