[airics]

I just purchased a bank owned.. got the keys on Feb 27... flew out to work on the house March 24- April 1st (i live in cleveland, this is a vacation/retirement home) and while i was there, pulled out the front lawn (dead grass) and replaced with desert stone, fixed backyard, painted interior (thanks Daddy), installed appliances, furnished, etc.. In other words, worked my a** off to make this a nice home...

When i returned to cleveland, in my mail was 3 separate letters from the HOA... letter 1 - oil stains in driveway letter 2 - front bush needs trimmed letter 3 - front lawn needs attention... All of these letters were dated 3/25 (inspection date).. Are you kidding me? I buy the house, make it presentable and the HOA is complaining about this?? WTF? Next they will complain that my roof has pigeon poop. They should be more concerned about the repos sitting vacant..

I found out that a woman on the board lives 5 houses down and she is a complainer.. well just wait.. if her grass is a half inch to high, i'm going to complain...

These people need to get a life!

Sorry to rant, but i'm a bit suprised at this.. However, my other neighbor (real nice guy) emailed me pics of her driveway with oil spots worse than mine..

argh!

[Daddys///M3]

Glad that David worked out for you. As far as your HOA situation, it could be worse. I live next door to the president of my HOA! She's actually pretty mellow though, although our dues have gone up 3 times since we've moved in. Also, the previous owner lived in the home for 2 years and never landscaped the backyard, but we got a letter requiring us to have it done about 4 months after we moved in.

If I was you I would just give as good as you get without creating too much drama if possible, or go over and talk with her and discuss your concerns about her hypocrisy without coming off too harsh.

[airics]

well, the bush got trimmed (neighbor's son) and the lawn is now desert stone.. as for the driveway, next time i'm out there, i'll worry about it.. and yes david did great, talked alot about you too.. house painted beautifully, very very precise.. (skipped a small spot but no big deal, the light can really play some tricks in this house...)...

the thing that irritates me is that if someone inspected this on the 25th, why wouldnt they knock at the darn door.. i could have taken care of it then or at least punched them in the nose.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by airics

I just purchased a bank owned.. got the keys on Feb 27... flew out to work on the house March 24- April 1st (i live in cleveland, this is a vacation/retirement home) and while i was there, pulled out the front lawn (dead grass) and replaced with desert stone, fixed backyard, painted interior (thanks Daddy), installed appliances, furnished, etc.. In other words, worked my a** off to make this a nice home...

When i returned to cleveland, in my mail was 3 separate letters from the HOA... letter 1 - oil stains in driveway letter 2 - front bush needs trimmed letter 3 - front lawn needs attention... All of these letters were dated 3/25 (inspection date).. Are you kidding me? I buy the house, make it presentable and the HOA is complaining about this?? WTF? Next they will complain that my roof has pigeon poop. They should be more concerned about the repos sitting vacant..

I found out that a woman on the board lives 5 houses down and she is a complainer.. well just wait.. if her grass is a half inch to high, i'm going to complain...

These people need to get a life!

Sorry to rant, but i'm a bit suprised at this.. However, my other neighbor (real nice guy) emailed me pics of her driveway with oil spots worse than mine..

argh!

Don't sweat it yet. The HOAs are fighting to keep the banks from trashing neighborhoods so they are using inspection services to try and stay on top of the problem. At least get the fines rolling to get the banks to stop killing off the vegetation and leaving the yards trashy.

So mostly the thing is automatic. Once they figure out it is owned and maintained they will behave better. Note that they have to treat all alike. If they don't chase everybody they can't chase the banks.

Article in this AMs RJ.

[MissNewZealand]

off track a bit, but who decides what you can and can't put in the garden? I see so many yards that have nothing in back, not a stick or blade of grass, no rocks or anything... just dirt. most of the homes we look at have HOAs.

if you are putting in landscaping/pool do you have to apply to the HOA as well as get permits from the city? and ask the neighbours as well? (like, if I put this 10ft palm tree in will you still see that tiny view of the strip?)

[PinkString]

Originally Posted by airics

I found out that a woman on the board lives 5 houses down and she is a complainer.. well just wait.. if her grass is a half inch to high, i'm going to complain...

Go over there with a ruler and a pad and paper. When she peeks out the window, get down and measure her grass while pretending to take notes.

[airics]

i'll do it with my bermuda shorts on, white tube socks, and brown penny loafers, that should get them started...

[Alanw]

My HOA is so picky. I swear they drive by everyday and if there is a weed that has sprung up they write a letter. If I forget to take the garbage can in one day they write a letter. The neighbors parked their car in front of my house and I got three letters. They are so picky that if you picked your nose in the house and they saw you through the window they would probably fine you. I swear I would move if I could but right now that isn't an option.

[desertsun41]

Welcome to the world of communism. Adolf Hitler wrote all your HOA rules along with Josef Stalin.

I will try to refrain from exploding about my hatred of communist HOAs in this post but I do want to add something else that comes across while reading the answers here.

These HOAs in addition to trying to control even when you take a leak also pit neighbor against neighbor. Like little children people begin to act. Well you squealed on me so Im going to squeal on you. Every neighborhood has one little ol lady or man who is retired and nothing to do. Instead of joining the HOA board they choose to take the rules seriously and into their own hands.

In my old neighborhood we had a retired old battleax who walked the streets with a blue milk crate. She used it to stand on and look over peoples walls to see if all the thousands of rules were being followed. She would go home every day and file dozens of complaints. From what the old neighbors told me, the board never got tired of her. They followed up on each and every one of her complaints. She was racking up revenue like there was no tomorrow with no compensation to her. Or was there?

My very next door neighbor were nudists. I kid you not. Their family owned a nudist camp in Park City, Utah I think it was. One day this old bag was peaking over the wall and saw the middle aged couple laying by the pool naked. She yelled at them so the couple called the police and tried to file a peeping tom report on her. The cops refused to arrest her probably because of her age. If it were a man peaking over the wall.....does anyone think he would have been arrested? Of course he would have.

[Matt Angry]

I consider myself lucky. We moved away from Southern Highlands and couldn't be happier. That HOA is incredible. So many stories to tell, but I tell this one its great.
Someone left (abandoned) a full size pickup in front of my house with a flat tire. I waited a day to see if the owner was coming back, who knows maybe they didnt have a jack with them.
Day two still there. So I called a local company that I deal with at work to see if someone could come out and tow this thing away. (this is a whole different story but to be short lets just say they couldnt do it) Next I called a friend of mine at Metro and asked if there was anything he could do to get it towed. 3 to 4 weeks out he told me. Thats how backed up the abandoned vehicle divsion was. Day three truck still there. I decided to call the HOA and let them know about the truck and to please not send me a letter in regards to the vehicle. Their response.

"Well if you get a letter, just call us and let us know."

THATS WHAT I WAS DOING!!! I'M CALLING YOU TO LET YOU KNOW ABOUT IT!!!!
Needless to say two days later I received a letter from the HOA. Had to go through their whole process. What a joke.