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Minor quibble, but I swear, I may let him rear-end me one day. The road leading to our neighborhood is one lane and 35 mph speed limit. He wants to drive around 55mph and slide into the neighborhood on two wheels, then keep on flying down the hill. Problem is, we're the first driveway, so what am I supposed to do? Turn in my driveway at top speed to allow him to continue speeding by?
We have this too and it's terrifying because kids and dog walkers are always in the street, which is a loop. I already saw an entire family almost get taken out.
You could try contacting the police and ask them to set up a speed trap if the time of day is consistent. I knew a kid growing up that had a lead foot. His mom and dad had put paper letters (before the days of email and such) around their house from concerned neighbors urging them to do something. A few months after the last time I was at his house, he was in a wreck (he was the driver of course) where he was killed (decapitated), the passenger in his car died and the passenger in the other car critically injured (not sure of outcome). The old saying about intervening saving lives is true.
This is a very good point. I need to keep an eye out to see if this calms down. This vehicle is VERY new.
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We have this too and it's terrifying because kids and dog walkers are always in the street, which is a loop. I already saw an entire family almost get taken out.
I totally get the urge to let him rear end you!
I swear... it's bad to think that way, but would it be so horrible to slow down to turn into a neighborhood and NOT to try to drive 20-plus miles over the limit?
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I'm certainly not the most law abiding driver when it comes to speed limits on random roads, but in neighborhoods where kids are playing, other places where it's called for, I stick to it. 35 is more than enough for most neighborhoods. I would drive how I needed to drive to turn in and forget what he says. In fact, after a couple of times I would probably slow to about 5 miles an hour.
I am SO tempted sometimes. I really am. I don't want to control the driving speed of everyone on the road by a long shot, but he's gonna hurt someone.
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I've seen RPD in my neighborhood enforcing the 4-way stop near the entrance, so calling does get action.
A number of neighbors have taken to calling out reckless driving on Nextdoor.com, although one neighbor was very vocal in her opposition to the public shaming, suggesting instead, the parents be contacted personally. Knocking on the door of someone I don't know to complain about their kid's driving is not something I would do in 2016.
HOAs will try to set all kinds of rules that would never stand up in court. Until they get challenged, they will stay. The stained roof seems over the top to me. My HOA recently passed the "garbage cans in back" rule. Honestly, with the standardized trash and recycling cans from Raleigh, it didn't seem to be unsightly to me.
HOAs will try to set all kinds of rules that would never stand up in court. Until they get challenged, they will stay.
Even if true, it's irrelevant unless the homeowner wants to win on principle alone and has deep enough pockets to incur the expenses it's probably going to take in order to win a judgment against the HOA.
For example if you build a $20k garage and the HOA tells you the design is wrong and not what was approved, and you find out it's going to take another $4k to become compliant with the covenant, you have a bit of a dilemma:
1. Suing them could cost more than the modification cost $4k in legal fees, time off work, etc. and could result in a judgment against you, putting you in much worse shape than you were before you got started. This is the most probable outcome in most circumstances.
2. They will defend their side using HOA dues (so in effect you and your neighbors are paying their legal fees).
3. They may or may not also have an entire property management firm and their legal resources to pile on the pain at a much greater level than above, sending your legal fees even higher.
Many HOAs also have a member who practices law or has a family member etc. that does and can help pro-bono, which can give them an advantage in this fight.
So it might be worthwhile to sue them only if the cost of addressing the issue is extremely expensive, or the homeowner just wants to make a point.
At the end of the day it's much easier for the HOA to throw legal blows your way than it is vice versa (in most cases), so best pick those battles carefully. Better for most to be realistic about the situation, not imagine what might or might not hold up in court, go with the flow and follow the rules they signed up for when they bought the house.
I wouldn't go to court against a HOA unless there was some sort of personal battle where they were out to get me outside the rules of the covenant, and then I would have both a good reason to sue and a chance at winning.
I've seen RPD in my neighborhood enforcing the 4-way stop near the entrance, so calling does get action.
A number of neighbors have taken to calling out reckless driving on Nextdoor.com, although one neighbor was very vocal in her opposition to the public shaming, suggesting instead, the parents be contacted personally. Knocking on the door of someone I don't know to complain about their kid's driving is not something I would do in 2016.
I personally wouldn't randomly knock on someone's door, even to congratulate them on a beautiful holiday light display or whatever. Uninvited visits are rude, IMHO, even when well intentioned.
But I wouldn't hesitate to send them a certified letter with my concerns about the problem driver in their family. The fact that I saw those letters I described in my earlier post prominently displayed by the parents actually alerted me to how dangerous it was to ride in this guys car with him (because aside from the speeding he was not a bad guy). I did avoid that situation after that. They attempted to get a message across to him and it wasn't enough in that case, but at least they tried.
For all I know those written letters from concerned neighbors might have saved my life or maybe someone else's.
I personally wouldn't randomly knock on someone's door, even to congratulate them on a beautiful holiday light display or whatever. Uninvited visits are rude, IMHO, even when well intentioned.
But I wouldn't hesitate to send them a certified letter with my concerns about the problem driver in their family. The fact that I saw those letters I described in my earlier post prominently displayed by the parents actually alerted me to how dangerous it was to ride in this guys car with him (because aside from the speeding he was not a bad guy). I did avoid that situation after that. They attempted to get a message across to him and it wasn't enough in that case, but at least they tried.
For all I know those written letters from concerned neighbors might have saved my life or maybe someone else's.
I'd rather they not know it was me complaining. Some people are VERY petty. Trust me, I moderate this forum and I get some of the NASTIEST messages you could imagine here just for trying to do my job. Which is funny because I actually dislike giving infractions or warnings and will often just delete non-compliant posts and not do a thing in the world but delete them. I also have been known to reverse a decision if someone just wrote me a polite PM about it. Ah well. I try.
Sometimes, it's better to let something remain anonymous. Not to get people in trouble with the police or anything, but because it makes for a better relationship with neighbors.
Naturally, if I was good friends with a neighbor or even spoke to that neighbor on a somewhat regular basis, I would tell him/her if I had encountered an issue that might need addressing. But, neighbors I do not know and have not so much as waved at me while they zoomed by at high speed? Nope.
Not gonna go there. I have too many times assumed people would be agreeable when they were not.
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Even if true, it's irrelevant unless the homeowner wants to win on principle alone and has deep enough pockets to incur the expenses it's probably going to take in order to win a judgment against the HOA.
For example if you build a $20k garage and the HOA tells you the design is wrong and not what was approved, and you find out it's going to take another $4k to become compliant with the covenant, you have a bit of a dilemma:
1. Suing them could cost more than the modification cost $4k in legal fees, time off work, etc. and could result in a judgment against you, putting you in much worse shape than you were before you got started. This is the most probable outcome in most circumstances.
2. They will defend their side using HOA dues (so in effect you and your neighbors are paying their legal fees).
3. They may or may not also have an entire property management firm and their legal resources to pile on the pain at a much greater level than above, sending your legal fees even higher.
Many HOAs also have a member who practices law or has a family member etc. that does and can help pro-bono, which can give them an advantage in this fight.
So it might be worthwhile to sue them only if the cost of addressing the issue is extremely expensive, or the homeowner just wants to make a point.
At the end of the day it's much easier for the HOA to throw legal blows your way than it is vice versa (in most cases), so best pick those battles carefully. Better for most to be realistic about the situation, not imagine what might or might not hold up in court, go with the flow and follow the rules they signed up for when they bought the house.
I wouldn't go to court against a HOA unless there was some sort of personal battle where they were out to get me outside the rules of the covenant, and then I would have both a good reason to sue and a chance at winning.
I agree. I would never take my HOA to court unless they were attempting to force me to do something totally unreasonable that was way outside the bounds of the covenants and would cost me considerable money and/or inconvenience to comply with the request.
As for this trashcan issue, I'd really just built or buy one of those cute lattice things. It'll look nice and if the OP ever tries to sell, it will improve the curb appeal of the property.
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I'd rather they not know it was me complaining. Some people are VERY petty. Trust me, I moderate this forum and I get some of the NASTIEST messages you could imagine here just for trying to do my job. Which is funny because I actually dislike giving infractions or warnings and will often just delete non-compliant posts and not do a thing in the world but delete them. I also have been known to reverse a decision if someone just wrote me a polite PM about it. Ah well. I try.
Sometimes, it's better to let something remain anonymous. Not to get people in trouble with the police or anything, but because it makes for a better relationship with neighbors.
Naturally, if I was good friends with a neighbor or even spoke to that neighbor on a somewhat regular basis, I would tell him/her if I had encountered an issue that might need addressing. But, neighbors I do not know and have not so much as waved at me while they zoomed by at high speed? Nope.
Not gonna go there. I have too many times assumed people would be agreeable when they were not.
I don't really like the idea of confronting neighbors either. To me, that's one good aspect of an HOA, it provides an in-between mechanism to communicate compliance problems, without one neighbor needing to directly confront another. Assuming the covenant is thorough and/or covers the issue in question, there is a clear winner and the two neighbors never need to feud.
For reckless driving teen, I'd say an anonymous letter is just as good as any. Looking back on the experience I shared, I really don't remember even paying a lot of attention to whether all of these neighbors (I think there were 3 letters total) even signed their name, I do remember seeing at least one signature. I remember that the portions I read (admittedly not all) were nicely written letters that showed sincere interest in the son's safety. At first I thought the guy was mocking them by displaying them like that but he said no his parents did that. It indicated to me they were using it to hopefully remind him. If nothing else, I thought well at least if he gets a ticket and says the cop was wrong, at least his parents know who to believe.
I think a caring parent would appreciate knowing about the problem. I'm sure there are some parents who will blindly defend their child's actions no matter what, but they are the ones who will have the most regret if he gets killed or goes to jail for killing someone else.
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