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Old 05-28-2008, 04:15 PM
 
3,644 posts, read 10,917,721 times
Reputation: 5514

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HOAs target renters. We used to rent in an HOA neighborhood. It was the FIRST question I asked when we moved here... I did not want to deal with that again.

Notice after notice because a weed popped up that was less than 1" high (xeriscaping - I took photos with a ruler and sent them in lieu of payment of fees in the envelope provided) or other such offenses. One week, we were out to dinner and the trash collectors came late. We left the house for less than 2 hours, full cans when we left, brought back the empties when we returned. Got a fine letter. We got a bunch of fines because someone kept complaining that the tree in front was overgrown. Again, a camera with a view down the street, showing that the house we rented was the ONLY one WITHOUT an overgrown tree was my response. On windy days, if a piece of paper blew in the yard, I'd get a notice. I started taking daily photos of the front of the house. Thank God for digital cameras... it makes a neat progression of how the plants bloomed though.

I can't even count the number of notices and fines we were sent during the 3 years we lived in Albuquerque. We ended up paying $0, but it was a pain in the ass, nonetheless. After the notice was sent from the HOA, we'd get a notice from the PM, then the owner. Afterwhile, the PM did realize it wasn't "us" and started ignoring them, just asked me to document and respond to each accusation... at least one per week, every week.
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Old 05-28-2008, 04:16 PM
 
Location: in my house
1,385 posts, read 3,001,118 times
Reputation: 576
Interesting. I can't see to find the HOA for the Detroit area though.
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Old 05-28-2008, 07:29 PM
 
8,411 posts, read 39,198,510 times
Reputation: 6366
So what do they do if a HOA inspector is just basically nuts like that? Can you request a change of power?

To the o.p. - I am so jealous of you! I cant wait to say I am doing the same soon. Or perhaps buying. Of the houses that were rentals in the past the landlord took care of the yard. You can call the utility company to ask what the common cost of utilities are on that property (at least where I am from you can)

I dont think the LL can charge you to re-key all his properties. That sounds like an empty threat. Anyone know for sure? Because thats one of the things I would like to do if I go with a rental house. There really is no reason what so ever that the LL would even know because he shouldnt be inside without notice or reason or repair by my request. I would hang on to the old lock set of course. But it would be in the junk drawer not the door.
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Old 05-28-2008, 10:39 PM
 
3,644 posts, read 10,917,721 times
Reputation: 5514
Hanging on to the old set is a good idea. Personally, I'm not going to mess with it... he did forewarn us.

With the HOA we dealt with, the PM was still battling them when we moved out. As I had documented the problem from the beginning, it was clearly harassment. I don't know what the final solution was... the fines stay with the house. The person that answered the phone at the HOA office told us about a year into it that there was "Nothing I can do about that guy... you're not the only one having this problem. He just doesn't like renters."
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Old 05-29-2008, 06:02 AM
 
Location: Way up high
22,196 posts, read 29,229,212 times
Reputation: 31258
Sskkc-why didn't you legally go after the HOA for harassment? All you needed to do was go to an attorney and pay like $200 for them to write a threatening letter to the HOA. That's the first thing I would have done!
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Old 06-10-2008, 04:17 PM
 
Location: Boise, ID
8,046 posts, read 28,398,890 times
Reputation: 9470
As a property manager, I have seen both sides of this debate.

On occasion, the HOA will catch a serious issue before we learn about it, but usually, the stuff I hear about is minor minor. The number one complaints I hear are "Not taking care of yard" (and usually it is a valid complaint) and "Leaving garbage cans out for days" (so nitpicky, but also a city code here).

Our tenants are ALL required to pay all utilities and take care of all yard care. This is on houses, and on duplexes. This is normal in our market.

As for changing the locks, if the landlords lease says he will make you pay to rekey the rest, and you signed the lease, in most states, he can call it a fine, and probably get away with it. Our lease allows tenants to change the locks, but requires them to return the old locksets to us, along with the old keys, and a copy of the new key.

Lets see...what else?

In the apartment, you might not have been responsible to change the filters in the HVAC, whereas in the home, you probably are. You may or may not have had a breaker box and/or GFIs in your old apartment. My most common calls are when someone has a problem with tripped GFIs or when they've forgotten to change their air filters.

Someone mentioned sending things via certified mail rather than email. I will say I faaaaar prefer emails. They are easy to keep track of and much faster. Find out what your landlord prefers. You can always send the email "receipt requested". If a problem occurs, or if the landlord refuses to acknowledge the email, then you can go the certified letter route.

You said you were having trouble find the HOA for the area, that is because they are by subdivision, rather than by city. If the landlord won't give you the information, the best way I know of is to go see a local title company and ask them for a copy of the CCR's for the subdivision you are looking at. If you want to go further, they should be able to give you the contact name and number for the HOA president. If there is an active HOA for the subdivision, you might see if you can get on their email list. I know several of our rentals are in subs that send out newsletters about community events, and the HOA board is much more renter friendly if the renters make contact with them and give their contact information.
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Old 06-10-2008, 07:47 PM
 
Location: Central NC
414 posts, read 1,255,450 times
Reputation: 129
Yeah our PM didn't have a copy of the HOA rules/regs and we refused to sign the lease without receving a copy of them. One other thing to be aware of is that HOA violations apply to the history of the house, not tenant to tenant. Ask if there are any warnings or pending violations on file prior to signing your lease. You don't want to have to deal with that.
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Old 06-15-2008, 09:15 PM
 
48,505 posts, read 96,610,333 times
Reputation: 18304
Since rented houses bring down property values ;HOA's definitely target them. Taht is what HOA's are about protecting property values of owners.
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Old 06-18-2008, 07:49 AM
 
2,091 posts, read 7,496,250 times
Reputation: 2177
I rented a house for 10 years. I'll take that any day over an apartment or condo, even if I have to mow the lawn and weedwhack!
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