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And you think these are good things and to be defended, right along with draconian HOA rules? (I mean, now, really, just as an example pulled out of your posts, if someone keeps their garage in good order, what skin is it off your nose if they leave the garage door open more than the length of time it takes them to enter? For that matter, even if it's a bit disordered, what skin is it off your nose, unless you're just so hell-bent on controlling what everyone else does that you just can't stand it and are likely to have an attack of apoplexy? In which case, of course, it's still your problem, not theirs. Isn't that really a bit over the top?)
If you read the rest of my post instead of selectively picking out things to attack, you would notice that I clearly said that there are rules I agree with and rules I disagree with. I'm fine with a properly managed HOA, I'm not fine with an overbearing HOA. However, I'm tolerant of a lot because it's for the greater good.
I don't want to see broken down cars, I don't want to see dead grass, I don't want to see abhorrid paint schemes, I don't want to see people coming into a "perfect" neighborhood and screwing it up with their "individuality".
Now, read this next part carefully, and stop attacking certain words.
I'm fine with individuality. There are neighborhoods that are not subject to any such restrictions. Those who want to do things their own way should live there instead of polluting HOA-owned neighborhoods.
I really wish people would stop ignoring the core point of all of my posts. Don't sweat the fact that I agree with a lot of HOA guidelines; the point is I do. You don't? Don't live there.
Location: Georgia, on the Florida line, right above Tallahassee
10,471 posts, read 15,830,626 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by revelated
First of all, if you pull forward into the garage, your tail pipe faces the garage door. If you open the garage door first, then start the car, the CO is expelled outward. It's people who back into their garage and start the car with the garage door closed who have a problem. HOWEVER...you can get a simple system that ventilates your garage no matter what's going on.
First of all there's also consumer protection to consider. It's not the same as consumer safety.
Cell phone laws. Just passed. Late, but it was done. Fees are low, but it was done.
Increased enforcement of seat belt laws.
DUI checkpoints to crack down on drunk driving.
California STRF. For years, California has protected people who took out private loans at private postsecondary institutions that went bankrupt or closed with a full refund or discharge of the debt. If I recall, California is only one of three states who had such a protection. Other states, deal with the debt even if you didn't get anything out of it.
Traffic cameras/speed traps/etc. near public and private schools. The amount of morons speeding through school zones was totally out of control. Protective measures were put in place to keep the children safe. Some might find it Draconian, I find it necessary.
Prohibition of mandatory arbitration clauses in contracts. If we want to sue, we can do that. If we want to go class action, we can do that.
Additional privacy provisions specific to California residents.
California Renter's Bill of Rights protecting those who rent from another party from being treated unfairly.
Three layers of coverage: The police, the sheriff, and the National Guard.
Extra programs to assist first time homebuyers (CalFHA).
California laws governing protection of sensitive information such as full credit card numbers on receipts.
Fair unemployment benefits.
California residents allowed to freeze their credit report to protect against ID theft.
Higher-than-federal minimum wage. If my memory serves, we're the only state that consciously attempts to increase minimum wage above the federal minimum. It's still insufficient, but better than what the federal government would stick people with.
Arnold fought to implement a state-level emissions standard, and hold the automakers to that standard within a specified period. It was the feds who blocked him from doing so. But he's been trying to do his part for global warming ever since he got into office.
Speaking of emissions, for older vehicles, required smog check every other year. Newer vehicles I believe it's every three years. If you fail it, and need it, the state provides financial assistance to fix the problem(s).
Required insurance, registration, license, and current smog on all currently operating vehicles. If you're pulled over and any of those out of order, you can be towed.
And of course, Megan's Law. While it didn't originate here, we enforce it and expose it more than almost any other state.
Just like out here - an 18 year old can smoke, can carry firearms, but not drink. A 15 year old can drive a car, hold a job...but not have sex. Even consensual. Even with the parents' consent. Do they do it? Yes. And punishment is forthcoming more often than not. There are a lot of registered sex offenders in California where the sex was consensual. They're enforcing the law as it stands. People who are not about enforcement of the law are dangerous to the foundation of the state/country. If you want to change the law, vote for it, don't complain about it.
It's capitalism because big business has gotten California to its current state. Not being here you wouldn't know that. California state government works mostly independently of the federal government; that's why the Governator was peeved at Bush for not sending additional help during the brush fires. But it's big business that drives what the state government is going to do next. Big business created Eastlake. Big business created 4S Ranch. Big business transformed Poway. Big business transformed Irvine. Business is what California is all about. Or did you forget that two of the largest tech companies are based out of California? People come here for opportunity. Government has nothing to do with that.
Quit generalizing. "Californians" don't think highly of themselves and their state. Quite frankly I hate California's mentality that a beach should justify radical pricing. I also hate how much natural land is being consumed in favor of suburban tract housing. BUT, I stay because I know I wouldn't have nearly the level of success I have now, anywhere else. "Californians" don't call other areas backwater, I do. I've been to backwater. I've seen it. Talk to me about what I said.
As I said, that's fine. You're entitled to believe what you want. Just don't come here and proclaim all that. Some people like their standard of living maintained for the common good and don't like individualized deviants coming in and affecting that. Comply...or don't come in.
I know someone who didn't vote for change. He didn't comply very well, either.
I did not read all of the posts, but, I hate HOAs too. Coincidentially, I am the president of mine here in Charlotte, NC. That is because I never heard of an HOA until I moved into this neighbourhood (born & raised in Chicago) and was blindsided by the crapola involved. Because I now have a real estate backround, I decided that I needed to be involved to keep these people in check.
If I am ever able to move, I will definately not move to an HOA. I agree with one of the earlier posts that said that HOAs are the city government's means to water down the services that are provided while keeping the taxes at the same amt. I am now fighting with the city which happens to have annexed my neighbourhood, yet, won't take responsibility for maintaining it. What a racket!!
For those that are so structured that rules are the only way to go....by all means, an HOA is for them. But, not for me!
I understandn that in different cities, towns, etc...things are different. In the area I live in, most houses are in HOA communities. If you aren't in an HOA community you can see a trailer next to a house, next to a home in distress and next to a new construction...Since we didn't want that we had no other choice. The reason some HOA's are requesting garage doors to be closed (not in our community, but in most of the communities where I bought properties) is that the people who have the garage door open the whole day aren't the once who have it in a reasonable nice way. In our street we had renters who didn't want to mess up the carpet and we sitting the whole day with aprox. 15 people in their 2 door garage, next to me I have the car wreck with on top trash up to the ceiling...a wonder it doesn't fall out....some people use it as a fitness which doesn't look as bad. Just not to say" you can have this or that in your garage", the HOA asked to have the doors closed as much as possible, which any realtor can understand because if a street looks nicer it is easier to sell a house, which wasn't the case with the garage doors open with all the trash...people would look and drive off as fast as the could. The HOA send these people letters and told them they would receive fines if the kept blocking the driveway...so they had to do something and one thing was that they made place to fit the business car (which wasn't allowed in the driveway, overnight or you have to cover the advertisement or take the magnets off). At one moment my neighbors had 4 car wrecks in the driveway and 3 trucks, all for 3 people....now the business car is inside + one car wreck and 3 trucks are in the driveway. The got the widening of the driveway approved. So it is also to keep the value of our homes up and curb appeal is according to many realtors very very important to sell a house.
By the way in Philadelphia the colors of the homes are great because it fit in that environment, not in our neighborhood, so it all depends to where and how.
We have a pretty nice street and most people will ask a neighbor when they are away to pick up the free newspapers from their driveway and/or to help maintain the yard when they are away. But we also have the notorious lazy people who never pick up their newpaper when they are home and in a hot humid climate as Florida the newspapers will burn onto the concrete and after the rain and again hot weather it is a real mess, so I'm glad when people are to lazy, that they will receive fines...shouldn't it be a normal thing to just pick it up....they walk over to their mailbox and step over the newspapers and don't pick them up, just like they leave the kids candy trash all over the place.....maybe because they are so upset about the value of their homes go down and having mortgages that are way to high, because it is happening to property owners who have refinanced after closing in '05 and have mortgage for over $ 400 K on houses that are worth $ 300K, and they not picking up started with almost all these homes when the market went down, and down and this is really a pattern.....yards aren't maintained as they were before when they had the feeling the value of their homes was so high and the new cars came and the fitness equipment was dropped off.......
I've just read most of this thread and have to ask -- is this a joke?
I'm not sure what an HOA even is but I know I don't want one telling me what to do. I live in a beautiful town. The houses are painted many different colors, the lawns are manicured, the flowers are lovely, the trees are magnificent. Boats are kept in marinas, not in driveways. There are no junk cars in people's yards. We have a very nice town center with shops, post office, banks, a library and churches.
People are kind and helpful and friendly. People own dogs, cats, even horses if they have enough land for them. There are walking trails and nature areas. Houses are not all crowded in together as they are in that scary picture I saw of San Jose.
No town that I've ever heard of needs one of these HOAs to tell the people what to do. People are responsible enough to take care of their own property and they take pride in their homes and their town. (Why do you need gates around your houses??? Is there really that much crime where you are?)
We pay taxes to the state and to the town, not to an HOA. Zoning is enforced by the town itself and we elect the town officials and we vote at town meeting. It works. We have rich, poor, and in between and it still works. I can't see any reason why anyone would put up with these HOAs--please tell me this is some kind of a JOKE. (and if it's true, then please please never let it happen near where I live.)
I've just read most of this thread and have to ask -- is this a joke?
I'm not sure what an HOA even is but I know I don't want one telling me what to do. I live in a beautiful town. The houses are painted many different colors, the lawns are manicured, the flowers are lovely, the trees are magnificent. Boats are kept in marinas, not in driveways. There are no junk cars in people's yards. We have a very nice town center with shops, post office, banks, a library and churches.
People are kind and helpful and friendly. People own dogs, cats, even horses if they have enough land for them. There are walking trails and nature areas. Houses are not all crowded in together as they are in that scary picture I saw of San Jose.
No town that I've ever heard of needs one of these HOAs to tell the people what to do. People are responsible enough to take care of their own property and they take pride in their homes and their town. (Why do you need gates around your houses??? Is there really that much crime where you are?)
We pay taxes to the state and to the town, not to an HOA. Zoning is enforced by the town itself and we elect the town officials and we vote at town meeting. It works. We have rich, poor, and in between and it still works. I can't see any reason why anyone would put up with these HOAs--please tell me this is some kind of a JOKE. (and if it's true, then please please never let it happen near where I live.)
You have probable mor home owners living there who respect others and have more values in their live...it seems that over here some people need to have some one watching them and correcting them otherwise the properties would look like trash....I wish it was like what you decribed and we wouldn't need an HOA. We even have to pay 2 people to monitor the pool area...because parents aren't watching their kids and some kids vandalized over and over, and we had to pay to fix everything. Now we pay these people who even are giving kids a "time out" after warning them not to run in the pool area...and it is much nicer to go to the pool. Before it was almost taken over by some teenagers who were thinking they owned the place and couldn't care about others. We had teenagers diving in 3 feet water and 911 had to be called to fix their injuries, luckily nothing serious happened...but now the parents have to join their kids under 12...and the pool area is pieceful and half the kids are coming.
Too bad we have to pay extra for it, but it is in every community that I owe a home that the pool area is either vandalized or people are drunk, so they have the pool monitors.
And I'd sicken and die if I had to live in that neighborhood - it looks sterile to me. I prefer vernacular architecture (cut my teeth on Christopher Alexander's work decades ago), designed by and for human livability, not exclusively appearance. A house (and its surroundings) should be a home that grows and lives with its occupants over time with their needs, not a museum piece that must be maintained in its original shape and condition to have value. I love looking at works of art in museums, and having some in my home, carefully selected, but I could not live in a museum where everything was "don't touch, don't change, don't breathe, don't live".
And this is why there's many different styles of construction and places to live. One size definately does not fit all thank goodness! How boring would life be if all areas looked the same?
I oppose the very existence of things like HOA's for the danger to rights and liberties they pose. They breed fascism and communism.
Not if you don't move into one.
You are aware that most counties like HOA's and most courts have sided with them time after time. The reason (as explained to me) that this is so is HOA's are considered a self contained code enforcement system that relieves the county staff and courts from having to deal with code enforcement and other piddling things within that HOA. They see it as kind of a free police force and court system.
I've just read most of this thread and have to ask -- is this a joke?
I'm not sure what an HOA even is but I know I don't want one telling me what to do. I live in a beautiful town. The houses are painted many different colors, the lawns are manicured, the flowers are lovely, the trees are magnificent. Boats are kept in marinas, not in driveways. There are no junk cars in people's yards. We have a very nice town center with shops, post office, banks, a library and churches.
People are kind and helpful and friendly. People own dogs, cats, even horses if they have enough land for them. There are walking trails and nature areas. Houses are not all crowded in together as they are in that scary picture I saw of San Jose.
No town that I've ever heard of needs one of these HOAs to tell the people what to do. People are responsible enough to take care of their own property and they take pride in their homes and their town. (Why do you need gates around your houses??? Is there really that much crime where you are?)
We pay taxes to the state and to the town, not to an HOA. Zoning is enforced by the town itself and we elect the town officials and we vote at town meeting. It works. We have rich, poor, and in between and it still works. I can't see any reason why anyone would put up with these HOAs--please tell me this is some kind of a JOKE. (and if it's true, then please please never let it happen near where I live.)
Good for you, Im glad you live in Mayberry. Some of us just arent
fortunate enough to live there. This thread has become
a drama thread.
Greenchili
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