Over 55 (dogs, neighbors, people)

[hiknapster]

Good points, Izmack.

The thing is you can move into an area that has strict rules about noise only to find that they don't regulate, anyway. Maybe the dog owner is the HOA president, or his best friend. Maybe they just don't care. Maybe it causes World War III because of all of the back-biting.

But I can pick up the phone and call the cops and they come around and tell my neighbor to keep the dogs quiet. They are never going to tell him who called, unlike some of these catty (pardon the pun!) HOAs. If he doesn't comply then they fine him. There are less personalities involved that way.

A HOA is not a guarantee of happiness. Buy in a good area and you probably won't have problems. Peer pressure works wonders. It's why upscale neighborhoods stay that way.

I had to laugh. On the front page of the Florida forum, right now. And people wonder why many would not live in a condo as a gift

Beginning Aug. 1 and until Aug. 31, a dog owner must pay a $200 one-time fee for a swab to be taken from their dog's mouth. DNA Pet World Registry uses the swab to determine the dog's DNA sample. The dog is issued a identification tag to wear on its collar. Owners who pay after Aug. 31 will be charged $500.

That's a huge chunk of change and all because of a new rule that someone came up with out of the blue.

We can argue about dogs, dog owners and manners but the heart of the issue is someone that bought a condo a few years ago now has to come up with this money. Don't pay and they put a lien on your home.

And the added joke is they are sending the poo samples to Knoxville. Is that why we have a much better unemployment rate?

Final thought: I think the highly-regulated communities are also from having a transient, snowbird society "where you pays your money and hopes for the best" along with the wary transplant attitude.

It's been one of the worst things about the area. Trying to establish a family around people that come and go. If you have family in the area it helps but if not...

[hiknapster]

Oh, and Izmack if I can quit smoking than you can, too. I smoked for about 30 years, more on than off. It's been 1 year, 7 months, and 18 days, if I were counting.

[Izmack]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I had to laugh. On the front page of the Florida forum, right now. And people wonder why many would not live in a condo as a gift

Beginning Aug. 1 and until Aug. 31, a dog owner must pay a $200 one-time fee for a swab to be taken from their dog's mouth. DNA Pet World Registry uses the swab to determine the dog's DNA sample. The dog is issued a identification tag to wear on its collar. Owners who pay after Aug. 31 will be charged $500.

O.M.G. That's all I can say.

[Izmack]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Oh, and Izmack if I can quit smoking than you can, too. I smoked for about 30 years, more on than off. It's been 1 year, 7 months, and 18 days, if I were counting.

Thanks! It's been 36 years for me. I tried to quit 5 times so far. Hopefully #6 is the charm. 24 hours so far.....

[justNancy]

I support those who do and those who don't want to live in a community with an HOA. I don't understand why it turns into such a debate when the subject is raised. People should respect the way others want to live. Personally, I'd prefer to live on 20 acres away from all humans.

By the way, I don't think a $200 one-time fee for a pet is unreasonable. I'll have to read the whole article, but the DNA test is probably to identify a dog if someone is bitten. This might be for insurance purposes.

Edit: I just read the article in the Sun-Sentinel. You are leaving out the purpose of the fee, wihch is an important part of the story. After all, they could just ban dogs altogether. Instead they're trying to resolve a nuisance. Sounds like a good idea to me. Many condos don't allow dogs.

[URL="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/pb-pooch-poop-dna-20110629,0,1718881.story"]http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/palm-beach/pb-pooch-poop-dna-20110629,0,1718881.story[/URL]

"But managers say they have no choice. Dogs are defecating and urinating in elevators, in stairwells, on carpets and in the lobby as well as common areas outside. The condo association is spending $10,000 to $12,000 a year replacing and cleaning, said Matthew Brickman, president of the Village of Abacoa Condominium Association."

"The smell is disgusting. Residents are embarrassed to have company. Dog crap is everywhere," Nellen said.

So which is better - asking dog owners to pay $200 in an attempt to clean up a community that has a serious problem or pass along the costs of the repairs to the residents, even those who don't have pets, in their condo fees?

[hiknapster]

If someone loves living in a place with HOA rules it is not going to ruin my life. Further, just because I don't want to live in a community with a HOA it isn't going to stop people wanting to live with those fees and rules. And it shouldn't.

I haven't read any sort of debate in this thread, but if there is one it wouldn't be surprising since this is a forum.

I do think that people that want them so that they do not have to deal with, say, noise will probably be very disappointed. I'm willing to bet that if you are that sensitive to noise there is always going to be an issue and the HOA may not give you immediate relief or even any. In other words, you could end up paying for expectations that are not delivered.

But it's not my money!

I think that people that continually have issues with their neighbors, roommates, neighbor's pets, traffic, etc. are going to have a problem wherever they go. In fact, all of those rules look like a huge setup for big fights with the neighbors and the association.

On the other hand if you are the sort of person that looks for trouble, lives for it, really, rather than coming up with simple solutions like using earplugs, well, this HOA situation could really be a blessing in disguise. In the end, we make our own situations, don't we?

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I think that people that continually have issues with their neighbors, roommates, neighbor's pets, traffic, etc. are going to have a problem wherever they go.

Well, I'm obviously not that person to whom you're referring, since I get along well with all of my neighbors and have never had anything but positive things to say about where I'm living or most of the places I've been.

Originally Posted by hiknapster

On the other hand if you are the sort of person that looks for trouble, lives for it, really, rather than coming up with simple solutions like using earplugs,

I can't imagine being a prisoner in your own home all the time. That's how I'd feel wearing earplugs to block out other people's noises. I've been listening to the rain all night and the occasional croaking of a frog.

[jackie8689]

Just reading through this thread to gather more info and opinions to help me figure out if 55+ communities would be good for me. I just turned 50 and I do know that most of these 55+ communities have an 80/20 rule where at least 80% of the residents would be 55+ and 20% would be no less than whatever the HOA would mandate, in most cases that age would be 50 but some go as low as 45. I really like the idea of being in a regulated community...flipside, I agree with JustNancy that I could also live on 20 acres, far away from humans...LOL. I still work and have 2 dogs and although my dogs don't bark when I'm home, if anyone would come in proximity to my home, ofcourse they would bark...just not for hours and hours like those little yappy dogs, which to me, is ironic..b/c those dogs are allowed but are the biggest offenders of the barking nuisances. I'm told that my dogs could be accepted, in the one community I was interested in, since neither of my dogs are in the breed restrictions. I really liked it alot and even though surrounded by folks way older than me, I'm ok with that..I like quiet, when I'm home. I would be in closer proximity to where I work and the beach, which I love and why I live here. I'm just trying to think of my future and looking at what options are out there for me. What the different communities offer, etc. My question is about land leasing..I can seem to find out much about this and any regulations. It seems to me, that these communities can charge what they like and change it annually to whatever they like, no cap. I've asked these questions and the responses are more like...we try not to or we make every effort not to...raise the lot leases by x-amount...this concerns me alot. Anyone have any experiences on lot leases and annual changes? They claim to say that the there are no property taxes, but to me, by paying the lot lease, you are paying towards it...it's just not directly to you, b/c you don't own the lot. The bottom line is I really like the idea of living in the 55+ for all the pros it offers, the cons are there, too..(The wreath story, freaks me out...) I'm on the fence...thanks for your help

[nomoresnow]

Jackie, we moved into a 55+ community 4 years ago and we love it here. I'd suggest you go to the office where you're considering the move, ask for the rules and regs and their policy on raising rent. By law, they have to have a prospectus. Ask for a copy. It should list all of these items.

Our community (Pine Lakes) and, I believe any community owned by ELS (among them - Heritage, Lake Fairways) the rent is raised according to the Consumer Price Index. The following is right out of our prospectus:

"The base rent shall be adjusted on January 1 of each year by the percentage increase in the US Consumer Price Index - All Urban Consumers - All Items - 1967 - 100 published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics ("CPI") for the 1 year period July 1 through June 30) identified in the CPI published for the preceding month of July."

The above is for folks already leasing. Now, if someone should buy our house, for example, they would be subject to prevailing market rent prices.

For example, in the 5 years we have owned our home and leased the land here (we moved here a year after we bought), we have had 3 increases, and our lot rent is currently about 8% higher than it was initially.

If the CPI goes down....tough noogies. The rent remains the same.

Now, be sure and ask about Pass Through and Pass On charges, which are usually tacked on annually and are, basically, overages on their planned budget and taxes. Our Pass Thru and Pass On usually run a bit more than one month's rent.

Please don't get me going on barking dogs..........

As you would be much younger than many residents, I would urge you to rent one of these places before you commit yourself. While we love it here, these communities are not for everyone. And every community is different. I've heard of people who've moved from our community to another and ended up moving back because it was so different in the 2nd place. In fact, there's one couple here who moved to 3 different communities and came back to Pine Lakes when they realized that it is where they belong.

If they say there is no prospectus and won't share it with you, I'd think long and hard about even considering that particular community.

Feel free to DM me with any questions you may have.

[Samiamnh]

We're lucky not to have neighbors with barking dogs,but if we did,I would just record the barking for a while,download it to a CD and then play it back to them on a continuous loop when we are gone for the day (or evening)