Posted on 02/11/2013 12:50:46 PM PST by OKRA2012
A confrontation over a political sign and a community's Home Owners Association has occupied four years and nearly half a million dollars in legal fees.
(Excerpt) Read more at global.christianpost.com ...
First off none of you can afford to live in Arlington or Alexandria so get that out of your head. On the other hand you probably can afford to live in much of Fairfax County, particularly the part with the Alexandria mailing addresses
if you end up in Fairfax you have two choices ~ 10 acre minimum lots on 1.5 lane roads, littered with broken tree branches, up and down rugged hills ~ that's our primary watershed area with low density zoning to protect the water. There are no gas stations within that area so you'll always need to go somewhere else to get anything.
Then there's the rest of the county and that's almost always going to be condo or HOA ~
You want to check out the bylaws to see if the HOA did what ours did which was to abjure the extension of association bylaws into areas already governed by county ordinance or state law.
If so, you are OK, else go somewhere else.
This case is one where the association's bylaws AND covenants covered the same event as a county ordinance and state law ~ to wit, the placement or positioning of a political campaign sign on, around, near, upon, behind, over or inside or outside of the dimensions provided in the state law.
Campaign signs are always defined according to the tastes of the observer. However, if you tear one down before election day they can prosecute you and possibly imprison you for it. If you tear one down AFTER election day the judges won't touch it on a dare! Nothing more unloved than an overage political campaign sign.
The HOA appears to have deviated from common sense.
See your point, but that will only be good until the hoa determines there is a problem with your own property. Then it will be (should be) “what business is it of yours if I want to paint my door red or plant a certain variety of bush...”
Thought this whole thing was about building/making a home, and not about the property values.
In Virginia POAs have limited power by law. Not all POA's follow the law and there are still ways to abuse power, but the law (about 5 or 10 years old) has shifted some power back to homeowners.
In Florida its nearly impossible to buy a new home that is not in an HOA. The developers like it that way.
Here, they are permanent!
HOA’s are evil, we know all know it
The latest changes clearly differentiated between condos and HOAs with SFD. There’s no reason whatsoever for SFD to have architectural rules. With condos, there really does have to be a single pre-set standard.
No "conservative" should have a problem with people who associate freely and CHOOSE to follow an agreed-upon set of rules.
But hey, it's FR and the internet.
“HOAs are great, as long as everyone follows the rules they agreed to when they bought.”
Unfortunately, those rules always allow for MORE rules to be created. In the HOA where I live (with 1 acre lots), they tried to pass rules like, “No yardwork except from 8AM-4PM on weekdays”, and to ban horses, and to require permission before you stained your wood door. The CC&R had almost NO rules in them, but the HOA BOD couldn’t resist the desire to add more rules, and more, and more...
We had so many recall elections that the HOA voted to dissolve by an 85:15 margin...
Feels good to live in a no-HOA area.
My POA has tried to fool with enforcing certain association by-laws and has gotten ignored or slapped down. Sheriffs most don't care what happens on private property unless it reaches felony status. The county doesn't take sides if anyone from the POA stands up against a POA decision; they ask for the POA to sort it out amongst themselves. The board has gradually come to realize that the owners are not going to tolerate partial enforcement and full enforcement is impossible, therefore there is no enforcement (of controversial covenants).
Grown adult people we're talking about here?
Really?
HOA rules should be very basic only. No trash in the yards, no unchained wild dogs, no loud music during sleeping hours etc...otherwise homeowners (as taxpayers) can decorate as they wish unless a few neighbors complain about something then it can be addressed individually. Glad my home isnt in an HOA district. We do just fine without the lil dictators.
Then "most people" are idiots, and shouldn't even own a home in the first place.
SFD?
And those who shouldnt be in charge always work their way in
= = = = = = = = = = =
AMEN!... I should be the Treasurer because my father was a CPA. And the ‘idjits’ that go the meetings say FINE.
What about G for being in charge of Streets, Snow Plowing and patching, he owns a Paving Company.
NO! He isn’t quite qualified and doesn’t come to meetings (maybe because he is working 15 hrs a day in season).
J would be a good choice because his 2 sons and daughter work for G so from talking to his kids he should know the business.
Also, when doing work for these groups or even ‘clubs’, it is best to get a GOOD down payment, insist on ONE spokesperson - if a least not a down payment put money in a joint escrow account.
You are ALWAYS going to get at least one person who thinks you and someone in the organization are in cahoots and going to split the money...etc...
I was contracted to do a job for a KofC (which I was a member of Org, not this particular unit) and one evening I went in and told the bartender to set the bar up (8 people).
One of my contacts called me aside and said I shouldn’t be throwing money around like that as it didn’t look right.
BTW....at the time -during Happy Hour etc the set up cost me about 4 bucks.... maybe 2 bottles of beer (without tip) at the local watering hole....
You are kidding right?
Your premise is completely false.
A property owner who sells land to be divided up, then subsequently be purchased by those who now become property owners them selves has dictatorial power over new said land owners?
Please tell me you left off the sarc tag.
HOA"s are Agenda 21, read it.
“Simple. Just don’t buy a home where the rules limit your door color or landscaping options. Some of us don’t want neighbors with bright colored doors, or bizarre alien topiary. We’re happy all enjoying the enhanced value of living by the same rules.”
Absolutely correct!
HOAs...
for people who think the Federal, State, County, and Municipal governments don’t have enough layers of control over their lives.
The previous house I owned was part of an HOA. Neighbors down the street decided they wanted to build a garage with an upstairs rec room and a utility room connecting it to the house proper.
They jumped through all the required hoops, getting the ok from the surrounding neighbors and the HOA architectural committee. But when the addition was almost complete the neighbors decided they didn’t like it afterall and tried to get it all torn down over it allegedly having a roofline 18 inches above the contractors concept drawing ...
HOAs - For the little “Hitler” that lives in all of us.
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