HOAs and Christmas decorations (Austin, West: sales, real estate, foreclosure)

[burlshoe114]

Hi!
So we have decided HOA is the way for us to go. My one question is about outdoor Christmas decorations.
We usually like to put up a pretty good display that involves about 10-15 lighted blow molds and lights, lights, lights. We are always fathful about taking it all down the day after New years, so do you think this would be something a HOA would be okay with?

[love roses]

I know in our HOA they encourage decorating and we have a christmas light/decoration contest with a gift card as prize. It would depend on the HOA, but I don't think most of them around here are really that strict about Holiday decorations.

[CarnivalGal]

We're in Steiner Ranch, where the HOA is notoriously strict. But they actually encourage people to put up holiday decorations - contests and such.

[burlshoe114]

Originally Posted by mm57553

We're in Steiner Ranch, where the HOA is notoriously strict. But they actually encourage people to put up holiday decorations - contests and such.

What sort of things are they strict about?

[Vector28]

You would be best off checking the specific regulations where you think you might buy. Most I've seen are pretty general and only deal with when they can go up and when they must come down but I am aware of one - not in the Austin or nearby area - that specifically dictates that you do decorate and sets minimums for lights, etc.

[CAtoTX09]

Texas HOAs seem to be pretty laid back with things like that. Most aren't hardcore nazi-style HOAs like you have in Arizona and Florida, though I'm sure a few exist.

The thing is to get a copy of the CC&Rs and read them before you sign anything. In many cases the realtor and/or seller either don't have them or will refuse to provide them, in which case you either need to find them online or go to the county recorder's office and pay for a copy.

I also have specific requirements when it comes to HOAs and won't even make an offer on a house until I've read the CC&Rs front to back and had a real estate attorney clarify any ambiguities for me.

[HappyTexan]

I'm in agreement with CAtoTX09. Read them all over and thoroughly understand them.
If you cannot live with the rules in there then don't buy. Life will be much easier for you then trying to buy with HOA rules that you think you can ignore or modify on your own..doesn't quite work that way.

[IC_deLight]

First of all, HOAs aren't "logical" entities. The control and behavior of the HOA varies with the composition of the board. Invariably, board members and HOA management companies strive to create an oligarchy where the vast majority of the members are wholly disenfranchised.

Second, reading the restrictive covenants really offers little protection with respect to use and enjoyment of your property. Board members are usually encouraged by HOA management companies to "interpret" or "re-define" restrictive covenants so as to generate fines, collection fees, and other fees for the benefit of the management company. You will notice a distinct pattern of this type of behavior (along with creation of "fining" and the "priority of payment" scam), for example, with HOAs managed by Associa-member management companies. The practices are also generally found where CAI-member management companies are involved. CAI is a trade group representing primarily the interests of HOA management companies and HOA attorneys.

As to whether reading provides you with the required information, consider requesting subdivision information including the management company windfall document called a "resale certificate". The statutory requirements for subdivision information don't require the HOA management company to provide "resolutions" or other such documents that purport to create "fines" even when there is no such authority set forth in the restrictive covenants. These "resolutions" are also where the "priority of payment" scam diversion of your assessments are buried. This of course is the mechanism used by unscrupulous management companies to extort fines, management company fees, and HOA attorney fees by threatening you with foreclosure lest you pay.

You might a high correlation between the existence of these "resolutions" and the presence of Alliance Association Management in the Austin area. By casting them as "resolutions", the existence is hidden by omission from the subdivision information.

A signature is required for a valid resale certificate. The lack of signature creates a problem for the purchaser because the certificate is required to be signed to provide an estoppel against the management company pursuing a claim for anything that existed but was not listed on the resale certificate at the time of preparation of the resale certificate. The invalid certificate is beneficial to the management company of course, but not to the buyer. Don't blame the seller. The seller has very little control - this is all the management company's business practices.

Avoiding HOA-burdened property is difficult in the Austin area. However, the search is worth avoiding "drive by spies" looking for "violations", constant threats, ongoing litigation, ever increasing assessments, groveling for permission to put up holiday decorations, unscrupulous vendors, perpetual liens on your property, etc.

I have attached one document to illustrate to you the type of powers that HOA boards grant themselves over homeowners in Associa-member management company "managed" subdivisions. Another document is attached and illustrates Alliance's involvement in Westcave Estates. I understand WCE finally dumped Alliance after considerable havoc was wreaked on homeowners. (see "Private Fining" for attachment) //www.city-data.com/forum/austi...stin-hoas.html

[burlshoe114]

But I want an HOA. It is one of the reasons why I want to move to Austin - to get away from people who are allowed to let their homes rot, people with un-tended chickens in their backyard, people who have painted giant ugly murals on the sides of their houses, people who turn their houses and yards into giant homeless camps in the name of God....
A good Oligarchy of Mr. Clean tyrany is exactly what I want from now on!

[IC_deLight]

Originally Posted by burlshoe114

But I want an HOA. It is one of the reasons why I want to move to Austin - to get away from people who are allowed to let their homes rot, people with un-tended chickens in their backyard, people who have painted giant ugly murals on the sides of their houses, people who turn their houses and yards into giant homeless camps in the name of God....
A good Oligarchy of Mr. Clean tyrany is exactly what I want from now on!

Not sure what neighborhood you are referring to. An HOA doesn't guarantee any of that. Moreover, there is no HOA in some of the most desirable real estate in Austin. The only thing the HOA is going to guarantee is endless litigation, constant disputes, perpetual liens on your property, and all of the previously mentioned problems. The only "clean" you'll get is a cleaning out of your bank account.

Funny, your attitude was similar to that of a homeowner that purchased a very expensive home in my neighborhood. He actually believed that an HOA represented the homeowners and that it was a "benign" dictatorship. After paying about $1.1 million for his home and shortly after expressing his support for such a "benign" dictatorship, he found himself the subject of threatening letters and private "fines" from the HOA. After a few months, he put his house on the market and was one of the few fortunate enough to be able to escape. The Realtors loved the two sales transactions just months apart. The former staunch supporter lost all desire for HOAs after that experience and learned that a dictatorship with private fining was not such a good thing after all. At least his education came at his own expense.

You might want to see if your soon to be new masters (HOA board members) have been advised by the management company to adopt a "resolution" regarding the priority of payment of assessments. This is typically adopted in conjunction with a fining policy. The management companies have a playbook for extorting money from gullible homeowners such as yourself. Sometimes, the HOA attorneys are involved early on and you might find the priority of payment scam implemented directly into the restrictive covenants. Check out the declarant controlled Ledge Stone subdivision for an example of that. Many of the newer ones have created "transfer fees" requiring you to pay a percentage of the sales price of your home to a developer-controlled entity.

You shouldn't have any problem finding a regime to live in, they are everywhere in Austin. Choose one of the newer developer-controlled subdivisions like Mueller, Ledge Stone, Belterra, etc. or others where you will be slave to one or more developer controlled "associations" and forced to purchase services from developer specified vendors. The newer ones have real thick sets of restrictions to enable finding you "in violation" of virtually anything.