III Corps

We have an HOA and although there have been some problem homeowners, most have a common interest and that is maintaining the common grounds, the clubhouse, pool, tennis courts. The subdivision has maintained property values because we have done that.

Twice I took the lead position in the HOA because no one would but each time I agreed to take the position only if a close friend would take the VP position. A few years ago we had to do some upgrades to the commons and with the HOA, we were able to convince homeowners it was in their best interest to contribute to the special fund. Funny thing is after the project was complete, I heard more people say they had noticed some things needed to be addressed and after it was done, the sub- looked a lot better.

As for someone being deployed and their yard not being taken care of, or their family, I doubt that would happen in ours. Too many vets who are willing to kick in and help.

No Nazis.. no wackos.. just people being adults, seeing a common problem and solving it together. Like most things, it is the people that make or break the deal.

dojetdriver

Too many headaches to even talk about.

But the one that really chaps my hide isn't the HOA, it's the management company they have hired.

cl601pilot

The long and the short of them is that they suck. The first thing that you need to do is get a copy of the HOA residential rules or the CCR's.

If you are a renter the fines are assessed against the owner of the property. Read the documents that you signed when you rented the condo.

I got so ****ed of at our HOA board that I ran for a seat and won. That is only an available option if you are an owner.

For the most part they are an angry small minded group of people. Ours is composed of a 5'-2" angry gay guy (who is ****ed at the world, I'm not quite sure if its because he's short or if its because he's gay), A 60 year old angry single lady that is in everyones business (she's divorced, I wonder why?), a 50 year old woman that is half in the bag all the time and me.

The board meetings are really a waste of time but the fines have stopped.

Just remember that you can't beat them so you might as well **** with them severely.

floridaCFII

Yeah... either that or they are full of people who can't control their own lives, so they decide to make a hobby of controlling everyone else's.

III Corps

I guess ours and the adjacent subdivisions are unique from the thread. I worked with some other subdivisions, went to the various vendors (landscape, garbage, etc) and got reduced rates for all participants. The adjacent subdivision set up a job fair and created a network for people either wanting a new job or who had lost theirs. They brought in speakers from various companies to discuss their company needs and take resume's.

A result of Nazis or the HOA? Don't know but those who complain about the HOAs in these three that I know are in a distinct minority. ???

OldAg84

HOAs? In our area we could not get a new house in a neighborhood without having to “join” one. We didn’t want to live “out in the country” as we had three little kids. Our neighbors are great; but the HOA? Forget about it-

1.Board people complaining about landscaping while people are putting in lawns from scratch. This after the developers and builders clear-cut the land and stripped the topsoil. Try getting anything to grow in unimproved North Carolina red clay. Even more insulting was the dirt guy who had the b@lls to say, “Yeah, I’ll sell your dirt back to you.”

2. Small minded board people who almost got the association into a ADA (American’s with Disabilities ACT) lawsuit over a fence for an autistic child. Our insurance would NOT have applied and they would’ve cleaned us out.

3. Management companies giving developers sweetheart deals and failing to collect dues. When we figured it out, all of a sudden the HOA gets a $40,000 check from the management company.

4. Three neighborhoods with different covenants rolled into one HOA. “Hey, how come he can have a five foot fence and I can’t”? Etc. etc.

5. Unequal enforcement based on who you know.

6. Petty politics.

7. People stirring up trouble where none exists.

Guess you know what I think of HOAs. Local municipalities love them. Why? Because they take all the stuff that should be town code and enforced by the town and put that burden on somebody else for no cost. For the most part HOAs are made up of people who want to enforce their taste and values on their neighbors.

HOA, “We don’t want basketball hoops in the street.”

Me, “Ummm, there are 50 kids in these 20 houses on this street and none of the residents on this street have complained.”

HOA, “Well it’s against the covenants.”

2 weeks later


HOA, “We told you to move the basketball hoop”

Me, “And I did, it is not longer in the street- it is on my lawn. Please show me a specific clause in the covenants prohibiting that.”


HOA, “Um, um, we’ll get back to you”. They never did.

I moved it somewhat later into the driveway, but bear in mind these are the same people who would complain about bored, unoccupied kids causing trouble.

As it turned out, my wife, a non-practicing attorney and stay at home mom, who was fed up with the HOA regarding the ADA lawsuit and staged a coup (per the covenants). The community avoided the lawsuit (just barely) and when a when people resigned in a huff she appointed a team (including an accountant) to the board (again per the covenants). They then cleaned-up our finances, completed landscaping projects, fired the management company, and cut our dues by 30%.

Things have settled down nicely now, but if I never see an HOA again, I wouldn’t mind.

ryan1234

Ours actually requires people to have only white blinds in all the windows with no accents. Welcome mats need to be a specific size. Even though I drive 15mph, people walking their dogs (in the middle of the road) will still tell me to slow down. One day I just can't wait to buy some land out in the country, have an airstrip, and not be bothered with this asinine geriatric community non-sense.

JayDee

I know I am in one.... However, I have no idea when they meet or whom they are... I just get random notices from them saying I need to fix this or that... Once my roommates Motorcycle was parked out of the elements on our front porch... As opposed to the 15ft to the parking spot. Also, at the time, our lot was very crowded, and it was just easier and more space efficient if he rolled it up there when not in use.

We got a letter saying it was against the HOA rules, and we had to move it or it would be towed...

So we put it right back into the parking lot... Now there is one less spot... We have two spots per Townhouse, and on average each town house has two - three cars...

PaintCan

Five Steps to happy HOA living:

1. Read the by laws of HOA with a magnifying glass
2. Go to meetings and see what/who is there (nobody attends)
3. Run for board member
4. Vote yourself president or architectural commitee chair after you are elected
5. Systematically replace the troublemakers with your like minded friends

It's what I did.

⌐ AV8OR WANNABE

Totally agree!

Ryan - I too live in an HOA and actually wish we were more aggressive when it comes to following some rules (mainly parking issues, etc).

Personally, I like the fact our lawn is mowed, flowers planted, etc. by my association while I'm on a trip and the $35 a months I'm paying for it is a small price to pay for not having to deal with it...

I think of HOAs as "gatherings of old people" and although I'm not old yet I wanted to live near people who are "older" because usually it means the surroundings will be much quieter, there are fewer parties, it's cleaner, basically people take care of their properties (maintaining their value), etc, etc.

Also, people drive slower and yes, stop at all stop signs - I care because we have a small dog that's always on a leash but at a previous place where we used to live it almost got run over by one of the "community speeders" when it got away from me for a second...
The HOA I actually wanted to be a part of wouldn't accept me because I was too young (must be 50 years old or older).

In the past I'd been around too many students and younger punks who simply didn't care about their neighbors and that's why HOA's appealed to me...

Overall, I'm pretty happy...


Also, don't know your specifics but try to talk to the folks in the know to find out what's really going on...

From what I've seen in the past, if a tenant is ****ing off other HOA members they'll try to make things miserable for him/her just to get them to sell and move out... That's what they did in our association a few times, it worked and I'm glad those people moved out...

I'm not saying this IS what's happening to you but there's this possibility. ...or your HOA really does suck...