by "Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
Published 06/29/2017 at 12:11
by "Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
Published 06/29/2017 at 12:11
No Tags
STARS: 7
So I guess I angered the HOA gods (their preferred title) by writing my post about Leonard and his quest to never see another trash can. When I got home, there were letters in the mail from the HOA about the trash cans and about my yard.
Let’s tackle the yard first. Background, for pertinent weather info: I live the PNW, where it rains for 10 months out of the year. My house did not have a sprinkler system installed when I moved in, and it didn’t need one for 5 years. Unfortunately, 2 years ago, we had an unusually hot summer, the grass got pretty brown, and I got a letter from the HOA. I’ve got a whole rant in me about the ridiculousness of expecting green grass in the middle of summer in the PNW, but that’s something for another time. I did my best for the remainder of that summer and last year I spent a large chunk of money to have a sprinkler system installed, just to appease these fucking petty fascists. The point being that I have invested time, money, and energy in keeping my lawn looking nice (despite the fact that I’m from the SW and couldn’t give a shit about green lawns). It usually does look fine.
A couple weeks ago, I went on a trip to Boston and mowed the lawn right before I left in order to minimize the chances of complaints. The grass grows very fast this time of year. I mowed it 2 weeks later when I got back, and it was a little long, but nothing too bad, or so I thought. The letter I got in the mail had a grainy B&W photo of the lawn from the time I was out of town claiming the lawn had “gone to seed.” Bullshit. Utter bullshit. The trash cans are one thing, because I’m aware that I’m violating the letter of the law, but my lawn? Are you fucking kidding me? This is most likely not Leonard’s fault, so today we’re going to talk about Jake, the silly cunt who works for the HOA management company and enforces the rules for the HOA board. I contacted Jake, the prick, thinking that some homeowner was going around reporting these things and he said that he goes around a few times per month to monitor the rules and he was the one who took the photos and wrote the letters. He also said my lawn had gone to seed and that is usually when the letters are sent out. Jake has not responded to me after I pointed out (politely, I promise) that there is no way the lawn had gone to seed and the photo (which is a blur of about 5 1/2 pixels) does not show anything of the sort. Fuck you, Jake, and stick a lawnmower up your ass.
As angry as the yard thing makes me, I’m not that concerned because the lawn is usually good and there’s little risk of a fine. The trash cans are a real problem. After Leonard’s complaints (not specifically about me, the whole alley leaves their cans on the street), the board has decided to start enforcing this rule, which means they are now the ones I have to deal with. The HOA president is actually rather decent and patient, but some of the other board members are completely fucked in the head. I’m in the process of trying to work something out with him, because the odds of changing the rule are zero. I tried putting my trash cans inside my fence and they take up over half of my patio (it’s a small patio). If I put them in my yard, they’ll kill the grass. He said he’s open to creative solutions, so I’m mildly optimistic we can come to an agreement unless he involves the rest of the HOA board.
A few notes on HOA’s in general: they suck. Did you know the HOA can foreclose on your house for not paying their fines? That’s right, if I simply ignored them, and put my trash cans where I wanted them, I could lose my entire fucking home. Lot’s of people, pro or anti-HOA, have said “you signed an agreement when you bought the home.” Well, to those people I say, “fuck off.” I never had an HOA growing up, and then I lived on my own in apartments before buying this house, my first. I read everything carefully during the purchase process, admittedly focusing on the loan documents because that’s more money than I’ve ever had anything to do with. I don’t remember any mention of the HOA, other than the fact that I’d have to pay dues to maintain the public areas. When I moved in, the giant rule book was given to us along with 3 other binders full of information that I’d never read. Next time I move, there’s no way in hell I’ll live under an HOA, but for now I guess I have to play by their rules. Hooray conformity!
I realize this is a lot of words, time, and effort dedicated to some very small issues, but that’s exactly my point!
"McMike" (mcmike)
06/29/2017 at 12:20, STARS: 24
Pester them with stupid questions. Asking how long between mows you should go.
then when they write back, ask them how long you should leave the grass, and how short is too short.
Then ask them how often you should water to keep the grass heathy.
Then ask what time of day is best to water the grass.
Send them a picture of your lawn mower blade, asking them if it is sharp enough.
Then ask them where a good place to get it sharpened is
Do it by mail, ask one question at a time.
Then start with stupid trash can questions.
"Highlander-Datsuns are Forever" (jamesbowland)
06/29/2017 at 12:21, STARS: 3
HOA board members are like the worst people that can possible be put in a position of power. I see it as a stepping stone to running for house or the senate.
"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
06/29/2017 at 12:22, STARS: 2
I’d be moving. I know, I know, it’s easier said than done. But seriously, this is ludicrous beyond belief.
My neighbors are 350 feet away through the woods to the south. Next closest house, another 350 +/- feet in the same direction. You need to go closer to 1/4 mile east/west to find a home, more like 3/4 going north or northeast. The trees don’t give a shit what my lawn looks like.
The worst thing my neighbors ever did to me was call the fire department when we had a bonfire with sustained 40' high flames one night. I can’t blame them, since they probably assumed it was our house. Thank you, I guess? And thankfully the fire dept. was called off before the Big Red Trucks showed up in my driveway.
Sorry for your trouble, man, really. I hope you can get out of there before you go crazy!
"Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer" (smallbear94)
06/29/2017 at 12:22, STARS: 5
HOA’s are fucking stupid. I get the concept, but like so many other things it gets twisted into something it was never meant to be.
They’re for keeping neighborhoods from going to shit, not for pulling money out of people who put their trash out at 11:59pm the night before. Fuck them with a freezer bag of lemon juice and thumb tacks.
"Funktheduck" (funktheduck)
06/29/2017 at 12:24, STARS: 2
Close. HOA boards are usually made up of people too awful to run for real political office
"My X-type is too a real Jaguar" (TomSlick)
06/29/2017 at 12:25, STARS: 0
I posted this car in another post but buy this, register it and insure it, and park it outside in your driveway. It doesn’t break any rules!
https://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/6196278984.html
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
06/29/2017 at 12:26, STARS: 4
The purpose of excessive regulation of any kind is two-fold: to provide importance/paper status and authority to an entity managing its compliance, and to produce the necessary pretext to knock down any nails that stick up. Enough arbitrarity, enough complexity, and everyone has offended when convenient.
I’m not often one to draw from Ayn Rand, but there’s one thing she got absolutely correct:
“There’s no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What’s there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced or objectively interpreted – and you create a nation of law-breakers – and then you cash in on guilt. Now that’s the system, Mr. Reardon, that’s the game, and once you understand it, you’ll be much easier to deal with.”
"Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies" (jordanwphillips)
06/29/2017 at 12:28, STARS: 3
I think it’s for people not competent enough to put a campaign together.
"The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock" (jukesjukesjukes)
06/29/2017 at 12:29, STARS: 1
You should cut the lawn at 3:00am, & say “you told me I needed to cut the lawn”.
"Funktheduck" (funktheduck)
06/29/2017 at 12:29, STARS: 0
When we bought our house we specifically told the agent don’t show us any house with an HOA.
Stuff like this is why. Someone on the nextdoor app suggested an HOA for our neighborhood and they were promptly told where they could stick that idea by many commenters. This was the same person complaining on the app about neighbors’ yards and upkeep. Lots of minor stuff and some things mandated by the county (like lawn clippings/brush being put on the side of the road). Every Monday morning a truck runs around picking up lawn stuff around 7 am. Most people do yard work on the weekend. He didn’t want any yard waste at the curb. Not sure what he wanted. He deleted the thread after everyone pointed out that’s how things work.
"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
06/29/2017 at 12:29, STARS: 1
...have said “you signed an agreement when you bought the home.”
Try buying a newer house not in an HOA. Good luck. I do not want to live in a house built 30-40 years ago. I don’t care how many times it was renovated.
/rant - language and general anarchy ensue
I’ve sent a few angry letters to my HOA, wait it is technically not an HOA it is a Town Metro Center District. But if it looks, smells, and functions like an HOA..... We had a hail storm more than two years ago and people still haven’t fixed their fences. One house that got foreclosed had a three foot tall weed. I’m not exaggerating. I measured it. Lawns that look like crap because the grass is patchy, dead and dirt in some places. Gnarly backyards that can be seen from the street that are overgrown jungles.
But noooooo, I can’t put a damn basketball hoop above my garage or have a nice boat in my driveway or have a work truck with a logo on the side of it.
I hate my HOA so much. If you have one, they ought to at least do their damn job. Why am I paying a special tax for you to sit on your ass and pay some random person to mow the grass at the park? Don’t have your monthly meetings Wednesday at 9 AM. People have jobs. What is wrong with you? Why do I have so sign up for a damn site to get any information?
/endrant
"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
06/29/2017 at 12:31, STARS: 2
So I was VP of my HOA board for 4 years, and I’m still the Chair of the Architectural Committee that has to approve new construction and variances. Let me tell you, there are plenty of horror stories of nazi HOAs, and my personal goal was always to make sure mine was not one of those. I remember one person who did let their lawn go to seed, and by that I mean you could lose small children and a compact car in that grass. If it really got bad, we would just send a letter saying that if the owner didn’t take care of it, we would have the grounds company cut it and charge it to the owner ($25).
I don’t know what the laws are where you live, but we could never foreclose on a home for HOA fines. What we can do it put a lien for unpaid fines or HOA dues on the house so that the owner can’t sell it without the money coming out of the sale. That’s pretty extreme, but we did have a couple of serious douche bags who made it necessary.
I was once asked to talk to neighbors and enforce the thing about not leaving your garbage cans on the street. I agree with that stricture, but I worked really hard with my neighbors to find ways to comply. One built a screen to put them behind. A couple of others put them behind bushes at the side of the house. Honestly, many of them can still be seen from the street, which is technically in violation of the letter of the rule, but seriously, who cares? All we want is for the street to look like a neighborhood and not a junk yard. Common sense reigns supreme.
In my role of approving construction, I almost always say yes. I see my role as helping people avoid city code violations, make sure their contractor knows what they’re doing, etc. I hate to see friends pay lots of $$, only to find it has to be ripped out and redone. Once or twice I’ve had to say no because something violates the covenants, but there’s always a way to work something out.
"Future next gen S2000 owner" (future-next-gen-s2000-owner)
06/29/2017 at 12:33, STARS: 2
The worst thing my neighbors ever did to me was call the fire department when we had a bonfire with sustained 40' high flames one night.
Given the circumstances and their distance, it seems quite neighborly.
"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
06/29/2017 at 12:33, STARS: 1
Oooh, I do like this suggestion.
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
06/29/2017 at 12:34, STARS: 5
Oscar Wilde: “The bureaucracy is expanding to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy.”
"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
06/29/2017 at 12:35, STARS: 3
Yeah, the positions are basically up for grabs to whoever has the most time available because less than 10% of the people vote or show up to the meetings. The solution isn’t for more people to participate, the solution is to ditch the HOA.
"Azrek" (azrek)
06/29/2017 at 12:36, STARS: 0
I am trying to get a house. I found a nice Townhouse, but it had a strict HOA. My friend tried to convince me to get it, but I had to explain to her that I am super passive aggressive and prefer to be left alone. Soo...I can only image those days I am out there in my boxers using my Drill SGT voice to explain my displeasure. No...won’t happen.
"ateamfan42" (ateamfan42)
06/29/2017 at 12:37, STARS: 2
Don’t have your monthly meetings Wednesday at 9 AM. People have jobs.
So do HOA officials. Their job is to make your life a living hell, and to schedule their meetings for whenever is least convenient for you.
"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
06/29/2017 at 12:37, STARS: 0
I completely agree and started writing along those lines until I ran out of ranting steam. The history of HOA’s and other neighborhood covenants in this country is pretty damn icky and you can bet your ass white people will use rules about gardening to keep minorities, poors, and weirds out of their neighborhoods whenever possible.
"Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer" (smallbear94)
06/29/2017 at 12:39, STARS: 0
Winston Churchill: The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
HOA are a form of democracy, imo. I think it applies.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
06/29/2017 at 12:40, STARS: 0
I was thinking about this more after your post the other day, and I had a thought.
Stupid HOA people who do stupid annoying crap enforcing the particularities of stupid arbitrary HOA rules are not lawyers. But they act like the stupid arbitrary rules are on their side and hold people accountable based on those rules.
If you paid a lawyer a couple hundred bucks to send a cease and desist letter threatening legal action if they try to enforce the stupid trash can rules above and beyond what can be reasonably expected of a homeowner making a good-faith effort to comply, they’d probably cave and not go through with litigation.
Of course, you run the risk that HOAs are staffed by just the sort of people who would go to court over this kind of thing, but I feel like they’re more likely to be like, “well, they got a lawyer, I guess we’ll ease up.”
"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
06/29/2017 at 12:40, STARS: 1
Unfortunately I’d say you are the exception, but I’m sure your neighbors appreciate the approach you’ve taken. The trash can rule specifically, should be rewritten to specify X number of feet from the curb, because invisible is not possible unless you keep them in your garage and then I hope you like rats, because that’s how you get rats.
"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
06/29/2017 at 12:42, STARS: 1
I checked home values and have considered moving over this. Well, not just this, but the constant threat of running afoul of some rule and the general lack of community it causes.
"TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts." (thebloody)
06/29/2017 at 12:43, STARS: 3
No, HOA positions are occupied by people too fucking useless to run for any position in government. That’s how bad they are.
"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile)
06/29/2017 at 12:43, STARS: 1
Perhaps. Then again, worst form of government except for all the others and all that. I’m all for devolution of power to the smallest representative entity, but that’s with the caveat that the overall power held in governance goes down too - because when a small entity has outsize power, sweet fancy Moses...
"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
06/29/2017 at 12:49, STARS: 4
Again, it’s just application of common sense to each individual situation. Some people do put their cans in their garage, but no one mandates it.
There was an HOA here in Frisco Texas that prohibited lower brand pickups in the driveway. Specifically, they told a guy he couldn’t put his F-150 in the driveway, but a Lincoln Mark LT would be okay. Fuck people like that.
"Tareim - V8 powered" (tareimgaml)
06/29/2017 at 12:50, STARS: 0
wow I heard HOA can be bad but being legally able to foreclose on your property? that fucking sucks, I’m glad there isn’t any HOA (that I’m aware of) on this side of the pond
"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
06/29/2017 at 12:51, STARS: 0
I did some research and it seems the HOA almost always wins.
Our HOA specifically seems to have no problem going to court. Another neighbor had put in fake grass without prior permission because she is out of town a lot and was getting slammed with fines all the time. Her next-door neighbor happened to be the HOA president (who was eventually voted out) who sued her and spent about $50,000 of the HOA’s money to pay for the legal fees.
Since the rule, as written, is unenforceable (nobody’s trash cans are invisible, because they can be seen above and through the fences), I might actually try the lawyer approach, but for now I’ll have to comply to avoid fines and a lien being put on my house. I’m in contact with the current HOA president, who I’ve seen be very reasonable, so maybe we’ll work something out.
"McMike" (mcmike)
06/29/2017 at 12:51, STARS: 5
It will take them weeks to answer your questions.
Start off strong with a well-written letter, make it legit, and only ask one or two of the legitimate questions.
“I’m so sorry for leaving the grass long, but I was away for two weeks. I cut it the day I left and the day I came back. I was not anticipating so much growth. How would you recommend that I approach this issue next time? Should I let you know I’m out of town, and intend on cutting it as soon as I get back so you you might forgive the added, unexpected growth in my absence?”
Have each letter grow less and less intelligent, and have the questions get more and more dense. They will be six or seven letters deep before they realize you have started asking about August watering and if filtered water is more recommended.
"jimz" (jimz)
06/29/2017 at 12:51, STARS: 1
and because they’re relatively easy to get, HOA boards attract the worst kinds of control freaks.
"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
06/29/2017 at 12:51, STARS: 0
Yeah, once the HOA is in place, it would be impossible to get rid of it.
"jimz" (jimz)
06/29/2017 at 12:57, STARS: 0
In my area (metro Detroit,) “no HOA” means you’ll have to live in one of the older inner suburbs which was built up prior to the ‘70s. or way out in the sticks. ‘cos any relatively new subdivisions are encumbered.
easy tip: if the neighborhood has a name (not the street name, but a really “white” name like Heatherwoode or Brandywynne with a sign on the road in) then you bet your ass it’s covered by an HOA. A lot of times that’s due to the entire subdivision being built by one developer e.g. Pulte or Singh, and the HOA is established before anyone even moves into the neighborhood.
"JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder!" (jqj213)
06/29/2017 at 12:58, STARS: 3
I don’t understand why people love HOAs so damn much. They just seem terribly annoying.
I remember a year or so ago, one of my parents friends bought a brand new Silverado High Country (a $60k luxury truck) and he wasn’t allowed to park it in his driveway overnight because of HOA rules.
"Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer" (smallbear94)
06/29/2017 at 12:59, STARS: 0
Exactly.
Also just because you can doesn’t mean you should yada yada (with regards to having power)
"syaieya" (syaieya)
06/29/2017 at 13:00, STARS: 0
My mom just moved out of an HOA area after the kids were out of school. Mailbox painted the right black, no trees over 6 inches cut without permission, neighbor being a former osha inspector.
Im thankful for the schooling but i just dont think ill be able to do that.
I need a bigol garage and i can accept someone else leaving out the cans for a stray day.
"jimz" (jimz)
06/29/2017 at 13:01, STARS: 1
I do not want to live in a house built 30-40 years ago.
I would. newer houses aren’t built worth a shit. literally the only thing that’s better on newer houses is that drywall is a decent fire block between rooms if properly installed. But widened stud spacing and OSB roofs and outside walls? No thanks. and when an older house burned behind my folks’ place, some builder put up two new pieces of shit in its place. The people who moved in had to have all of the siding pulled off because the builder skimped and didn’t put Tyvek wrap on the outside walls.
"Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer" (smallbear94)
06/29/2017 at 13:02, STARS: 0
There it is, in a nutshell... they all just have too much time on their hands.
"Xyl0c41n3" (i-am-xyl0c41n3)
06/29/2017 at 13:05, STARS: 1
My brother and his wife are currently looking to build/buy a house. I think they’ve pretty much settled on a plot of land and are going to build from scratch. Problem is, the land is in an as-yet undeveloped subdivision — one that ALREADY HAS an HOA. I’ve tried several times in vain to get him and his wife to NOT build there. But they’re impatient. Only house/land hunted for about a month or two before settling on this place.
Their house isn’t even PLANNED yet, and already their prospective HOA has given them a bunch of rules about what they can or can’t have on their own property. That includes not being able to plant a type of tree that’s popular here and part of the regional culture — a tree they wanted to plant (it’s a fruit tree, so they were excited to have their own fruit).
Every week he tells me about some new rules he’s learned about something he can’t do at his still non-existent house. I know my brother. I know this shit is going to bug him once people start assessing fines for leaving Christmas lights on one day past New Year’s, or when his grass gets brown.
Did I mention we live in a region that has experienced a drought for the majority of the last decade? And that all the native plants and grasses in this region have evolved to be drought tolerant, including going brown for several months out the year, but that they pop up at the slightest hint of rain? Did I mention that all the counties in this region have been at some stage of water conservation for years now? But this HOA is demanding carpet grass.
I keep telling him he’s making a mistake with this place, and he refuses to listen. I’ve never heard of ANYONE having a good experience with an HOA.
"McMike" (mcmike)
06/29/2017 at 13:13, STARS: 1
And I believe this is the reason anyone runs for office or to be a board member - because of the stupid.
"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
06/29/2017 at 13:14, STARS: 1
Im REALLY excited to be getting out of an HOA all together. However, here in Utah they have no enforcement for fees. Which is nice.
"TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts." (thebloody)
06/29/2017 at 13:19, STARS: 0
Fuck HOA’s man, fuck them right in the ass with a white hot fire poker. My wife and I are forced to rent out our condo because it’s worth less than the mortgage on it and it has an HOA. Those bottom feeders are the bane of my existence, if I saw one of them burning to death I wouldn’t piss on them to put the fire out.
I never thought I’d truly hate a person, but I hate them in the truest sense of the word.
"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
06/29/2017 at 13:21, STARS: 0
Actually, because of my weird layout, I don’t have space in my driveway for a car. Otherwise, I’d be all over that.
"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
06/29/2017 at 13:23, STARS: 1
Now that I’m more familiar with them, I won’t consider a house with an HOA next time I move.
"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
06/29/2017 at 13:25, STARS: 0
That’s obviously an extreme example, but the fact that it’s ever happened is extremely unjust.
"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
06/29/2017 at 13:30, STARS: 1
Holy shit, someone bought a Lincoln pickup?
But seriously, that’s pretty awful.
"just-a-scratch" (just-a-scratch)
06/29/2017 at 13:32, STARS: 0
Be careful about leaving anything in the driveway, even your car. Some HOA rules don’t allow long term parking in driveways.
"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
06/29/2017 at 13:33, STARS: 1
Even in progressive Oregon and Washington, people have been kicked out of HOA-encumbered neighborhoods for drying their clothes outside or having a garden to grow food. I think we’re doomed as a species.
"Roadster Man" (roadsterman)
06/29/2017 at 13:34, STARS: 0
I think you should make nice and try to get a spot on the HOA board in a year or two.
If you want to change the system, you gotta do it from the inside, man.
"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
06/29/2017 at 13:34, STARS: 1
Thank you, I think your rant has come closest to how I feel about them. I’m also in the “try not to hate” club, but they make it so difficult.
"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
06/29/2017 at 13:35, STARS: 1
In the driveway!? What do they think the driveway is for?
"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
06/29/2017 at 13:36, STARS: 1
I’m fully aware that that’s the only real solution, but fuuuuuuuuuck that. I went to one HOA meeting and I lost 90% of my remaining faith in humanity. No way could I get involved. I’d rather move.
"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
06/29/2017 at 13:39, STARS: 1
My driveway is pointlessly small anyway, so that’s not an issue for me.
The idea that driveways aren’t allowed to have cars on them is the worst kind of absurd though.
"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
06/29/2017 at 14:01, STARS: 0
I know, right? Hard to think of a more pointless car to buy new.
And yeah. There are some shitty people in the world.
"Funktheduck" (funktheduck)
06/29/2017 at 14:06, STARS: 0
Oh yeah. I’m familiar with the types. My neighborhood was built over the 50s & 60s so we’re mostly safe
"StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8" (stndibnz1)
06/29/2017 at 14:13, STARS: 0
Thats fucking horrible. My HOA is $25 a year to pay for lawn service on the enterences, a phone book, bi-monthly newsletter, lumineries at x-mas eve, easter egg hunt for the kids and help with a sub wide garage sale. Luckily, we don’t have any laws.
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
06/29/2017 at 14:20, STARS: 0
All of this sounds like a hellscape to me. Some HOAs are totally innocuous but your experience confirms my fears about them. If I were ever seriously considering a house in an HOA, I would have to find out lots of details before buying.
"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
06/29/2017 at 14:53, STARS: 0
It’s a slow hellscape. Every couple years something comes up that affects me and there is so little recourse. The rules for HOA’s are all extremely strict, but what it comes down to is the people enforcing the rules.
We used to have insane parking rules for guests, but once the parking enforcer guy moved away, the problem also went away. No rules ever changed, though.
"diplodicus" (diplodicus)
06/29/2017 at 15:06, STARS: 0
Posts like these make me happy I live in the ghetto
"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
06/29/2017 at 15:10, STARS: 0
That makes sense about an HOA being as annoying as the people who enforce the rules want it to be. Everything about this just pisses me off. I’m not actively in the market for a house but it’s something I’d like to do within the next few years. Thankfully there are plenty of nice HOA-free neighborhoods where I live. Because yeah, I think I’ll stay way the hell of any HOA neighborhood. It’s just not worth the potential aggravation.
"Xyl0c41n3" (i-am-xyl0c41n3)
06/29/2017 at 15:13, STARS: 0
I live in Texas. So it’s always surprising to me how much HOAs thrive here in the land of “your home is your castle” and the common ideology (on both sides of the political aisle) that government shouldn’t intrude into your private spaces. (I realize HOAs aren’t technically governments, but they do act as such).
"WiscoProud" (wiscoproud)
06/29/2017 at 15:15, STARS: 1
If they can punish you at their own will, they’re a government.
"WiscoProud" (wiscoproud)
06/29/2017 at 15:17, STARS: 0
The problem is the power is always there. They can be benign when you move it, and all they need is a few board members to change, and you now have a fascist regime on your hands. Just say no to HOAs
"AMGtech - now with more recalls!" (amgtech)
06/29/2017 at 15:34, STARS: 0
How hard would it be to find some schmuck from California to buy your house for 50% more than you paid? Then you turn around and buy a non-nazi house.
"Roadster Man" (roadsterman)
06/29/2017 at 16:17, STARS: 1
That’s the answer I was expecting! I was being somewhat facetious, because who in their right mind would volunteer to waste their time with that crap? HOA’s are terrible.
The lawyer in me wants to say “you signed the papers” like everyone else, but this is a pretty high level of craziness. I’m actually surprised that they can foreclose just for violating their rules, that’s probably against the law. Most states have foreclosure protection laws preventing landlords from kicking tenants to the curb, so I would assume a similar law exists to prevent HOA’s from giving homeowners the boot without notice. I wouldn’t worry about that part if I were you (NOT legal advice).
If this isn’t your “home-for-life,” I’d go full nuclear pettiness like McMike says. Fuck ‘em. Start corresponding with them as much as possible about stupid shit that doesn’t matter. By snail mail. “How short can I cut the grass?” is only the beginning. Start getting weirder and more annoying as you correspond... write them to ask if you can remove a leaf from a tree in your back yard, tell them the birds are too noisy, etc.
They make your life a little bit more annoying, you make their lives a little bit more annoying. The question is whether getting your little bit of payback is actually worth the effort.
"Die-Trying" (die-trying)
06/29/2017 at 16:35, STARS: 1
the X files....... “Bring it on”.........
"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
06/29/2017 at 17:09, STARS: 0
Yeah, when it comes down to it, people love telling others what to do.
"Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif" (lumpy44)
07/19/2017 at 12:01, STARS: 0
As a Canadian, I don’t think I have ever seen a HOA up here. Seems like a grade A pain in the ass though!
"The Stig's Missourian Cousin" (zachelliott)
07/19/2017 at 12:23, STARS: 0
Because it keeps the unmentionables out. They like big government (HOA) when it keeps them away from being uncomfortable. The ethnics and the poors can’t afford a home in a neighborhood with an HOA so it keeps them happy.