Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I love my 6 ft privacy fence that encloses our entire back yard, and our neighborhood sounds very similar to the yard described by the OP.
I like my view and I like my privacy. My neighbors have the option to fence in their yard if they wish, with wrought iron, wood, or chain link but or even no fence at all. They don't pay my mortgage and I don't pay theirs.
One reason I like my large fenced backyard is the privacy it provides. If my family wants to enjoy our backyard, or if my friends and I want to drink beer in the backyard, or if we would decide to skinny dip in our pool we have the right to do so without being on display to the neighborhood.
Otherwise I would just live in a condo or apartment, no grass to mow!
I am sorry that your neighbors are being jerks, but don't let that stop you from fencing your yard with the type of fence you want.
I haven't read the 8 pages of replies but people are right that you have a right to put up any type of fence you want. But.... because you live in a neighborhood and you seem to care what your neighbors think, you will have to live with being "shunned" for your actions. I personally have to agree with them. You seem unbending in the type of fence you want and you are putting up the most unattractive and disruptive fence you could. Putting up that kind of fence sends a clear message that you do not want to be neighborly and for people to keep out. This is not about keeping your kids in your yard, it is about keeping other people out. IF you were just concerned about your kids, you would just put up an attractive picket fence like your neighbors would prefer. Sorry but no sympathy here. You reap what you sow as they say. Oh yeah, be prepared for your kids to be "shunned" too as they get older. Jay
OP here. I guess I disagree that the wrought iron necessarily looks better than the solid privacy fence. Wrought iron is nice, but I guess I don't see the point of it. We'd like to create the sense of a backyard oasis since we have to put up a fence anyway due to the pond, and wrought iron isn't going to help achieve that. I like the look of the solid privacy fence with lots of plantings on both sides to soften. We are spending the extra money to get both sides of the fence looking nice--i.e. both sides will be the "good" side.
Sorry I saw the "good" side of the fence you posted and it is still pretty ugly. Those solid wood fences need a lot of maintenance to keep looking "nice". Be prepared to stain it every couple of years otherwise it looks like garbage. You say you want to landscape both sides but it will still require a lot of work. I still do not see why you just don't put up a nice picket and add plantings to create the privacy you so desire. Otherwise, as one poster suggested, just put the home on the market and find one where you will not anger the neighborhood. Jay
Sometimes there is a difference between what you should do, and what you have a right to do. You have a right to put up the fence you want. Should you? I think id try to work with the neighbors. Sounds like one of the things that attracts people to the area is the big open feel. What you want will hurt that, detracting from their enjoyment of the neighborhood. They have a right to be concerned. Good fences do make good neighbors, as they say. Consideration for all parties does an even better job. You can achieve your safety needs without a six ft privacy fence. Id strongly consider flexing on that in the interest of neighborhood harmony. The folks here saying "its your property, do as you like" don't have to live with the upset neighbors.
If you really wanted a private backyard, you should of bought a home designed for it.
That said, lots of kids grow up around water hazards. Very few die. Are you being over protective?
Why in the world do some people posting think neighbors (close to strangers in most cases) should have ANY say at all in what a home owner should do to their property. If its within the rules of the HOA in this case that everyone agreed to when they bought the house then they should ****. next thing you know they will say, hey can you please keep your kids indoors since the sight of kids having fun bothers my view, and while your at it can you mow your lawn in a checkered pattern since its pleases me and so on.
I'm all for being a good neighbor but don't impose your own agenda on me and expect me to do as you please.
In many instances you do not know the benefits of HOA's until you run into a nightmare neighbor.
For instance, just imagine you live in a nice neighborhood and everyone keeps their places up. Then you have someone who never paints, lets the landscaping go, rarely cuts their grass, has all sorts of items in the front yard, hangs clothes to dry on a line, etc., etc.
Or, you have someone with very weird taste, and they decide to paint their house bright purple, with an orange driveway and yellow roof. The owner may love it, but the neighbors would be aghast. With a HOA they will have some rules which maintain a certain look of the neighborhood, and prevent much of the aforementioned. Without it, much of the above would be legal, and there would be nothing anyone could do about it.
I have lived in both situations, and both have their positives and negatives. Much of the HOA's problems are not based on having one, rather the type of people who are elected to serve on them. If you get fairly non intrusive professionals running the board (i.e. doctors, lawyers, CPA's etc.) their focus will be to maintain the place/property values, without being condo commandos.
However let some people who have never had even a smidgen or power/control over others, and they will turn into communist dictators trying to dictate every aspect of your life.
`
I'm still not seeing any benefit here....
If someone wants to paint their home purple orange and whatever color they choose, LET THEM! It's their property, they should have the right to do what they want with it. If they want a crazy garden of lawn ornaments, let them!!! Really these things should not affect OTHER property values, as they only affect their own property value in the long run. (Yes, I would have no qualms moving next to a purple and orange house)
As for the other things you mentioned like uncut grass or dirty lawns, you don't need an HOA to monitor and enforce that. In any municipal, you call file a complaint to the county office and they will send someone to enforce it. (or they fine the person). And things like hanging clothes outside to dry? People care about that?! Like I said, this is why I'll never live where there is some crazy HOA. I've only ever heard bad about them. Not allowed to have gardens, toys in the yard, swing sets, too many cars in your driveway, no tree houses, can't do this, can't do that. It's ridiculous.
It doesn't sound like your neighbors have an issue with the fence. It sounds like they have an issue with what kind of fence. And honestly it sounds kind of annoying for you to put up a big privacy fence and ruin the openness of the area. I totally agree you need to protect your toddlers and the HOA should have worked with you with the pond thing.
But you are mixing two issues. you are mixing the issue of wanting a fence for safety and wanting an ugly fence because it's your preference. In the end, if the HOA says that you can do it, you should do it. I would be kinda cheezed as your neighbor.
Why in the world do some people posting think neighbors (close to strangers in most cases) should have ANY say at all in what a home owner should do to their property. If its within the rules of the HOA in this case that everyone agreed to when they bought the house then they should ****. next thing you know they will say, hey can you please keep your kids indoors since the sight of kids having fun bothers my view, and while your at it can you mow your lawn in a checkered pattern since its pleases me and so on.
I'm all for being a good neighbor but don't impose your own agenda on me and expect me to do as you please.
The fact that it's an HOA neighborhood to begin with means there's an expectation that neighbors can govern what happens to other people's property. That's the whole point of an HOA, whether every member knows the exact details of the bylaws is beside the point. I'm sure some of the neighbors that moved in when there were no fences assumed that it was something the HOA would step in to prevent. Even if the OP does get their fence, if enough people complain the bylaws may be changed - which is probably what a number of the neighbors are planning to try and do.
As ridiculous as it may sound to have the neighbors weighing in on a private matter like fencing your yard, that's the trade off to living in an HOA.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
