Posted on 10/23/2009 8:53:41 AM PDT by InvisibleChurch
Pinellas Park, Florida-- A six year old girl sent to live with her grandparents as a baby is now being evicted from her home, for being too young.
The grandparents, Jimmy and Judie Stottler, live in a Pinellas Park retirement community that doesn't allow children. The Home Owners Association now wants the child removed.
"For some reason, there's a few, just a few who don't want Kimberly. And I just don't get it," said Judie Stottler.
The granddaughter was taken from her home at just six months old after the state discovered her mother was abusing drugs. She's lived with her grandparents against the rules ever since.
The family says they want to move out of the neighborhood, but by the time they put their home up for sale, the housing market crashed.
"They have no more assets to go out and purchase a rental property," said attorney Robert Eckard who is representing the family free of charge. "If they sell the home they can move. If not, they're homeless on the street."
The H-O-A president has been quoted saying he is only trying to enforce the rules. And while some residents argue the rules need to be followed, others suggest a compromise.
Either way, it will be up to a judge to decide what happens to the six year old next.
If the grandparents are unable to sell their home, the granddaughter could be sent to foster care.
That's something the Stollers say they will never let happen.
"They will have to drag me out in handcuffs and tear her from my arms," promises Judie Stoller.
"I'm not putting her out on the streets."
Even if they were hoping mother would get rehabilitated, a year of waiting would have been sufficient.
The market was still doing well 4 years ago.
And by the way, welcome newbie. We were all newbies once. Some of these folks calling you a newbie are still newbies to me, so don’t worry about it.
This is like a mini version of the immigration debate!
Bingo. But a lot of folks here seem ok with that. (Or, they will until it’s THEIR retirement community.)
Are you suggesting they concealed the presence of this child for five years?
The HOA looked the other way for five years and now wants to enforce a rule it should've sought to enforce five years ago. Practice is policy. A rule unenforced is really not a rule. And this particular rule remained unenforced for YEARS.
As far as the market is concerned, if the HOA really wants the folks out, why interfere with the sale? I think what a lot of people are responding to is the ludicrous position the HOA is creating - you can't stay, but you can't sell. This begs the question: What is it the HOA is really trying to do?
Indeed. Voluntary contracts are anathema to a free Peoples.
OK. I’m getting on my soap box here. Kimberly and her mother were victims of a home invasion and came to stay with the grandparents 5 1/2 years ago. The mother then became drug addicted, left the home, and the grandparents were given custody of the baby. The grandparents were already living there.
These are folks who, in the face of personal tragedy, are trying to do the best thing for their granddaughter. Many posters on this forum claim to favor Right to Life, and this certainly is a right to life case, if ever there was one.
The grandparents have already reduced the price of their home by $100,000 and have had only one showing this year — no offers. What more do you want them to do? They are retired, for goodness sakes.
To throw these folks and this child out into the street is the most cold and heartless thing I have ever heard contemplated.
I know too many bullies who gain a place on the HOAs and use that position to harrass their neighbors. If I made the rules, the folks trying to throw this child into the street would be evicted from their homes.
The HOA is at double fault here.
1. They have allowed this situation for 5 years.
2. They DENIED the grandparents to opportunity sell the house at a below market price. Didn’t want to lower overall property values.
Easy solution: The court will (and should) demand the HOA pay the 2005 (maximum) value for the home.
The HOA should eat all costs. This is the price the HOA (and ALL the homeowners) should pay for being stupid enough to live in a HOA.
What do you mean “now”? Apparently, they’ve been giving them the chance to do the right thing. Decent people usually live up to their contracts. These people seem to think the rules apply to everyone but them—I’ll bet they were Obama voters. They don’t sound like the kind of people I’d want to live near, child or no child.
Thank you. That was thoughtful. I appreciate you taking the time to post that
Why doesn’t the H-O-A buy their home so they can move? Seems like the perfect solution to their little commune environment.
It’s a sad situation to be sure. I worked as an admin assistant to the property manager at one of these 55+ communities. Unfortunately, the grandparents knew the rules when the first came to look at the property, way before any paperwork was even started. You can have minor visitors for certain lengths of time (ours was 30 days) to allow grandkids a chance to visit or for grandparents to help out in an emergency. But they knew and they should have started looking for another home when they brought her home. It’s not that they don’t want ‘Kimberly’, its that they’re living in a community where kids aren’t allowed to live. Some people want that and pay good money for it. It means they have a pool and a clubhouse they pay for, that they can use whenever they want without fighting kids to get to it. Their right to raise their grandchild does not negate the rights of the other tenants to live in a community they are paying top dollar for and following the rules in.
One thing I’m not sure about is that the HOA can stop them from selling at a certain price. Never heard that before. Neighbors may have complained about it bringing the price down but can they legally do it? Is it part of the contract or bylaws of community? Having worked at one, I’d never live in one, although part of that is the management I saw.
Grouchy old people.......they get that way.
There's a reason they live in retirement communities......its to segregate them from the rest of society. LOL!
Probably more like (fingers crossed behind back) "Oh, this is just temporary, and we'll have it settled in no time..."
I have a friend who chose not to pay his HOA dues. They sent a lawyer after him. Now he has to pay the dues AND the attorney fees. Plus, it's almost time to pay dues again. He told me that if he doesn't comply, they could foreclose on his home. He isn't much for paying on anything though. The IRS just caught up with him for not filing for 2005, 2006, and 2008. Ironically, they were tipped off from an error he made on his 2007 returns.
I think the grandparents did a great thing in taking in the child. They did a perfectly horrid thing in not finding a new place to live (that’s child-friendly) in 5 1/2 years. Apparently you don’t think that contracts are important?
If I made the rules, the folks trying to throw this child into the street would be evicted from their homes.
And I would build playgrounds and invite more children to live in this senior citizen community. To hell with the old geezers who thought they could live as they wished.
(Finished your thought for ya...)
They have a drug addicted daughter. They've been breaking the rules for five years, and now want to vilify and take to court the people who want to enforce the rules. What makes you think they are honest and ethical?
See post 68. That’s what I’m saying too.
The grandparents have had 4.5 years to resolve the situation. For less than a year and a half, there has been a crashed real estate market.
They couldn’t get their act together for 3 years, and yet it’s my fault for expecting them to follow the rules?
I see that common sense has fled the room... You talk about understanding their circumstances, and yet ignore the 36 month mulligan you are demanding we give them.
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