Lakewood Ranch HOA Horror Stories (Tampa, Sarasota: HOA fees, landscaping, gated)

[Ladywithafan]

Originally Posted by Tetto

Geez, my wife and I had better do our homework or we could end up in the middle of a geriatric lynch mob!

I made a mistake in when I started in property mgt.( it's 2004 not 1994) but couldn't change it.

Anyhow, yes, you could end up in a geriatric lynch mob; one of the properties we have makes very good use of their violation program. The violation letters come from the management office and that prompts the homeowners to hate the management company when, actually, it is the rules & regulations committee who contact us, the management company, to send violation notices. There are first, second with fine information & finally third notices that state the fine of the violation. Because these violations come from the management firm, the homeowner will call us complaining about the violation, asking us if we have nothing better to do than send notices, and /or tell us they never received the violation letter(s).

As I said, once again, read those condo docs & rules & regulations before you commit to purchasing a home or condominium unit!

[bbronston]

I stopped in today to Lakewood Ranch Town Hall and asked to speak to the person responsible for rules enforcement for the Greenbrook Village Association. I spoke with the Property Management Coordinator for Greenbrook and asked her about the mezuzah question. She said she there are no restrictions at all on mezuzahs, that she has been in the position for two years, and that she's never heard of anyone having a problem in that regard. She was also very quick to say that she was fully aware of what a mezuzah was and that she thought it would be unconstitutional to restrict them anyway. Obviously, this was not someone who would send out a letter or fine someone for a mezuzah on their door jamb.

Thinking that marcyphiladelphia was not making this up, I asked the manager if she thought it might have been possible that someone might have been cited before she went into her position. After thinking it over, she did invent a hypothetical scenario whereby one of the inspectors, who periodically check for rule infractions, might have seen a particularly visible mezuzah and, not knowing what it was, mistakenly reported it as an unapproved exterior wall decoration. (Wall decorations are permitted, by the way, but must have association approval before being placed.) In that case, a letter would have gone to the owner and, if the owner contacted Town Hall to explain what it was, the matter would have been dropped. I asked if they ever had situations where homeowners didn't respond to a letter and she said that it happens fairly often. Apparently, she said, these owners get upset about the letter and get angry with the association, but then do nothing about it which only escalates the problem.

IF someone reading this were to have experienced a situation similar to the hypothetical situation she described, I would suggest that they contact this person and straighten out the misunderstanding. Bottom line, though...there is no prohibition of mezuzahs in Greenbrook as was stated previously in this thread.

One more thing...while I was there, one of the town hall service people at the front desk overheard "mezuzah" and mentioned that the LWR Info Center had received a call about mezuzahs being prohibited just recently so clearly the misinformation that was spread thru this thread was not helpful to those who want to know the truth.

[Tetto]

Originally Posted by Ladywithafan

I made a mistake in when I started in property mgt.( it's 2004 not 1994) but couldn't change it.

Anyhow, yes, you could end up in a geriatric lynch mob; one of the properties we have makes very good use of their violation program. The violation letters come from the management office and that prompts the homeowners to hate the management company when, actually, it is the rules & regulations committee who contact us, the management company, to send violation notices. There are first, second with fine information & finally third notices that state the fine of the violation. Because these violations come from the management firm, the homeowner will call us complaining about the violation, asking us if we have nothing better to do than send notices, and /or tell us they never received the violation letter(s).

As I said, once again, read those condo docs & rules & regulations before you commit to purchasing a home or condominium unit!

Thank you for the information, it's very helpful. It will be interesting to see the communities there and compare and contrast one from another. Coming from Connecticut, it will certainly be a welcome change!

[marcyphiladelphia]

As I stated here in a previous post:
======================

My "Holiday Decoration" was still visible after the 15th. It was a multi-colored one. After it appeared as though we "Took it down", we put our less conspicuous one up. I don't believe that we have similar protection that TX has
with HB-1278 section 202.018 and therefore the HOA can get away with this because, after all, an HOA is not the government.
Since you can't get to your PDFs, here's the section.

Decorations

"Homeowner option. Holiday decorations are welcome. They may be regulated as to quantity, nature and how long they may remain in place. Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa decorations may be displayed from Thanksgiving Day to January
(15) fifteenth."

And Here:
======================

How is asking for Horror Stories relating to the Lakewood Ranch HOA inflammatory?
Is it because it's not your opinion and perhaps the rest of the realty community? I am positive that this site is not called www.city-data-only-positive-things -about-hoas.com. I am also positive that this is not the "Sarasota - Bradenton - Venice area good things about HOAS" forum.

If you do not know that the HOA in "Our" community has a history of being overly strict then that is your fault. I live in GREENBROOK in the CROSSINGS subdivision. If you look at the FINANCIALS for just GREENBROOK (I understand that for some strange reason you cannot access the lwrdv.com) you will see how much they bring in on fines / administration fees. What we cannot see is who and what those "Memos" refer to nor do I expect those with issues to post their "MEMOS" here although it would be nice but I asked for what? STORIES!!! I was sited in 09 for my "decorations." I will make an effort to retrieve this from the town hall so that I can post it here so that you can begin your "investigation".

Is it going to ever be possible to get on "Topic"?

Greenbrook HOA Fines a lot of Home owners in Lakewood Ranch. While you're there next time ask them for the number of Homes in Greenbrook that were sited for violations. Ask them for the figures if they are so forthright with their information. According to their Budget Documents within LWRDV.com those numbers, to me, looks like 12% of the homes in the most recent budgetary documents.

I apologize for this thread. It obviously struck some Realtors in a bad way and several other people. City-data.com isn't for people like me. It is very hard to maintain a topic here if not impossible. I've been told, "If you don't like it here then leave." Before I do though, may I propose that, "If you don't like a topic, then don't post in it."

This topic was simply meant to be a place to post "HOA Horror stories" instead it ended up being "City-data.com Horror Stories."

BBRONSTON, I swear, if I ever need a REALTOR, I shall most certainly look you up. You are as fiesty as I am

Farewell and by the way, I really do adore the Sarasota / Bradenton Area. I really do and especially the Lakewood Ranch Area.

[FLSnowbirds]

I called Lakewood & spoke to them . The lady basically laughed and said the Mezuzah story is BS. She said there are many homeowners that have the approximate 6 inch Mezuzahs on the exterior door frames at the entrance of their homes.

I am sure there are horror stories at Lakewood like other HOA properties but this Mezuzah horror story doesn't pass the smell test

[Obrero]

Originally Posted by FLSnowbirds

I called Lakewood & spoke to them . The lady basically laughed and said the Mezuzah story is BS. She said there are many homeowners that have the approximate 6 inch Mezuzahs on the exterior door frames at the entrance of their homes.

I am sure there are horror stories at Lakewood like other HOA properties but this Mezuzah horror story doesn't pass the smell test

Well can't say I am shocked...but thanks to you and BB for doing the legwork in proving this BS.

[capenewfs]

Wow, thank you for the information, we currently live in Massachusetts and have dogs and bunnies, doesnt sound like Lakewood ranch would be acceptable. Our realtor sent us a few listings in that development. He thought Gulf Gate and Palmer Ranch might work. Does anyone know of a location in Sarasota where it wouldn't be so uptight? Is Prestancia dog unfriendly as well? We have a Newfoundland and Old English sheepdog.

[Sunshine Rules]

Are you bringing the bunnies with you? If so, I would leave Palmer and Lakewood Ranches off my short list.

You'd fare better with Gulf Gate or the South Gate area.

[capenewfs]

We are interested in moving within a few hours of Tampa with three dogs, one is a Newfoundland. It sounds like Lakewood Ranch would drive us nuts. Any suggestions? Does any one know if Whitfield area is more relaxed? Lakewood Ranch sounds like boot camp

[capenewfs]

Also, Lakewood Ranch and Palmer Ranch seem so rigid that I would have to give up gardening. Is there anywhere on the west coast that isn't so Stepford like? We live in Massachusetts, the historic commission is rigid in terms of architecture but every house doesn't look exactly like the one next to it.