Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
yup... all up until the point where your neighbor paints their house lime green and then you try and sell yours. Good luck with that.
Coming from past neighborhoods where people let their houses go, lawns die, cars in the front yard, trash all over, I bought in an HOA in hopes to avoid that and have a nice looking area where I reside. My kids play outside and when I am there, I don't want to be disgusted with what the neighbors have or haven't done with their house.
The place we just bought has nice colors, nice kept yards, nice kept houses, no beat up old RV's sitting in driveways. I think it kind of makes me feel at ease. Of course if we have a pesky old curmudgeon dropping off letter, things may change....kind of nervous now.
This is in a Non-HOA area in Florida where I used to live. Imagine living in the nice house on the right and then seeing your neighbor paint their house this color.
This is in a Non-HOA area in Florida where I used to live. Imagine living in the nice house on the right and then seeing your neighbor paint their house this color.
yup... all up until the point where your neighbor paints their house lime green and then you try and sell yours. Good luck with that.
Is HE paying the mortgage or are you?
See, the problem I see is actually with the builders/architects etc, because they build ****ty homes; ugly, depleted of style, and generally far from conveniences! So ON TOP of that I have to have an HOA policing me in the middle of nowhere? that's has to be a joke!
You have to give a homeowner an INCENTIVE to keep a property nice. Beige everywhere is depressing, we're not all the same, and frankly the ONLY places you find this type of mass same color boring buildings is in communist countries! (All tho, funny enough, those don't have HOA's!)
So, to be policed by some idiot I don't even know, it's not my friend, or even an acquaintance, is RUDE, and INCONSIDERATE to the fact that they don't pay MY mortgage. They don't get to tell me what I should do with the house I am paying for.
IF builders would built nice homes, then people would be more inclined to maintain them, but with the kind of $hit it's being built these days, no thanks.
Please explain to me how exactly have thousands of generations survived without being policed by HOA's, and built beautiful homes, which now these idiot builders are destroying; look at what;s around various downtowns...abandonment of wonderful homes, with beautiful architecture which were all left in disrepair so these idiot builder build these ugly beige boxes far, far away, and on top of that puts HOA's on us too! Give me a break! Until we're all TWINS, I see no reason why my house shouldn't be lime green if it's my favorite color! Get that stick out of your a$$!(general your) Beige is throw up color!
Again, I will repeat, the homes found in locations with HOA's, are either too expensive, in a bad area of town, or not zoned for good schools.
Coming from past neighborhoods where people let their houses go, lawns die, cars in the front yard, trash all over, I bought in an HOA in hopes to avoid that and have a nice looking area where I reside. My kids play outside and when I am there, I don't want to be disgusted with what the neighbors have or haven't done with their house.
The place we just bought has nice colors, nice kept yards, nice kept houses, no beat up old RV's sitting in driveways. I think it kind of makes me feel at ease. Of course if we have a pesky old curmudgeon dropping off letter, things may change....kind of nervous now.
I agree with what you are saying. But it's too bad that people don't have enough pride in the place they live to keep the yard maintained and keep junk out of it and off the front porch without it being a rule. However, I think the potential of the HOA to get out of hand is just too great. We can all agree a broken fridge on the front porch is a no go, but what about side walk chalk or the lawn ornaments the neighbor wants to put out? It worries me something could be banned by the association just because it isn't to their personal tastes. Everyone should be able to decorate and landscape to their tastes when they are paying the mortgage to live there.
I agree with what you are saying. But it's too bad that people don't have enough pride in the place they live to keep the yard maintained and keep junk out of it and off the front porch without it being a rule. However, I think the potential of the HOA to get out of hand is just too great. We can all agree a broken fridge on the front porch is a no go, but what about side walk chalk or the lawn ornaments the neighbor wants to put out? It worries me something could be banned by the association just because it isn't to their personal tastes. Everyone should be able to decorate and landscape to their tastes when they are paying the mortgage to live there.
yeah, those are the things I am worried about now. My kids use sidewalk chalk on occasion...sometimes just to play hopscotch. Hope that isn't an issue. As far as lawns are concerned, I just want some nice green grass. My current home, I have had to maintain 3 trees and have 2 of them removed since they just up and died. Tree trimming and removal isn't cheap. I am okay with not doing that again.
As far as the color pallets are concerned. There are quite a few different colors to choose from, 3 of them might be beige, but there is also a nice great, some blues, a burnt redish orangy thing. Ours is a nice light grey with white trim and some stone work on it. I think the new neighborhood looks great. Lots of different colors but they all compliment each other, one house even has purple trim, but looks great. In addition, some have gardens and land scaping up front, some just grass, so there is a bit of leeway here. Hopefully it stays that way.
But I still have some reservations, so we will see. OP can you send me over the proper way to display a flag so I don't offend anybody?
This is in a Non-HOA area in Florida where I used to live. Imagine living in the nice house on the right and then seeing your neighbor paint their house this color.
LOL! Well, you can't predict everything. OTOH, I would bet that there was a clue that the house on the left was a tad trashy, and/or the neighborhood was trashy, when the guy bought the house on the right.
I think it's incredibly rare for a hillbilly to move into a super nice neighborhood, and then park on the lawn and paint the place lime green.
This made me think of when Hong Kong changed government, and many wealthy folk from Hong Kong relocated to Vancouver BC, Canada. I lived in Bellingham at the time, and we got Canadian news, and visited Vancouver often.
These new residents bought up expensive homes in beautiful neighborhoods, and changed the colors and architecture of the homes they bought, or even tore down homes and rebuilt - to what they were used to in Hong Kong. To say the least, the style in Hong Kong didn't fit into the staid European style neighborhoods in old Vancouver - at all. We'd drive up and down the neighborhoods just to see these bizarre monstrosities that stuck out like sore thumbs.
So, yes, it could happen. But, on the other hand, what if these new residents from Hong Kong bought into an HOA property, got all their friends/relatives to move into the same development, then get on the board and vote to change the color scheme of the homes in the HOA? It could happen.
Without the HOA, I can't tell my neighbor what to do. But, he can't tell ME what to do, either.
I agree with what you are saying. But it's too bad that people don't have enough pride in the place they live to keep the yard maintained and keep junk out of it and off the front porch without it being a rule. However, I think the potential of the HOA to get out of hand is just too great. We can all agree a broken fridge on the front porch is a no go, but what about side walk chalk or the lawn ornaments the neighbor wants to put out? It worries me something could be banned by the association just because it isn't to their personal tastes. Everyone should be able to decorate and landscape to their tastes when they are paying the mortgage to live there.
You mean like plastic flowers stuck in pots and around trees? And those Christmas lighted "icicles" still hanging from the gutters in July? And every car or truck they ever owned rusting out all over the brown weed infested grass. No thanks. Some people paint their houses weird colors just to pi$$ off their neighbors. Why? just because they can. That is not a problem here, far from it.
That's a far cry from my little 12" x 16" flag next to the tulips and daffodils.
Reasonable and thoughtful HOA's have reasonable and thoughtful rules and regs; and are run by reasonable and thoughtful people. Not the flag police, or the grass police. I've seen some subdivisions that even control the height of your lawn, can't be over 4" or you're in trouble. One of the most ridiculous examples is a gated subdivision where I sold a few homes in my career, and always advised buyers about this rule: Your "garage door(s) cannot be open more than 15 minutes after you've entered or left the driveway." That's extreme. In here, I learned there was a guy on the board who used to go around early on his morning walk, with a camera. And if he saw something he didn't like, you'd get reported with the photo tacked onto his complaint. Uh... he is gone. Probably hated himself to death.
Well, I don't think the color really detracts much from that neighborhood.
I definitely chuckled at this, but majority of the people in the neighborhood are good, hard working people. And I'm sure the last thing they want to look at is that house when coming home.
Ha ! Got home today and found 9 pages of color-printed diatribe relative to my American flag on a small metal pole in my garden area, not facing the street in the proper position according to military protocol. Not mailed, just put in my paper box. Signed by the husband of the President of the HOA (he's not on the Board or any committee whatsoever). Cover letter addressed only to me stating how the flag is erroneously placed. Then 8 pages of "code" with photos from some military website. He signs the letter with the abbreviation of his former rank in the US Army and so forth. There are no rules in the subdivision at all about mini flags etc.
Nuts or normal? Pain in the fanny? too much time on his hands? Dementia?
Why blame the HOA and act detached like you have no responsibility in the community? I assume you're an owner not a renter.
Why use the heated rhetoric "gestappo" (sic) ?
HOAs are supposed to be for members who share like values - so go to your meetings and be active.
I'm assuming as a retired realtor and someone who CHOSE to live in this HOA, you know if you are in compliance with the bylaws or not and know that you can chose to ignore the guy or contact the wife, or attempt to initiate some bylaws about flags/garden ornaments. How about going over and introducing yourself and making friends?
I do think it's odd you chose to move there after reading your opinion on HOAs:
Quote:
Totally agree, that is why gated communities are not popular in western NC. Only popular with those coming from FL, NY, NJ etcetera.... they think they "need" it. If some folks believe they need a gated community, they don't belong in western NC. Imagine how many wonderful and beautiful areas they are eliminating, just because they want to be "gated".
And I 500% agree with you about the raping of the mountain land. The only consolation is that so many of the brilliant rapers lost their shirt.
Also, the following bylaws you find so offensive are quite standard. Perhaps you need to live across the street from a guy who has his entire garage outfitted as a man cave, and spends the entire day out there in his boxers or WORSE, directly in view of your den or kitchen window to appreciate why they exist. And cool season grass height IS 2-4 inches.
Quote:
I've seen some subdivisions that even control the height of your lawn, can't be over 4" or you're in trouble. One of the most ridiculous examples is a gated subdivision where I sold a few homes in my career, and always advised buyers about this rule: Your "garage door(s) cannot be open more than 15 minutes after you've entered or left the driveway."
Quote:
most mowers have a 4 inch deck height. Cutting grass too tall for the deck height -- 6 inches for a mower with a deck height of 4 inches -- can put a strain on the mower and leave long clippings, which can smother turf grass
Last edited by runswithscissors; 04-25-2014 at 03:45 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
)
