As we wind down to the last three weeks of class, we should also wind down the writing so you can concentrate on your paper. However, this section of the course is, in some ways, the most interesting. It deals with all the problems of keeping up and dealing with the Joneses.

Two interesting problems have developed over the last couple of years: adverse possession and Homeowners’ Associations (“HOA”). First, HOAs. In a suburb of Washington, a dispute arose between homeowners and their HOA. Read the attached article. Was it an appropriate covenant in the Homeowners Association’s agreement. Did the HOA leadership enforce the covenants appropriately? With your reading of the text, do you think HOA’s have outlived their usefulness? What rights do home owners have in HOAs?

Secondly, there are a growing number of instances where, particularly during the worst of the real estate bubble burst, that homes went empty when their underwater owners either abandoned the homes or were foreclosed upon. In the absence of the owners, people moved in and took up residence claiming adverse possession. For this forum, define adverse possession. In doing so, lay out for me the elements of the law. Explain what each term means in your own words or those of an authoritative source. Next, find a news article about modern adverse possession. Do you think the parties in the article met the requirements for adverse possession? What did the local courts decide (if a decision was mentioned)?

Questions and topics posed in the Forums are designed to promote thought and insight. Students must provide a critical review of the questions, topics and issues posed and substantively reply to the contributions of at least three peers. Individual postings should include a full discussion of the content of the question posed and explain how it relates to the concepts in the weekly text readings and other resources. The postings should be analytic in nature and include comparisons/contrasts, and examples that can bolster your point. The Forum is for your benefit and it is important to respond to the discussion topic and to engage others in a running dialogue.