Can you believe this HOA! (Stephens City: bank owned, sales, HOA fees)

[nixau27]

We just moved here from TX and we closed on the house in Wakeland Manor, Stephens City the last week of July. It's a bank owned house and it has been vacant for a couple of months before we bought it; we had some things done inside the house and we barely moved into the house and had our household goods delivered the 2nd wk of Aug. Last Friday,barely a month of occupying the house we got 3 letters from the HOA advising us to mow the lawn, put the trash receptacle somewhere not visible (we had 200+ boxes and we barely finished unpacking!) and how tall the weeds were and informed us that they would be sending someone w/in how many days, if no action was taken and they would bill us accordingly. Great neighborhood! Welcome to the neighborhood! Welcome to NOVA!

[prfstrkr]

i feel ur pain

[HEATHER72]

You do realize that some of those letters may not be directly at you but were initiated before you moved in since the house had been vacant & not kept up? Or did you let the lawn grow and grow after moving in? None the less, if you don't like HOA's don't buy a house in a neighborhood with a HOA.

[global_dev]

Originally Posted by nixau27

We just moved here from TX and we closed on the house in Wakeland Manor, Stephens City the last week of July. It's a bank owned house and it has been vacant for a couple of months before we bought it; we had some things done inside the house and we barely moved into the house and had our household goods delivered the 2nd wk of Aug. Last Friday,barely a month of occupying the house we got 3 letters from the HOA advising us to mow the lawn, put the trash receptacle somewhere not visible (we had 200+ boxes and we barely finished unpacking!) and how tall the weeds were and informed us that they would be sending someone w/in how many days, if no action was taken and they would bill us accordingly. Great neighborhood! Welcome to the neighborhood! Welcome to NOVA!

A vigilant HOA will assume a week is more than enough time to perform those tasks, regardless of the fact you just moved in there. While its nice to have a new neighbor, they want compliance, regardless of your status.

At a minimum, an HOAs first step is to send a letter (there is probalby a due process in place which provides for documentation purposes just in case you fail to comply and action needs to be taken). I wouldn't take it at all personally. I got a similar one for my garbage my first month, but thats why we pay HOA fees, since some residents (rent/own) may "forget" about performing mundane tasks similar to what you mention. I was kinda pissed at first and then I realized that they don't really care, they just want compliance for the sake of the neighborhood. Especially since so many homes are not being taken care of due to vacancies.

Hopefully your neigbors will welcome you into the area and be friendly. Also remember that HOA boards/committtees are made up of all types from the lax to the strict and they really do believe they have the community's best interests in mind.

[nixau27]

Thank you global_dev! I guess I was just venting and should step back and not take things personally. I guess it's all about compliance and nothing to do with us being in the house for less than a month. It just seems so disgustingly inconsiderate, that's all.

The house has been vacant for months before we bought it and the lawn have not been taken care of, Heather72. I called the HOA today and told the rep. that they should have mowed the lawn before we moved in and not wait till somebody bought a house and send them a letter barely a month after. She said "it's across the board"- so, it's a generic letter they send to anyone/everyone who is not in compliance no matter what. I just thanked her for sending me the welcome packet after that! My husband warmed me abt. HOA's but I just did not expect them to be so disgustingly inconsiderate! This woman was like all abt. complaince or not, no matter how long you've been in the house! I should have listened,,,,maybe I'll sell and move somewhere in 2 yrs.

[global_dev]

Its not that bad... its worse.. (kidding)

I have seen the HOA committee in action. Some committee members bring in tons of violations others wouldn't even consider reporting. Mostly related to lawns, parking, and garbage. Something to just get used to if you will attend meetings. On occassion you get the blatant violations that really should be reported, regardless of if the person(s) feel they are making the community better. No favoristism can be shown and waivers for covenants are pretty well reviewed.

I wouldn't be so brash as to call it "disgustingy inconsiderate", although I sometimes think the same.

For what its worth, if they had mowed the lawn prior to you moving in, it probably would have gone like this
-letters to owner (previous to you) requesting compliance
-contractor is contacted after non-compliance
-contractor invoices owner
-owner doesn't pay invoice
-invoice used as a lien or assessment against the property for buyer to deal with during closing adding a bit more to the process.

Perhaps before the property manager's contract is up, you may want to put in a complaint. The property manager is different than the committee. A good one makes all the difference in the world in a community. What usually ends up happening is that many members in the community may be or become disinterested in the HOA day-to-day dealings and you end up with an HOA perhaps out of touch with its residents and working more like a machine run by the strictest people who can't wait to wield power.

I am on pretty good terms with my neighbors in a new community and have actually gone to some neighbors to tell them that at the last meeting I heard the HOA would soon be sending out letters and perhaps they want to take action and mow the lawn before they get one and felt harassed, it didn't really make a lick of difference.

Regardless of the way an HOA delivered the "reminder", I can't imagine a lien would have been better than a reminder letter. And property managers are property managers.... nothing more... I agree they could have shown mercy, but then other members would have jumped all over them. They will hit you with a fee if you miss the first HOA payment (after moving in from a non-hoa area) which I forgot about and it was $25 fee on a $125 payment. They didn't care at the time although recently they said that due to the high turnover, as long as people paid they may let it go one time if requested.

By the way, I have a property that my back yard faces with 8 foot tall weeds (horse tail i think), its a ridiculous sight. Someone finally bought the home 2 weeks ago and we all would have thought that they would have been out there already and taken care of the forest like "good" neighbors. We are all still wondering what is taking so long and when they are going to chop it all down.

You also may actually have neighbors vigilantly reporting your violations. They are known to pull stuff like that, rather than confront someone.

[tamitrail]

Originally Posted by nixau27

Thank you global_dev! I guess I was just venting and should step back and not take things personally. I guess it's all about compliance and nothing to do with us being in the house for less than a month. It just seems so disgustingly inconsiderate, that's all.

The house has been vacant for months before we bought it and the lawn have not been taken care of, Heather72. I called the HOA today and told the rep. that they should have mowed the lawn before we moved in and not wait till somebody bought a house and send them a letter barely a month after. She said "it's across the board"- so, it's a generic letter they send to anyone/everyone who is not in compliance no matter what. I just thanked her for sending me the welcome packet after that! My husband warmed me abt. HOA's but I just did not expect them to be so disgustingly inconsiderate! This woman was like all abt. complaince or not, no matter how long you've been in the house! I should have listened,,,,maybe I'll sell and move somewhere in 2 yrs.

[fredm-Vienna]

I presume that the Bank delivered the HOA documents for your review, prior to you signing the sales contract. You should have received the HOA rules and covenants as well as statements concerning the HOA financials. The HOA should have listed all the deficiencies of the property too, if any.

If you never saw the docs until after you settled, some laws were broken. Now, if you didn't read the HOA docs, shame on you.

-the new treasurer of my HOA

[Nancy in Nokomis]

Thats what HOA's do. Glad I dont have one.

[Yankeesfan]

I'm sorry but it wasn't a week, it was a month, surely you could have found time or hired someone to mow the lawn at least once.