SC approves Transfer of Assets "AS IS" without Homeowner Approval! --------------- WE SAY NO WAY!

Dear VE Owner, (español bajo)

The letter below from Julio Brown was approved by our Steering Committee and sent to the developer. We find the contents of this acceptance offer by this SC appalling.  

Many of us owners have been maligned, harassed, attacked and greatly criticized by this SC group for being willing to accept the transfer of the assets "As Is", stating we are essentially " puppets " of the developer.  We never said to accept 'as is'.

We have denounced these statements and accusations as untrue. From day 1 we have only asked that we sit down and negotiate a fair and reasonable settlement with the developer in accordance with the laws of Panama.    

Now, without any care of the homeowners, the Steering Committee secretively again goes behind our backs and offers without our knowledge, vote or consent to take the asset transfer "AS IS".   

Without any explanation or acknowledgement to us homeowners of how much this might cost each of us in special assessments for all the things previously outlined by the sc that was needed to be done before the transfer! This will run into many thousands of dollars! What happened? What changed? Why now the rush to accept 'as is'? 

This is the very thing they accused us of wanting to do in the past.  These actions by this Steering Committee calls for an immediate General Assembly meeting and we want to invite Federico Salazar to visit with us and give each home owner the chance to understand via Q & A's what we can expect etc. for a mutually beneficial transfer.   

There are many unanswered questions that will impact each owner and we ALL have the right to complete clarity of the issues. 

We also say, we have had enough with this SC and its advisers and want them removed in whole with a "Vote Of No Confidence" , we have had it and we want a group elected who we can support who will only serve us with 100% transparency and honesty as it relates to our community issues.   

The Time is Now to replace all of them! We already have MANY documented reasons to replace this SC, but this is the final straw!  

Should any owner listed below who signed our declaration not agree with this, please notify the community of your intentions and reasons as we respect your opinion. There are some owners who desire to be on our list that we have been unable to reach at this late notice.

Sincerely, 

Sherry Rose-# 2

William Karns-# 3

Terrence Brown-# 4

Carlos Motta-# 8

Bill McAbee-# 13

Judith Wolf-# 15

Alfred Broadhead-# 21

Terri Calixto-# 26

Caesar Sherrard-# 29

John Rhoades-# 32

Peter Markus-# 33

Charlie Burress-# 34

Rodney Parker-# 52

Dennis Griffin-56

Jon Olsen-# 61

Carlos Frias-# 70

Michael Burd-# 71

Mark Schneider-# 73

Cesar Vallarino-# 74

Orville Lang-# 75

Renae Daoro-# 77

Renae Daoro-# 151-C

David Torres-# 84

Jay Hartz-# 86

Jerry Maesky-# 87

John Maesky-# 88

Raul Arias-# 94

Enrique De Janon-# 99

Robert Bowling-# 100

Mick Culbertson-# 112

Nixa Rios-# 117

James Peters-# 118

Bruce Young-# 142

Chuck Thomas-# 146

Mark Schneider-# 148

Enna Ferrer de Carles-# 151-D

Leslie Shade-# 152-B

Joanie Batts Gulbronson-# 153-A

Richard Moore-# 153-C

Sandy Comstock-# 153-D

Edward Kuiper-# 155-B

Sam Parham-# 156-A

Bonnie Lessman-# 156-C

Roger Kinkead-# 156-D

James Lowe-# 156-E

Barb Severs-# 156-F

Cristobal Siu-# 156-G

Lyle Neigenfind-# 156-H

Muk Noong Cheng-# 156-I

Roy Hasseltine-# 156-J

Tony Hau Ho-# 157-A

Tony Hau Ho-# 157-B

Julio Del Valle-# 34-B

Stan Hime-# 20

Ted Harrison-# 12

Cynthia Gould-# 107

Ty Lockhart-# 98

Joel Mahler-# 15

Linda Lewis-# 126

Dennis Griffin-# 157-H

Dennis Griffin-# 158-D

Licdo, Felix Humberto PAZ MORENO

Tadasly, S.A

In response to the document submitted by the person in representation of Tadasly, SA and other societies, we must express the following on behalf of the Association and represntacion Owners Valle Escondido

accept the transfer of the property 50694 General contained in the public record in favor of the association of owners of Hidden Valley without further legal restrictions
request and in accordance with Decree 36 of 1998 regulates all
developments related to the mandatory transfer common areas will be without restrictions on the association of owners of Hidden Valley all infrastructure including roads in their current condition with all permits and licenses required governmental graveamenes free

Best Regards,

Julio Cesar Espinosa Brown

----------------------------------------------

Querido VE Propietario,

La carta adjunta de Julio Castaño fue aprobado por nuestro Comité de Dirección y se envía al desarrollador. Nos encontramos con el contenido de esta aceptación de la oferta por este SC atroz.

Muchos de nosotros los propietarios han sido calumniado, perseguido, atacado y criticado en gran medida por este grupo SC por estar dispuesto a aceptar la transferencia de los activos "tal cual", afirmando que somos esencialmente "títeres" de la promotora. Nunca dijimos que aceptar tal cual.

Hemos denunciado estas declaraciones y acusaciones como falsas. A partir del día 1 sólo hemos pedido que sentarse a negociar un acuerdo justo y razonable con el promotor de conformidad con las leyes de Panamá.

Ahora, sin ningún tipo de atención de los propietarios de viviendas, el Comité Directivo en secreto otra vez va a nuestras espaldas y ofrece sin nuestro conocimiento, el voto o consentimiento para la transferencia de activos "TAL CUAL".

Sin ninguna explicación o acuse a nosotros los dueños de casa de lo mucho que esto podría costar cada uno de nosotros en las evaluaciones especiales para todas las cosas anteriormente esbozados por el sc que se había que hacer antes de la transferencia! Esto ejecutará en muchos miles de dólares! Que pasó? ¿Qué ha cambiado? ¿Por qué ahora la prisa por aceptar "tal cual"?

Esta es la misma cosa que se nos acusó de querer hacer en el pasado. Estas acciones de este Comité Directivo pide una reunión inmediata de la Asamblea General y queremos invitar a Federico Salazar para visitar con nosotros y dar a cada dueño de casa la oportunidad de entender a través de Q & A de lo que podemos esperar, etc para una transferencia mutuamente beneficiosa.

Hay muchas preguntas sin respuesta que afectarán a cada propietario y todos tenemos el derecho a completar la claridad de los temas.

También decir, que hemos tenido suficiente con este SC y sus asesores y queremos que eliminan en su totalidad con una "moción de censura", lo hemos tenido y queremos que un grupo elegido el que podemos apoyar que sólo nos servirá con 100% de transparencia y honestidad en su relación con nuestros problemas de la comunidad.

El tiempo es ahora para sustituir a todos ellos! Ya tenemos razones documentado muchos para reemplazar este SC, pero esto es el colmo!

En caso de que cualquier propietario que se enumeran a continuación firmado nuestra declaración no estar de acuerdo con esto, por favor notifique a la comunidad de sus intenciones y razones como respetamos su opinión.



Atentamente

  

VE Steering Committee LEGAL FEES ARE SKYROCKETING! JUST AS PREDICTED!

OVER $11,000 IN LEGAL FEES the last 3 MONTHS FOR THE SC!   JUDGE ACCEPTS LAWSUITS AGAINST THE SC, LEGAL FEES WILL EAT UP OUR BUDGET UNLESS WE STOP THIS SC AND DEMAND THEY STEP DOWN!   WAKE UP OWNERS! 

^{An analysis of the VEHOA banking documents recently distributed highlights some issues that all homeowners should be aware of when deciding upon a future budget.}

^{For example:  The Steering Committee has paid Attorney Julio Espinosa $11,000.00 in the period between May 26th and September 9th, a period of ONLY 3 ½ months!}

^{This would annualize to over $37,700 in legal fees, which is 63% more than the $24,000 in the 2014 budget, which is already excessive!  At the very least, the homeowners should receive copies of the invoices from Julio Espinosa so that we know what our dollars are being spent on, don’t you think?}

^{Also, due to one or more SC members being barred from attending physically in the Bamboo Room, even though they could attend on Skype, everyone has to attend offsite to accommodate the few.  The May 2014 meeting for instance cost the homeowners $330 in fees paid to Hotel Valle Del Rio.  Since every year the SC requests a budget increase and costs are escalating, this is an unnecessary expense which can be avoided by returning to the Bamboo Room for the meetings.}

^{To add icing to the cake, this recent quote from an SC email about the fact that their budget was not passed:}  “If your NO vote simply reflects your dislike of the SC, please note that if a budget is not passed the SC will be free to spend the money in any way they see fit without guidelines or restrictions.”

UNBELIEVABLE what the SC says about the NO vote to their budget.

We do not know if this email was sent out to all owners in Valle Escondido, or only to the owners who voted no, and remember, the majority voted NO.  We find this email, and the SC thinking on this alarming. This is part of an email that was sent from Olga, the secretary for the SC. 

…..we would like to know  the reasons you voted “no,” if you decided to disapprove the proposed budget.  If your NO vote simply reflects your dislike of the SC, please note that if a budget is not passed the SC will be free to spend the money in any way they see fit without guidelines or restrictions.

SERIOUSLY!!!! Does this sound like a threat to you? It certainly did to all those who received it. 

I guess the Steering Committee will just not take NO for an answer!!! Even when they are voted down!!

What do you think of this? A true steering committee would be working for the owners of VE, not threatening to do it their way regardless of what the homeowners want!

Budget Ballot voted down!

We are happy to report that at the meeting for the vote of the proposed budget, it did not pass.
A resounding NO vote 58-34. 

Thirteen votes that were received were not allowed to be counted. At this point, we do not know why. More on the meeting and on the votes later. 

Thank you Valle Escondido community for voting no. It is a first step to begin the process of changing our Steering Committee, and a new fresh, transparent, leadership for VE.

Article on VE now in Boquete Guide for the world to read the truth

Bottom line, it appears as if Charbit is working together with Ruiz who owns 40 acres above VE to have access THROUGH THE VE GATES for their new multi home project!!!

It is with mixed feelings to discover this article on the internet written about current events in VE that has effected and will continue to effect our home values.

We need a vote and soon to get Charbit OUT ASAP, he / this SC are destroying our community! Please everyone, Vote NO on this budget asa 1ST STEP!   Rumor is Charbit is the Money behind This Ruiz!  WE NEED TO GET THIS SC REMOVED!

Read the entire article here. It is long, but NECESSARY AND FULL OF INFORMATION WE ALL NEED TO BE AWARE OF AND ACT UPON IMMEDIATELY!

Link to Boquete Guide article is here and is also shown in full below. http://www.boqueteguide.com/?p=11464

The story begins in 2001, with a high profile, $80 million dollar residential project called Valle Escondido, in Boquete, Panama. This project, the first to be funded by foreign investors, has tipped an unprecedented real estate boom in Panama. 

In an effort to cooperate with a local farmer who needed access through the project

One day before Vote, SC comes up with accounts?

We have been asking the Steering Committee for months to show us the budget records/accounts and now 1 day before the vote they come up with this. Make of this what you will……………...

Valle Escondido HOASC	4:07 PM (3 hours ago)
to bcc: me

Dear Homeowners

Please find attached financial information and bank account statements for the expenditures of 2014 through September 2014.

Thank you

******************************

Estimados Propietarios

Adjunto la informacion financiera y el desglose bancario de los gastos del 2014 hasta Septiembre 2014.

Gracias

2 Attachments

 

 

Preview attachment 2014_Global_Bank_Accounts.pdf

2014_Global_Bank_Accounts.pdf

Preview attachment 2014_Global_Bank_Accounts.xlsx

2014_Global_Bank_Accounts.xlsx

Common Sense tells us to VOTE NO on budget increase

VeNeighbors have shown in several posts below that we believe what the SC is asking for in a raise in our fees/budget is unfounded. If our money has been spent wisely, there should be plenty in the accounts for our needs and also for emergencies. 

An analysis of the proposed budget reveals that the SC is claiming they have reduced the annual expenditures from the current year but are asking for an over-20% (20.254%)  increase in homeowners dues.  This just does not add up!

We also, HIGHLY DISTRUST this SC and their leader who is a known felon; who has been expelled from Panama, and continues to be leading these people who are handling major decisions that impact our lives in VE,  including our money. 

VEneighbors strongly urges you to read the posts below and decide if you want to put more of your money into the hands of this current Steering Committee. 

We at VEneighbors are VOTING NO on the budget ballot.

Thank you for considering this very important decision.

Update on VOTING by PROXY

NOTE:  This form does NOT need to be notarized.  Just properly filled out and delivered to the VEHOA voting mailbox, or hand delivered to the VEHOA office, or brought to the meeting on Saturday.

1.  Print the proxy form (the vehoa emailed forms to everyone earlier in the week)

2.  Fill out the proxy with:

      Corporation and authorized name

​      Name of person proxy is being assigned to

      Date

      Lot number

      Signature of owner​

​3.  Scan the proxy form to either PDF or DOC file

4.  Another delivery option to the ones above is to email to ​

Budgetvotes2015@vehoa.com

​ with the proxy file attached.

     

Update on voting by EMAIL (Electronic)

The email/electronic ballots must be received by Vehoa tomorrow, Thursday is the last day to get them in.

1.  Print the ballot (the vehoa emailed everyone the ballots in the last few days)

2.  Fill out ballot with: 

      Name

      Lot #

      Vote selection clearly marked

      Signature

      Date

3.  Scan the ballot to either a PDF or DOC file

4.  Send an email to Budgetvotes2015@vehoa.com with the completed ballot file attached.

You will receive a confirmation of your vote being received.

Desperate tactics. SC is telling homeowners only 4 people in all of VE want them out! Seriously???

The lies and desperation continue at a fever pitch now with the budget vote coming up.

VE Neighbors has just received several emails from homeowners who want to add their names to the "Vote the SC OUT", with comments attached that the SC told them there are only 4 people in all of VE that wanted them out!!!! Seriously,  how low they will go? They must have a lot at stake (?!)

We have about 70 signatures and more coming in fast. They are desperate to stay in power, and the lies just keep coming.

VE "trash site" run and visited by small group of "bored losers"?

Here are the latest statistics for the VEneighbors blog. There are over 11,400 Page Views! What a ridiculous claim by the steering committee that only a small group of  "bored losers" run and post on this blog. Thank you VE homeowners for getting involved!

2015 BUDGET QUESTIONS

With the pending vote on the budget I would like to bring up several points and questions for the SC. I will have this posted on both VE neighbors – which from previous posts and comments we know the SC reads – as well as request it be posted on the VEHOA blog.

Per the auditors statement we started the year with a significant cash reserve. Using the current fee amount and all other numbers provided by the SC in the proposed budget we will have about a $15,000 excess from just this years activities. That with the beginning balance would provide a reserve of over 20% of the proposed 2015 budget. Surely that is enough of a reserve.

• Why do we need such a large reserve? 
• Are there anticipated expenditures that are not in the budget for some reason? 
• Does the reserve from previous years not exist? 
• There must be a reason the SC believes we need this level of reserves. Please explain.

The requested increase in fees is about 15%.

• How was that number arrived at? 
• Why not 10%, or 17%? There had to be some discussion within the SC as to how much to increase fees. Please expound on how the 15% increase was arrived at.

Are numbers available for 2014 that will show exactly how close the approved 2014 budget are with the actual numbers? Without those numbers it makes evaluating the proposed 2015 budget very iffy at best.

There are several categories that have proposed expenditures that it would be nice to have an explanation for prior to casting an electronic vote – most probably have a very good and quick explanation and a single sentence will suffice, some will need more information.

Not in order of significance:

• Why the big jump in office supplies?
• Can all the legal, professional, cpa etc fees have more detail provided? This is a large part of our overall budget and it is hard to understand as it is.
• What is the $6000 reimbursement for the office renovation for? Per one of the SC members the HOA cannot borrow (see email rejecting the offer to purchase a new transformer for this very reason).
• If the HOA cannot borrow money then why do we have a reimbursement entry?
• Street maintenance is reduced by $5000. Have there even been any street repairs done this year? 
• Is there any even planned for 2015?
• There was a $6000 entry for water leaks repairs in 2014. Was that spent?,  and given the water issues in early 2014 are we really certain we will not need to spend money in this area in 2015?

Thank you for your response

Dennis Griffin

Casa 56

Ralf's Response to our apology and VERY Enlightening News on the SC.

Ralf Henrich emailed the VE neighbors blog with this in response to “Our Apology and Gratitude." 

To whomever created this post, and to all the VE residents and homeowners who have reached out to me via email, phone calls, and visits to give me your support, a heartfelt thank you. It has been  very challenging times for me and it was difficult when people doubted who I am based upon the lies and attacks of Charbit, combined with his “groupies” Bell and Brunner. 

I knew the truth would come out over time and it is unfortunate that the only way I could defend myself was to expose the hard hitting reality about these individuals by providing indisputable facts and instigating a criminal suit. I look forward to the day justice is served and they are appropriately punished for the criminal actions they engaged in.

The last few days have been quite enlightening in VE as some VE Steering Committee insiders have approached me with apologies. They now know the truth but feel powerless to change things. They are completely frightened by Charbit and for good reason.  One very involved Steering Committee insider even discussed the fact that they have no mechanism to remove Charbit under the CC&Rs and he refuses to step down.

Look at what happens when you even question the chairman, a full out attack. If you take a look at his list of "bored losers", you will find individuals who were just recently full SC supporters.

Just a few days ago I was forwarded an email chain between Steering Committee members in which they accidently put a few individuals on a reply by accident. In these emails the SC members were scheming to come up with “lies” that I have committed. Fortunately one of their advisors had the intelligence to warn them that they better be able to back up their claims or there could be additional consequences.

I have a fairly accurate track record of predicting how things play out. In my opinion, Richard Charbit will soon realize that he will never return to Panama despite his and a few SC member’s claims to the contrary. How many times have we heard that he will be back “next week”. Eventually the VE homeowners, the SC and their ‘advisors” and most importantly Richard Charbit himself will come to the full realization that he will never return to Panama. He was not expelled because someone pulled strings. He was expelled from two countries for completely valid reasons, all of which are available for viewing on the blog post “Clarity about Richard Charbit’s criminal past”. 

Richard Charbit does not have the capacity to take responsibility for his actions. It is always some else’s fault who is out to get him. First it was his claim that he is not the same Richard Charbit and that it was one of his five cousins who did it. In the US it was the “beloved FBI” who set him up. In Panama it was “beloved Ralf” who, as he claims on the VEHOA website, took a bunch of forged documents” to Panama. Before that it was because the developer had a hand in it. Next it was the immigration director lied and did not give him proper due process. Then it was he could not understand Spanish and he “accidently” checked off that he had no criminal past on his permanent resident visa application. Now it is the Panama supreme court was rigged.

At what point do people wake up and realize that this individual can never take responsibility for anything and that he has a track record of leaving a wake of destruction behind him.  He calls everyone else liars yet has never once backed up any one of his slanderous allegations of others with any type of proof. Richard has never filed charges against anyone who he claims is slandering him. This from a man that was quick to threaten anyone with a “law suit” while he was in VE. He even threatened one of his now “groupies” with Richard saying that he had “more pennies” than the other party in regards to suing him.  

This is not about the infrastructure transfer, it is not about security, it is not about the evil developer, it is not a fairytale. It is about how a group of individuals who trusted Richard Charbit, and his “legal advice” went on to commit criminal acts themselves and put all the VE homeowners at risk. Soon Richard will disappear, the individuals who blindly followed his reckless advice will pay the consequences, and the VE homeowners will be left picking up the pieces at great expense.

Ralf Henrich

HOMEOWNERS ASKING "HOW DO WE GET THIS SC REMOVED"? Here's how:

We don't have to wait for Charbit to step down, which he will never do.

By Panamanian law, we need a certain % of homeowners to vote for the Steering Committee removal.

The number needed is 96 homeowners (only one vote per home). When we have the required number (and we are getting close) we will call a special election and the entire community will vote. 96 votes that want them out and then it is done.
WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU NOW:
We need everyone who has not already sent us an email stating to vote them out to EMAIL US NOW, so we can call the special election and get them removed before more damage is done to our homes, our values and our peace of mind.
HAVE YOU EMAILED US THAT YOU WANT TO VOTE THEM OUT SO WE CAN INCLUDE YOU IN OUR NUMBERS?? 
PLEASE EMAIL:  veneighbors@gmail.com

Charbits ranting is now a joke, and sad and embarrassing for him.

Kind of ironic don't you think?

Richard Charbit, the leader of our Steering Committee, a convicted felon, pathological liar, ( 4 cousins did it, not me) who has been jailed in 2 countries (that we know of)  & deported by the USA and expelled by Panama (never to come back, but fighting to try, so he might go back to jail?) real genius,  calls the homeowners that he is supposedly serving as our leader  WHAT.......     "a bunch of bored losers!"

And he calls this the "Trash Site"?!   THIS MAN IS A DESPERATE EMBARRASSMENT TO VALLE ESCONDIDO!  

And who still supports him?  No One who has been paying attention to the facts. He needs to go away completely for the well being of Valle Escondido! 

Please read our blog and be informed.

WE ASK RICHARD CHARBIT 2 QUESTIONS... ONLY 2!

1) Will the SC be paying for all of their own legal fees and damages against them?  Yes ____No____

2) Outline your exact plan's to have the infrastructure transfer(s) accomplished, and if you fail, then what?

We are waiting for your answers here on the "trash" site!

The VE Neighbors

Our Apology and Gratitude!

The Homeowners of VE owe Ralf Henrich a huge apology for everything this SC has put him through. Ralf has shown proof of his innocence on EVERY ISSUE (LIE) this SC has thrown at him.   

Charbit mentioned over and over the "JAW DROPPING" evidence; Bruner & Bell (both on the SC) followed in line destroying his character with lies. They produced absolutely nothing but a lawsuit against themselves and the HOA and we all have sat idly by allowing a fellow resident get slandered without an apology. WE ARE SORRY RALF! Sorry it came late as well!  What is more amazing is we have let them get away with it and still serve us!!

RALF has always stood by and protected this community for our interest. When Charbit called Ralf a 'snitch', do you realize that it was Ralf looking out for the homeowners best interest, when he told Charbit that he must disclose his true identity to the homeowners and be honest with us, or Ralf would. WHY?  BECAUSE RALF BELIEVED WE SHOULD BE AWARE THAT A KNOWN CONMAN WAS HEADING OUR STEERING COMMITTEE.  RALF'S 'snitching' was to INFORM US and PROTECT US! That  is called PROTECTION and SECURITY.  Everytime Charbit calls Ralf a 'snitch' he is insulting each one of us and counting on our ignorance of the situation.

We should all be giving high praise to Ralf, but instead, with Charbit in control of the SC, he has done everything possible to ruin Ralf and his business interest in VE and our trustworthy security that we have had for many years.

Charbit and company brought in a new security company that HE PLANS on controlling. Charbit knew Ralf would never let him take over control of who enters our community, SO HE HAD TO GET RID OF RALF BECAUSE HE WANTS CONTROL OF THE FRONT GATE. It is not just his hatred for Thalia, It is all about control! And Charbit wants to control more and more of our lives, as evident now with demanding a copy of our private homeownership papers!!! 

To validate this, He cannot even enter the country, he has made himself look like a complete fool and he will not resign. Who, in a state of normalcy would still want to even be a member of a community not to mention head of it? More importantly who would continue to support such a person? 

Lets wait and see how the numbers tally out at the end of next year, on the security savings. Our guess, there will be none when compared equally or the additional costs will be hidden and paid out of the $40K emergency find they wish to ding on us!

It should be so obvious now with the new demands from the SC !!

            Charbit & Co. want complete control of Valle Escondido. 

Ralf you stood up for Valle Escondido homeowners and we have let you down.

I have avoided coming to this website as I am "friends" with many on the SC and they have been telling us that this "trash" site is lies. The idea that I have to disclose my personal corporation information, or they wont let me into VE, was the last straw. I came to this website to see the "other side's" opinion on this new "show me your papers" requirement and I am blown away by the wealth of information here. 

This post in particular about Charbit's criminal reality is my wake up call. Why has the SC not addressed what Ralf has proven here? Why are they hiding this from the VE homeowners?

Why would they even want themselves, or the VE homeowners, even remotely associated with this type of individual? This information should be front and center on our VEHOA website with demands from the SC that this Charbit character immediately resign. If they really care about us homeowners and the infrastructure transfer then they need to show that they have the integrity to proceed on our behalf. Being aligned with a convict who was evicted by the country of Panama, with the full support of the Panamanian Supreme Court, does not bode well any possible legal battles faced in the asset transfer. 

SC stoops at nothing to STOP our RIGHT TO VOTE!

To The Steering Committee in response to their email below, 

This is a complete overstep and a violation of personal privacy & property!  Should they continue the path of enforcement it is only fair to post all related documents for each owner on the VEHOA blog to allow each and every homeowner the opportunity to view every homeowners shareholder records etc. to insure everyone in in compliance. Not to mention an HOA cannot force a private owner to expose their privacy. Where is this coded in Panamanian law?   Are you serious with this?

Should you sincerely have a concern from the legal aspect of ownership it would be the responsibility of the shareholder and or its appointee's to be held accountable as to the truthfulness of their appointment of proxy and unless this was legally contested by a 3rd party it would remain no one else's business. 

This is a 160 home HOA not a small country run by oligarch's!   

I would hope both HOA blogs post my response on my behalf, so my views can be expressed and I enourage all owners to voice their opinions.

Mark Schneider

 73 / 149

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Notice just received on 9/18 after 8p.m. from Steering Committee:

Dear Owners of Properties in Valle Escondido:

There has been a lot of scrutiny as to what makes you a Homeowner of Property in Valle Escondido and how is ownership determined.

Well, simply put, most properties are owned by a Panamanian corporation. This corporation has a legal representative, a Board of Directors and the corporation issues shares. The owner or owners of the shares are ultimately the owners of the Property, however, it must be legally established in the form of an Acta by the Board of Directors and signed by the Legal Representative. This information must be shared with the Homeowners Association in order to establish and assign a person or individual as the Owner of a property.

What do you need to do, bring to the VEHOA´s office one of two simple things:

1) Unlimited or General Power of Attorney by the Legal Representative of the Corporation assigning the majority shareholder or an individual unlimited powers over the property and decision making. This Power of Attorney needs to be registered in the Public Registry of Panama.

2) If the legal representative is the same person as the majority shareholder, then a copy of your certificate of shares.

We would like to remind you that having a limited power of attorney for the execution of documents pertaining to the sale of shares of the corporation  or the property does not establish ownership nor allows voting rights. If you are the holder of a limited power of attorney, you will be asked for a Proxy form that will allow you to vote in specific general meetings that require membership approval of certain issues such as elections, budgets or special assessments. You will need a new Proxy form every time a meeting is called for these types of votes.  We must however, be 100% clear that being a Proxy holder only gives you the authority to vote on a specific general assembly and does not give you ownership or any other rights on the property. PROXY FORMS NEED TO BE ISSUED AND SIGNED BY THE LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE CORPORATION, NOTARIZED BY A PANAMANIAN NOTARY IF THE PROPERTY IS OWNED BY A PANAMA CORPORATION OTHERWISE THEY WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

The VEHOA is having a lot of problems keeping up with what goes on in Valle Escondido as far as changes in ownership. While we do issue good standing letters when requested, these are not requested all the time, and in most instances the new homeowners are not registering themselves with the VEHOA, therefore leaving a VOID as to who is the rightful owner of the property, specially since most of the times, the property is sold under the same corporation, but only the shareholders are the ones that change, mostly because of tax exemption issues.

We are obligated therefore, to change our procedures as far as the issuing of letters of good standing. We will issue letters of good standing to those homeowners who request it in order to sell their properties, provided of course they are in good standing, and will not deliver these letters without being provided the new owner´s information. Every property for sale needs to be registered with the VEHOA´s office as to keep track of changes in ownership and to ensure access to the property when this change occurs.

We are improving our security measures and will soon offer better alternatives for Homeowner access to the community, therefore, if a property owner is not registered, they may be  inconvenienced trying to gain access to the community when the new system is implemented. 

Please understand that this is not a matter of politics. This is a matter of knowing the rightful owners of the properties so that communication is effective between the VEHOA and the membership, voting rights are exercised, dues are correctly billed and allocated and better safety and security is applied to all just by knowing who your neighbors are.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Steering Committee  and 

Board of Directors

VEHOA

DUES INCREASE??? Lets take a CLOSER LOOK.

How can they ask us for a bigger budget and raise our dues, if they will not show us our current standing and finances??

How many times have individual homeowners asked this SC how much money we have in our accounts and EVERY TIME the SC refuses to answer. Obviously they don't want us to know, so what are they doing? They either have enough money (which they should) in our coffers and don't need more. Or, they have spent it and don't want us to know how or on what. (By the way, it is right of every homeowner to receive this information within one day of asking.)  And now they expect us to TRUST THEM with MORE? 

The SC is now requesting a dues increase of $47,168 for 2015. This is another 20.273% increase over last year. 

There should right now be no less than $88,182 in surplus and no need for a further unscheduled dues increase! And if there is less than $88,182. WHERE did the money go, and how much do we have left??!! 

The SC says it is “working hard to save you money,” so why another $47k added to homeowner dues? This doesn’t add up! If they’re saving money, and we have an $88k surplus, the SC should LOWER the dues, or certainly not ask for more.

The proposed budget was emailed out en-masse on 17 September, only 11 days prior to the meeting. This doesn’t meet the rules for documentation distribution in either Deed 1937 nor the 2014 Operating Rules of the Steering Committee document.

The SC has constantly "tooted its horn" by stating that it has eliminated $3000/yr in administration rent, but I don't recall hearing anything about the $12,000 spent to renovate the VEHOA office and Security Office that is in this new budget?  (Other than that Charbit paid for this out of his pocket.)  

This would indicate a 4-year future before the $3000 annual rent savings is at break-even!! 

Has anyone seen invoices for the $12k in renovations that we're now being asked to fund? 

And what about invoices for the $5000 spent to improve the new park? Did any of us get to vote on this or even voice an opinion?

Last year's budget provided $500 for office supplies, this year is proposed at $2500 – why a 500% increase? How does this play into the $3000 annual rent savings the SC is claiming?

Street & Road maintenance was $15k for 2014 & another $20k for 2015 – yet I've not seen signs of one nickel being spent on roads in the last couple of years. What am I overlooking?   (Perhaps that was added to the $42,000 in legal fees budgeted in 2014/2015 combined?)  

Olga's pay was increased 50% last year from $12000 to $18000, and now we’re being asked to add an additional $1200 to that for 2015?  Why? Her salary is already much higher than most! This seems like it might be a pay out to a favorite employee. Common sense tells us she is already being paid ample, if not too much. 
For a SC who seems to want to cut the cost on everything, this does not make much sense does it. 

This new budget provides for a further $51,857 in a reserve fund for emergencies. 

There is a big concern by many homeowners that this "extra reserve" will end up just like the $85,000+ the SC spent on Paul McBride, (without our vote), the $20,000 this SC paid BCS to go away,(without our vote), and the untold money being spent to defend their legal battles,(Definitely without our vote).

Our money-- once again…GONE WITH THE WIND…AND they expect us to TRUST THEM!  Led by infamous conman Richard Charbit. I think NOT.

Let us protect ourselves and vote NO.  Lets get this SC out and a new one in that we can trust. Then we can work on a fair and proper budget with new cc&rs to protect ourselves and our money.

How can they ask us for a bigger budget and raise our dues, when they will not show us our current standing and finances??

Response by Ralf Henrich to Carol Bruner's ignorant comment on the VEHOA website.

Below is a copy of an email I sent Carol Bruner last night in response to a comment she directed towards me on the VEHOA website, also copied below. Sadly, rather than addressing the hard facts presented regarding Richard Charbit's criminal activities, and his ongoing lies to the community, she deflects and tries to claim that I can't sue her, or the SC, because of some agreement that I was in no way a party to.

It truly is sad to see that a person this uneducated and ignorant in even the basics of contracts and agreements is "representing" VE homeowners. Carol Bruner, you are not even on the SC legally as you were appointed to replace Michael Burd whom the SC admits never officially resigned. All these illegal actions of the SC, under the direction of your expelled criminal leader, will be proven to have been illegal by the Panamanian Court system soon enough. Unfortunately, it will be the VE homeowners who will have to pay to repair the damages your criminal actions have cost the community.

Please respond if you would like me to post the email I reference at the end of the email I sent you last night copied below. I am sure that you, as a representative of VE homeowners, would want the truth about Richard Charbit to be made available for the VE community . 

Ralf Henrich

Carol Bruner,

You ask questions of me with no ability to answer on VEHOA website. Please post this, in its entirety, on the VEHOA website. Also, please address my question as to what documentation the VEHOA requires of me, and fellow homeowners, to be considered a VEHOA “homeowner” with access to the VEHOA website?

For your, the SC, and fellow VEHOA homeowner’s edification, I ,was never consulted on, have ever seen, have not signed, nor am I in any way a party to  the agreement you reference. This agreement was between BCS and the VEHOA and in no way does Ms. Velasquez have the authority to give up anyone’s personal rights under Panamanian law. BCS had no authority to give up my third party rights  just like they had no authority to give up the unrelated third party rights of Tadasly. Any somewhat intelligent person, and especially any competent attorney, would immediately know that.

In no way does this agreement apply to me and any claims to such by yourself, and or other SC members, will result in further legal action against you. I will notify my attorney  to file additional criminal charges against you for  these slanderous claims that  I am in breach of  contract.

Sadly it is the VEHOA homeowners who will wind up paying for the defense of the reckless criminal  actions of yourself and your fellow SC members.

My criminal case against you, and your fellow SC members, will proceed, and I look forward to seeing you prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for the slanderous lies you, and your fellow SC members have publicly made against me.

Also, since your actions have had an impact on my reputation in the United States, and since some of your defamatory communications originated in the United States which were forwarded across international borders, I have also instituted civil litigation in a United States District court against you, and Ms. Bell, and will seek actual and treble damages from each of you individually, and the SC collectively, since you have all acted in concert.

Ralf Henrich

PS: I received an email this evening from the Supervising United States Probation Officer of the Southern District Court informing me that they are assigning a new probation officer in regards to Richard Charbit’s probation violation case. Looks like they received many phone calls with complaints from VE homeowners.

1.       Carol Bruner says:

September 15, 2014 at 5:19 pm

To All:

The Steering Committee is requesting a statement from Lic. Julio Brown re: the agreement signed in August, 2014, between the VEHOA and Boquete Consulting Security. This agreement stipulated that neither side would be a party to lawsuits, past or present, against the other.

This agreement works both ways. Members of the Steering Committee will not be able to file a lawsuit against Ralf Henrich or Analia Velasquez for defamation of character, aka slander.

What doesn’t Ralf Henrich understand? We know he can read. What does he not understand about this legally binding agreement?

The agreement was signed by Analia Velasquez for Boquete Consulting Security before Ralf Henrich filed his illegal lawsuit against several Steering Committee members.

Read the agreement, Herr Henrich. Read it and understand it. It applies to you.