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It isn't the gates that would bother me, it's the rules. I don't want to live under the rules of an HOA. No matter where we go to live we have to live under somebody's rule (town or city), but HOAs are the worst.
But it's those RULES that are the best part.
I'm 55 years old, and as mentioned in another thread, we're thinking about moving into a 55+ gated community in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Civilization is crumbly and human decency and basic etiquette has gone the way of the dodo bird. In the gated community, I can go to bed at 10:00 pm and sleep soundly, without the thump, thump, thump of the inconsiderate dullards at the end of my street who set up a basketball hoop in the street.
I can rest easy knowing that my neighbors aren't going to paint their house lime green with lemon yellow trim four doors away. I won't have an emotional meltdown when my across-the-street neighbor gets desperate and rents her five-bedroom house to a Section 8 family who immediately moves in the whole family, and a house designed for 6 people now has 18 people flopped on mattresses throughout the dwelling.
I'm a quiet person and I am tired of trying to deal with other people's children when they let out blood-curdling screams standing in the street, just because they like making noise.
As Samuel Johnson said, "To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition."
Peace and quiet and beauty is what makes me happy, so until basic etiquette and human decency returns to society, I'm going to be profoundly grateful for gated communities and HOAs.
Well, Rosemary, if that is what you truly want, and you are comfortable living under those kind of restrictions, and you enjoy that kind of discrimination (YES, IMO, such rules certainly ARE discrimination!), you have every right to live in such a community, and enjoy the (false, IMO) sense of security.
Good luck.
Some of us would NOT like it, and will not choose to live under the thumbs of an HOA.
That is a choice we have every right to make, and we are glad to live with the consequences (if any).
Since we bought this place, we have removed one tree, and planted 5 others. Nobody told us what type of trees to purchase.
We have planted seedless concord grape vines, honeysuckle vines, gooseberry bushes, and built 4 raised garden beds.
We had 2 horses for a while.
We have 3 dogs, two indoor cats, and an unknown number of feral cats, along with rabbits, pheasants, and deer.
We have a motorhome, two cargo trailers, two ATVs, and a garden tractor. All are kept at home.
I have a Shopsmith for converting boards into chips and sawdust.
I have a 50 foot target shooting range in my backyard.
My neighbor shoots (at) geese from his deck. Now and then, he hits one.
NOBODY tells me what I can or can't do on my property, as long as I abide by County and State laws.
FREEDOM is a wonderful thing!
Absolutely NOTHING!
When we were house hunting, the first thing I wanted to see after looking at the place was the CCRs. If there was a "Home Owner's Association", we were gone.
If the CCRs had silly provisions (one place was great, except that I could not park my one ton dually in the driveway!), we were gone.
If there was a gate at the entrance, we didn't even look.
Some say CCRs and HOAs "enhance property values". Not for me. IMO, they completely destroy property values.
When the HOA makes the mortgage payments and pays the taxes and insurance, then and ONLY THEN will I allow them to tell me how to live, what trees to plant, what type of fence to install, what kind/size vehicle I can drive, and what color I can paint my house. Of course, they will not pay me, I have to pay them. No thanks.
This is why we live in a free society (or it was free before comrade obama came along!), you get to choose where you live.
It sounds like you have no interest in living in a gated community and you certainly won't be forced to do so. On the other hand, from reading your post, people move into gated communities with an HOA to escape neighbors such as yourself, so it works both ways and there is a place for everyone to live in the environment of their choosing, so that everyone is happy.
I perfer not to have a neighbor who is OK with parking his dump truck on the dead grass in his front yard, a rusty car on jack stands in the driveway, and an a leaky old boat next to the house that hasn't seen water since the Titanic sank...
So many rumors about nitpicking busybodies making your life miserable, when in truth, it's difficult to get anyone to run for office, and those that do aren't really very interested in any kind of enforcement.
The many stories about bored old blue hairs sitting around staring out their windows attempting to find fault with their neighbors are a rarity, people have lives and it doesn't entail worrying about their neighbors activities. Theses are stories made up by busybodies who live outside the gates.
I have lived in a gated community for ten years now, and I couldn't be happier. Everyone who lives here received a copy of the rules while their home was in escrow, and were required to read the rules and sign off on them before escrow could close, so they enter being fully aware of what the future holds.
I have not heard of one complaint from any homwowner in my years here, everyone loves the rules and restrictions, that's a primary reason they moved here, to escape from the people who have no respect for their property or property values.
Most of the negatives you hear are from people who have no experience with HOA's and just like to repeat all of the urban legends, which are rarely factual.
Remember, for all of you who don't want any part of our lifestyle, we moved her because we don't want any part of your lifestyle... Choices people, choices....
Peace out...!!
I would love to live in a gated community but I refuse to live in an HOA so I'm more than likely out of luck. One of my issues with HOAs is that you may be fine with the rules as they currently exist but the rules can always be changed.
"I perfer not to have a neighbor who is OK with parking his dump truck on the dead grass in his front yard, a rusty car on jack stands in the driveway, and an a leaky old boat next to the house that hasn't seen water since the Titanic sank..."
Now, just where did I say anything about wanting to live like that? the house we were looking at allowed us to keep our fifth wheel RV trailer at home, but the one ton dually to tow it would have had to be kept in a storage yard across town! No, thanks.
There is a new development being built just down the road a ways. I looked up the CCRs just for grins. THREE PAGES of rules and restrictions, including what type of house to build, what color to paint the house, what type of fence to build, what type of trees to plant (and the number that may be planted, and...OH YES, we must not forget that you can not keep an aircraft on your lot! I heard that the CCRs have been changed. That may be true, because I see houses being built there now, about 5 years after the streets were laid out!
But, again, no thanks.
Another local development had over TEN pages of CCRs! They got sued, and had to buy back several places. That is rather amazing, since the developers were a couple of lawyers!
Again, no thanks.
Our little housing development is quite nice. 6 places, on a private dead-end lane. No HOA. One neighbor has half a dozen horses, another neighbor has chickens, another neighbor has 5 horses. I have an RV (motorhome) in the driveway, two of the neighbors have fifth wheel RVs. No problem.
It is also wonderful to have no "membership dues" to pay!
" Choices people, choices....
Peace out...!!"
Exactly. I can't change your mind, and you will never convince me that an HOA is better than what I have now!
The pizza guy, or any other delivery guy does not get the code.
Except that somebody in your neighborhood inevitably does give it to us and then we know it. I delivered to a woman one time who nearly fainted when I knocked on her door. Maybe a gate does decrease the likelihood that somebody unexpected gets in, but it is certainly not zero. I guess you could do it like they do in Latin America with heavily armed guards and lots of razor wire around the whole perimeter, but who in the US really wants to live like that?
I would love to live in a gated community but I refuse to live in an HOA so I'm more than likely out of luck. One of my issues with HOAs is that you may be fine with the rules as they currently exist but the rules can always be changed.
Rules can only be changed by a vote of the members, meaning YOU..! Every homeowner is a voting member, so if no homeowners want the rules changed, they won't be.
Rules can only be changed by a vote of the members, meaning YOU..! Every homeowner is a voting member, so if no homeowners want the rules changed, they won't be.
It's not quite that easy..very few people in the HOA I lived in bothered to vote, and those who did voted for their friends who basically had rotated through board positions for over 20 years.
It's not quite that easy..very few people in the HOA I lived in bothered to vote, and those who did voted for their friends who basically had rotated through board positions for over 20 years.
You're saying residents would vote against their best interests because they would rather vote for their friends wants? That make no sense, no one is going to do something that stupid...
Yes, that new rule would make my life miserable, but my friend wants it so it's good enough for me"
It simply wouldn't happen. You're making excuses..!! If you want your HOA to work, get involved, don't depend on someone else doing it for you.
In my ten years in this community, there has only been one very minor rules change, that was concerning the type of material a garden shed can be constructed of, not exactly a world changing event.
It take a lot of time and legal paperwork to propose a rule change, not something any board wants to get involved in unless absolutely necessary.
A rule change would require a majority vote, so if no one votes, the rule doesn't pass. Like so many others who are against HOA's you're inventing scenarios which rarely exist..
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