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This is an interesting story about a homeowner fighting with the HOA over who controls whom.
People are so crazy!
"“It’s standing up for my constitutional rights,” he said. He called the HOA board “a dictatorship” that polices residents for any infraction of its 50 pages of covenants, conditions and restrictions.
Board members and some residents said they are the victim of a rogue neighbor: “We’d just like for this to go away,” said Bob Collins, 77, a retired machinery executive. “The guy just didn’t comply with the rules like the rest of us have.”
Niels Mortensen, the current HOA president, said the association has to enforce its rules. “The minute you start saying, ‘Oh well, that’s not a big deal,’ then before you know it, nothing is a big deal,” Mr. Mortensen said. “I view this as a test case: Either our declarations are enforceable, or they’re not.”
Another contingent of residents supports Mr. Hildenbrand, asserting they have been mistreated by the HOA board. “They have bullied for so long so many of the residents,” said Connie Morris, 66, whose complaints include the association not allowing a decorative bench in her front yard."
"A new judge, Rhonda Mason, ruled last year that Mr. Hildenbrand had been dealt with unfairly but also failed to obtain approval for the wall and ordered him to pay a $25,000 fine to the HOA. The HOA appealed, and Mr. Hildenbrand said he plans to as well.
As of October, HOA records show it has spent a total of $388,000 on the case with $35,000 more budgeted for 2019, while people familiar with the matter said Mr. Hildenbrand has spent about $400,000. That’s close to the market value of his home."
You know what you are getting into when you move to an HOA community. If you don't like the rules when they apply to you, work to get on the board and get them changed.
How many actually read the paperwork regarding the HOA and how it works. My husband and I had to have a notary come to our home when we refinanced our new home from a second home to our primary home to get a better interest rate. Part of the paperwork we had to sign was the HOA rules and regs. In it it stated that if we were sued/had a lein granted for whatever (not paying dues, I think) that the HOA could take/claim all private property such as drapes, curtain rods etc. My husband had a big problem with this, and refused to sign that particular paperwork, and I did not either. The notary was horrified that all the paperwork was not signed, she had never run into anyone refusing to sign any legal paperwork regarding the purchase of a house. We never signed agreeing to this and we still got our loan.
And, like I always say, "there is always more to the story."
Disclaimer: I was not able to read beyond the "He was later written up for a dead cat in a window well - which Mr. Hildenbrand suspects was planted by a neighborhood enemy."
Last edited by Lodestar 77; 03-20-2019 at 08:52 AM..
I can't read the article. I kinda hate it when people say "Well, herp derp, you shouldn't have bought in an HOA". When people say that, I'm like eff you. For some of us, it's a nice house in an area that we can afford, and in some areas, every neighborhood is mandated by an HOA unless you move to the sticks, so we have little options.
But I will say that yes, HOA's can be a pain. Especially when they make up new rules that don't really make any sense.
This past week, I got a violation...because the concrete that the builders used to build our neighborhoods driveways were eroding after 9 years of use. I looked at all of the driveways in my neighborhood and they all look exactly the same....not brand new but def not in bad shape. So I'm thinking that I have to do something crazy like hire contractors to replace the driveway with concrete. The violation was so vague that I didn't know how to remedy it.
I looked up all HOA books, I couldn't find that bylaw anywhere that we have to keep our driveways from eroding.
So I went to the actual HOA office in person and asked the manager. She was actually kinda shocked that
I showed up in person rather than sending an email or nasty phone call. Turns out, the HOA basically just wanted to see us take an effort to try to clean it off and that's it.
It's stuff like that where HOA's are a pain. I can see if they are legit and helpful, but when they create random bogus violations that are super vague and unclear, it just wastes your time.
I’m a fan of HOAs in concept but the actual reality depends so much on the one and the people involved. To my recollection in my many condos and homes I’ve never had any serious issue, but I’ve had issues with how a condo building was run before because the management hired by the HOA often violated either our own rules or state and federal laws, not the least of which was the overnight concierge allowing the floor buffing company to close down the entire lobby rather than half at a time to allow access to the elevators, stairs, and lobby (mailboxes, etc.) because “oh well it’s late at night, we’ll be done in a few hours.” The guy asked me to use the garage exit through where car traffic goes and I told him where to shove it, he was miffed, I walked right through the lobby anyway and told them you better have a path cleared by the time I’m back in 20 minutes or we’ll have problems. The manager of course the next day was extremely annoyed this company was so lazy and said they put the HOA in a bad spot for liability because it’s against the law to block access to the main staircases and elevators like that. So any issues I’ve had, the HOA hasn’t been at fault but a contractor was.
I’m also low maintenance though when it comes to my house, like I won’t be blasting music ever or putting political signs in the yard or weird decorations so everyone just leaves me alone and probably they’re happy the house just looks like it should.
HOA's take some nameless, faceless property owner and encourage that person to run for the board. AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, this person "IS SOMEBODY!" And because of this and because no one cares when they vote in an HOA election, they are subject to whatever whims these people decide to impose. Anybody can skew the bylaws to benefit what they are trying to do. I live in an HOA and will never, ever buy in one again.
The community in question is for older people. If the guy wasn't used to living in a strict HOA community, it would never have dawned on him about getting approval for where to place a satellite dish or what landscaping is allowed. Even parking a car outside overnight may not be allowed.
At an older age and this possibly being his first real HOA experience, I can see him digging in his heels.
I personally don't think it's worth it to tangle with HOAs based on the principle of the matter.
I previously lived in an HOA neighborhood and was hassled for having 5 too many dandelions.
But I now live in a non-HOA neighborhood and have a few neighbors who leave trash in the front yard, park their campers and boats in the driveways, and have as many as 5 cars parked along the curb.
Serving on an HOA board is a thankless task and it tends to attract people who seek power. They can easily create a hostile and adversarial relationship.
Personally, I don't like being "ruled" so I guess I'll just tolerate the neighbors.
You know what you are getting into when you move to an HOA community. If you don't like the rules when they apply to you, work to get on the board and get them changed.
That's not always an option. For example, in NC, if you want a newer house in a newer neighborhood, you have an HOA. Period. Avoiding it means you buy an old house, or a house in an old neighborhood either with an infill lot or a tear-down.
The fact is that I've seen too many situations where a neighborhood busybody gets drunk on power. It always seems way worse in SFH neighborhoods than townhouse/condo situations.
The guy that has an 18 inch statuette in his Flower Garden, may be in violation of the lawn ornaments rule. But anyone with a lick of sense can see that its a sight different than a gnome city or flock of plastic flamingos.
You might have rules on painting the house approved colors. But if someone repaints their house the same shade of beige it was, then what good is it to say anything when they didn't get preapproval (which would have been a rubber stamp anyway.)
Someone that has a bird bath in their garden not visible from the street or sidewalk, why pick that battle?
You might have a rule about cars being drivable, registered, etc, or be towed? A car with a flat tire might be a legitimate violation. But if Ms. Lewis parks her car with four inflated tires on Sunday evening, and catches a flight out of town for a 4 day work trip, and her tire goes flat due to a leak on Tuesday morning, what do you accomplish by towing it?
^^Those are all examples of real HOA's that seemingly screw with people. I'm not talking about acting surprised you can't park your boat or RV.
Police have wide lattitude to enforce the laws. They seem to do a better job than HOA's do with their rules.
That's not always an option. For example, in NC, if you want a newer house in a newer neighborhood, you have an HOA. Period. Avoiding it means you buy an old house, or a house in an old neighborhood either with an infill lot or a tear-down.
The fact is that I've seen too many situations where a neighborhood busybody gets drunk on power. It always seems way worse in SFH neighborhoods than townhouse/condo situations.
The guy that has an 18 inch statuette in his Flower Garden, may be in violation of the lawn ornaments rule. But anyone with a lick of sense can see that its a sight different than a gnome city or flock of plastic flamingos.
You might have rules on painting the house approved colors. But if someone repaints their house the same shade of beige it was, then what good is it to say anything when they didn't get preapproval (which would have been a rubber stamp anyway.)
Someone that has a bird bath in their garden not visible from the street or sidewalk, why pick that battle?
You might have a rule about cars being drivable, registered, etc, or be towed? A car with a flat tire might be a legitimate violation. But if Ms. Lewis parks her car with four inflated tires on Sunday evening, and catches a flight out of town for a 4 day work trip, and her tire goes flat due to a leak on Tuesday morning, what do you accomplish by towing it?
^^Those are all examples of real HOA's that seemingly screw with people. I'm not talking about acting surprised you can't park your boat or RV.
Police have wide lattitude to enforce the laws. They seem to do a better job than HOA's do with their rules.
Right.
Isn't it something like 18+ homes and you're legally required to have an HOA? And developers aren't interested in building smaller than that.
HOA's take some nameless, faceless property owner and encourage that person to run for the board. AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, this person "IS SOMEBODY!" And because of this and because no one cares when they vote in an HOA election, they are subject to whatever whims these people decide to impose. Anybody can skew the bylaws to benefit what they are trying to do. I live in an HOA and will never, ever buy in one again.
While I can agree... on the other hand.. I live in a community where for too long the rules were ignored for fear of law suits. I have so many residents who think they are being "abused" when they are not. They are drama queens that I can't understand how they make their way in the world.
Personally I think that HOAs need to be abolished. They don't work. I would prefer they become an arm of the gov't and the HOA money be given to the gov't. And I am a conservative!! It is just that it seems wasteful to have this semi public authority causing all this strife. If you think it is hard getting the gov't to do anything wait until you have a HOA that doesn't want to do your maintenance requests.
Every town/ city would have a Condominium Board that would be responsible for what the HOAs are now... or, in the alternative, the HOA could choose to opt in.
Imagine the management companies revenue loss.
The lawyers revenue loss.
The end to the drama at every condo.
Darn I think I am going to write a letter to my representative tonight.
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I looked at all of the driveways in my neighborhood and they all look exactly the same....not brand new but def not in bad shape. So I'm thinking that I have to do something crazy like hire contractors to replace the driveway with concrete. The violation was so vague that I didn't know how to remedy it.
