HOA - no yard art? (Houston, Austin: insurance, houses, landscaping)

[HappyTexan]

That's always been my biggest concern about HOA's..runaway board members and loosely defined rules open to interpretation.

[love roses]

That's what happened in our neighborhood in Denver. I was on the ARC, and we always went round and round with the board president, who, because he was a lawyer, everyone thought he would do a fair job. Boy, were they wrong. (I can say that cause I didn't vote for him! )

[chimera]

Not all HOA's are created equal...just as not all homeowners want the same thing for their neighborhood...

Since I made a major investment in my home and know from experience how lack of enforcement of deed restrictions can decimate property values, I welcome a strong HOA....and sought out a community that has one.

Adherence to HOA rules are part of a purchase agreement...buyers have to sign off on them when closing on the property. But obviously a buyer needs to read them closely so nothing will come as a surprise later!

I just wish some realtors were more conscientious about informing buyers about HOA requirements. It's not fair to the home buyer nor the community when a home is sold to someone who doesn't know or objects to the rules.
Why have a Homeowners Associations?

[atlanta hope]

Originally Posted by chimera

Adherence to HOA rules are part of a purchase agreement...buyers have to sign off on them when closing on the property. But obviously a buyer needs to read them closely so nothing will come as a surprise later!

I just wish some realtors were more conscientious about informing buyers about HOA requirements. It's not fair to the home buyer nor the community when a home is sold to someone who doesn't know or objects to the rules.
Why have a Homeowners Associations?

I didn't know that -- that's good to know.

Yes, I'm with you about being informed. Realtors should be able to tell the homebuyer what they're getting themselves into!

[atlanta hope]

Originally Posted by love roses

Ya'll can keep that boring place to yourselves J/K! I like decorations. Not in excess for everyday, but during Christmas and Halloween I like seeing everything done up. We have a neighbor down the road who does the front of his house like a cemetery with funny headstones he wrote on himself, and makes his front porch and garage like a haunted house. At Christmas, we joke that he's the Chevy Chase character from Christmas vacation.

Okay, what neighborhood are you in? That's the kind of stuff I like... and will be doing too!

[jhwest]

I think the word "art" is used extremely loosely here. If it were actually art I think most people would not object. Maybe anti-art would be the proper term (How about those boards painted to look like a fat lady bending over. Aren't her bloomers cuuuute?"

[Condo Owner in Hackensack]

The bottom line I believe is to fully understand what you are getting into and then be certain that you can live with the choice that best suit you.
I would not have a problem, if I believed those who govern are doing so with all fairness. Those in charge, board and management companies should be working in the best interest of those they serve and not themselves.
That is when it becomes a sticky and a nightmarish experience.
Although I love my home, sadly, I believe that my next will be in a free standing community.
I believe that it may be impossible to please everyone, but there should be proper forums and ways to conduct business to ensure that the voice and the desires of the owners are met. Of course, on the flip side, many owners are complacent and just rely on a few people to make decisions and run the show, until they face a problem and then uncover the hidden truth when they realize that the rules in existence seem to work against them, not for them. Of course, I have a long tale, I could share....another time.

[readymade]

Originally Posted by jhwest

I think the word "art" is used extremely loosely here. If it were actually art I think most people would not object.

YIKES!
The whole POINT of art is that it's subjective! If everyone liked it then it's not art. Look at Warhol, Duchamp, Pollack, Van Gogh, etc...

I will be staying far FAR away from HOAs

[b. frank]

Originally Posted by readymade

YIKES!
The whole POINT of art is that it's subjective! If everyone liked it then it's not art. Look at Warhol, Duchamp, Pollack, Van Gogh, etc...

I will be staying far FAR away from HOAs

Exactly. We call a hideous inflatable Santa "yard art". The point isn't to discern art from non-art. It's to decide whether you want to live in a neighborhood where expression of your own tastes is forbidden or not.
If people absolutely despise inflatable Santa Clause, then they should probably live with an HOA. I don't like those things much myself but they symbolize the freedom that exists in my neighborhood and that is more important to me than whether my neighbors have bad taste in art.

And, yes, my neighborhood has no HOA and there are PLENTY of large inflatables of all sorts. They are hideously ugly and I love them.

[love roses]

Our dream house will not be in an area with an HOA Although ours does allow inflatables during Holidays.