Received Email From HOA (Austin, Nash: lawyer, campers, square footage)

[Paulmmm]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Maybe I'm just unlucky, but during the four months I spent on a temporary cross-country work assignment, rooming with a coworker, he got immediate "nastygrams" from his HOA on at least three occasions... once for putting his trash cans out on the wrong day, once for leaving a side gate open so that his gardening tools could be seen from the street, and once for having 3 cars parked at the curb overnight... on a street that was lightly parked, with a vacant house next door!

Sorry, but I see no excuse for that kind of nazi behavior. Just the fact that someone was obviously cruising the neighborhood on a routine basis, just searching for minor B*S* to ding their neighbors with was blood-curdling to me.

Your and your friend's history is totally valid and should be taken into consideration when you decide where to live. For me, since I have never had or heard of any issues with my HOA, I like living in my HOA, so I do. For you and your friend, who have had issues, you wouldn't, so I assume you don't. Fair enough.

(As an aside, I have decided that as soon as someone compares the actions of an HOA to the actions of the nazis - as often happens in HOA threads - that I really don't want to be in the discussion any more because I'm not convinced that it's at all productive. In fact, it's usually that word that begins the eventual locking up of most Austin HOA threads.)

[suit-n-tie white guy]

what's a HOA and where can I get one?

[JayBrown80]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Maybe I'm just unlucky, but during the four months I spent on a temporary cross-country work assignment, rooming with a coworker, he got immediate "nastygrams" from his HOA on at least three occasions... once for putting his trash cans out on the wrong day, once for leaving a side gate open so that his gardening tools could be seen from the street, and once for having 3 cars parked at the curb overnight... on a street that was lightly parked, with a vacant house next door!

Sorry, but I see no excuse for that kind of nazi behavior. Just the fact that someone was obviously cruising the neighborhood on a routine basis, just searching for minor B*S* to ding their neighbors with was blood-curdling to me.

It's sort of sad that 6 million jews had to die just so that you would have a "go to" phrase to use whenever you disagree with someone.

Nazi indeed. In your story if the HOA truly were Nazis you would have been in a concentration camp, not given a "nastygram". You should be ashamed for using that as an example.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by JayBrown80

Nazi indeed. In your story if the HOA truly were Nazis you would have been in a concentration camp, not given a "nastygram". You should be ashamed for using that as an example.

My apologies, but no offense was meant, and no shame is subscribed to.

In fact the word long ago become a generic term (note the lowercase "N") (i.e. Seinfeld's famous "soup nazi") which is so widely used that most dictionaries today include an alternate definition something like this one from Dictionary.com:

a person who is fanatically dedicated to or seeks to control a specified activity, practice, etc.: a jazz nazi who disdains other forms of music; tobacco nazis trying to ban smoking.

And that is the sense in which I used it, to describe an individual who is fanatically dedicated to controlling other people's behavior via a slavish commitment to petty Homeowners Association rules.

[JayBrown80]

Originally Posted by OpenD

My apologies, but no offense was meant, and no shame is subscribed to.

In fact the word long ago become a generic term (note the lowercase "N") (i.e. Seinfeld's famous "soup nazi") which is so widely used that most dictionaries today include an alternate definition something like this one from Dictionary.com:

a person who is fanatically dedicated to or seeks to control a specified activity, practice, etc.: a jazz nazi who disdains other forms of music; tobacco nazis trying to ban smoking.

And that is the sense in which I used it, to describe an individual who is fanatically dedicated to controlling other people's behavior via a slavish commitment to petty Homeowners Association rules.

Well, I don't care if comedians (especially jewish comedians) use the word Nazi to make light of a situation. I don't mind when comedians make gay jokes either, even though I am gay and homophobia is a real and terrible thing.

I do mind when someone uses the word Nazi to describe their political enemies, or they use it to describe someone who is opressing them. Then it has a different connotation all together because you are comparing your struggles with having to bring your garbage in with the pogrom of Warsaw. I don't like it when Democrats describe Republicans as Nazis. I don't like it when conservatives say it of liberals. It means something different when you stop saying it in jest and start using it to describe your enemies.

But fine, you didn't mean it that way. I will take you at your word and apologize for saying "shame on you". I don't control the English Language and can't tell you how to use it.

It's just if you did a search for Nazi on city-data, it would probably pop up a billion times and all of those times to describe the most trivial matters. It seems so disrespectful to me.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by JayBrown80

It's just if you did a search for Nazi on city-data, it would probably pop up a billion times and all of those times to describe the most trivial matters. It seems so disrespectful to me.

Gotcha. I was not aware of THAT, and i will be more attentive to my word choices in the future.

Perhaps it might have been less jarring if I added the further detail that I was so spooked by the thought of someone spying on us daily, and thus

1) noticing that there were three cars parked on the curb overnight (I had just bought a new one, but had not yet sold my old one) and then
2) threatening my host with a fine if it happened again,

that I immediately began looking for another place to stay.

And I won't even mention the far, far worse experience I had 20 years ago. I wound up selling my place at a loss to get away from the oppressive, even criminal actions of that HOA. I still can't talk about it without getting upset.

[woodinvilleguy]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

HOAs are proactive in identifying issues without waiting for a complaint, usually yard violations, trashcans left out, or unapproved sheds/playscapes in back yards. So if you're a slob, you'll feel hassled in an HOA neighborhood whereas you got away with it in the City or County areas.

I'm not sure I associate playscapes with a slob. I associate those with people with children.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by woodinvilleguy

I'm not sure I associate playscapes with a slob. I associate those with people with children.

Exactly!

And "unapproved" playscapes in the back yard? Control issues much, HOA?

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by oldtoiletsmkgdflrpots

Wow, I didn't know that. So much for the "free-spirit" portrayal of Austin. What exactly are they being "protected" from I wonder. I think it would be interesting to see the views of lot's of those Austinites regarding living in HOA's.

That Tonka toy truck in the backyard that would make their home values plummet hundreds of thousands of dollars ?

[Poncho_NM]

Originally Posted by CSD610

Still stupid (in my opinion) to pay someone to tell you what you can and cannot do with the home and property YOU PAY FOR.

Our family condo has a Home Owners Association, and it has worked well for us for over 20 years. Yes a condo is a little different. But our issues have been taken care of over the years. So, I don't call it stupid.

If you don't want to follow the rules, move somewhere where they have no rules, or they have rules you agree with.

Just my opinion...


Rich