This well-written and thoroughly researched book outlines the history of CID's (Common Interest Developments, often known as Homeowner's Associations in one of their various forms) and shows why they exist and continue to proliferate. Touted as a selling point to potential buyers by realtors and builders, CID's exist--as McKenzie cogently points out--primarily as a means for developers to mitigate the rising cost of property by squeezing more dwellings on to less land and bypassing local zoning restrictions and ordinances. The author not only examines the resultant effect upon the individual homeowner, but the long-term sociological and political ramifications as well. Like many who buy a home located in a CID, I was largely naive regarding the freedoms ceded by the purchaser as well as the broad and unfettered authority wielded by the "association". "Privatopia" contains some of the horror stories experienced within the CID scenario. Some of the issues causing disputes are so trivial as to be laughable, except for the severe penalties incurred by violators, including huge fines and legal fees, or even loss of one's home in certain situations. (My own "horror" story includes being assessed thousands of dollars in fines and legal fees over an orginal debt of $500.00 in association dues) As McKenzie points out, all too often the amateurs (who are typically homeowners within the subdivision) comprising the "board of directors" that administers the bylaws of the association, take a rigid stance when it comes to enforcement, or--worse yet--simply turn everything over to professional management companies and/or lawyers. Ostensibly, of course, the reason for all of the bylaws is the maintenance of property values. (Many of the trivial rules go way beyond that premise, and most CID's require a 3/4 majority of owners to unseat board members or amend bylaws, thus virtually ensuring a de facto dictatorship) Additionally, as the author explains, the real motivation for keeping property values high is so that the lenders courted by the developers will be confident that their investment is secure. (Again, the HOMEOWNER'S interests are irrelevant) Of course, not everyone living in a CID has a negative experience, but I think it's safe to say that most buyers have little idea of what they're getting into when they purchase a dwelling in a development run by an association. This book should be required reading for anyone currently living in or considering the purchase of a home located within a CID, and will be a real eye-opener to many.

Professor McKenzie was one of the first to see the dangers of the new trend of private contractual pseudo-government in common-interest developments (a/k/a mandatory homeowners' associations) and his treatment remains one of the most thoughtful available. Especially useful is his history of the development of the industry's powerhouse trade organization, the Community Associations Institute. CAI started long ago as a balanced entity serving the interests of homeowners as well as others, but it has turned into a lobbying arm for professionals who make their livings off of mandatory assessments and the associated legal machinery of collection and foreclosure.

In the county in which Houston, Texas, is located, over 11,000 foreclosure lawsuits have been filed by mandatory homeowners associations in recent years, the vast majority of them since 1995, when Texas law was amended (with the help of the CAI lobby) to favor the rights of mandatory homeowners associations. A standard pattern is the experience cited by a reviewer below: a few hundred dollars in assessments or fines in dispute, and thousands of dollars of legal fees -- all secured by a homestead. McKenzie's book is a good tool to use in trying to understand the trend and the alternatives.

This books reflects the legal, social and political ramifications of homeowner associations. It is an accurate and intelligent analysis of one of the least reported aspects of American society and yet is a fairly easy read. The writer obviously has conducted considerable research and, from my understanding, the book has recieved critical and scholarly kudos.