Anyone not like HOA's? (Charlotte: lawyer, townhouse, buying)

[neoflex]

I know in the springtime here on Long Island pollen is bad and yellow. If you drive a dark car chances are you will be driving a yellow car in April and beginning of May. Even if you wash your car by the time you finish drying it the first half you dried is already forming a dusty yellow film. Just my .02 on pollen.
As far as HOAs I guess I am the odd man out. I in particular like them. Than again I have had experiences with neighbors storing their landscaping vehicles on their property all year round along with their snowplows, campers etc. Yes, it's their property but should I have to look at a truck yard when I am trying to keep my property nice and appealing? What's the point of me keeping my grass mowed and healthy if the jabrone next door has 4ft weeds for a lawn or has Christmas lights up in July. Again, I can see your points on some of the HOA natzis out there but at the same time I do not want to live next to a hell hole and have to be on bad terms with my neighbor because I told him he should mow his lawn or rent some space to store his equipment. I plan to try and get on the HOA board so I can atleast have some input instead of complaining about something but not doing anything about it. I have never lived in an HOA community so who knows I may have a different opinion next year but as of right now I was told I can put up a privacy fence and a pool in my backyard so I think everything else I can comply with without too much of a struggle. Yes I do agree that some people take a responsibilty to the extreme, but those are the poeple you can vote against their decisions or ideas if you participate rather than complain about the HOA.
Again, just my .02

[PDXmom]

Originally Posted by Older&Wiser

3)no clothes lines allowed,

This one gets me! Considering how dang hot it gets in NC in the summer I will not want to run the dryer. All it's going to do is make the AC work harder. Not to mention the environmental benefits of a clothes line.

Ok, I wouldn't hang my underwear outside to dry. They fit on a drying rack in the bathroom where only my family has to see them.

I use to work with a gal from New Zealand and she thought it was terrible that more Americans did not use a clothes line. She said no self respecting Kiwi would live without one.

I figure I'll just put a retractable on on a screened in porch. See if I can get away with that.

[JBrown]

yeah you'd think the greenies and global warming scare mongers would be all in favor of clothes lines. The real inconvenient truth is that their just a bunch of hypocrites.

[poodlecamper]

My dtr lives in a condo. Here in CT, the hottest days often cool down quite a bit at night---so we put a fan in the window to draw the cool air in. My dtr is not allowed fans in the window---sweat, or put on the central air!!! Yes, even in her very tiny complex she had a couple, retired, who lived to report any infractions. (Halloween decorations up too long!!Eeeeek!!!!)Thank goodness they finally moved.I've lived in 5 towns in the same state(my whole 55 years)---guess I'm used to seeing boats, etc in people's yards. Just doesn't bother me. If you like it, that's ok--but when we move to a coastal area, I would hate to have to pay to store a boat AND camper. I guess HOA's serve a purpose, glad they can be avoided, though.

[tigerlily]

Originally Posted by PDXmom

This one gets me! Considering how dang hot it gets in NC in the summer I will not want to run the dryer. All it's going to do is make the AC work harder. Not to mention the environmental benefits of a clothes line.

Ok, I wouldn't hang my underwear outside to dry. They fit on a drying rack in the bathroom where only my family has to see them.

I use to work with a gal from New Zealand and she thought it was terrible that more Americans did not use a clothes line. She said no self respecting Kiwi would live without one.

I figure I'll just put a retractable on on a screened in porch. See if I can get away with that.

I've hung clothes out in Texas and Utah. Right now, I use one of those collapsible racks right outside my back door (hidden from neighbor's view) so I hang just about anything out when it's warm. Some of the stuff you have to careful with cause the sun is a natural bleach. It helps the environment, my pocketbook and it's dang good exercise. Another plus for a screened porch -- maybe it'll keep the yellow pollen off my clothes. LOL
P.S. My best friend from TX was a native New Zealander.

[md to nc]

I have a good one. Our HOA guidelines state that a storage shed has to be approved, both style and location in your yard. And the architecture of the shed should be similar to your home. But no "barns" are permitted, no exception. Now most houses have your typical gable roof, but our elevation has a "dutch barn" type roof. In other words, if you look at it from the side, it looks just like a dutch barn. But no "barns" are permitted, does this make any sense? They can build my house like a barn but I can't have a storage shed that is just like my roof line, a barn. LOL my dh and I are still laughing over this. And believe me there are many more "idiot" rules in our guidelines. Also what I noticed when I read over the rules before putting the contract on the house is that when you actually move it is when you realize how controlling they really are, by that time it is too late.

[ducter]

I am currently dealing with an association in Wake county that has covenants but no HOA and the builder just finished without creating an HOA. Now some people want to create an HOA stating the below link means that a 20lot or more sub. built recently will HAVE TO HAVE ONE!

link http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedL...apter_47F.html

I am getting a lawyer to look at this but this is geting to be too much control of others.

Developers should build more without an hoa so at least non fans can go buy a house without one and have it stay that way.

[tigerlily]

Originally Posted by ducter

Developers should build more without an hoa so at least non fans can go buy a house without one and have it stay that way.

I'm glad you and others are posting these HOA horror stories. It's narrowed our choices because we won't waste time looking at HOA neighborhoods. We have a neighborhood association that only springs into action when some city action threatens the entire neighborhood; i.e, the opening up our subdivision streets to increased traffic. I would be amenable to that arrangement in Raleigh-Durham.

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by ducter

I am currently dealing with an association in Wake county that has covenants but no HOA and the builder just finished without creating an HOA. Now some people want to create an HOA stating the below link means that a 20lot or more sub. built recently will HAVE TO HAVE ONE!

link http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedL...apter_47F.html

I am getting a lawyer to look at this but this is geting to be too much control of others.

Developers should build more without an hoa so at least non fans can go buy a house without one and have it stay that way.

Fight them, ducter!
I see where a planned community is the focus of that act. Are you in a planned community?
Get a good Real Estate attorney.

[ducter]

Originally Posted by MikeJaquish

Fight them, ducter!
I see where a planned community is the focus of that act. Are you in a planned community?
Get a good Real Estate attorney.

Talked to a lawyer and she said that no place in NC is forced to have an HOA regardless of it being a planned commmunity. The law that I mentioned I was told is just to show how much power an HOA has if it exists. they were very familiar with the law.

The best way to know if you could deal with an HOA is to talk with someone that lives in a sub that you are considering. See how it works