Be HOA aware (Colorado Springs, Pueblo: rentals, homeowners association, insurance)

[Vision67]

HOA head-scratcher: Northgate man threatened with lawsuit for re - KOAA.com | Continuous News | Colorado Springs and Pueblo

This is an interesting story about a homeowner wanting to replace a patch of dead grass with rocks.

"The 4-foot by 4-foot patch of grass right at the end of Kevin Sabata's driveway has been a constant thorn in his side. It's bordered on three sides by concrete or asphalt. There's hardly any shade because the trees in his Wildwood Ridge subdivision are little more than saplings. Despite all his efforts, Kevin just couldn't get the grass to grow.

"It just was not coming back," he said.

Before long, fines started coming in from the Wildwood Ridge Homeowners Association. So, in April of 2017, he sent a request the HOA seeking permission to change the landscaping and replace the dead grass with rocks. Months went by without a decision and Kevin got tired of waiting.

"I took a command decision on myself, and I said I'm tired of this grass and I'm putting in the mulch and I'm putting in the rocks because previous to this, I was getting fined for the same issue."

That got the board's attention. They denied his request and slapped him with a fine."

Personally, I think we should encourage Xeriscaping; watering bluegrass in this desert is a huge waste of water.

But I think the real story is just about power. If you buy a house in a HOA area, realize that you really must follow their rules. Over the years I've heard many stories about these power struggles and the HOAs usually win.

I know from experience that many people are either very pro-HOA or anti-HOA. I'm well aware of both sides. Although I prefer the freedom of not having an HOA I've seen too many examples of people doing things in a neighborhood that would be proscribed by a strict HOA.

Aside from dead lawns, RVs in the driveways, too many cars parked on the street, junk accumulations in yards and non earth tone paint, the recent big change is owners who turn their property into short term rentals using Air Bnb.

Before you buy a property, make sure you are informed about the HOA. It might be a good idea to interview your potential new neighbors to hear specific examples.

[LitFij]

But be aware that some of the items you mentioned are not governed by a HOA, but by city code.

[DrDog]

I would disagree with the idea that people are either very pro HOA or anti HOA. I see the HOA as a necessary evil. If people would take care of their homes and yards, HOA’s could for the most part go away.

[DoodlemomCoS]

Originally Posted by DrDog

I would disagree with the idea that people are either very pro HOA or anti HOA. I see the HOA as a necessary evil. If people would take care of their homes and yards, HOA’s could for the most part go away.

Unfortunately, what constitutes "taking care of their homes and yards" is a subjective thing. If I have 1 weed in my yard am I not taking care of things? If you hate the shade of white I used to trim my house in am I not taking care of my house "properly".

Of course we can all agree to the basic ideas of keeping our homes and yards neat and tidy but people have different opinions about what that means in execution. I think living in an HOA is great for those that like the rules spelled out in black and white. We lived in one for quite awhile. It was fine until my daughter was diagnosed with cancer and we couldn't pull weeds because we were in the hospital for a month trying to keep our 5 year old alive. HOA refused to work with us. That was the end of that.

Fast forward, we now live in a non HOA area. I can see how some would hate that each house is different and some are not kept up as well as others. However, I don't buy the "property values go down in non HOA areas". We've lived here for almost 3 years now and our neighborhood values have increased tremendously based on what people our selling their homes for. We had to get another appraisal on our home for fire insurance purposes and since we bought, our value has increased by a substantial amount.

I think it's great that there are options for people. HOA or non HOA, buy where you want. Up and down sides to both.

[Mike from back east]

I was an HOA Secretary in COLO SPGS. During that time a state law passed to exempt homeowners from the need to have grass lawns with this change being done in recognition of water issues in the entire region. Memories are fading quickly but IIRC that change to law allowed solar roof panels and xeriscaping. The law was very specific to assure it superseded HOA covenants. I wrote the changed laws into our HOA covenants and later approved the first set of solar panels in our neighborhood.

It sounds like neither that man nor his HOA know what the law says. That the HOA did not respond in a timely manner to his request indicates a bunch of rank amateurs. Though we were small, we had good legal talent on call any time we needed it.

[PA2UK]

Originally Posted by DrDog

I would disagree with the idea that people are either very pro HOA or anti HOA. I see the HOA as a necessary evil. If people would take care of their homes and yards, HOA’s could for the most part go away.

I can see why people would feel that way, because they don't want the degradation of one or two homes/yards influencing the perceived value of the rest of the neighborhood - however, on principle, I hate the idea of any governing body being able to dedicate too much what I can do with my home. I am the one paying hundreds of thousand of dollars for it, and paying taxes and insurance on it. I should be able to do whatever the heck I want with it, even if that means allowing something that someone else might consider "not taking care of".

I chose a neighborhood without an HOA for this reason, though I realize there can still be government restrictions, they are generally less dictatorial (they don't generally dictate what color you can paint your house, for example - there are houses in our neighborhood which are a color I think an HOA might not allow but I love it - paint your house whatever color you want, I say!). The only time I wished there was an HOA is when the brick wall at the entrance of our neighborhood was partially knocked it over (don't know if someone ran into it, or it just deteriorated over time or what). It's been a couple years and still hasn't been fixed. Since there's no HOA, I don't really know who to appeal to to get it fixed. There must be someone/some department though, right?

[DrDog]

I’m not saying HOA’s are a great thing. But general city guidelines are often not enough to stop that small percentage of people from doing things that are either very ugly or very dangerous. I could care less if you have some weeds or don’t want a lawn, or paint your house purple. I do care if your yard is nothing but weeds, you have 12 broken down cars in your yard, or your pit bull roams the neighborhood. (And no, I’m not trying to start a pit bull argument).

[PA2UK]

Originally Posted by DrDog

I’m not saying HOA’s are a great thing. But general city guidelines are often not enough to stop that small percentage of people from doing things that are either very ugly or very dangerous. I could care less if you have some weeds or don’t want a lawn, or paint your house purple.

The trouble is, a lot of HOA's do care about these things. If you wind up in an HOA that you're in complete agreement with, great - but there's no assurance you will be, especially if the HOA changes over time.

I do care if your yard is nothing but weeds, you have 12 broken down cars in your yard, or your pit bull roams the neighborhood. (And no, I’m not trying to start a pit bull argument).

I imagine some of those things might violate the government laws too though, especially the dog. That's what I mean by the more extreme stuff is mostly covered by the government - HOA's tend to be much more dictatorial. A word of advice though - if you don't want to start a pit bull argument, don't specify a pit bull. "Or your dog roams the neighborhood" would have been sufficient to get your point across.

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by PA2UK

I can see why people would feel that way, because they don't want the degradation of one or two homes/yards influencing the perceived value of the rest of the neighborhood - however, on principle, I hate the idea of any governing body being able to dedicate too much what I can do with my home. I am the one paying hundreds of thousand of dollars for it, and paying taxes and insurance on it. I should be able to do whatever the heck I want with it, even if that means allowing something that someone else might consider "not taking care of".

I chose a neighborhood without an HOA for this reason, though I realize there can still be government restrictions, they are generally less dictatorial (they don't generally dictate what color you can paint your house, for example - there are houses in our neighborhood which are a color I think an HOA might not allow but I love it - paint your house whatever color you want, I say!). The only time I wished there was an HOA is when the brick wall at the entrance of our neighborhood was partially knocked it over (don't know if someone ran into it, or it just deteriorated over time or what). It's been a couple years and still hasn't been fixed. Since there's no HOA, I don't really know who to appeal to to get it fixed. There must be someone/some department though, right?

You expect a government department to fix your private neighborhood's brick wall?

[Brill]

HOA hold a yearly meeting to tell you they are raising rates just because they can. They should focus on handling the extreme cases people don't want to see in the neighborhood instead of nitpicking every little thing a homeowner does.