Paladin48 Loc: Orlando

That'll work as the house is already the right colour to match.

SuperFly48 Loc: NE ILLINOIS

I totally concur that HOA's are the reincarnation of the Gestapo or, as correctly noted, they snuck out of Germany after WWII and reestablished themselves here among us. Senator Joe McCarthy was looking under every rock for Communists when he also should have been looking for the Gestapo! A certain subdivision I know of, the developer went under in late 2008/early 2009. Nothing was ever said by the developer about the HOA. They went bankrupt and left the HOA in charge. To my point, that subdivision is really very Gestapo like, they have snitches walking around and looking for violations like the height of the grass and they count your uncut weeds, then call the local municipality about the matter. I refer to them as the WEED NAZIS, and they are quite ruthless. I believe they pay a "reward" for noted violations. They don't care that a "weed" is really a wildflower, to them if it looks like a weed, then it must be a weed! Your lawn can be baked dry in July but if you have a handful of uncut weeds, they will send you a nastygram and threaten you with legal action. And your tax dollars pay the salary of the person from the municipality who comes out and threatens you with legal action. Yet it's OK, in the winter, after a significant snowfall, that the municipality cleans up the cul-de-sacs with a front end loader and just dumps bucket loads of snow on your front lawn in piles four to five feet high or more! I have NOTHING good to say about HOA's! Those I know who live under HOA oppression know all to well how HOA boards make themselves out to be way more important than they really are. The Gestapo is alive and well thanks to HOA's!

Tomcat5133 Loc: Gladwyne PA

Their is a hidden agenda here everywhere. You can be in a neighborhood that is not a complex and decide to grow
natural plants and weeds that look good for your lawn and backyard. See what happens. The right of freedom is so precious.
This free growing approach is beautiful and very good for the health of your neighborhood. Long ago I stopped the spraying
of my lawn and just cut the lawn. We had people on a trimmed block who had trees and plants and like the outdoors up state
around their house. Some were put off. I got it. The summer house I went to as a kid was that way like being in the woods.
I love it. In European beaches the women and men change into their bathing suits publicly. In many countries women semi
or nude on the beach is just enjoying yourself. We live in a world where some want to control others.
This is not good for all of us.

wkillham

Those that are trashing HOA’s are representative of many of the problems with society today. You join a community agreeing to comply with their rules and then blame the enforcers. Not unlike a smoker insisting on smoking in the middle of the non-smoking section ...

PhotoPhred Loc: Cheyney, Pa

I totally disagree,wkillham. What has become of originality. When I moved to my area 30 years ago, we had everything from 20 room mansions on many acres to nice little cape cod style homes on the same street. Over time most of the family farms have been turned into housing subdivisions where all the houses look the same, all the occupants make the around the same income. Nobody plays outside, the children have their "media" rooms to play video games. I can understand why you wouldn't want neighbors to construct shacks or burn trash in the yard, but most townships have codes preventing this type of activity. One of my neighbors stated at a township meeting regarding the construction of one of these communities that they are restriction the community to only people of a certain economic status. I can't imagine living someplace where someone I don't even know tells me what kind of plants I can grow or what color I can paint the trim on my home. Take your HOA and stuff it.

wkillham

I have no problem with people not liking HOA’s. We all have choices. I do have a problem with people who choose to live in a community that has an HOA, refuse to follow the rules and then blame the HOA. Kind of like blaming the school when your child gets in trouble for breaking the rules...

JohnFrim Loc: Somewhere in the Great White North.

The trouble with many of the HOAs and their rules, as with many "rules" of similar entities including government at large, is that often a very broad rule gets put in place because of some narrow infraction. And if the rule is not broad or specific enough as written it often gets interpreted in a wider sense than perhaps originally intended.

Of course, there is then the totally ridiculous application of rules that don't really make practical sense. For example, in my community one is not allowed to park an oversized vehicle (e.g., motorhome) in the driveway overnight because of a "Property Division" bylaw. However, the "Roads Division" bylaws do allow someone to apply for a 14-day permit to park the vehicle on the street (including overnight). As a result, I can keep the motorhome in my driveway during the day (as I clean and prep it before or after a road trip) but I have to move it to the street overnight. Now, my driveway is long enough to accommodate the motorhome well back from the sidewalk, but since I live on a corner lot where the road makes a gentle bend the only safe curb parking is in front of my neighbour 3 doors away. So the upshot is that this neighbour can complain about my motorhome being in my driveway between 2 and 6 AM, but he cannot complain about it sitting at the curb in front of his house 24/7 for 2 weeks. Go figure!!!

SuperFly48 Loc: NE ILLINOIS

I feel that a community should have the due process to "de certify (dissolve) " their HOA when it's the will of the majority! I understand the spirit of a HOA, yet in too many instances those HOA's go way beyond the spirit and simply impose their will upon the community. POWER CORRUPTS; ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY!!! HOA's have morphed into little dictatorships, without a doubt! The few in power imposing THEIR will upon those not in power! How much "government" is TOO much government???

paulrph1 Loc: Washington, Utah

I have posted several and am not for HOAs but they in some cases are for the benefit of the homeowners and a protection from someone who does not care, has no values, ethics or character. But in other cases some become over zealous and want to control everyone and and everything. Reminds me of the song, "Little Boxes, all filled with ticky-tacky and they all look just the same. There was a religion that was prevalent at the time of Christ that put restrictions on its member tell them everything they must to in order to keep the Sabbath Day holy. The were only allowed to walk so many steps, plus many more. And many HOAs have morphed into the same.

jrconcours Loc: Ocean View, DE

I've always been a proponent of limited Federal government and that most laws should occur at the state and local levels. However let me give every one a little history of our small development (85 houses) in southern Delaware.

The developer who owned the land worked with a national builder to develop the land, the builder would build the houses, contract for water, electrical, sewer etc. The developer would provide the roads, site work (water, sewer, electrical) at the street. As a sales tool the developer would also provide a pool, ponds for storm runoff which also was a landscape sales point. Anyone on a pond paid a $10k premium for a "water view". These amenities were not provided by the state or local governments nor did they want to. The people who moved into our community did.

When looking for a place to retire we looked at the area and did research on the state and local governments to see how they governed, builder reputation and quality of work plus the HOA docs to see if they met our requirements. We knew as an HOA community we would have a shared responsibility to maintain the pool (not cheap), the attached clubhouse, the common landscape areas, ponds, sidewalks and making sure the streets got plowed in a rare snowfall. The HOA docs were clear on what you could and could not add/build on your lot and what you could and could not do such as an RV parked in your driveway for more than 14 days a year, not throwing grass clippings in the street. Grass clippings would foul the ponds and dredging would have to be done more frequently and our costs would go up.

Besides the yearly operating budget we knew once the HOA was turned over to the residents a capital plan would would have to be drawn up to fund long term items such as roof repair to the clubhouse, pool issues, pond dredging, other associated pond and replacement of sidewalks as they all got old. My wife asked me if the $750 a year for HOA fees that the builder estimated was a good number and I said probably not and I estimated in my personal budget a figure of $1000. Keep in mind use the term tax and HOA fee in the same breath. As it turned out $1000 was close so I had no surprise.

Once we were satisfied we signed an agreement to buy. As it turns out there were some people (about 5%) who didn't do their due diligence. After they moved in they didn't like the restrictions in the docs, the HOA fee going up and were also the same people that wanted the HOA to do things that was not the HOA's responsibility. They were also the loudest at meetings but would not serve on the Board of Directors, Architectal Review or committees.

So why did we need an HOA besides the dictatorial/gestapo things I've seen written here:

Bids docs have to be drawn up and costs received from contractors to maintain the pool, maintain the landscaping, cut the grass, maintain and clean the clubhouse and other smaller items that must be developed into a budget that the residents must approve at the annual meeting every year. Resident approval doesn't happen at the state and federal level. In addition the capital plan must be developed and costs estimated so it can have a prorated portion put into the HOA fee.

All of this has to be done by the board (gestapo) who are residents and not paid a dime! All other governments are paid a salary. These same people then have to keep an eye on the costs and make sure it is keeping within the budget. Well you can say lets hire a property manager who will do these things and eliminate the gestapo but who is going to watch over them?

In addition the board has to take all the crap from the 5% who didn't due their due diligence or could not afford the house in the first place or just plain have an attitude like a bent metal trash can cover!

If a person doesn't like the state laws and costs don't move there, if they don't don't like the city or county laws or regulations don't move there, the same goes for an HOA community. If you want to store a boat, RV and hot rods buy a a large enough property that can handle them outside the HOA. If you like weeds in front yard instead of a lawn the same thing applies.

Now if you don't like the gestapo you can run for the board yourself at the next election. Oops the five percent doesn't do that, all they dues is "bitch". They also come to annual resident meetings in Dec and do a gotcha about something that happened in July even though they were toooo busy to complain then.

OH, you want to dissolve the HOA, who is going to maintain everything and where you get the money to pay for it all??????

You can have the biggest impact in an HOA election and it only gets harder as you move up to the city/county, state and federal levels.

Some people want to live in an HOA and some want the freedom to do whatever they want. So buy the property that meets your needs and don't move to a property that doesn't. Your life will be easier.

JohnFrim Loc: Somewhere in the Great White North.

Since my comment of "parking an RV in the driveway for 14 days" was cited in the above quote I would like to clarify a few points.

1) I am not against HOAs. The above reference clearly explains why HOAs are needed in some communities, and I fully support all the arguments presented. In fact, I am on the board of our local HOA, so I understand the issues of maintaining appearances of common areas, operating costs, and complaints from the 5% who can do nothing other than complain.

2) Regarding the RV in the driveway, I do NOT want permission to keep my RV there; it would be a bother to me and an unsightly presence on the street, so I am not complaining about the restriction. I was simply trying to point out the silliness of 2 city bylaws that are not in sync. One tries to be accommodating (14 days of street parking) while the other is just stupid (no overnight in the driveway, meaning between 2-6 AM). That time slot would be the most dangerous for having a large vehicle sitting curbside at a bend in the road, not to mention the infringement on my neighbours' properties.

I think most people are willing to obey sensible rules.