Side Streets ~ Neighborhood people and issues

Archive for the 'Colorado' Tag

HOA BOSS FACES QUESTIONS FROM HOA MANAGERS

February 16th, 2011, 12:03 pm by

Aaron Acker, director of Colorado's new HOA Information and Resource Center, speaks Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011, in Colorado Springs to the Southern Colorado Chapter of the Community Associations Institute.

Colorado’s new HOA boss, Aaron Acker, came to Colorado Springs with a clear message for homeowners association board members and professional property managers: he and the new HOA Information Office and Resource Center are not the enemy. 

“We’re not going to be condo cops,” Acker said Tuesday in a speech to the Southern Colorado Chapter of the Community Associations Institute, the trade group for property managers and HOAs. 

“We are not a regulatory agency,” Acker said. “And we are not in the business of mediating disputes. 

“We are strictly an information-gathering agency and resource center for homeowners and for associations.” 

The crowd of more than 100 seemed wary, however, and even a bit suspicious of Acker. 

 

 

Acker said about 3,500 HOAs had registered so far, covering about 250,000 homes in Colorado. But he said many more need to get registered by logging onto his web site and paying the $8.95 fee. 

“I’m encouraging homeowners to become active in their associations and talk with their associations,” Acker said. “I try to help them understand the concept of homeowners associations. A lot of people have never lived under an association and don’t understand their rights. 

He said he welcomed information from association boards and property managers, as well. 

“I’d love to hear from you,” he said. “We understand there are benefits of homeowners associations,” Acker said. “That’s why so many people want to live in them.” 

Here’s a link to a previous blog I wrote about Acker and his agency. 

Aaron Acker, head of the new state HOA Information and Resource Center, fielded questions from the Southern Colorado Chapter of the Community Associations Industry at a luncheon Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011, in Colorado Springs.

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HOA BOSS COMING TO TOWN; GET YOUR QUESTIONS READY!

February 6th, 2011, 12:01 pm by
UPDATE !!!!
UPDATE!!!!
Aaron Acker has rescheduled his speech for TUESDAY, Feb. 15.
 
The luncheon is open to the public. It costs $25 for CAI members and $40 for non-members. Registration begins at 11 a.m. at the Colorado Springs Marriott Hotel, 5580 Tech Center Drive.

Aaron Acker HOA Information Officer on the summit of Mount Bierstadt

aron Acker HOA Information Officer and other mountain climbers in the Sangre de Cristos

Aaron Acker is excited about his new role as leader of Colorado’s brand new HOA Information and Resource Center.

It’s his job to register HOAs to determine exactly how many homeowners associations exist in the state and how many people live under their rule.

Education is a big part of his duties, as well as logging complaints about abusive HOA boards and property managers.

Another big part of his job, as directed by the 2010 General Assembly, is to compile all this information and report his findings back to lawmakers.

Good thing Acker is a mountain climber because he’s facing a tall challenge.

I suspect trying to get a handle on HOAs will be akin to herding cats.

Personally, I’d recommend he invest in an electric cattle prod.

Acker is the scheduled to speak at a noon luncheon on Tuesday, Feb. 15, as a guest of the Southern Colorado Chapter of the Community Association Institute.

The luncheon is open to the public. It costs $25 for CAI members and $40 for non-members. Registration begins at 11 a.m. at the Colorado Springs Marriott Hotel, 5580 Tech Center Drive.

For questions, call 264-0301 or email ericphillips@caisoco.org

Here’s Acker’s bio ,provided by the CAI: 

Aaron Acker was born in Montana and raised in Pennsylvania.  Aaron is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State’s Dickinson School of Law. He is a licensed attorney in both Colorado (2008) and Pennsylvania (2010).

Aaron began working for the State of Colorado in 2007, in the Department of Regulatory Agencies, Division of Registrations.  He worked in the Expedited Settlement Program, where he sought to settle, on an efficient basis, disciplinary cases before state licensing boards.  In that role, he communicated with licensees, their attorneys, licensing wards and the State Attorney General.

After his initial role in the Division of Real Estate, Aaron practiced law in Fort Collins.  As an attorney in private practice, he worked in civil litigation, criminal law, probate and appeals.

In 2009, Aaron rejoined the state as a settlement and enforcement specialist in the Division of Real Estate.  In this role, he conducted settlement negotiations on professional disciplinary matters with licensees and their attorney.

When Aaron isn’t performing his duties as HOA Information and Resource Officer, he can be found enjoying many of the activities that Colorado offers including fly fishing, mountain climbing and skiing.  During football season, though, he stays true to his roots and cheers for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Penn State Nittany Lions.

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For questions, call 264-0301 or email ericphillips@caisoco.org

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HAVE WE HEARD THE LAST OF THIS ANTI-HOA ZEALOT?

January 3rd, 2010, 12:00 pm by

Have we heard the last of Jan Jackson, Colorado’s leading activist in the fight against homeowners associations and assorted other anti-government, anti-Obama, Tea Party, “patriot resistance“ causes?

janjacksonpage

Jackson spent much of the decade fighting HOAs, as they are known. She has engaged in intensely personal attacks on her own HOA board and her neighbors at the B Lazy M Ranch south of Florissant in Teller County. And she carried on a statewide, even national crusade.

For years, she was a prolific anti-HOA crusader, writing hundreds of articles and Web postings like the one below.

jacksonpage

Last spring, in the wake of a major legal victory in which an appellate court lifted a lower court-imposed gag order on Jackson, she disappeared.

Turns out, Jackson had fallen ill and was hospitalized. Then, she suffered the loss of her husband, Richard Thomas, who died July 3 leaving her a widow after 27 years of marriage. The personal tragedy clearly changed her. She has quit her Web radio blog and stopped posting on state and national anti-HOA Web sites. And she has given up efforts to amend the Colorado Constitution to abolish HOAs.

Jackson said she thinks she has done her part, warning the nation about the evils of HOAs. And she intends to remain on the sidelines of future HOA wars unless she really feels the need to get involved.

Here is a link to a previous blog I wrote about Jackson. I’ve written several columns about Jackson over the years. Here is my March 19, 2009, column. Before that, I profiled her on Nov. 12, 2007.

Here’s a link to Jackson’s HOA radio blog site where you can listen to past broadcasts. This takes you directly to an archived broadcast.

 Here’s Jackson’s page on ResistNet, a site for gun owners and the patriotic resistance.

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