I'll tell you what these HOA's in Tampa should be doing! (HOA fees, townhome)

[Sunnydee]

This is the first time we've ever lived in an HOA community. Where we came from, Ohio, HOAs weren't a common thing or even necessary. People took care of their homes to protect their investment and fit in with their neighbors. We never once had an issue and everyone seemed to understand the community standards. Neighbors also helped each other when it was warranted.

When we began searching for a home in Florida we quickly discovered it was a whole new ballgame. We saw really nice houses in non-HOA communities, but then saw cars on blocks, weird paint colors, overgrown yards, etc. within view. When I asked about this discrepancy our real estate agent, who is a Florida native, was kind enough to explain that if you don't want this view or variation it'd be a good idea to buy in an HOA community.
I was reluctant because I don't like people telling me what I can do with my property, but it became obvious that I wouldn't be happy with everyone doing their own thing in my line of sight, so we chose a home in a community with reasonable restrictions and it's been fine.

I believe most people know what they can tolerate and what they can't and choose a neighborhood that fits their comfort zone. It'd seem prudent to read the HOA documents, prior to buying a house, to make sure you can tolerate the restrictions, but no one can force you to do so. If you are really concerned and know your neighbor needs help, just help them, that's what we do in my neighborhood. It isn't the HOA's job to do this.

[tinytrump]

[quote=Sunnydee;36171238]This is the first time we've ever lived in an HOA community. Where we came from, Ohio, HOAs weren't a common thing or even necessary. People took care of their homes to protect their investment and fit in with their neighbors. We never once had an issue and everyone seemed to understand the community standards. Neighbors also helped each other when it was warranted.


so being a native Floridan we did not need HOA's INTIL the influx of snow birds came here and apparently needed to rule or needed ruling. You can see that in many older nice neighborhoods. who brought this gestapo mentality on us? I am gonna go do some research

[Tamatem]

I don't have a side to pick here because I could live with or without an HOA. But the comparison to nazis and the like is really distasteful.

YMMV

[tinytrump]

Homeowner association - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Homeowners associations first emerged in the United States in the mid-19th century. Their growth was limited, however, until the 1960s, when several factors led to a period of rapid national growth, including, a push towards large scale residential development by the Federal Housing Authority and the Urban Land Institute; an increasing cultural preference for architectural uniformity; a decline of readily available land; rising construction costs; and a modification of federal mortgage insurance rules to include cooperatives and condominiums.[citation needed] Early covenants and deed restrictions were exclusionary in origin, and in the first half of the 20th century many were racially motivated.
hmm hmm

HOAs Hisrory

HOAs originated in England and the idea of “private communities” first appealed to the wealthy in our country. By owning and maintaining all the amenities, including the roads, neighborhoods could be gated and/or protected from outsiders. These neighborhoods became exclusive. A growing nation-wide concern exists that HOAs have created a dangerous sub-government which overrides our Constitutional rights, and is becoming more and more powerful (some states will only allow common interest development now; others advocate converting older subdivisions into common interest developments). Nationwide; over 50 million homeowners now live in HOAs.

“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
-Benjamin Franklin

[MortonR]

Our HOA along with the previous HOA we dealt with were both pretty laid back.

I was on the board of our first HOA when it was handed over from the developer. As a Board we agreed to be a "nice" HOA as opposed to a "mean HOA".

That being said, it's equally important as a Board to communicate your "personality" to your management company. We do this when we first meet and select a management company, so they have a clear expectation of what is and isn't acceptable to us as a Board and a community.

As a result of this, our property manager will often email me or one of the other Board members to ask about violations. For example, we had a resident whose mother, a co-owner of the property, passed away without warning. Her son, the other owner, was in the hospital at the time dealing with a long term debilitating disease.

As you might expect, the property started getting overgrown and sort of seedy looking for lack of attention. Knowing that the remaining owner was in the hospital, we didn't bother sending violation letters, as it would have been a waste of time. We were able to contact him and ask if he was capable of making arrangement to maintain the property or if we should do it. He let us do it, and of course, the HOA billed him for the work until he was out of the hospital and able to deal with it himself. I would add that we billed him the exact cost of the service, too. We could have added management fees...

We have worked out payment plans for owners who are in arrears for dues. I know of only two occasions when we have pursued legal action to collect dues, and both were for owners who were grossly overdue (2-3 years) and were clearly ignoring our efforts to collect.

Our attitude is to treat our owners as our neighbors. More often than not, this has resulted in resolving situations to everyone's satisfaction and with little or no cost involved, if that were the case.

I will say that there are some things we are quick to address - those involve visual or appearance items that can be easily resolved. An example is window air conditioners, an item clearly prohibited in the convenants. You can have one in your back windows or somewhere not visible from the street. If you put one in your front window, you'll have a violation letter within a day or two and 10 days to respond/resolve.

The argument of "I don't want someone telling me what I can/can't do with my property" doesn't fly in a community with deed restrictions. You got two notices before you signed the papers - once when you made the offer to purchase and another at closing. If you chose to ignore them, then tough beans. You are now legally bound to abide by the covenants or face legal action.

The last owner that tried this argument ended up with a foreclosure action against their property and a $4800 bill they ended up paying. And this was over $200/year. Pretty stupid if you think about it....

RM

[cjrudy]

Originally Posted by moviefan

Then don't move into an HOA community.

If the rules are psychotic then we wont

[cjrudy]

Originally Posted by Sunnydee

This is the first time we've ever lived in an HOA community. Where we came from, Ohio, HOAs weren't a common thing or even necessary. People took care of their homes to protect their investment and fit in with their neighbors. We never once had an issue and everyone seemed to understand the community standards. Neighbors also helped each other when it was warranted.

When we began searching for a home in Florida we quickly discovered it was a whole new ballgame. We saw really nice houses in non-HOA communities, but then saw cars on blocks, weird paint colors, overgrown yards, etc. within view. When I asked about this discrepancy our real estate agent, who is a Florida native, was kind enough to explain that if you don't want this view or variation it'd be a good idea to buy in an HOA community.
I was reluctant because I don't like people telling me what I can do with my property, but it became obvious that I wouldn't be happy with everyone doing their own thing in my line of sight, so we chose a home in a community with reasonable restrictions and it's been fine.

I believe most people know what they can tolerate and what they can't and choose a neighborhood that fits their comfort zone. It'd seem prudent to read the HOA documents, prior to buying a house, to make sure you can tolerate the restrictions, but no one can force you to do so. If you are really concerned and know your neighbor needs help, just help them, that's what we do in my neighborhood. It isn't the HOA's job to do this.

Well said SunnyDee, we're in NY and there very few HOA's, if any. I definitely can see the benefits, currently I have neighbors across the street that keep thee Xmas lights up all year long and have boats sitting in there driveways. Thats exactly what an HOA is for, not for telling me when I can park in my driveway or how I can use my garage.

[Pragmaticus]

Originally Posted by cjrudy

Well said SunnyDee, we're in NY and there very few HOA's, if any. I definitely can see the benefits, currently I have neighbors across the street that keep thee Xmas lights up all year long and have boats sitting in there driveways. Thats exactly what an HOA is for, not for telling me when I can park in my driveway or how I can use my garage.

So, the HOA is complaining how you are parking in your driveway and saying nothing about the guy just a few distance from you with his boat out there? Wow, it seems to me this is selective enforcement. Crazy!

[Irishiis49]

I've told this story before...when we lived in the Eagles (Odessa)my son was given a graduation present of a Ford F-150 by his grandma...he was gone all summer in Umatilla as a camp counselor and the week before he started UF he was home...Yes we had a 3 car garage...but my husband and I both had SUV's and could not fit his truck in garage...so my son parked in driveway...well I can't tell you the fines and nasty letters from Eagles "security" that soon followed...I was under the impression that as long as it was for private use and not a truck with business lettering it was allowed...I mean this was a brand new clean non-commercial truck...well long story short "security" guy wouldn't back down and reported us to HOA that stated they would fine us $100 a night if the truck was parked in our driveway...we moved a short time later but I read one Eagles homeowner fought in court and won the right to park his own non-commercial truck in his own driveway...Oh and security didn't get anything($) from Santa that year...lol

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by Irishiis49

I've told this story before...when we lived in the Eagles (Odessa)my son was given a graduation present of a Ford F-150 by his grandma...he was gone all summer in Umatilla as a camp counselor and the week before he started UF he was home...Yes we had a 3 car garage...but my husband and I both had SUV's and could not fit his truck in garage...so my son parked in driveway...well I can't tell you the fines and nasty letters from Eagles "security" that soon followed...I was under the impression that as long as it was for private use and not a truck with business lettering it was allowed...I mean this was a brand new clean non-commercial truck...well long story short "security" guy wouldn't back down and reported us to HOA that stated they would fine us $100 a night if the truck was parked in our driveway...we moved a short time later but I read one Eagles homeowner fought in court and won the right to park his own non-commercial truck in his own driveway...Oh and security didn't get anything($) from Santa that year...lol

I think they would have a tough time enforcing that one.

I know that our covenants say nothing about what you park in your driveway as long as it's a currently registered vehicle and in running condition. No boats or RVs, however.

The guy who's mother died and couldn't deal with their home for a while had two trucks in his driveway that didn't move for several months. Not a big deal.

RM