September 17th, 2009 by Reed Allmand 
According to an article in the Star-Telegram the rising number of foreclosures and unemployed residents are creating a budget crisis for homeowners associations, especially in Dallas-Fort Worth area. With many properties vacant and other homeowners failing to pay their dues, the associations are struggling to provide basic maintenance.
The article said:
“To increase collections and balance their books, many associations are raising dues, imposing emergency fees and even forcing foreclosures. Others are saving money by deferring maintenance and capital improvements, seeking new bids on landscaping and other services, and asking residents to volunteer for small projects.”
One of the Fort Worth communities, the homeowners association has already filed foreclosure on two homes and is threatening foreclosure action against 40 others. And the effect of this foreclosure crisis on communities is expected to worsen. What we see in these small, private communities is predicted to expand on a larger scale and is already hitting city budgets hard. But what’s at stake is more than landscaping and maintenance, many cities are even considering cuts to public safety and sanitation budgets. Once those cuts are made we will begin to see more physical signs of the foreclosure crisis that reach beyond mere “bank-owned” signs. This is why it’s so important that our legislators implement laws that will directly decrease the number of foreclosures and allow homeowners to remain in their homes and pay property taxes which are the lifeblood of many city budgets.
(source: Star-Telegram)
About Reed Allmand
Allmand's vision is rooted in his own financially precarious childhood in Abilene "My father always had difficulty holding a job and supporting our family, so after my parents divorced when I was 12, my sister and I got jobs to help make ends meet," he recalls. "I remember what it felt like as a child to worry that our car would be repossessed or home foreclosed on."
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