[Donna-501]

Originally Posted by TN Gal now

Aside from my personal disdain for the thought of living anyplace where there are "rules" dictated by a "board outlining how I live in my own home, I cannot imagine wanting to live somewhere with close neighbors who have the time and INTEREST to do DNA tests on dog poop and then victoriously prosecute the offending pooper's owner

[kiggy]

To prevent such assinine occurrances, let's read the HOA docs before we buy, shall we?

[AkronAlan]

Originally Posted by kiggy2

To prevent such assinine occurrances, let's read the HOA docs before we buy, shall we?

Exactly. And don't buy into the community if you're an idiot who thinks the rules don't apply to you, and you're too lazy to serve on the board and do the work, yet want to whine about those who do. The board is *elected by the residents* to take care of the property. If you have a problem with the democratic electoral process then maybe consider living in a different country.

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by AkronAlan

Exactly. And don't buy into the community if you're an idiot who thinks the rules don't apply to you, and you're too lazy to serve on the board and do the work, yet want to whine about those who do. The board is *elected by the residents* to take care of the property. If you have a problem with the democratic electoral process then maybe consider living in a different country.

For those that are wondering about what its like to live in a deed restricted environment AkronAlan just gave you a big hint..

[annerk]

Originally Posted by fathamburger

ok I stand corrected, espec if Florida HOA's are that bad

Not all are. I live very happily in a HOA. You can have motorcycles--I've never heard of any place that didn't allow those as long as they were properly registered and insured (or if they were off the road, kept in your garage.) You can have a boat or RV, but they have to be kept in the garage. Same thing with a "project car." Most garages are three car in this neighborhood, so it's not like it's a huge hardship. That's one of the things I like about this neighborhood, I don't want to live someplace with blue tarp covered RV's in the side yards and project cars in the driveway.

People pick up after their dogs because that's what normal, respectful people do.

You do need to get approval to paint your home, it takes under a week if you are going with one of the 100+ color palettes already approved, a but a bit longer if you want something new.

You can use whoever you want to do home repairs, however if you use a contractor they need to be licensed and insured--duh. If you have a buddy come over to fix your mailbox or another small repair like a screen panel or replacing a dead shrub, you don't need any type of permit or approval or anything and obviously your buddy doesn't need to be licensed or insured. There are a few contractors who are barred from the community because they've damaged our streets/entryway and were found to be uninsured and/or refused to pay for the damage. Do you really want someone like that working on your home anyhow?

We have no rules on window coverings except they need to be actual curtains/drapes/shades/blinds, you can't just nail a sheet to the wall, or tape foil or newspaper over the windows. Who wants to live next to something like that?

You're expected to keep your lawn and landscaping looking presentable, but no one is walking around with a tape measure.

You can fly a flag, but there are rules about how tall the flagpole can be (I think a 20' max--do you really want someone putting a 60' high flagpole in a residential neighborhood?) and the flag must be in good condition--not tattered--again that's kind of a "duh."

We have very few problems in our community--those that we do have seem to be the same handful of people over and over who probably shouldn't have bought in a HOA community to begin with, but rather on some acreage in a more rural area. That said, our rules are common sense as opposed to ridiculous.

[GreggT]

Originally Posted by AkronAlan

Exactly. And don't buy into the community if you're an idiot who thinks the rules don't apply to you, and you're too lazy to serve on the board and do the work, yet want to whine about those who do. The board is *elected by the residents* to take care of the property. If you have a problem with the democratic electoral process then maybe consider living in a different country.

I am on the Board of our condo, mainly because of two things; A, I was interested in protecting our investment and B, and most important no one else would run.........
Generally it's a real struggle trying to get an owner to be active but let there be an issue and the fingers start pointing toward the Board as we are in the same class as the dog poop already talked about.

[mango23]

Originally Posted by annerk

Not all are. I live very happily in a HOA. You can have motorcycles--I've never heard of any place that didn't allow those as long as they were properly registered and insured (or if they were off the road, kept in your garage.) You can have a boat or RV, but they have to be kept in the garage. Same thing with a "project car." Most garages are three car in this neighborhood, so it's not like it's a huge hardship. That's one of the things I like about this neighborhood, I don't want to live someplace with blue tarp covered RV's in the side yards and project cars in the driveway.

People pick up after their dogs because that's what normal, respectful people do.

You do need to get approval to paint your home, it takes under a week if you are going with one of the 100+ color palettes already approved, a but a bit longer if you want something new.

You can use whoever you want to do home repairs, however if you use a contractor they need to be licensed and insured--duh. If you have a buddy come over to fix your mailbox or another small repair like a screen panel or replacing a dead shrub, you don't need any type of permit or approval or anything and obviously your buddy doesn't need to be licensed or insured. There are a few contractors who are barred from the community because they've damaged our streets/entryway and were found to be uninsured and/or refused to pay for the damage. Do you really want someone like that working on your home anyhow?

We have no rules on window coverings except they need to be actual curtains/drapes/shades/blinds, you can't just nail a sheet to the wall, or tape foil or newspaper over the windows. Who wants to live next to something like that?

You're expected to keep your lawn and landscaping looking presentable, but no one is walking around with a tape measure.

You can fly a flag, but there are rules about how tall the flagpole can be (I think a 20' max--do you really want someone putting a 60' high flagpole in a residential neighborhood?) and the flag must be in good condition--not tattered--again that's kind of a "duh."

We have very few problems in our community--those that we do have seem to be the same handful of people over and over who probably shouldn't have bought in a HOA community to begin with, but rather on some acreage in a more rural area. That said, our rules are common sense as opposed to ridiculous.

Till a new board get voted in. There are people who like working in a factory, be told where to park their car, when to come when to go and wait for a retirement check, basically have their lives controlled by others and that is their choice.

Many though like living with freedoms and choices and not at the whim of others.

[annerk]

Originally Posted by mango23

Till a new board get voted in. There are people who like working in a factory, be told where to park their car, when to come when to go and wait for a retirement check, basically have their lives controlled by others and that is their choice.

Many though like living with freedoms and choices and not at the whim of others.

We're on our third board due to term limits, nothing has changed.

I would keep my house the same regardless of whether I lived here or in the middle of the woods. The difference is that my neighbors are also required to keep their property to a certain standard.

Our rules and regs are written so they can't be changed on a whim by the board. Not all HOA's are bad. Unfortunately you don't hear about the good ones in the news.

[mango23]

Originally Posted by annerk

We're on our third board due to term limits, nothing has changed.

I would keep my house the same regardless of whether I lived here or in the middle of the woods. The difference is that my neighbors are also required to keep their property to a certain standard.

Our rules and regs are written so they can't be changed on a whim by the board. Not all HOA's are bad. Unfortunately you don't hear about the good ones in the news.

I hear you. I bought a building lot in a gated community a number of years ago, actually an acre and a half. I was seriously thinking of building there and in the short time I owned it the place became somewhere I would not even want to live. It seemed like every month I got some kind of rules updates. Fortunately I sold it during the boom and made 5 times my investment but it was kind of an eye opener as to what those places can be like. Hay, My older sister lives in one and loves it so to each their own.

I should add I have also looked at rural properties and that can be the other extreme, people doing anything they like with no rules. I looked at a place that on the surface looked great till I met the neighbors. The Beverly Hillbillies had nothing on these people. I just don't want someone in my business for no reason and if I am not doing anything wrong being bothered. I feel the same way just living in Fort Lauderdale, if I am not doing anything wrong leave me alone and stay out of my business. I don't need someone peeking over my fence.

[annerk]

Originally Posted by mango23

I hear you. I bought a building lot in a gated community a number of years ago, actually an acre and a half. I was seriously thinking of building there and in the short time I owned it the place became somewhere I would not even want to live. It seemed like every month I got some kind of rules updates. Fortunately I sold it during the boom and made 5 times my investment but it was kind of an eye opener as to what those places can be like. Hay, My older sister lives in one and loves it so to each their own.

I should add I have also looked at rural properties and that can be the other extreme, people doing anything they like with no rules. I looked at a place that on the surface looked great till I met the neighbors. The Beverly Hillbillies had nothing on these people. I just don't want someone in my business for no reason and if I am not doing anything wrong being bothered. I feel the same way just living in Fort Lauderdale, if I am not doing anything wrong leave me alone and stay out of my business. I don't need someone peeking over my fence.

Some of our rules updates have actually relaxed the original rules, which were written by the developer and a little "Stepford-ish." Only a couple things have been added/changed to be "stricter"--one addressed not leaving garbage cans at the curb all week but rather bringing them out the night before or morning of pick up and having them back in the night of the pickup. Pretty obvious and it's actually unfortunate that due to two or three households they actually had to put it in writing. Another addressed a city ordinance that had changed, so that one was a no-brainer.

Like I said, you don't hear about the good HOA's in the news.