Homeowner's Associations

24

Comments

  • catefrances
    catefrances Posts: 29,003
    81 wrote:
    catefrances wrote:
    just the thought that theres an association that can mandate what i can and cant do with my own home is anathema to me.

    just anouther layer of government....

    exactamundo. 8-)
    hear my name
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  • _
    _ Posts: 6,657
    catefrances wrote:
    just the thought that theres an association that can mandate what i can and cant do with my own home is anathema to me.

    Do they have such organizations in Australia? (You're from Australia, right?)
  • catefrances
    catefrances Posts: 29,003
    _ wrote:
    catefrances wrote:
    just the thought that theres an association that can mandate what i can and cant do with my own home is anathema to me.

    Do they have such organizations in Australia? (You're from Australia, right?)

    yes im from australia. im unaware of such organisations. however ive never lived in a spanky new subdivision or a gated community. but i know that birdbaths, gnomes and grass longer than a crewcut are allowed in the free range suburbs. ;):mrgreen:
    hear my name
    take a good look
    this could be the day
    hold my hand
    lie beside me
    i just need to say
  • know1
    know1 Posts: 6,801
    I would like to form one in our neighborhood just to pass an ordinance forbidding overnight parking on the streets. These people have garages, but unfortunately they are so filled with crap they have to park on the streets. And that's a safety hazard and an eyesore.
    The only people we should try to get even with...
    ...are those who've helped us.

    Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
  • USARAY
    USARAY Posts: 517
    catefrances wrote:
    yes im from australia. im unaware of such organisations. however ive never lived in a spanky new subdivision or a gated community. but i know that birdbaths, gnomes and grass longer than a crewcut are allowed in the free range suburbs. ;):mrgreen:
    really australia thought you were a US citizen before talkin our US laws rights constitution guns
    people must be foolin around
    if you own land no body can tell you what to do not much for the burbs
    give me open country
  • Jason P
    Jason P Posts: 19,327
    Did you have to sign a contract with the HOA?

    If all else fails, flaming bags of dog poop are always an option.
    Be Excellent To Each Other
    Party On, Dudes!
  • catefrances
    catefrances Posts: 29,003
    My3bika wrote:
    catefrances wrote:
    yes im from australia. im unaware of such organisations. however ive never lived in a spanky new subdivision or a gated community. but i know that birdbaths, gnomes and grass longer than a crewcut are allowed in the free range suburbs. ;):mrgreen:
    really australia thought you were a US citizen before talkin our US laws rights constitution guns ...

    nope. aussie all the way.. i just have a lot to say. 8-)
    hear my name
    take a good look
    this could be the day
    hold my hand
    lie beside me
    i just need to say
  • _
    _ Posts: 6,657
    know1 wrote:
    I would like to form one in our neighborhood just to pass an ordinance forbidding overnight parking on the streets. These people have garages, but unfortunately they are so filled with crap they have to park on the streets. And that's a safety hazard and an eyesore.

    How is parking on the street a safety hazard or an eyesore? :? Do you have particularly narrow streets and neighbors with particularly ugly cars or something?
  • _
    _ Posts: 6,657
    Jason P wrote:
    Did you have to sign a contract with the HOA?

    If all else fails, flaming bags of dog poop are always an option.
    :lol:

    I signed so many mortgage papers when I bought the place that an HOA contract was probably in there somewhere.
  • norm
    norm Posts: 31,146
    hoa's are for anal retentive busy bodies with nothing better to do
  • _
    _ Posts: 6,657
    norm wrote:
    hoa's are for anal retentive busy bodies with nothing better to do

    Some of the people on our Board certainly fit that description. They're mostly crotchety old people. (No offense to the old people... just the crotchety ones. ;) ) There was this one guy who was on the Board since the neighborhood was built in the '80s. He was such a busy-body that he would peer over peoples fences trying to find something to fine them for. He finally peered a little too far into some lady's bathroom while she was coming out of the shower. When I moved in, I saw him actually get into my moving van and look around at all my stuff. When I came outside he didn't even say hello or welcome me to the community or anything - he just wanted to check out all my stuff. We were never able to get him off the Board. He finally died.
  • norm
    norm Posts: 31,146
    _ wrote:
    norm wrote:
    hoa's are for anal retentive busy bodies with nothing better to do

    Some of the people on our Board certainly fit that description. They're mostly crotchety old people. (No offense to the old people... just the crotchety ones. ;) ) There was this one guy who was on the Board since the neighborhood was built in the '80s. He was such a busy-body that he would peer over peoples fences trying to find something to fine them for. He finally peered a little too far into some lady's bathroom while she was coming out of the shower. When I moved in, I saw him actually get into my moving van and look around at all my stuff. When I came outside he didn't even say hello or welcome me to the community or anything - he just wanted to check out all my stuff. We were never able to get him off the Board. He finally died.

    ugh what a creep...i hope you can find a resolution but it's almost easier to deal with the federal govt than a hoa
  • hedonist
    hedonist Posts: 24,524
    I eventually stopped attending our board meetings because most of them transgressed into shouting matches between (you guessed it) mostly crotchety older folks :D Not the way I want to spend an evening after working all day (let alone join the damn board).

    Overall, our HOA is pretty decent in terms of staff, and keeping the building clean and safe. We did have some problems awhile back after the big earthquake in the 90s. The president at the time was in cahoots with the building inspector overseeing quake "repairs". We paid for them, but the work was never done. Fucking kickbacks!

    As for your situation, you'd think safety (such as the motion-sensor lights) would be a priority, if only from a liability standpoint in this sue-happy society.

    Definitely check your by-laws (and any amendments) carefully, as those should all be abided by to the T. It sucks when you get a clique on there who are hellbent on doing things their, and only their, way.
  • polaris_x
    polaris_x Posts: 13,559
    i say put the gnomes out ... live a little ...
  • Jason P
    Jason P Posts: 19,327
    How do they enforce fines? I can see getting in trouble for a violation of a city ordinance, but I would tell a group of HOA's to piss off if I had a potted plant on my porch.

    This seems weird to me.
    Be Excellent To Each Other
    Party On, Dudes!
  • 81
    81 Needing a ride to Forest Hills and a ounce of weed. Please inquire within. Thanks. Or not. Posts: 58,276
    Jason P wrote:
    How do they enforce fines? I can see getting in trouble for a violation of a city ordinance, but I would tell a group of HOA's to piss off if I had a potted plant on my porch.

    This seems weird to me.

    when you buy the house, you also buy the HO and agree to the terms. if you don't abide, they can take you to court...and you will lose.
    81 is now off the air

    Off_Air.jpg
  • Jason P
    Jason P Posts: 19,327
    81 wrote:
    Jason P wrote:
    How do they enforce fines? I can see getting in trouble for a violation of a city ordinance, but I would tell a group of HOA's to piss off if I had a potted plant on my porch.

    This seems weird to me.

    when you buy the house, you also buy the HO and agree to the terms. if you don't abide, they can take you to court...and you will lose.
    You city folk and your weird rules .... :mrgreen:
    Be Excellent To Each Other
    Party On, Dudes!
  • _
    _ Posts: 6,657
    Jason P wrote:
    How do they enforce fines? I can see getting in trouble for a violation of a city ordinance, but I would tell a group of HOA's to piss off if I had a potted plant on my porch.

    This seems weird to me.

    They can foreclose on your house and garnish your wages. No joke.

    They threatened to put a lien on my house last year because I owed money for some special assessment. I got a notice in the mail one day that said if I didn't fork over $1000 by the end of the week they would put a lien on my house. The letter said it was my final notice. Only I never received any other notice. I didn't even know I owed them any money. My monthly dues are auto-deducted, but they don't send me a statement, so I had no idea my account was in the red. You'd think before putting a lien against my house, they could have the decency to take two minutes to call me up or send me a letter or an email and just say, "Hey, by the way, you owe us money" - but no, they just wanted to go straight to legal action.

    Here are a couple of stories from a yahoo article on HOAs:
    http://loan.yahoo.com/m/primer13.html

    "A gardening violation. That's what landed Jeffrey DeMarco in hot water with his Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., homeowners association a few years ago: He planted too many roses on his four-acre property. Peeved, the association fined him monthly and sat back as the bills mounted. Then it placed a lien on his property and threatened to foreclose, according to DeMarco.

    He took the board to court, but lost on the grounds that he had violated the association's architectural design rules. (In addition to planting roses, he also had regraded the site.) In the end, he got stuck with the association's $70,000 legal bill and lost his home to the bank."

    Another story:

    "To ward off a neighbor who had attacked him with a log, he asked his Rockville, Md., board to bend the rules. He wanted a six-foot fence, two feet taller than allowed. When the application was denied, he sued -- and lost. Warshaw wound up with the association's bills, too. The total: $23,000 in legal fees, court costs and interest.

    Humbled but determined, he built a shorter fence. "I wasn't really worried because the board had told me that they don't go out and measure fences," he says. As soon as the fence was up, several board members walked over to Warshaw's yard and measured it. And indeed, in some areas the fence was a few inches over four feet. The dispute continued. "They put a lien on my property," Warshaw says. "They took all my savings, and they're garnishing my paycheck. It's like I am a common criminal. It has been devastating.""

    It's absolutely crazy what power HOAs have over people - especially considering the fact that it can be virtually impossible to buy a house without one in many cities. :evil:
  • 81
    81 Needing a ride to Forest Hills and a ounce of weed. Please inquire within. Thanks. Or not. Posts: 58,276
    _ wrote:
    Jason P wrote:
    How do they enforce fines? I can see getting in trouble for a violation of a city ordinance, but I would tell a group of HOA's to piss off if I had a potted plant on my porch.

    This seems weird to me.

    They can foreclose on your house and garnish your wages. No joke.

    They threatened to put a lien on my house last year because I owed money for some special assessment. I got a notice in the mail one day that said if I didn't fork over $1000 by the end of the week they would put a lien on my house. The letter said it was my final notice. Only I never received any other notice. I didn't even know I owed them any money. My monthly dues are auto-deducted, but they don't send me a statement, so I had no idea my account was in the red. You'd think before putting a lien against my house, they could have the decency to take two minutes to call me up or send me a letter or an email and just say, "Hey, by the way, you owe us money" - but no, they just wanted to go straight to legal action.

    Here are a couple of stories from a yahoo article on HOAs:
    http://loan.yahoo.com/m/primer13.html

    "A gardening violation. That's what landed Jeffrey DeMarco in hot water with his Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., homeowners association a few years ago: He planted too many roses on his four-acre property. Peeved, the association fined him monthly and sat back as the bills mounted. Then it placed a lien on his property and threatened to foreclose, according to DeMarco.

    He took the board to court, but lost on the grounds that he had violated the association's architectural design rules. (In addition to planting roses, he also had regraded the site.) In the end, he got stuck with the association's $70,000 legal bill and lost his home to the bank."

    Another story:

    "To ward off a neighbor who had attacked him with a log, he asked his Rockville, Md., board to bend the rules. He wanted a six-foot fence, two feet taller than allowed. When the application was denied, he sued -- and lost. Warshaw wound up with the association's bills, too. The total: $23,000 in legal fees, court costs and interest.

    Humbled but determined, he built a shorter fence. "I wasn't really worried because the board had told me that they don't go out and measure fences," he says. As soon as the fence was up, several board members walked over to Warshaw's yard and measured it. And indeed, in some areas the fence was a few inches over four feet. The dispute continued. "They put a lien on my property," Warshaw says. "They took all my savings, and they're garnishing my paycheck. It's like I am a common criminal. It has been devastating.""

    It's absolutely crazy what power HOAs have over people - especially considering the fact that it can be virtually impossible to buy a house without one in many cities. :evil:


    exactly why i will never live in one
    81 is now off the air

    Off_Air.jpg
  • DS1119
    DS1119 Posts: 33,497
    _ wrote:
    Jason P wrote:
    How do they enforce fines? I can see getting in trouble for a violation of a city ordinance, but I would tell a group of HOA's to piss off if I had a potted plant on my porch.

    This seems weird to me.

    They can foreclose on your house and garnish your wages. No joke.

    They threatened to put a lien on my house last year because I owed money for some special assessment. I got a notice in the mail one day that said if I didn't fork over $1000 by the end of the week they would put a lien on my house. The letter said it was my final notice. Only I never received any other notice. I didn't even know I owed them any money. My monthly dues are auto-deducted, but they don't send me a statement, so I had no idea my account was in the red. You'd think before putting a lien against my house, they could have the decency to take two minutes to call me up or send me a letter or an email and just say, "Hey, by the way, you owe us money" - but no, they just wanted to go straight to legal action.

    Here are a couple of stories from a yahoo article on HOAs:
    http://loan.yahoo.com/m/primer13.html

    "A gardening violation. That's what landed Jeffrey DeMarco in hot water with his Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., homeowners association a few years ago: He planted too many roses on his four-acre property. Peeved, the association fined him monthly and sat back as the bills mounted. Then it placed a lien on his property and threatened to foreclose, according to DeMarco.

    He took the board to court, but lost on the grounds that he had violated the association's architectural design rules. (In addition to planting roses, he also had regraded the site.) In the end, he got stuck with the association's $70,000 legal bill and lost his home to the bank."

    Another story:

    "To ward off a neighbor who had attacked him with a log, he asked his Rockville, Md., board to bend the rules. He wanted a six-foot fence, two feet taller than allowed. When the application was denied, he sued -- and lost. Warshaw wound up with the association's bills, too. The total: $23,000 in legal fees, court costs and interest.

    Humbled but determined, he built a shorter fence. "I wasn't really worried because the board had told me that they don't go out and measure fences," he says. As soon as the fence was up, several board members walked over to Warshaw's yard and measured it. And indeed, in some areas the fence was a few inches over four feet. The dispute continued. "They put a lien on my property," Warshaw says. "They took all my savings, and they're garnishing my paycheck. It's like I am a common criminal. It has been devastating.""

    It's absolutely crazy what power HOAs have over people - especially considering the fact that it can be virtually impossible to buy a house without one in many cities. :evil:


    Just crazy. :?

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