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I know this is an old debate but ... I'm just so PO'd right now.
I haven't been involved with HOA's for years and I swore that I would never do it again. However, I'm currently renting in a very nice neighorhood where there's an HOA. Because it is so nice and my bad experiences were so many years ago ... we decided to rethink our position and had pretty much settled on buying here (although we haven't, thankfully, bought anything yet).
Consequently, we decided to unload our stuff in storage from PODS, the well known storage people. They dropped off the POD in the driveway on Thursday and picked it up on Friday. It was always in our driveway ... it never blocked the street.
Even though the POD was there less than 24 hours, the HOA immediately fired off a letter to our landlord complaining about it. I mean ... these people must be overtly hostile ... waiting in the wings ready to pounce on anything. They never talked to us, they didn't even give it 24 hours ...
We don't have a right to unload storage items? Our landlord (who is not an HOA fan) told us that the HOA president is down the street and he's paid $10K a year to do this nonsense.
Whatever ... we won't be buying here now. It is, afterall, a buyers market with plenty of other places to go.
Sounds like your HOA is a bit picky. I am a board member on an HOA, and if you were in our neighborhood, all you would have had to do was give a member a call and explain what you were up to.
We recently had a home owner request permission to park his very large boat in the driveway for two weeks, so he could have some repair done on the garage it's usually parked in. He was granted permission with no problem. All we ask is that you notify us when something unusual is taking place.
Last year, the same person asked permission to place an outhouse in front of his home for workers doing the remodeling. We allowed him to place in behind the fence on his property, but certainly not in the street in front.
We are easy to get along with, if you just communicate. My yearly pay for my duties is ZIP...!
I've never lived in a neighborhood with an HOA, but I've heard so many stories like this I won't even consider it. I'm hoping to retire next summer and move to the gulf coast area of Florida. The restrictions in some of these communities are ridiculous. I can understand homeowners wanting to keep their property values up, and restricting others from parking abandoned cars in their yards or not otherwise maintaining their properties is understandable. But too many associations just go to extremes, and I couldn't ever feel comfortable in my own home thinking I might do something trivial that would arouse the ire of some vigilante on the committee. In addition, I am very wary about being responsible for the HOA fees and having no control over how high they may go.
This is ridiculous. Nothing personal but ... HOA's can go straight to hell. You guys can power trip on someone else because I'm not going to allow anybody to control my life and property like this.
The one brief time I met the association president he said he was going to send me a copy of the rules ... but he never did. Consequently, I didn't know I was supposed to notify anyone.
Since he didn't send us the rules as promised ... he could have nicely and politely let us know this was a problem. Afterall, he lives right down the street.
But no ... classic HOA ... they've gotta be complete jerks.
This is actually good because it reminds me that nothing has changed in the years since I swore I would never do an HOA again.
Better that I find out now rather than later so, for that, I am grateful.
Sounds like your HOA is a bit picky. I am a board member on an HOA, and if you were in our neighborhood, all you would have had to do was give a member a call and explain what you were up to.
We recently had a home owner request permission to park his very large boat in the driveway for two weeks, so he could have some repair done on the garage it's usually parked in. He was granted permission with no problem. All we ask is that you notify us when something unusual is taking place.
Last year, the same person asked permission to place an outhouse in front of his home for workers doing the remodeling. We allowed him to place in behind the fence on his property, but certainly not in the street in front.
We are easy to get along with, if you just communicate. My yearly pay for my duties is ZIP...!
You're kinda proving the poster's point. You have to ask "permission"? She might as well move back home with Mom and Dad.
I've never lived in a neighborhood with an HOA, but I've heard so many stories like this I won't even consider it. I'm hoping to retire next summer and move to the gulf coast area of Florida. The restrictions in some of these communities are ridiculous. I can understand homeowners wanting to keep their property values up, and restricting others from parking abandoned cars in their yards or not otherwise maintaining their properties is understandable. But too many associations just go to extremes, and I couldn't ever feel comfortable in my own home thinking I might do something trivial that would arouse the ire of some vigilante on the committee. In addition, I am very wary about being responsible for the HOA fees and having no control over how high they may go.
Yeah well ... there's a reason you see realtors advertising ...
"No HOA!!!"
It's actually become a selling point and I certainly understand why.
This is ridiculous. Nothing personal but ... HOA's can go straight to hell. You guys can power trip on someone else because I'm not going to allow anybody to control my life and property like this.
The one brief time I met the association president he said he was going to send me a copy of the rules ... but he never did. Consequently, I didn't know I was supposed to notify anyone.
Since he didn't send us the rules as promised ... he could have nicely and politely let us know this was a problem. Afterall, he lives right down the street.
But no ... classic HOA ... they've gotta be complete jerks.
This is actually good because it reminds me that nothing has changed in the years since I swore I would never do an HOA again.
Better that I find out now rather than later so, for that, I am grateful.
I totally agree. I swore them away a good five years ago.
After eight years in an HOA community. Now, its great to
be free again
I know this is an old debate but ... I'm just so PO'd right now.
I haven't been involved with HOA's for years and I swore that I would never do it again. However, I'm currently renting in a very nice neighorhood where there's an HOA. Because it is so nice and my bad experiences were so many years ago ... we decided to rethink our position and had pretty much settled on buying here (although we haven't, thankfully, bought anything yet).
Consequently, we decided to unload our stuff in storage from PODS, the well known storage people. They dropped off the POD in the driveway on Thursday and picked it up on Friday. It was always in our driveway ... it never blocked the street.
Even though the POD was there less than 24 hours, the HOA immediately fired off a letter to our landlord complaining about it. I mean ... these people must be overtly hostile ... waiting in the wings ready to pounce on anything. They never talked to us, they didn't even give it 24 hours ...
We don't have a right to unload storage items? Our landlord (who is not an HOA fan) told us that the HOA president is down the street and he's paid $10K a year to do this nonsense.
Whatever ... we won't be buying here now. It is, afterall, a buyers market with plenty of other places to go.
These morons can go harass someone else.
This is the kind of assinine behavior that made us decide to NEVER AGAIN deal with this kind of mentality. We have 26 acres where we can do anything we want without some tight-assed moron having something to say about it. For some reason being an "officer" of a HOA/POA appeals to the most psychotic control freaks in the universe, and I'll have nothing to do with them.
My advice, when looking for real estate, is to seek out those two magic words...."no restrictions". I'm certainly glad that I did.
The one brief time I met the association president he said he was going to send me a copy of the rules ... but he never did. Consequently, I didn't know I was supposed to notify anyone.
Since he didn't send us the rules as promised ... he could have nicely and politely let us know this was a problem. Afterall, he lives right down the street.
Your landlord is responsible for giving you the rules and your compliance with them. Many HOAs will only communicate with the owner because there is nothing in it for them to tango with someone else's tennants.
It is curious when people who dislike the concept end up living in an HOA and bucking the system.
A you say, there are so many choices out there, why bother with an HOA, if it's not your cup of tea ?
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