Over 55 (Pine Lakes: appointed, leasing, HOA)

[Onthewater1]

I think we'd rather get a place where all are welcome... We'll be coming over there again to do some scouting. Imagine all the boomers that will be heading South in the next 10-20 years. Over here in Houston we're seeing a big influx from all ages -- Jobs -- low housing costs -- no state income tax -- warm weather etc. ------------- High property taxes though

[Izmack]

This story makes me cringe and is a perfect argument against gated communities and HOAs. The horror stories can go on and on and on. I guess there's a personality type that likes this rigid thinking. I'm all about keeping the neighborhood standards up, but it's this kind of behavior that that just isn't American.......

In Zurich, it's against the law to vacuum on Sundays. My friends were visited by the local police and given a warning. They also have senior citizen volunteers that act as meter maids to enthusiastically patrol their assigned areas looking for parking violators. Lovely city....no crime and squeaky clean. It does come at a price, though.

Originally Posted by ZebraCrossing

The above post reminds me of the story told by a retired couple who live in The Villages, Florida. They went abroad over Christmas and as a result of plane delays arrived home a day late. Unfortunately they had left a Christmas wreath on their door. The HOA rules stipulate that all decorations have to be removed by the date they originally planned to be home. When they arrived they were greeted by a large 'warning' notice pinned to their front door plus an official letter in their mail box explaining they had contravened HOA regulations and could be liable to a fine.
Maybe they were even shunned by their neighbors for this dastardly deed.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by Izmack

In Zurich, it's against the law to vacuum on Sundays. My friends were visited by the local police and given a warning. They also have senior citizen volunteers that act as meter maids to enthusiastically patrol their assigned areas looking for parking violators. Lovely city....no crime and squeaky clean. It does come at a price, though.

As in Switzerland?

It's actually against the law to do a lot of things on Sunday in many states right here in the good old USA. They're just not enforced any more. Imagine someone calling 911.

"911, What is your emergency?"

"My neighbor is using her vacuum and it's Sunday!"

When we moved to the suburbs in the 50s, my next door neighbor was a mean, nasty old lady. One Sunday she called the police because my Dad was mowing the lawn. It was on the books as a violation of the Blue Laws, although when the police learned why she called, they apologized to my Dad.

Edit: I forgotten to mention I lived in Massachusetts. Sorry.

By the way, I don't think there's anything wrong with asking people to be courteous & considerate and to use good, moral judgment in public, but I guess that will start a whole new discussion. I'm thinking about the way some people dress and talk today. I don't care if people want to run around their houses naked, watch porn, use foul language and drink until they pass out, but it seems as if we've forgotten what it's like to have good manners and use common decency.

[Foxrivman1]

Nancy, agree concerning the comments about good manners and common decency!! It's all about being a good neighbor regardless of where you live!

[ZebraCrossing]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

My father does that. He has a condo in Melbourne and he walks around looking for violations along with expired license plates, etc. He was always a jerk but now he's a jerk with time on his hands.

This has to be the post of the day, LOL.
Our first violation was shortly after we were married and as we had very little money to spare on a washer/dryer we hung our clothes on a line to dry. We didn't know that this was only allowed on certain days of the week and for some time after choosing the wrong day locals carried out a whispering campaign against us.
The problem is there is rarely a happy medium it's either like the examples included in this thread or those in the various Lehigh ones which often give the impression people are living in a war zone because there is absolutely no control.
We once lived next to a large 55+ community and the saddest thing, as nomoresnow mentioned above, is seeing the all to often repeated scene of a funeral procession snaking its way through the narrow streets lined with old manufactured homes and trailers.

[LookinForMayberry]

I must've missed something -- you're almost 55? And so -- what?

I am over 55 and it's made no difference for me...

[nomoresnow]

I don't think it's rigid thinking; I'm pretty laid back. They give you the rules before you move in - if you don't think you can abide by them or they'll bother you, you don't buy.

Personally, I like that I'm not living next to a junk heap. But that's just me. To each his or her own.

[hiknapster]

This has come up before and I've said that there are places in this country where you do not have to regulate every darn thing and people still act like normal human beings. When I lived in Mass., the area I was born and raised in - lived there for 33 years - did not have regulations concerning everything and it was a GORGEOUS area.

Now I live in Knoxville, Tennessee, without regulations, and it looks very much like the area I grew up in.

I am NOT saying that people that move to Florida need to be regulated. Nor do I mean the locals.

If you find a decent enough area people will act in kind and NOT have abandoned cars all over the property, trash all over the yard, and no one has to have their mailbox regulated.

Yes, I can find places that look like Appalachia but I don't live anywhere near those places.

In other words, don't move into some of these places like Lehigh Acres, Florida or Harlan, Kentucky and you won't have to move to a community where someone tells you the only acceptable mailbox that can be installed comes from the HOA president's brother's store, costs $400 and looks like the 110 others in your community.

Lake Eola, Orlando, Florida comes to mind, or perhaps some of the nicer areas off of McGregor in Fort Myers. A neighborhood of beautifully restored homes with people that are educated, upscale and unpretentious. People and places like that exist everywhere.

But I guess cookie cutter makes some people feel better. I'd rather live in a civilized society where people are intelligent enough to make good decisions and have decent manners. There are places like that all over this country.

I've often wondered if those sort of highly-regulated places spring up in states like Florida because transplants don't trust the locals to be decent people. Sometimes there is an expectation that the locals are a bit beneath understanding how to make and keep their place looking nice. Not all transplants, of course. I showed up having never seen a highly-regulated subdivision or community and I assumed the people would have good manners and taste. But I've seen more than my share of transplants that think the locals are "less than."

I have to say that people that come with that attitude are often very ignorant, themselves.

[Izmack]

Just like anything else, though, some HOAs operate under the strictest letter of the law and others are quite lax. Plus, if the HOA changes the rules after you've bought, you are SOL. The chances of getting an amendment passed is a lot easier in such a small enclave. At least by choosing the right community, you can guarantee that the neighborhood you move into is filled with folks that care about its upkeep. Of course, people can always move, but that's where the careful selection comes in. Even after this SWFL crisis, there's been very little turnover in my SE Yacht Club neighborhood and we have zero - I mean zero - violations with no HOA. Our neighborhood is very tight so even if some obnoxious jerk (let's say someone who wanted to plant a cargo trailer in his driveway) moved in, I think he / she would have issues.

Edit: Also, there's the issue of foreclosures. With so many HOA folks going belly up, HOA fees are skyrocketing in some places. Just like the Cape or other towns in SWFL are experiencing fiscal challenges, so, too, are HOAs. Cities are often big enough to land on their feet, but the lower populations of HOAs don't have that luxury. Plus, doesn't one still have to pay property / school taxes on top of HOA fees?

When we were looking, the neighborhood was prime criteria. Anywhere we went with barking dogs or junky cars or lack of trees was immediately scratched out. We were able to be so selective as we were looking last March 2010 and had tons to choose from. I imagine today folks aren't as lucky.

It comes down to a matter of preference. I would never ever live in an HOA, but that's just me. To me, it does represent rigidity and I have plenty of friends who attest to it personally. Who knows? When I am 60, I may change my tune. Just may see 60 if this latest quit smoking campaign of mine works! Every time I drive pass Sandoval up on Veteran's / Burnt Store I wonder "What if...." I think the lack of space around me would drive me nuts, though. We have a 3 lot parcel where we are in FL and an acre in PA. Never been a fan of being hemmed in.

Originally Posted by nomoresnow

I don't think it's rigid thinking; I'm pretty laid back. They give you the rules before you move in - if you don't think you can abide by them or they'll bother you, you don't buy.

Personally, I like that I'm not living next to a junk heap. But that's just me. To each his or her own.

[Izmack]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I've often wondered if those sort of highly-regulated places spring up in states like Florida because transplants don't trust the locals to be decent people. "

I think it might be that a lot of folks don't have the time / inclination to invest in doing detective work. Buying into an HOA does alleviate some of that decision process. Snowbirds might tend to lean heavily on that model.

Oh, yes - I forgot about the mailboxes!