Should homeowner's associations be allowed to ban solar panels/clotheslines? (dollar, county)
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Buyer beware. Why would you trust a real estate agent? If you think you were misrepresented then run it by a real estate attorney. Again if you move to a place that has CC&R's then you are bound by them. The problem is when the CC&R's are presented to the buyers at the end of the negotiation process and they feel pressured to buy because they have already become emotionally attached to their future domicile. Never act with emotion when buying a piece of real estate.
Gee, I can't remember the last I heard someone say, "I hate this house, but I'm gonna buy it".
Like so many residents who don't get involved. HOA board members are elected by members. You know, those folks who own homes and attend the meetings. If you don't go to the meetings or be actively involved, take what you get and stop whining. Same thing here. Nobody shows up at meetings and when there is a vote passed thay don't like they scream foul. Too bad, so sad. Also, if the HOA is enforcing rules not published in the HOA by-laws or voted and approved by members. Go to a meeting, raise the devil and ask for a verification of the rule. Call the board member to task at the meeting for being a loose cannon. It is YOUR HOA if you get involved. It is everybody elses if you don't.
Like so many residents who don't get involved. HOA board members are elected by members. You know, those folks who own homes and attend the meetings. If you don't go to the meetings or be actively involved, take what you get and stop whining. Same thing here. Nobody shows up at meetings and when there is a vote passed thay don't like they scream foul. Too bad, so sad. Also, if the HOA is enforcing rules not published in the HOA by-laws or voted and approved by members. Go to a meeting, raise the devil and ask for a verification of the rule. Call the board member to task at the meeting for being a loose cannon. It is YOUR HOA if you get involved. It is everybody elses if you don't.
So people who have jobs that require them to work during the time of the meetings should take a day off of work to go to the meetings to help prevent bad rules from getting passed? Your excuse is fine except that the residents aren't always notified of future meetings. Board members sometimes "conviently" forget to send out notices in a timely manner. Some residents forget about the meeting because they're dealing with more important things like raising children and ensuring they're fed, washed, and completing their homework.
So people who have jobs that require them to work during the time of the meetings should take a day off of work to go to the meetings to help prevent bad rules from getting passed? Your excuse is fine except that the residents aren't always notified of future meetings. Board members sometimes "conviently" forget to send out notices in a timely manner. Some residents forget about the meeting because they're dealing with more important things like raising children and ensuring they're fed, washed, and completing their homework.
Hmmm.... we send meeting notices to each and every household via mail at least 10 days prior to each meeting. It's all on the Web site also. Rules are not "made" at the meetings. Proposed amendments are drafted by committee (not Board members exclusively), circulated to the community, residents are encouraged to comment in person (everyone knows where the Board members live and we seldom turn away neighbors unless the time for a surprise visit is really bad), by mail, by email, etc. Open discussion is held at the next Board meeting and a vote is taken on changes at the meeting after that. Pretty open, eh? Lots of opportunity for input. I spent many evenings on the deck discussing stuff with neighbors over a beer - even occasionally with the 5% who are PITAs about everything. I've only ever had to throw one person off my property at such a meeting, some a$$ who got way out of line and started spouting profanities with my child nearby.
What you're describing sounds more like Chicago street politics, maybe something like a community organizer there would pull. I'm sure such HOAs exist. They're a small fraction but get enough bad publicity to give the whole idea a bad rap.
But y'know... you don't have to live in such a community. Why, right here in this very thread I've heard that residents of trailer parks aren't subject to such indignities! Pull up a doublewide, put a car up on blocks in front of it, and whoop it up!
I've had homes in communities governed by HOAs and in communities with no HOAs. We have no HOAs where I currently live. I guess my preference is for HOAs. It's nice that I don't have to worry about HOAs telling me what to do, but I sure wish somebody would tell my neighbor to keep his lawn in decent shape, not to park 3 trucks and 4 cars in the street, and to pull his garbage can off the street now and then.
But mostly, I'm just thankful that I have a choice -- HOA or no HOA. That's MY choice, and I like having the choice.
Hmmm.... we send meeting notices to each and every household via mail at least 10 days prior to each meeting. It's all on the Web site also. Rules are not "made" at the meetings. Proposed amendments are drafted by committee (not Board members exclusively), circulated to the community, residents are encouraged to comment in person (everyone knows where the Board members live and we seldom turn away neighbors unless the time for a surprise visit is really bad), by mail, by email, etc. Open discussion is held at the next Board meeting and a vote is taken on changes at the meeting after that. Pretty open, eh? Lots of opportunity for input. I spent many evenings on the deck discussing stuff with neighbors over a beer - even occasionally with the 5% who are PITAs about everything. I've only ever had to throw one person off my property at such a meeting, some a$$ who got way out of line and started spouting profanities with my child nearby.
What you're describing sounds more like Chicago street politics, maybe something like a community organizer there would pull. I'm sure such HOAs exist. They're a small fraction but get enough bad publicity to give the whole idea a bad rap.
But y'know... you don't have to live in such a community. Why, right here in this very thread I've heard that residents of trailer parks aren't subject to such indignities! Pull up a doublewide, put a car up on blocks in front of it, and whoop it up!
There are a wide variety of trailer parks. Some are ruled almost as strictly as an HOA. There's two in our area that have a waiting list to enter. The lot rent is very high but you get a lot for your money. Some are horrible. Usually, those are where you go until you can get an opening at the better trailer parks. You'd be surprised at the quality of modern mobile homes and how good they can be made to look by the homeowner. People scoff at the idea of mobile homes, however, if more people had purchased them in the recent past instead of trying to live above their means then the housing bubble wouldn't have burst so badly. Though my moble home is over ten years old, people who see it from the outside and inside think it is far newer than it's actual age. My yard is well maintained, I created a concrete block walk way to our concrete (not fiberglass or rickety old wood) steps, and the skirting is in place and matches the overall color of the siding. Some homes have skirting that looks like stone. My aunt and uncle have a nice large mobile home that has a tub with water jets and is big enough for two people. They also have a rear deck that leads to a swimming pool. Being poor or low income does not necessarily mean one lives like trash the way you and some others here insinuate. Do I have some trashy neighbors? Yep. But most of my neighbors maintain their home and yard as best they can, are quiet and friendly, and the only time we mind each other's business is if we see possible criminal activity near their home like teenagers trying to steal or vandalize. I've called the police three times in the interest of protecting a neighbor's home and they've done the same for other neighbors. I had an aunt and uncle who were about as poor as you could get without being homeless. They lived in the worst neighborhood in the area. The home was in horrible shape from termites but they couldn't afford to move or have the work done to repair the damage. He was a WW2 Army veteran. But he had a masterful green thumb when it came to flowers. His flowers placed at awards shows. He grew many of them in a broken school bus parked next to his home. It was his makeshift green house. The front yard was filled with roses and orchids of a variety of colors. His lawn was smooth and green and his house was painted a nice white. Even the drug dealers in the area had respect for him and his yard. Several drug dealers pulled over a driver who had thrown a beer bottle in my uncle's yard and forced the guy to pick it up. After my uncle passed away, his wife moved in with her daughter. The new owners of the home could never get those flowers to grow the way he did. So next time you look down upon those poor people who live in trailer parks or in poor neighborhoods, keep in mind that one day it may be you trying to scratch out a living in one of those areas.
I happen to think HOAs are the next closest thing to Hell there is, so NO ~ I don't think they should have the right to tell anyone they can't use solar panels or clotheslines. When I was growing up all our laundry was line-dried and it was good enough for us. If it's good enough for someone today then what the hell difference does it make?
I live where we describe as "the culdesac of low expectations". The neighborhood looks lived in, and we don't waste energy worrying about the unmowed lawn across the street, or how the neighbor's daughter parks half-assed whenever she visits. We JUST DON'T CARE! And we're a pretty dang happy neighborhood for it.
I thought this was an interesting article about clashes between HOA rules and various "green-living" strategies, such as solar panels, outdoor clotheslines, or even replacing grass lawns in arid regions with xeriscaping.
Some states have laws forbidding HOAs from prohibiting solar panels in particular. Many do not.
Should there be a national law making it clear that HOAs do not have the power to forbid energy-saving measures such as solar panels or backyard clotheslines?
There should be a law banning HOA's. I am always for more freedoms and less rules.
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