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Chey Dee: My townhouse complex is not gated, and we have public streets in our 433 unit complex, which is both good and bad, as the HOA doesn't have to repair the streets, so there's nothing they can do with the 3 cars parked out front!
As we know, there are different kinds off HOA communities and variable degrees of restrictions among them. They are not in the least bit uniform. Fortunately, we get to review the CC&R's before we buy into one (and every renter should read them before renting in one).
If it's important for Huey to allow her children to play with her remotes and open/close her garage door at whim, and if she tends to forget to check to see if the door is open or closed, an HOA which doesn't allow garage doors to remain open is obviously not the most ideal place for her.
Our HOA is restrictive enough but not too restrictive, by our personal standards. It allows us to do what WE want to do and prevents others from doing what we wouldn't like them to do. As far as we're concerned, it's win-win.
We're in a gated community and the roads are private, so the HOA can regulate the cars on the street. We wanted one that did. It's very irritating to us to have evening visitors, who have to park halfway down the street because all of the neighbor's cars took the spaces by our house and the surrounding ones. It's been our experience, from living in both HOA and non-HOA communities, that too many people in non-HOA areas wind up either converting their garages into living space or piling it with so much stuff they can't park their cars inside, meaning too many cars wind up curbside. Additionally, a pet peeve of both DH and I are cars who's tires are parked ON the curb or - even worse - on the grass. This was against the town ordinance in our non-HOA area, but nobody was going to bother making a formal report for such a thing - especially with it being fairly rampant. Within an HOA community that regulates it, it happens once, the homeowner receives a notice of violation and it seldom reoccurs.
To keep this OT... as far as garage doors go... We can keep our garage door open if we're working in the garage, even if it's all day, but it can't remain open unattended for prolonged periods or overnight. This helps to ensure a garage door in disrepair, (which doesn't close properly), gets repaired in short order. We have no need to keep the door open for house ventilation. If we did, we'd install windows on the side instead. Just so nobody misinterprets this to think someone sits outside with a stop-watch and challenges what "prolonged" is - that doesn't happen. If it was open all night though, you'd get a notice of violation in the mail.
There are HOAs that control the day and when you can cut your grass, what type and color flowers you can plant, what color your drapes must be and whether you can keep them open, loads of things that scream control freaks with no life of their own to speak of.
My brother is retired military...he's a "rules" kind of guy. The HOA in his neighborhood does not allow you to hang your wash outside. Nope, that would not work for me. As soon as the weather gets nice, sheets, etc. get hung outside for that "outdoor fresh" smell. Mmmmm...
I didnt see mention of this so I apologize if the subject has been addressed and I just missed it...
There's something called a Garage Door Butler that will automatically close your garage door if you forget to do so or want to leave it open for a brief while. Of course, you have to have an automatic garage door closer. I bought one but my garage door guy had never seen it and wasnt sure he could install it properly. Duh. (I'm looking for a new garage door guy now.)
Alzheimer's is used as just an example to any human's forgetfulness...
Also.... if there exist parents leaving a baby alone to cook in that car from forgetfulness... yah, there are darn well people with Alzheimer's left alone from time to time by the person giving care (say that quick run to the store). Where you may be younger & have better memories now... what about when you are older????
OK... even if not using that Alzheimer's as example... sometimes *your 3 yr ol' child* with that itchy fingers just discovered mommy's garage remote (mommy let baby play w/ remote) & just pushed that open pad & now *you* the mommy are so busy with that child you forgot to check to make sure the garage closes all the way???? Hmmm what then??? Not even the mommy's fault???? but guess what... mommy got fined for it!!!
And *if* that human flaw of no perfect memory in humans & our capabilities to make mistakes...
What makes *You* that individual human to never forget & never break any rules????
If & when rules are broken... time & again, may not be that same mistakes.... would you be as willing to pay that accumulating fines "time & time again"???
Will it then becomes that "hassle" you wouldn't want????
Hmmm...
As of the 1000s I searched on-line, probably 20+ drive bys & 40+ seen inside the home...
I didn't come across one with any gaudy colored sidings or really really jungle-like yards.. a few "un-kempt" maybe but that "unkempt" (not mowed yard) is the same as the few foreclosed places where I used to rent (w/ z HOA).
So HOA to keep that unkempt lawn kept is also *untrue*... per my experiences.
Really... what are they going to do to the HO (Home Owner) within that is being foreclosed on???
And if the HO don't have that money to pay for the lawn mowed... all HOA can do is just keep slapping fines (and no more). They take care of the lawn in the common area.... does not cover individual home owners.
"If" there is no guarantees... don't you think as a HO you are being left out of the game (where what they bought is guaranteed to at least function as promised?)???
Say even that Home Depot lawnmower one bought...
they will refund you should that product does not work, or even replace that item for you...
Or that mal-practiced non-performing drugs = lawsuits...
The only way I would willingly pay monthly for HOA fee is that "money back guarantee"....
Say if one house down that road is not mowed by that certain time... and it becomes an eyesore to me... I that HO can say... hey HOA, you not doing your job by enforcing that level of visual landscape you promised... so now "I" that HO fine *you* HOA certain amt... only then is the "economy" of HOA a 2 way street (rules applies to you & also the HOA)... not that one way fine of HO but never any consequences to the HOA themselves when they don't perform what their clause is eg. like keep the home prices up!!!
See... I can forget all I want, even seriously leave my door wide open in my area all I want... with this house, there'll be less chances of break ins than my other HOA rental. Why???
Just put that info into CD itself...
how many pedofile in my zip = perfect "0"
Last zip = 19
And crime per data is much much lower than state average... make sense...
Just because we don't live on tight mini-parceled acres here but average 5-10 acres or hundreds plus acres of horse & steer farms.
JFL * even burglars hard pressed for cash... will probably save more gas targeting more homes at my old place than to target "out here".
Definitely many many pluses for my DD here... where my ex-HOA rental place meeting brought up also condoms found in the common areas & DD still having to walk down to the end of the road for her school bus (where in that 2010 blizzards in Jan there is no side walk to even stand on & school children is standing in the middle of the street = how dangerous is that???), now the bus comes right to our door.
Like I said... your money, not mine.
How you like to spend or blow it, does not affect me nor it ever will.
My money = saved from HOA
Side by side comparison = slightly more mortgage (but that is plus tax; er no... I forgot the HOA fee, so it actually evens out!!!) than my last rental...
I get a bigger house 2X the size, less heating & electric bills (1/2 compared to my last place due to the construction), & a much quieter & very very safe hood w/ a much much better school district.
Yes... better neighbourhood than the rental (higher crime & unmowed lawn, crumbling concrete steps, foreclosed signs in the doors {walking down to bus stop w/ DD}, trashed nightly common area where teenagers skateboard & questionable gang hang out & maybe pass out drugs???}; here every one own their law tractors, neighbours KNOW neighbours to help each other out, a true community very very not transient unlike my last hood).
AND
***I have the *freedom* to leave my garage door open with no fines to worry about nor any nosey neighbour who will talk behind your back & complain to the HOA TY very very much!
Do you??? Can you??? Have that freedom to flaunt about within that HOA community???
Just a couple of points: first, I don't think "mommy let baby play with garage door remote" is a good idea. Not good for kids to think that a garage door remote is a toy! And also not a good idea to leave someone with Alzheimer's alone, too many sad cases of people wandering away and having tragic accidents when left alone for even a short while.
Regarding open garage doors: a nurse I work with received a call from the police at work because her garage door was open when they were patrolling the neighborhood. The officer kindly explained to her that open garage doors were an invitation to a thief, once he slipped into a garage he could enter the home and have all the time he needed to search the home. And this was in a very low crime area.
Regarding HOAs: I like a happy medium, a HOA without too many restrictions but enough that our property values don't suffer when one or more neighbors decide to let their grass and weeds to grow, or let the outside of their home fall into disrepair.
I have lived in my home for five years, and there has only been one home during that time that has been foreclosed, and it sat empty for nearly a year. The HOA took care of the grass and yard during the time it sat empty so that it didn't detract from the appearance of the neighborhood. Without an HOA the grass might have grown knee high and the yard become overrun with weeds in the year it sat empty.
I personally feel that vehicles belong in garages, they are a big investment and they stay nicer and cleaner when kept inside. I have visited friends who live in neighborhoods where there are no parking restrictions, and sometimes there are so many cars parked on the street that it is difficult to navigate. And it can make the neighborhood look crowded and trashy.
In a perfect world where everyone had common sense and wanted to behave like a good neighbor HOAs would be unnecessary. However, there will always be people who think it is perfectly ok to park several cars on the street, to hang a clothesline in the front yard, to have cars up on blocks in the driveway, to park a large boat or RV blocking the street, to park on the grass, to make a fence out of old pallets, and so on.
My brother is retired military...he's a "rules" kind of guy. The HOA in his neighborhood does not allow you to hang your wash outside. Nope, that would not work for me. As soon as the weather gets nice, sheets, etc. get hung outside for that "outdoor fresh" smell. Mmmmm...
Oh me too!!! I absolutely agree!!
This is the number one thing for me to live anywhere, I absolutely have to have a clothesline. I would not live anywhere where I couldn't have it. Seems silly to use electricity to dry clothes when the sun will do it for free.
But now, back to the garage door being open.
I don't really understand why if someone left their garage door open why this is so awful that a HOA will give you a fine. It is actually comical and yet sad at the same time that there are people in this world that really get upset if one of their neighbors left the garage door open.
Makes one kinda wonder, how empty someones life could be.
Seems like this thread is getting continually hijacked into an HOA thread. Back to the original question, can it affect the temperature in the house? Absolutely! Depending on the configuration. Many garages are on the first floor and have bedrooms over them. The Air Ducts are in the bedroom floor which is the garage ceiling. Because of the ducts there is limited room in that flooring "Bay" for insulation. This causes those ducts to be affected by the temperature of the garage. So if your airconditioner is on and the garage is hot, the AC has to work harder to make up for the ducts in this area being warmer. The same applies in the winter and heating. This is a reason that it is never a good idea to leave Garage walls uninsulated.
I have seen neighbors leave garage door cracked open a bit on hot summer days. Does lowering your garage temp affect the temp inside your home? Can someone explain why people do this?
I am going to guess like many others that it is to let a cat in and out of the garage.
Just cracking the door open a few inches won't affect the air flow much, or I wouldn't expect it to.
all fine wonderful and good, but say you had a lot of company from out of town and had, say 3 cars, and they don't fit in your garage or your driveway, where would the HOA like you to park them, in your back pocket...or tell your company they have to go home because the HOA doesn't want to see something as awful as a car???
I get the keeping the hood nice, but really, where would the overflow of cars go when there is nothing but a vacant street as far as the eye can see????
There are rules, but then there is stupidity.....
We have security that patrols the neighborhood. They know which cars belong to which houses. Company can park overnight on the street.
I thought maybe it was extending my battery life as high heat is hard on them? And when I drive someplace that is a quick stop, seems like everyone leaves their empty cars running, and do they do it for that reason or the A/C to get back into? Already killed one battery somehow in past 6 mos.
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