FVCKING Hate the Homeowners Association

[kranky]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: kranky
But the end result is that they are still out $20,000 because three people didn't want my parents to live there.

What was their offense?

My parents were moving from PA to NC and were building a home there. The HOA had to approve all the plans, and they did approve them. After my parents sunk most of their life savings into buying the home (it was a manufactured home), the HOA decided they don't allow manufactured homes and revoked the approval. So at this point, they owned a lot and a house, but they couldn't put the house up.

The HOA gave them a list of changes that would be required in order to get HOA approval (again). They got the plans updated, and sent them to the HOA for approval. Month after month went by with no word from the HOA. They hired a lawyer in NC to get things moving, but the HOA refused to approve (or reject) the plans, and that meant they couldn't proceed with the house. Eventually the builder said he was going to have to charge them $500 a month to store the home. The HOA's strategy was to refuse to do anything until my parents gave up and quit. But they had so much money sunk into it by then, that wasn't an option.

At wits' end, they told the builder to put the home on the lot to avoid having to pay $500 a month for nothing. That's when the HOA decided they could take action after all: they got a court injunction to stop the builder when they saw the builder show up on the lot. My parents had to go to court to get the injunction overturned. They lost. The lawyer told them to appeal, because it would mean the appeal would be heard in a different county where everyone isn't quite so chummy.

After two more court cases, a judge ruled the HOA was way out of line and he voided all the covenants (HOA rules).

Great. They got their house built, but it only cost them most of their life savings. And many of their neighbors won't speak to them because somehow it's my parents' fault that all the covenants were ruled unenforceable.

 

[dman]

Originally posted by: rbloedow

Originally posted by: dderidex
LOL - wow, we've got some SERIOUS hicks posting in this thread.

Burning your own trash!?

That's kinda....shocking. Hell, we have *recycling* pickup for almost everything.

And they have internet access in towns like that?

Originally posted by: Zebo
I lived in a HOA once. After paying about $900 in fines I moved.

Mine had rules like no cars parked in driveway after 10PM.. no cars parked in street...Could only paint your house one of four color. Could not display flags too... must mow grass past 4"...and I paid $100 a month for this sh1t?

Sad part is, you'll find, even the city and counties have stupid ass laws. Now, I live zoned Re1 which horses and stuff allowed, no HOA, behind a 8 ft block wall on 2.5 acres and they tell me to cut trees, mow my grass, stop burning trash etc..paid about $350 in fines here..

No, you paid $100 a month for the effective guarantee that your property value wouldn't go down.

Seriously, how many people here think it'd be a good idea to buy a property, say, for $200,000 - spend 20 years pouring money into it, then have one neighbor set up a junkyard in their yard, and the other set up a mini-trailer park in THEIR yard and charge minimum-wage workers to live in it? Suddenly, the $100,000 you invested in the property vanishes as your property value plummets from $200,000 to $60,000.

And it's not like that doesn't happen - I grew up in a city without zoning laws and saw that happen to SEVERAL people's property investments.

I'll take an HOA any day in a county without *strict* zoning laws. And even then - an HOA is a boon to any responsible homeowner.

If you want the 'freedom' to let you grass grow to 4 ft deep or the 'freedom' to set your card on cinder blocks in the yard or the 'freedom' to have a small car show in your parking lot every night....then, by all means, get offended at the HOA fines and LEAVE the neighborhood, I DON'T WANT YOU HERE!

It's assholes like you that I'm glad I will never had to live next too. I would have hate to see what would have happened when I dug up my front yard last summer, by myself, and laid new sod, if I had a HOA. Sure my lawn was nothing but dirt for a few weeks, but once the sod was down and took root, I had the best looking yard in the neighborhood.

DOn't like the way it looks, BOO FVCKING HOO, cry me a river and grow some tolerance. If I own the property, your opinion of it doesn't mean sh!t to me - which is why I will never live in a HOA community, nor will I ever support one.

Uh, making improvements to your property is just fine in a HOA community. The only catch is, typically, you need to let the HOA know. (You need to get formal approval). This is typically a no-brainer, just simple paperwork. Basically it keeps folks from painting their house pink with purple trim and green garages... etc or putting in xeroscape front yards made of AstroTurf and other unsightly stuff. So your SOD replacement would be appreciated by all and not an issue where I live. Now, if you choose to make those changes without approval, you run the risk of doing something that will not be withing the rules and have to undo it or modify it later at your expense. Most people can get away with that, I choose to submit the forms myself.


And I have the same opinions as the OP of this thread... if you want to keep a crappy lawn and cars on blocks and to paint your house florescent colors, please leave. I don't hate you, or your way of living, I only care about it's impact to my property value... and that's why I live in a place where there are rules about that sort of thing. Clearly some of you have made wiser investment choices than I... like that '32 Chevy that needs a little body work you have half covered up over there or that gallon bucket of paint you got, who cares what color it is, was only $5!

I kid, but, for some of you who have those folks as neighbors, not so funny.

 

[bozack]

Originally posted by: tnitsuj

Don't have much of a choice around here. All the convenient nice places are either way way to expensive, or have HOA's.

Ohh I feel your pain man....do you by any chance live in Massachusetts also???

My wife and I recently bought a newer townhouse and are subject to the same thing, the good is that the community seems lax in terms of this type of thing (many with flags on their houses, christmas lights didn't seem to be a problem, someone even had an inflatable giant snowman on the front of their house) however we did get bitchslapped because when we first moved in we used one of the visitior spaces for almost the whole month instead of using our garage (had crap in there)....

I like that ours is lax but also one guy has a really nice light fixture on the front of his house which doesn't match anyone elses and that is kind of annoying...I have no problem with the flags and stuff but when it comes to something like that (or something I wish all of the houses had) I would rather them mandate everyone get nicer lights and take it out of our pool instead of having one guy with nice and the rest with crap.

as others said go to the meeting and try to make this guy look like an ass.

 

[Gothgar]

Originally posted by: mugs
After the last thread about HOAs, I decided I wouldn't ever want to live under their nazi regime. I think the last one was started by NSF4 when his girlfriend's dad was threatened with a fine because he forgot to bring his trash can in early enough.

yeah, I got that one when I first moved into my house...

You should ask that guy if being a terrorist is allowed in the HOA's CC&Rs

then, whatever his answer is, call him a terrorist

 

[vood0g]

Originally posted by: BentValve
Knock his ass out next time he comes over. Not only do I have 4 flying flags outside my house , I also have a No Tresspassing and a "We Don't Dial 911" sign in my front window.

LOL :thumbsup:

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

ok, they can fine you, but can they really do anything about it? Not like they can evict you from your home that you or a bank you are paying for owns, if you don't pay their stupid fines.

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: kranky

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: kranky
But the end result is that they are still out $20,000 because three people didn't want my parents to live there.

What was their offense?

My parents were moving from PA to NC and were building a home there. The HOA had to approve all the plans, and they did approve them. After my parents sunk most of their life savings into buying the home (it was a manufactured home), the HOA decided they don't allow manufactured homes and revoked the approval. So at this point, they owned a lot and a house, but they couldn't put the house up.

The HOA gave them a list of changes that would be required in order to get HOA approval (again). They got the plans updated, and sent them to the HOA for approval. Month after month went by with no word from the HOA. They hired a lawyer in NC to get things moving, but the HOA refused to approve (or reject) the plans, and that meant they couldn't proceed with the house. Eventually the builder said he was going to have to charge them $500 a month to store the home. The HOA's strategy was to refuse to do anything until my parents gave up and quit. But they had so much money sunk into it by then, that wasn't an option.

At wits' end, they told the builder to put the home on the lot to avoid having to pay $500 a month for nothing. That's when the HOA decided they could take action after all: they got a court injunction to stop the builder when they saw the builder show up on the lot. My parents had to go to court to get the injunction overturned. They lost. The lawyer told them to appeal, because it would mean the appeal would be heard in a different county where everyone isn't quite so chummy.

After two more court cases, a judge ruled the HOA was way out of line and he voided all the covenants (HOA rules).

Great. They got their house built, but it only cost them most of their life savings. And many of their neighbors won't speak to them because somehow it's my parents' fault that all the covenants were ruled unenforceable.

Where at in NC?

 

[maziwanka]

Originally posted by: HardcoreRobot
HOA nazis are assholes and should die

hahahahaha. at least ill know to stay away from developments that have HOA when i look for houses in a couple of years.

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: Nitemare
Where at in NC?

Brunswick County

 

[lastrhino]

I would think the last thing you want to do is to make enimies of your association or your neighbors. Keep it cool, and don't give them an excuse to make living in your new home/neighborhood unplesant in the long run.

 

[flot]

Originally posted by: tnitsuj
So I just moved into my townhouse and like all places I live, I put a US flag and the flag of the commonwealth on the sides of my front door. That was a week ago. Today, a guy from the Homeowers association stops by gives me a welcome to the neighborhood packet and tells me that my flags do not match the overall asthetic of the neighborhood and should be removed.
WTF????

WTF indeed. I like freedom and apple pie as much as the next guy, but what on earth would possess you to decorate "all places you live" with flags on either side of your door?!?

I live in an area WITHOUT an HOA, which I am happy with, however I think the people in this thread are being pretty narrowminded about it.

Becuase I DON'T have an HOA, a guy 2 blocks down from me has a 6' tall statue of liberty in his front yard. The guy across the street from me, his front yard looks like a scene from anaconda. Another guy down the street has a house with NO OUTSIDE FACING WINDOWS. Creepy.

Having said all that, the house next to mine just sold for $300,000.

So while you don't HAVE to have an HOA to have decent property values - it goes a long way towards keeping your neighborhood nice. The reason homeowners hate them is becuase it costs them money (a HOA would have put the smack down on all of the above) but the truth is that HOAs ensure a certain consistancy and "niceness" to a neighborhood.

It all depends on what you want. Personally I don't care about the statue of liberty, and I'd rather not have someone telling me what kind of trees I'm allowed to plant in my yard, etc. But I definitely see the value in having them...

 

[maziwanka]

Originally posted by: kranky

Originally posted by: Nitemare
Where at in NC?

Brunswick County

man. what your parents went through is horrible. why isn't the HOA held accountable for your parents legal fees?

 

[nakedfrog]

Yeah, call the newspaper, local news channel, and the VFW.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: bozack

Originally posted by: tnitsuj

Don't have much of a choice around here. All the convenient nice places are either way way to expensive, or have HOA's.

Ohh I feel your pain man....do you by any chance live in Massachusetts also???

My wife and I recently bought a newer townhouse and are subject to the same thing, the good is that the community seems lax in terms of this type of thing (many with flags on their houses, christmas lights didn't seem to be a problem, someone even had an inflatable giant snowman on the front of their house) however we did get bitchslapped because when we first moved in we used one of the visitior spaces for almost the whole month instead of using our garage (had crap in there)....

I like that ours is lax but also one guy has a really nice light fixture on the front of his house which doesn't match anyone elses and that is kind of annoying...I have no problem with the flags and stuff but when it comes to something like that (or something I wish all of the houses had) I would rather them mandate everyone get nicer lights and take it out of our pool instead of having one guy with nice and the rest with crap.

as others said go to the meeting and try to make this guy look like an ass.

I really don't mean to single you out, but it's people with those opinions that I don't want in my neighborhood... It took me almost 2 minutes to catch my breath after laughing so hard while I contemplated that someone's life is so pathetic that it bothers them that someone in their neighborhood has a nicer light than everyone else.

People keep mentioning unmowed grass, etc. Raising pigs, chickens?! Seriously, are there any urban areas that don't have codes about grass length and domestic animals??

I would never want to live in a neighborhood with an HOA. I've visited my father who lives in one, and I find it hideous. When you'll sacrifice your quality of life just to make sure your property value goes up... wow, nice priorities. (Limited number of visitors, many celebrations limited, etc.) Right now, when I give people directions to my house, I tell them "across the street from the purple house." - Lawyer across the street from me painted his house a purple/lavenderish color... I haven't suffered one bit because it isn't 1 of 4 different "approved" colors. Big friggin deal, so it's a weird color.

When I move to my new house, we're going to have a big moving in party - music, beer, beer, bonfire, beer-pong, etc. With all the people who want to come. Do that in your HOA neighborhood.

And, if you have kids and live in an HOA neighborhood, how restricted are they? Can they draw on the sidewalk with chalk? Can they play kickball in the street with their friends? etc.

 

[psiu]

Originally posted by: MichaelD
Good for you!!! Stick to your guns; especially if you've got it in writing that you're in the right!!!!

I'm on your side 100%; I can't STAND any HOA; they rewrite their little laws as they see fit and everyone must kiss their ass or be ostracized. :roll:

Just be careful; you may win the battle but lose the war. They may be forced to let you keep your flags, but they'll be over every single day with a ruler, measuring your grass, etc.

Sorry you have to go thru this.

When the day comes that I FINALLY buy a house, I will buy ACRES of land and build my house dead in the center so nobody can tell me what the fuckkkkkk I can or cannot do w/my land.

/
See related posts about electric fences, moats and so forth.

This is basically my plan someday when we get a house....my wife can deal with decorating, I'll deal with putting the house far far away from anything and making sure we are set up to deal with riots, famine, flood, earthquake, war, alien invasion, anything.

 

[AaronB]

Good article on HOA's

 

[MetalMat]

I would tell that dude to fvck off, and that I could fly a flag of his wife naked if I wanted to. I would build a a $hit processing factory and make sure the whole neighborhood would smell it, cause its my land and I could do what I want.

 

[midwestfisherman]

Originally posted by: CrackRabbit
that is exactly the reason I will NEVER live in a place that has a HOA, they are run by self ritgheous, arrogant pricks that meddle in everyones business.

Ditto!!!!

 

[midwestfisherman]

Originally posted by: Fingers
I had an issue with my HOA once about the color of curtins and ended up getting fined for refusing to change them. The president of the HOA was my neighbor and I got home first so everyday on her way to her door I would be standing the butt ass naked in the front window and waved to her on the way to her house just about every day. Fines got lifted and they never gave me anymore crap about it.

LMAO!!! NICE!!! :thumbsup:

 

[bozack]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

I really don't mean to single you out, but it's people with those opinions that I don't want in my neighborhood... It took me almost 2 minutes to catch my breath after laughing so hard while I contemplated that someone's life is so pathetic that it bothers them that someone in their neighborhood has a nicer light than everyone else.

People keep mentioning unmowed grass, etc. Raising pigs, chickens?! Seriously, are there any urban areas that don't have codes about grass length and domestic animals??

I would never want to live in a neighborhood with an HOA. I've visited my father who lives in one, and I find it hideous. When you'll sacrifice your quality of life just to make sure your property value goes up... wow, nice priorities. (Limited number of visitors, many celebrations limited, etc.) Right now, when I give people directions to my house, I tell them "across the street from the purple house." - Lawyer across the street from me painted his house a purple/lavenderish color... I haven't suffered one bit because it isn't 1 of 4 different "approved" colors. Big friggin deal, so it's a weird color.

When I move to my new house, we're going to have a big moving in party - music, beer, beer, bonfire, beer-pong, etc. With all the people who want to come. Do that in your HOA neighborhood.

And, if you have kids and live in an HOA neighborhood, how restricted are they? Can they draw on the sidewalk with chalk? Can they play kickball in the street with their friends? etc.

Dr. if it wasn't a townhouse community they I wouldn't care, but since everyone is attached and everything for the most part looks cookie cutter, and then there is this one guy with a front light that is much larger and nicer than all the others it kind of throws things off kilter for me, but then again I notice stuff like that.....

I don't think I would call what I live in a "neighborhood" but rather a glorified condo community...

 

[dman]

Originally posted by: DrPizza

And, if you have kids and live in an HOA neighborhood, how restricted are they? Can they draw on the sidewalk with chalk? Can they play kickball in the street with their friends? etc.

1) Yes
2) Yes
They can do pretty much what kids in other neighborhoods can do, within reason... for example:

Can they ride their noisy motor vehicles around all hours of the day and night? Nope, against the rules. That was a big issue for the longest time... and it' snot even a HOA rule it's more of a state motorvehicle thing, but, we passed a rule allowing fines if caught and the problem has gone away.

Seriously, those of you who don't live in HOA, it's not that bad. There are some bad examples above, the one about approval of a project and then later rejection seems bad. The trash thing,well, that's a rule here too, can't leave trash out except the night before pickup and has to be in by the following night. Granted, if you forget or something (it happens) getting a letter sucks but the people walking around have to send the letters to everyone--not just the folks that are always abusing it by leaving the trash out for days, etc.

Theres a house down the street from me that has a pumpkin in the front yard still, all rotted and such, been there since halloween. I imagine they'll be getting a letter or fine soon enough about cleaning up their holiday decorations or something... really it should be common sense to clean up but some people just don't have any.

 

[MetalMat]

Originally posted by: dman

Originally posted by: DrPizza

And, if you have kids and live in an HOA neighborhood, how restricted are they? Can they draw on the sidewalk with chalk? Can they play kickball in the street with their friends? etc.

1) Yes
2) Yes
They can do pretty much what kids in other neighborhoods can do, within reason... for example:

Can they ride their noisy motor vehicles around all hours of the day and night? Nope, against the rules. That was a big issue for the longest time... and it' snot even a HOA rule it's more of a state motorvehicle thing, but, we passed a rule allowing fines if caught and the problem has gone away.

Seriously, those of you who don't live in HOA, it's not that bad. There are some bad examples above, the one about approval of a project and then later rejection seems bad. The trash thing,well, that's a rule here too, can't leave trash out except the night before pickup and has to be in by the following night. Granted, if you forget or something (it happens) getting a letter sucks but the people walking around have to send the letters to everyone--not just the folks that are always abusing it by leaving the trash out for days, etc.

Theres a house down the street from me that has a pumpkin in the front yard still, all rotted and such, been there since halloween. I imagine they'll be getting a letter or fine soon enough about cleaning up their holiday decorations or something... really it should be common sense to clean up but some people just don't have any.

Fvck the HOA, people should be allowed to keep there house like they want. If you dont like that pumpkin go pick it up and toss it at there house and tell them to clean there crap up and that halloween is over instead of sending some wimpy ass letter whining that they are gonna get a "fine" if they dont pick there $hit up. Americans need to grow some balls and stop being a bunch of pVssies

 

[SagaLore]

Originally posted by: Injury
Put more up and show him who's got the bigger balls.

Or who's the bigger dick. :roll:

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: kranky
After my parents sunk most of their life savings into buying the home (it was a manufactured home), the HOA decided they don't allow manufactured homes and revoked the approval. So at this point, they owned a lot and a house, but they couldn't put the house up.

[press fast-forward]
They got their house built, but it only cost them most of their life savings.

you are saying they had already sunk most of their life savings just buying the house and then it again after all the crap they had to go through with the HOA.....

it doesn't make sense...although I think I understand your point.

 

[Aharami]

just disgusting