Posted on 04/03/2006 11:20:58 AM PDT by iPod Shuffle
Homeowners Associations: Many Consider Them Fighting Words
Threats against boards by resentful residents seem to be on the rise. Legislation is proposed.
By Daniel Yi, Times Staff Writer
April 3, 2006
When police found 78-year-old Lucy DeAbreu in her Dana Point condominium, her face had been pummeled so badly that she couldn't speak clearly. The petite widow had to slowly spell the name of her attacker: M-I-N-E-O.
Charles Mineo and DeAbreu were neighbors in a tidy ocean-view complex favored by retirees and weekend sojourners. Mineo, a 47-year-old accountant, was angry at his homeowners association because it had penalized him for an unauthorized addition to his unit. One afternoon two years ago, he lashed out at DeAbreu, an association board member.
For as long as there have been condominiums and private subdivisions, residents and their homeowners associations have quarreled over parking issues, lawn ornaments, untidy backyards and how much to pay the pool cleaner.
The violence in DeAbreu's case was exceptional, but increasingly residents are lashing out at their homeowners associations with threatening letters, vandalism and in some cases guns, residents and property managers say.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
What part of entering into a contractual agreement don't these miscreants understand?
Solution - don't move in to one of these places. Simple.
I seriously consider knowingly not doing business with people that are on HOA committees.
I would live in a dumpster before I would allow some tinhorn, power crazed, politbureau to have any say over so much as a single blade of grass on my property.
a homeowners association is what people join to be big shots and to feel better than everybody else. it allows them to stick their noses into everybody's business.
people sign into them in order to lord over the common folk. When they find out that the rules apply to them, or if they run afoul of someone on the board, they whine.
if you make your bed, you sleep in it.
i for one prefer freedom and minding ones own business.
No kidding, Neighborhood associations are bad too. A friend of mine says he can't put up a political lawn sign on his own front lawn - sheesh.
My HOA works well. They take care of community maintenance, repaving roads and driveways, putting on a new roof on our house, cutting the grass, etc., They also get on our neighbors for unapproved additions. The only thing they haven't done is keep our neighbor from parking in our driveway. Aside from that, no complaints. They are well worth they monthly fee.
Amen.
I dont plan to ever live anywhere that I cant shoot skeet in my backyard.
My new neighborhood has a homeowners asociation. I got the list of rules for my house (fences type, outbuilding, mailbox type, etc.) I threw it in the trash.
Done.
i'm sure they are very well - until they turn on you. be patient, you have a good chance of finding out someday.
if i can't feed the moose, park the motorhome, hunt from the back porch, etc. forget it.
HOAs suck. Everyone has a God-given right to park their car on the lawn and to store burned out appliances on the front porch.
< / sarcasm>
HOA - your property isn't yours anymore. It's the ultimate form of liberalism. :)
Do they let you look at the books?
HOAs are the tools of the Devil.
Our HOA Board had a secret meeting & passed a flock of new regulations without holding a meeting for us to vote on them. We found out when they brought copies around. Apparently they didn't read their own rules carefully enough to know that every change has to be approved by the community. You've GOT to keep an eye on these guys.
As with all things, there is good and bad. Ever had a neighbor park 20 cars on his lawn and street...you know the deal. Ever had a neighbor cement a yard sale sign in his front yard...you know the deal. Ever had a neighbor mow his lawn and find a car...you know the deal.
That is all a HOA is supposed to do. If that is all they do, then fine. You have other who are run like pseudo-governments telling property owners the color house, plant, even Christmas decorations they are allowed to have.
It is out of control. Basically if I pay taxes, I own it...someone should not have to give up freedoms to live where they want to.
We aren't supposed to have political signs but Democrat signs seem to be allowed. I'm on the HOA board and we ignore almost everything. But if someone "turns in" a violater, we are supposed to enforce the law. It hasn't happened yet.
Anthony,
I am very upset at what I perceive as a bias in the enforcement of deed restrictions in my subdivision in my city.
I just recently refinished my front door per my notice of Jan. 18, 2006.
I asked you if you had a file on me that included an email I sent on my first notice to paint way my house 5 years ago!
In that email I was bitching about the same thing, very same item!!! You call me out for deed restrictions but ignore my neighbor.
Are you people on the take? …getting paid off? …is my neighbor “connected” ?
If not, then why the hell has my neighbor not been required to replace this shutter that has been missing FOR YEARS!!!!!!!
Look in my file at the date I was required to paint my house, one year after I moved into it.
That’s how long my neighbor has gotten preferential treatment by not being held to the same standard that I seem to be.
I am not kidding!!! I’m going to try to find that email on my old computer. You should have a copy of it!
Why am I held to one standard and my neighbor held to another?
Who does these inspections? Are school kids hired to do these inspections, maybe my neighbor has kids they are friends with?
I have no idea other than some homeowners get notices and others do not. ….and do not for years!
This picture (attachment) was taken from my property, so it shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the address.
Please tell me why my neighbor has not been required to fix his home, this home has been in this state for many, many years and who-ever does the inspections, year after year, do not send out a notice.
I am really mad and you are lucky you didn’t get a worse ass-chewing!
I hope I see my neighbor fixing his house soon and stop bringing down the valve of the homes around him.
That is what I pay my dues year after year for!
When I served on my board an angry homeowner slashed one of my tires and the tires of another board member. We knew it was him, but couldn't prove it.
In many areas that is not an option.
It is as practical as saying never ever ever use a computer which has anything to do with windows or the internet.
All new developments have associations. So unless you live in the middle of a population "10" ghost town. It is not going to happen.
We need to see the associations for what they are, a new municipality that should be treated like any other municipal form of govenment. Call it a micro-village, call it a sub city.
Originally associations had a limited life span but in FL they rigged the law so a simple majority could extend their life over the objections of the owners.
These associations are also created with rules that are absurdly out of date. They LITERALLY just photocopy the came rules of every other association. (this often leads to some funny results when someone actually READS the fine print)
So no just not moving into an association is not an option if you live in an area with any kind of real population density.
I have absolute contempt for such people. None that I've known limit their commie, busybody interference in the lives of others to just their HOA. They honestly believe that everything and everybody ought to be like they think, "or else..." they'll try to make you wish you'd done what they think.
They are pigs.
At least their commie, HOA exercise reveals their Borg mentality and tags them for easy I.D.
My husband and I want to move. We would never even look at a house that might ever be in a homeowners association.
I was on the board of an HOA ( it was a voluntary HOA, and as such had no teeth ) but I was amazed at the little dictators that reside on such boards. With my experience on one, I would never live in a community that had a mandatory one, EVER...........
These homeowner associations can be rather NAZI-esque, but there is never an excuse for beating up an old woman.
You should at least have the right to put up an American flag!
Requirement to realty agent: Show me a house in an HOA and you're fired.
My HOA is worked out OK, although I admit to having major problems with it when I moved into my neighborhood 3 years ago.
the HOA assures me that my neighbors can't paint their house pink or drop the engine of their camaro in their front yard. Which would do nothing for my property value.
And the value of my real estate is what matters in the long run.
Well, since they take care of outside maintenance- we have the same color houses that they choose. We also had to have our storm door approved. However, I don't have a problem with it. It's nice living in a non-cluttered neighborhood where there's someone to call to fix the house when Woody Woodpecker decides to make his mark on your front porch post.
Your property never was yours. Just stop paying your property taxes and you'll find out who the real owner is fast enough.
Nowadays, if one of their golf buddies thinks your beachfront home would make more money as a condo development, you are out on your arse too.
Yep, I've never lived in a place covered by any sort of Homeowners Association by choice.
But what do you do if your neighborhood switches over to one by majority vote? Do you pack-up and leave? Heck of a thing to be run off of your own land.
Many homeowner associations go way beyond their contractural rights in trying to dictate to homeowners.
My sister was in an association a few years ago and was told the color of the flowers she planted in her backyard was wrong and didn't conform to the color scheme the board had approved that year. The board demanded she yank out the flowers and plant new one of the officially approve color. I pressed them to show me the deed restrictions delegating powers to the association to control flower color.
Of course there was no such authority granted. and the board backed down.
Those kind of places are designed for people who don't mind simplicity and want someone else to do the maintainance. If you are an action person and like to be in charge of your property, you would be crazy to be in one.
If you don't understand the difference, you (or the rest of your neighbors) will be in continual pain.
I said when I bought mine I didn't want an HOA and he told me all new housing in Virginia is required to belong to one. You can't even all get together and vote to disband - if you do, the state takes it over.
You forgot you're sarcasm tag, right? I lovingly refer to Board members of the association where I live as the Condo Nazis.
You only have be stuck with trying to sell a house next door to a guy with a car up on blocks and burned out furniture in the yard once to come to appreciate the protection of property values an HOA can provide.
No sarcasm where I'm concerned. Our HOA manager leaves something to be desired. But, they've generally done a good job for us.
I just got a notice scolding me for "storing my lawn mower in a visible place". It was sitting in front of the house for one afternoon because I was waiting for my husband to start it because I couldn't get it started.
I HATE HOAs, but I am tolerating this one only for the school. When my kids are out of school, we are off to get some real LAND. : )
That's the beauty of the contractual agreement.
Where you live they don't have any regular houses in regular neighborhoods?
But if you violate those rules, the HOA will be able to take legal steps to enforce them, including putting a lien on your house.
An HOE dictating the color of flowers is out of line. That is extreme. How can that be lawful?
I am on the board...and sometimes when they call me....my mouth is literally hanging open at the boldness, ignorance, threats and just plain stupidity at some of the homeowners phone calls. One moron called me at 10am sunday night b*tching about something....and I couldnt' get a word in edgewise....so I just hung up. If she would of came to my house, I'd of dialed 911. Don't these stupid people realize that I am a VOLUNTEER trying to save us money, get the good bid, make the place look nice...and trying to keep our HOA FEE down? They look at me as an enemy. I'd gladly quit if other people would help out. BUt volunteers are scarce..... All they want to do is criticize and b*tch. Now you got me started. When I move, I'm selling my house to a bunch of illegals.
Can you get together to change the bylaws to "The HOA will charge each homeowner one dollar a year. This money will be spent on beer for the board who will drink it and not otherwise bother you."
I could be wrong, but unless there is something in your deed forcing you to be bound in such a case, your neighbors couldn't force you to abide by the rules of their new HOA if you did not join.
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