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Has anyone here ever dealt with their HOA adopting rules limiting "For Rent" signs. Yes, I am assuming I have no recourse if that is how the majority of the community votes, I'm just curious. They used to have a covenant that signs had to be on the property and "professional". I have basically understood these points and have purchased a metal sign holder (what many Realtors use) and a printed "For Rent" sign which contained an area to write my phone number. I have the place rented now and at the latest board meeting it was voted that "For Rent" signs must go in windows. I think this SEVERELY effects the marketing of a property as a sign in the window is far less visible.
There are actually a couple of Realtors who own and manage other properties in the neighborhood. I personally feel that this is another tactic to weed out properties owners like myself who self-manage, giving those who run or work with property management companies!
I politely ask those of you who are opposed to HOA to resist the urge to comment about your hatred of HOA and covenants... I know what I signed up for etc. I am asking for commentary of others who have had similar experiences.
Real estate covenants can't be amended at an HOA board meeting. Your bylaws would spell out the procedure for the property owners to approve an amendment (usually by super-majority vote), and the amendment would have to be filed in the county real estate records for it to apply against parcels in the development.
Was this the procedure followed in your neighborhood?
My HOA has adopted several policies lately which the board (3 people) voted on and passed. I thought that was a bit odd that they could do that. Glad to know they cannot. How do I go about getting these policies reversed? They have issued tickets to people for these new policies.
My advice would be to read your HOA bylaws and your real estate covenants very carefully. Understand the restrictions that are in place against your property, and how the HOA is to govern itself (board vs. homeowners authority, etc.).
Keep in mind that the covenants may give a bit of latitude to the board in their interpretation. A board may take a very strict interpretation, whereas a homeowner believes it should be more lax. The only way, ultimately, to determine which side is right is to take it to court - that's not often the best means to resolve a neighborhood dispute.
Overall, my general understanding is that an HOA board can adopt "rules" governing the administration of the association and its properties, subject to the bylaws, but they cannot impose additional restrictions on subject properties beyond those recorded in the convenants without amending the real estate covenants and following the legal processes required to do so. I'm sure there are others here with greater expertise on this.
When I lived in an HOA, none of the bylaws could be changed, or even voted on without a quorum, so it's odd that your board can vote on and change the bylaws at will. I agree with CHTransplant: Read over all your paperwork very carefully, then make sure you get all of neighbors to either attend the next meeting, or submit their vote by proxy. It sounds like you may need to change out your board members. How long is each position's term? Ours was 2 years or until the person moved out of the neighborhood.
You'll have to read your bylaws carefully. Ours state that all signs, for rent or sale, are subject to approval from the HOA. So they could vote not to allow any rental signs and be within the bylaws.
You'll have to read your bylaws carefully. Ours state that all signs, for rent or sale, are subject to approval from the HOA. So they could vote not to allow any rental signs and be within the bylaws.
One could argue that the authority to approve [the appearance of] a sign does not include the authority to ban signs.
My HOA has adopted several policies lately which the board (3 people) voted on and passed. I thought that was a bit odd that they could do that. Glad to know they cannot. How do I go about getting these policies reversed? They have issued tickets to people for these new policies.
Don't believe everything you read on the internet. They can do that.
Covenants cannot cover every single item that might come up. When they are vague or silent on an issue, it is up to the Board to set a rule (or not set one) via policy resolution. To do so, they normally vote at a meeting and notify the owners.
As long as it expands upon or clarifies the covenants, it's perfectly fine. A policy resolution can never directly contradict the covenants.
If your covenants say, "For Rent signs are allowed in yards" then their policy resolution is not enforceable. Considering I've read about 100 neighborhoods' covenants and never seen anything like that, I'd assume the policy resolution stands.
That being said, you can attend the next meeting and attempt to get them to change their minds. If the issue mattered to me, I would mock up a little presentation showing what homes with "For Rent" signs in the windows look like. I think they tend to look a little crappy, when the signs in the yard are just like "For Sale" signs to me.
It sounds like you may need to change out your board members. How long is each position's term? Ours was 2 years or until the person moved out of the neighborhood.
I'm going to get on my soapbox a little here. Without knowing much of the circumstances, and holding a completely incorrect assumption that the Board members are wrong, you come to the conclusion that they should be ousted.
People, I know this is not what this thread is necessarily about, but believe me, everyone's first idea about what to do seems to be to oust the board. What happens when you oust the board is that nothing gets done while all the progress resets. I've seen a lot of Board members get kicked out over homeowners' misunderstanding their roles, how rules came about, etc. So please figure out what is really going on before assuming that you should oust your volunteer board members (who will then feel like crap, hate the neighborhood, and never volunteer again). Also, it sets a nice precedent in the neighborhood that the next time you don't like something, just boot everyone out before trying to solve the issue.
OK, OK, I'll get off the soapbox now. Personal pet peeve there.
Yes the by-laws can limit the rent signs. Our by-laws do and the only way to chnage the by-laws is to getr the specified amount of residents to vote to change them. In my case we need 2/3 of the 700+ houses we have to change by-laws.
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