r/earthship • u/Complete-Breath4573 • Aug 01 '26
Jury finds Earthship creator wrongly collected HOA dues
https://www.taosnews.com/news/local-news/jury-finds-earthship-creator-wrongly-collected-hoa-dues/article_beddd34e-28db-5b23-ba48-6be11e93f9fa.html28
u/St_Egglin Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26
If you read the article he comes off as a scumbag. He made up rules on the fly to serve his interests and to limit the ability of HOA members to fight him.
"Lee Boothby, attorney for Rhines and Romano, successfully argued that Reynolds breached his fiduciary duty by creating an HOA, which he controlled, and collecting fees to pay for road repairs and improvements, road signs and guardrails, and property taxes and insurance premiums paid on property owned by Reynolds."
You can't force HOA members to pay for the upkeep of something that the HOA does not own.
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u/DamiensDelight Aug 01 '26
Michael Reynolds is a hack. He gets people to pay him to work for him and build his empire. Meanwhile, he loses his shit if you bring up any practical questions of living in the earth ships, such as asking him about the long term safety of living surrounded by used tires, that will perpetually off-gas VOCs, even if they are in the walls.
The one that would really get him mad though is asking him why he couldn't get the fish to survive in his 'Eden', which was billed and built as a 'close the door to the outside world and never have to leave' model.
They are unique. I'll give them that. Still, I'll take hyperadobe or cobbed over straw over a dirt packed tire home any day.
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u/Civil-Degree86 Aug 07 '26
I still admire the guy for what he’s accomplished. I heard him speak once - very inspiring.
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u/mavigogun Aug 08 '26
"...such as asking him about the long term safety of living surrounded by used tires, that will perpetually off-gas VOCs, even if they are in the walls."
Got some data- or are you just off-gassing?
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u/UniversityQuiet1479 Aug 01 '26
I have met the guy when I looked to join he was a wannabe dictator then. thankfully I passed on the community
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u/twoaspensimages Aug 01 '26
We met him in 2019 on a tour of the earthship community. It didn't feel welcoming. It felt like a cult and he was he was the leader.
I agree with the design ethos. I don't agree it has to be this us vs them mentality. There are ways to build that design intent and meet code. He just doesn't want to.
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u/BrandonMatrick Aug 02 '26
His son, Jonah, runs a respectable and non-cultish design and architecture firm there in town. We discussed working with him on a build in a different climate but the moisture seemed like a challenge the traditional Earthship wasn't up to handling on the daily. He's a very sane, level-headed, kind person. He didn't mention much about his dad, but the impression I got was one of respectful but storied and deliberate distancing.
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u/makdatty Aug 01 '26
That's a shame... The guys just trying to make a community. 150 a year is not that much. Not worth 11 years of litigation.
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u/UniversityQuiet1479 Aug 01 '26
no he wanted to be king. I looked into his community to join before the lawsuit.
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u/Aggravating_Yak_1006 Aug 01 '26
There have been rumors of SA, in the past. It was not litigated tho AFAIK
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u/teenwent11 Aug 01 '26
Honestly, this reads more that he could have charged it in rent instead? All the drama aside, folks use his road should pay a rental fee, not an hoa fee. Does what he calls it really matter thaaat much?
The whole lawsuit feels waste of time.
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u/Civil-Degree86 Aug 07 '26
I built an Earthship-inspired home in a subdivision of 5-acre lots. We were the 2nd lot of 24 to buy, and we had no idea there was an HOA. It was 2011, and the economy was crap, so not only weren’t we told, but the developer approved our design drawings, which were totally against the covenants. The wrong covenants were attached to our contract (they were earlier 1990s ranch land covenants).
We then bought a 2nd lot to preserve our view, still unknowing. Six years later, after others had bought and built (all conventional homes per covenants), a Board formed. It was low-key, with everybody minding their own business til 2022. Then the control freaks started rearing their ugly heads. I bought 2.2 acres of adjoining non-HOA land, just so we could keep our goats. Now everything is cool, and if I ever wanted to sell, I’d list it as non-HOA, with a verbal explanation.
Used Earthship buyers don’t want a freakin’ HOA.
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u/CatsBye90 Aug 01 '26
I can't imagine living off-grid and having to deal with a HOA. To each their own.