HOA Used My Land as Free Storage, I Locked It All Up and Cashed In Big — Transcript

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1. 0:00Two people in HOA clothes were climbing
2. 0:02my fence on a bright Saturday morning,
3. 0:05trying to rescue a pile of landscaping
4. 0:07equipment from a big yellow sign that
5. 0:09said abandoned property auction. I stood
6. 0:11on the gravel with a folder under my
7. 0:13arm, laughing so hard I could barely
8. 0:15breathe. You can't sell our stuff, the
9. 0:18woman screamed. Abandoned?
10. 0:20I said, that's your word. My name is
11. 0:23Cody Ellison. I'm 36 and I'm a network
12. 0:26technician. I spend my days crawling
13. 0:28through server closets and running
14. 0:30cable, which means I know exactly how
15. 0:32much value hides in gear nobody looks
16. 0:34at. I spent 6 years saving for one
17. 0:37thing, a piece of land of my own. I
18. 0:39bought 3 acres of gravel at the edge of
19. 0:41Cedar Crest Estates outside the HOA with
20. 0:45surveyed corners and iron pins. I
21. 0:47planned to build a workshop and a small
22. 0:50solar-powered home. I put an old
23. 0:52chain-link fence along the road, paid my
24. 0:54taxes on time, and parked a single
25. 0:57trailer on the lot. Then I left for
26. 0:58work. Cedar Crest Estates, 180 homes had
27. 1:02a problem. Their rented maintenance yard
28. 1:04had been sold to a developer, and the
29. 1:06HOA had 30 days to move out. Its
30. 1:09president, Sloan Prescott, white blazer,
31. 1:11expensive heels, hated spending money on
32. 1:14anything except flowers. Her maintenance
33. 1:17manager, Rick Dolan, hated hearing no.
34. 1:20Sloan found solution in 5 minutes. That
35. 1:24empty gravel lot by the entrance, she
36. 1:26told Rick, nobody's using it. Move
37. 1:29everything there.
38. 1:31Rick asked, whose is it? She wave her
39. 1:33hand. Vacant land is basically community
40. 1:36land. It saved me 2,400 a month.
41. 1:39The owner, whoever he was, didn't
42. 1:41matter. I left for a 2-week network
43. 1:44install in another state. I put a few
44. 1:47cheap cameras at the corners of the lot
45. 1:49just to keep an eye on it. On day 3, my
46. 1:52phone buzzed with a motion alert. The
47. 1:54video showed a yellow skid steer rolling
48. 1:56through a cut section of my fence. I
49. 1:59watched the footage two days. Trucks,
50. 2:01trailers, a wood chipper, pallets of
51. 2:03stone, and men in green polo shirts
52. 2:05unloading everything in neat rows. A big
53. 2:08man looked at the camera and said,
54. 2:10Cameras, huh? Sloane said nobody lived
55. 2:13here.
56. 2:14I called my attorney, Nora Alcott, from
57. 2:17the airport. Don't touch anything, she
58. 2:19said. Document it. When I returned, my
59. 2:22lot looked like a landscaping depot.
60. 2:25Zero turn mowers on trailers, a mini
61. 2:27skid steer, a yellow wood chipper, fuel
62. 2:30drums, stacks of paver stone, 41 pieces
63. 2:34of equipment in total,
64. 2:35all with HOA stickers. My fence was cut
65. 2:38in three places. I stood at the edge of
66. 2:40my gravel,
67. 2:42took a deep breath, and started filming.
68. 2:45Rick Dolan was there, leaning on a
69. 2:47truck. Hey, you the owner? He said
70. 2:49casually. Sloane told us it was vacant.
71. 2:52I held up my deed. It's vacant because
72. 2:54it's mine. Move your equipment. He
73. 2:57shrugged. I'll have to ask Sloane.
74. 3:00I said, do that. He drove away with a
75. 3:02grin as if I'd asked for directions.
76. 3:05Sloane called me that evening, her voice
77. 3:08smooth as lotion. Cody,
78. 3:10honestly, you should be honored. We're
79. 3:12improving your lot. A little storage, a
80. 3:14little traffic, and your land looks
81. 3:16active. We won't even charge you rent. I
82. 3:19said, Sloane, you'll remove everything
83. 3:22within 14 days. She laughed. Cody,
84. 3:26sweetheart, don't be dramatic.
85. 3:28She hung up. Nora wrote the formal
86. 3:30notice that night, certified mail
87. 3:33to the HOA and its registered agent. You
88. 3:36are storing equipment on private
89. 3:37property without permission. Remove it
90. 3:40within 14 days or storage fees of $150
91. 3:43per day will accrue, and the owner will
92. 3:45pursue all remedies, including sale
93. 3:48under state law.
94. 3:50I attached the deed and the survey.
95. 3:52Sloane's reply arrived in three days.
96. 3:55The HOA has far more important matters
97. 3:57than your complaints. In fact, our
98. 4:00equipment improves the appearance of
99. 4:02your property. I read it twice. Then I
100. 4:04started laughing quietly and Nora raised
101. 4:07an eyebrow. She just admitted in writing
102. 4:10that the equipment is on your land and
103. 4:12that she refuses to move it,
104. 4:14she said. Nora laid out the process.
105. 4:16Cody, the law gives you a clear path.
106. 4:19Send notice, wait the required period,
107. 4:22charge reasonable storage, publish
108. 4:25notice of sale. If the owner doesn't
109. 4:27claim the property and pay, you may sell
110. 4:29enough to cover your fees.
111. 4:31She tapped the table. And everything
112. 4:33must be done by the book. No damage, no
113. 4:36theft, no games.
114. 4:39I paid a licensed appraiser to inventory
115. 4:41every piece of equipment with serial
116. 4:43numbers, photos, and condition reports.
117. 4:4641 items valued at $312,000.
118. 4:51Nora organized all in a binder with
119. 4:53color tabs. The more careful you are,
120. 4:56she said, the more painful this is for
121. 4:58them. I felt like a man diffusing
122. 5:01something with tweezers. On day 15, I
123. 5:04installed a heavy black chain link fence
124. 5:06around the storage area with a lock gate
125. 5:07and posted a bright notice.
126. 5:09Unauthorized storage. Fee, $150 per day.
127. 5:14To retrieve property, contact Nora
128. 5:17Alcott. I didn't touch a single item. I
129. 5:19just made sure nobody else could. Sloan
130. 5:22exploded. She called me a thief. She
131. 5:25posted on the neighborhood forum. Cody
132. 5:27Ellison is holding our equipment
133. 5:29hostage. I answered with one sentence on
134. 5:31my own post. I own the land. I sent
135. 5:35notice twice. The equipment can be
136. 5:37retrieved anytime by paying storage
137. 5:39fees. Here is the invoice.
138. 5:42A hundred neighbors read it. Then
139. 5:44quietly the comments changed. Deputy
140. 5:47Paul Garza arrived after Sloan reported
141. 5:49a theft. He studied my deed, the survey,
142. 5:53the notices, and the photos of the cut
143. 5:54fence. Then he looked at Sloan. Ma'am,
144. 5:58this is a civil matter, he said. Mr.
145. 6:01Ellison has the right to control his
146. 6:03land and he's offered you a legal way to
147. 6:06recover your equipment. If you cross
148. 6:08that fence, it's trespass.
149. 6:10Nora published notice of sale in the
150. 6:12newspaper and mailed it to the HOA's
151. 6:14registered agent, the board, and Sloan
152. 6:17herself. Everyone got the same envelope.
153. 6:20Everyone ignored it
154. 6:22except one person, Evan Chow, the
155. 6:25treasurer, a quiet man in a gray
156. 6:27cardigan,
157. 6:28opened the board's mail that week. And
158. 6:30for the first time, the HOA's books and
159. 6:33Sloan's stories stopped matching.
160. 6:35Meanwhile,
161. 6:36Cedar Creek lawns went wild. Grass grew
162. 6:39knee-high. Pool decks went unswept, and
163. 6:42the HOA rented replacement equipment at
164. 6:44$4,000 a week. Residents flooded the
165. 6:47board with complaints. At the next
166. 6:49meeting, a retired teacher stood up.
167. 6:52Where's our equipment, Sloan? she asked.
168. 6:54And why do we owe a man named Ellison
169. 6:56money? Sloan said, It's under control.
170. 7:00Evan Chow slid the 14-day notice across
171. 7:03the table. Sloan, you received this two
172. 7:05months ago, he said. You told us
173. 7:08nothing.
174. 7:09She snapped,
175. 7:10I was handling it.
176. 7:12He placed two more envelopes on the
177. 7:13table. He offered to release everything
178. 7:16for $13,500.
179. 7:19We've now spent 26,000 on rentals, and
180. 7:22the equipment is worth 312.
181. 7:25I tried to settle it. I sent a final
182. 7:27offer.
183. 7:28Pay the accrued storage fees, $13,500,
184. 7:32repair my fence, and remove everything
185. 7:34within seven days. No lawsuit, no
186. 7:37auction. Evan wanted to accept, but
187. 7:39Sloan called an emergency vote and
188. 7:42argued the board into a deadlock. We
189. 7:44don't pay storage for our own property,
190. 7:46she said. That's extortion.
191. 7:49On day 61, I posted the auction sign on
192. 7:52my gate. Abandoned property auction,
193. 7:54open for public sale. Saturday, 10:00
194. 7:58a.m. Licensed auctioneer. I hired Tex
195. 8:01Moody, who has been selling farm
196. 8:02equipment for 30 years, and listed the
197. 8:04sale online and in the paper. Then I
198. 8:07waited for Saturday. Sloane waited too,
199. 8:10in a different way. At 8:00 Saturday
200. 8:12morning, I drove up to my lot with a
201. 8:15folder under my arm. Sloane Prescott and
202. 8:17Rick Dolan were halfway up my fence in a
203. 8:19white blazer and a green HOA polo shirt.
204. 8:22Sloane's heels were stuck in the chain
205. 8:24link. Rick's belt was snagged on the top
206. 8:27rail. I started laughing so hard I had
207. 8:29to lean on my truck. You can't sell our
208. 8:32stuff. Sloane screamed from the fence.
209. 8:35It isn't abandoned.
210. 8:36I held up my folder. Ma'am, you left it
211. 8:39here for 4 months, ignored my notices,
212. 8:42and refused to pay. If it's not
213. 8:44abandoned, what is it?
214. 8:46Rick looked down at me, red-faced. Cody,
215. 8:49I'm sorry, he said. I just do what I'm
216. 8:51told. Deputy Garza arrived, looked at
217. 8:54the two of them hanging from my fence,
218. 8:56and rubbed his eyes. Ma'am, sir, please
219. 9:00come down, he said wearily. You're
220. 9:02trespassing.
221. 9:04Sloane protested, it's our property. The
222. 9:07deputy nodded, then it's your property
223. 9:09on his land behind his fence.
224. 9:12He wrote two citations for criminal
225. 9:14trespass and walked them to the road. At
226. 9:1710 o'clock, 200 people filled my gravel
227. 9:19lot.
228. 9:20Contractors, farmers, landscapers, and
229. 9:23curious neighbors. Tex Moody climbed
230. 9:25onto a trailer and began to chant. We
231. 9:28sold only what the law allowed, enough
232. 9:30to cover my fees and costs.
233. 9:32The wood chipper, two trailers, and a
234. 9:34skid steer. They went for $27,400.
235. 9:39The rest stayed locked. Evan Shaw
236. 9:41attended the auction, took notes, and
237. 9:43called a special board meeting. By
238. 9:45Monday, Sloane's secret was out. She'd
239. 9:48hidden three notices, chosen free
240. 9:50storage over fair lease, and never told
241. 9:53the board. The recall vote was 119 to 8.
242. 9:57Evan was elected president and promised
243. 9:59every owner a full accounting. I filed
244. 10:02suit for willful trespass. Judge Harold
245. 10:04Pennington heard the case on a rainy
246. 10:06Thursday. Nora presented the photos, the
247. 10:09notices, and Sloane's letter admitting
248. 10:11the equipment was on my land. The judge
249. 10:13read it twice. Ms.
250. 10:16Prescott, you told Mr. Ellison your
251. 10:18equipment improves the appearance of his
252. 10:20property, he said. Did you think he'd be
253. 10:22flattered?
254. 10:24Sloan [snorts] stammered. It was
255. 10:25community land.
256. 10:27The judge said it was his.
257. 10:30The ruling came from the bench.
258. 10:32Trouble the rental value of the land for
259. 10:33willful commercial trespass plus the
260. 10:36accrued storage fees,
261. 10:37fence repairs, and attorney's fees,
262. 10:40$92,700
263. 10:42owed personally by Sloan Prescott. And
264. 10:45Ms. Prescott, the judge added, next time
265. 10:48ask the owner.
266. 10:50Nora handed me the order. Cody, she
267. 10:52said, you just cashed in big.
268. 10:55A week later, Evan Cho came to see me
269. 10:58with a photo of his own. Cody, we still
270. 11:00need storage,
271. 11:01he said. Could we rent part of your lot
272. 11:03properly with a lease and insurance?
273. 11:05I smiled. $2,400 a month, I said, the
274. 11:09exact price Sloan never wanted to pay.
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