Not So Neighborly Associations Foreclosing On Homes by WADE GOODWYN

Listen to this remarkable story of how a soldier serving our country in Iraq had his $300,000.00 home foreclosed because he didn't pay $3500 -- enough to cover outstanding HOA dues and legal costs.

From NPR

R L Wilson Law Firm-Sponsored Bobcats Win McAllister Park Softball Championship

Congratulations, Girls!

June Foreclosure Auction -- Bexar County Courthouse

Several San Antonio Area Hotels Sold at Auction

This has been a busy week for hotel sales in San Antonio.

First, the Comfort Suites at 8021 Alamo Downs Parkway was foreclosed by its lender on Tuesday at the June monthly foreclosure auction. That property was acquired for $3.8 million -- a disappointing figure for the lender, who had hoped the property would fetch $5.7 million. Three other hotels listed for June foreclosure at the Bexar County Courthouse failed to sell at the monthly auction.

On Thursday, the Quality Inn and Suites hotel at 10950 Laureate Drive was sold in an online auction that was conducted on Auction.com. According to news reports, that property sold for $1.7 million.

The Hampton Inn at 11010 Interstate 10 West already has been listed for the next auction on July 5, and it is expected that the hotels that didn't sell -- the Quality Inn Medical Center hotel located at 4 Piano Place, America's Best Value Inn located at 3645 North Panam Expressway and America's Best Value Inn in Seguin -- will likely be auctioned again at a yet-to-be-determined date.

New Changes to TREC Contract Forms

The Texas Real Estate Commission took emergency action at the February 14, 2011 commission meeting to adopt revisions to standard contract forms including the Unimproved Property Contract, the One to Four Family Residential Contract (Resale), the New Home Contract (Incomplete Construction); the New Home Contract (Completed Construction); the Farm and Ranch Contract; and the Residential Condominium Contract. The effective date for the emergency action is March 1, 2011.

This action was taken based on a recommendation from the Broker Lawyer Committee. The Broker Lawyer Committee is a committee appointed by the Commission to draft and revise contract forms that are capable of being standardized to expedite real estate transactions and minimize controversy.

With this action the forms were amended to remove new sub-paragraph 15B, which was recently added to the contract forms to require a seller or buyer to file an action for specific performance within 45 days of the Closing Date of the contract. The Commission took emergency action to remove sub-paragraph 15B with an effective date of March 1, 2011. The updated contract forms are available for immediate use on the TREC website with a date of February 14, 2011 on the right-hand corner.

New Chair and Commissioners Appointed to Texas Real Estate Commission

Governor Rick Perry has made four appointments to the Texas Real Estate Commission: Broker member Avis Wukasch, currently serving as a broker member of the commission with a term to expire January 31, 2013, was appointed to serve as the Chair. Governor Perry also newly appointed broker member Bill L. Jones and public member Weston Martinez, and reappointed broker member Troy Alley, all three with terms to expire January 31, 2017.

Texas Cops Shoot to Kill - Two Young Men in Beeville, Austin Die From Cop's Guns This Week

If you are pondering stealing something in Texas - and in this bad economy, crime is on the rise - you may be risking more than getting busted and serving some time.

You may be risking your life. (Heck, you may be doing that if you are just roaming along a city street anywhere in Texas.)

Deadly force (also known as excessive force) may be a viable legal claim -- but it's better to be alive than to have your grieving loved ones pursuing a lawsuit based on excessive force by a cop with a gun.

Beeville Shooting of Albert Ponce, 29, Yesterday

Yesterday morning, before sunrise, Anthony Albert Ponce of Three Rivers, was pulled over by Beeville police officers after they decided Ponce matched the description of a man who had ripped off a convenience store.

The Beeville cops say that Ponce got out of his car holding a pistol and waving his hands around in a threatening way. When Ponce refused to drop his gun, one of the cops shot him. That officer is on paid leave while his actions are being investigated.

Meanwhile, Ponce died at Spohn Hospital in Beeville later that day: Ponce was only 29 years old.

Austin Shooting of Byron Carter, 20, on Monday

On Monday, two bicycle cops were wheeling around downtown Austin when they spotted a car that they suspected held two car thieves - so they rode over to check things out, according to the Austin Police Chief in his statement to the press.

Apparently, the car started moving toward one of the bikes, hitting one of the cops, and the other officer fired on the occupants. The car drove off only to be found nearby with the passenger dead in the front seat. The driver was tracked down, he had a gunshot wound to his arm and was taken to Austin's Brackenridge Hospital.

Byron Carter, 20, was the passenger that died in that gunplay and a minor (16 yrs; name not released) is the wounded driver.

As for the cop that got hit by the car, he was treated and released by Brackenridge doctors for a ruptured Achilles' tendon. The cop who used his pistol to take those shots is also on a paid leave while things are investigated.

Shoot Now, Check for Guilt Later

Notice that in both events, neither decedent was proven to be a criminal - neither cop knew at the time if this target was guilty of stealing anything.