Posted on 04/21/2023 5:01:17 PM PDT by daniel1212
Michelle Clark Miller Executive Administrative Assistant (2000–present)
When my sister bought her house, she was the third person to buy in the new neighborhood. They signed the papers and started making payments BEFORE the HOA was established, so the HOA was not mentioned in the paperwork.
Over the next few years, my sister and her then husband erected a basketball goal, added a covered patio, inground pool, and a large storage/workshop. They’d bought one of the two lots on the very tail end of the cul-de-sac, so their lot was HUGE.
They still had way more backyard than most people. They took very good care of their home, yard, etc…the shop was painted to match the house, the basketball goal was kept in tip top shape.
Enter the new HOA. My sister declined to join it. They decided to ignore her letter of refusal, and started sending her violation letters for the shop, the basketball goal, the patio, the paint scheme, right down to the dogs they had. (Three is permitted by the city, and we have no breed restrictions.)
My sister returned all letters with a copy of the refusal to join letter, along with a copy of the registered mail receipt showing they received it. They started fining her. She kept doing what she was doing, and pulled in an attorney friend who was more than happy to take over.
The HOA finally took her to court. Her lawyer countersued, presented all the paperwork to the judge, and the judge not only found in my sister’s favor, but the HOA had to pay ALL of HER attorney fees and had to reimburse her for all the postage fees she paid responding to their letters.
She always sent them registered mail.
The judge was incensed by the matter, especially when he saw her original letter declining their request that she join the HOA.
Do you know that they kept trying to fine her? She sent them copies of the original ruling, and they again ended up in front of a judge. That judge ruled the same as the first one.
The third time, the judge yelled at the president of the HOA, the attorneys, and told them if they didn’t leave my sister alone, he’d cite them for harassment. My sister’s attorney said if they continued, she could sue the HOA president, all of the officers, along with the attorneys both professionally and personally for harassment.
The HOA left her alone after that. She HAS had to run off some of the HOA snoops she’s caught peeking over her privacy fence trying to see what’s in the backyard, and ended up slapping a restraining order on them. (The HOA had to reimburse her for THAT, too.)
I for the life of me don’t understand why people would spend their hard earned money for a home and lot they don’t have control over. No way would I ever live in an HOA controlled community.
The need is driven by population density. The order of increasing freedom-sucking tyranny is: federal, state, county, city, HOA, wife.
I’m in Florida. From what I’ve seen. If you own a large parcel and want to sub divide it, the county demands you submit a proposal that details and structures HOA in the process. I don’t think this is voluntary in Florida. If a freeper knows more, this is the place to dispute what I think. Educate us all.
Thanks.
I live in a large gated community with HOA fees. You’ve got to have some sort of a mechanism to pay for the security at the gates and to maintain the roads and drainage. Worth it to keep the riff-raff out. Also pays for some pools, playgrounds, tennis courts, etc. It’s basically another layer of local government.
There are some rules I don’t much like, but the practical reality here is that many are observed primarily in the breach. For example, technically I was supposed to get a bunch of approvals to put in a low voltage light kit I got at Costco. I just put it in, no one cares, neighbors like it.
Something like this, with a couple of uplights as well:
https://www.costco.com/volt-6-piece-area-light-landscape-lighting-kit.product.100505043.html
Just don’t paint your house pink and you’ll be OK.
Can there be idiot HOAs? Sure. But there can be disadvantages without one as well. Life is all about tradeoffs.
Same here.
Lived under two HOAs. No problems.
Mow your grass. Don't let your front yard look like a used car lot or your driveway become a year-round flea market. I was fine with this.
Most HOAs exist to keep up property values. Of course, some are overbearing and run by busybodies. But we all have choices. Live under one of you want to, don't live under one if you don't, but if you choose to, you'd better read up on what's permitted.
That's the problem. Either people don't read the rules or they do read the rules but think that they don't apply to them.
And, yes, I realize the original story in this thread is about something completely different.
Except that being in a community with an HOA is voluntary. If you don’t want to be subject to an HOA, buy a property that’s not subject to one.
Well, like I said ... create an anti-HOA. Something that defeats the intent and purpose of such a statute while satisfying the letter of it.
It has to be possible.
The worst people you will ever meet are on HOAs or work for the democrat party.
If it's all voluntary, why are there so many nightmare HOA complaint stories?
Are people in HOAs stupid and don't read their contracts? Do they need a lawyer just to read it because it's 40 pages of ultra convoluted legal babble they hope you don't read?
Sounds like the presence or absence of a HOA can be a selling point or deal breaker for different parties.
HOA’s have WAY too much power. They’re no longer controlled by homeowners but rather big corporations.
I’d think her family would’ve been grandfathered in and not obligated to join, or pay attention to, any HOA.
People who live in HOA's are unnaturally interested in what their neighbor is doing.
Something like a cult.
And just like a cult they do not allow you to say you would rather not worship Dagon thank you very much.
It is really a sick, sad mindset.
These days, almost every subdivided community has open space, storm water management facilities or other facilities that need to be maintained by the community. A local government will insist that an HOA be formed as a condition of subdivision approval so there is a mechanism in place to collect funds for that maintenance. Local governments couldn’t care less whether those HOA’s have architectural controls. The architectural controls are included by the developers and builders so they can be sure that property values are preserved. I am a development attorney and have done the HOA documents for many such subdivisions.
We’re in an HOA that had reasonable protocols when we moved in and life was tolerable. Nice homes and yards. Good neighbors. Then the developer got greedy and began to build shitbox cookie-cutter houses that were sub-standard according to the rules — smaller than minimum required square footage, scrunched together.
The newbies across the street from us used theirs for short-term rental like Air B&B (also against the rules), so riff-raff was coming and going all the time. The HOA wouldn’t enforce the rules.
So HOAs ONLY benefit the developer, or the Board can decree whatever they want. An HOA is a mess. Hubby is from SoCal, so he likes the idea; I hate it.
Corporations can’t and don’t buy HOA’s. HOA’s are, by definition, owned by the homeowners. And even if a corporation could buy an HOA, why would it? HOA’s are not profit making entities. They typically barely have enough money to fulfill their obligations.
But when they start dictating what flowers or shrubbery you can plant (within reason), flags you can fly or even requiring that your mailbox match all others in the neighborhood (I’ve seen this), that’s when I’m out.
I’m in an HOA as part of a 2800 single home community. It’s a must with that volume of homes. No stiped colored homes. No lawn with two feet of grass. No cars on blocks. Only manicure lawns and basic color homes. It’s paradise! The HOA fee is only 115 a month and that covers all mowing in main areas along with maintaining three pools and three clubhouses. We have two golf courses and a restaurant. It is better then the other non HOA areas I pass buy with Terribly kept up property. Our home values are high compared to other areas as well.
Cult?
I had to mow my lawn and I couldn’t paint my house purple.
Problem is that you can’t be out. Live by their rules or face the consequences. I’ve been part of one, and I will never ever do it again. Funny thing is, my property values are increasing on par with theirs.
We’ve got something like that here. Dues are $5/year. Membership is optional.
The only expenses I recall them talking about - reimbursing an attorney (who also lives in the neighborhood) for copying. The attorney has argued against rezoning/development - sometimes successfully sometimes not.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.