Tell Me Again How Awful HOA’s Are?

[LtScott14]

Most HOAs are not nice. They want to function as a group and it ends up with 2 or 3 at each others necks. Complain, complain, complain.

 

[jamil]

This is about living in subdivisions on small close lots where you neighbors can intrude on you and can make things unsightly. The neighbors are losing market value because many folks will not buy next to this guy and some will not buy in the neighborhood he is in. He is literally costing his neighbors money and there is nothing they can do about it.


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Man Paints His Dream House In Pepto-Bismol Pink & Disgruntled Neighbors Can’t Do Anything About It

When you're looking for a house, there are many things to consider such as how much room you need for your family and the quality of nearby schools. For some people in Texas, having a pool is a m…

www.apost.com

Don’t live where people are so close?

 

[jamil]

An HOA is NOT government. It is an agreement between property owners as to how they will live. You can choose to live with an HOA or choose not to. No one can choose to live without the feds no matter how much we wish we could.


If SHTF and CM invited a bunch of us to share a compound, would there not be an agreement as to how we would all live together? That is an HOA.

Think those tough individual ranchers that opened the Wild West did not have agreements as to how they would live together? Think they lived in anarchy? Nope, they had agreements, and still do.

Hey. I’ve been on an HOA board. You just try to tell them they’re not a governing body. You’ll get a bit of Karen all over you.

 

[Timjoebillybob]

“As strange as this open-garage-door policy may seem, many HOAs do indeed operate a lot like small fiefdoms, passing whatever laws they see fit.”

This puzzles me. Under what authority do they have to do this? They can only enforce what is recorded.

The HOA board can pass new rules. Think of it like the US, you have the constitution then congress which makes the federal code. The covenant is the "constitution" and the ccr is the "code" and the HOA board is "congress".

 

[Ingomike]

The HOA board can pass new rules. Think of it like the US, you have the constitution then congress which makes the federal code. The covenant is the "constitution" and the ccr is the "code" and the HOA board is "congress".

Not that I have ever heard off. And no, an HOA board is far from a congress…

 

[Timjoebillybob]

It that I have ever heard off. And no, an HOA board is far from a congress…

Can they not pass new "legislation" that is in line with the covenants? Are not the board members voted in by the property owners in the HOA?

Man Battles His HOA for 7 Years Over a $500 Mailbox—and Wins

Imagine being forced to buy a $500 mailbox. That's what happened to a Maryland man who took his homeowners association to court and won.

www.realtor.com

 

[tbhausen]

The neighbors should form an LLC, pool their resources, and BUY THE PINK HOUSE. Then, and only then, can they decide what to do with that property.

Too often people want to call the shots, but put no skin in the game.

Yeah, if everyone’s right about why it’s so bad to paint the house pink, they’ll get it for cheap.

 

[Ingomike]

Can they not pass new "legislation" that is in line with the covenants? Are not the board members voted in by the property owners in the HOA?

Man Battles His HOA for 7 Years Over a $500 Mailbox—and Wins

Imagine being forced to buy a $500 mailbox. That's what happened to a Maryland man who took his homeowners association to court and won.

www.realtor.com

If the mailboxes were in the covenants, like several neighborhoods I am aware of he would have lost but because they BS’d the rule the board lost. They cannot just make up stuff that is not in the covenants you receive by law before you close. The biggest dispute usually is over architectural review of changes or additions. The boards have a lot of latitude there.

 

[Nickbau5]

Compiling a few statements from here and refuting them, since I bought my first house at 24yo last year after crashing with my parents who had an HOA. They wanted to get a pool to help with my dad's health issues and crippling pain and the HOA denied it saying that it would "make property value lower" and that if they did, the HOA would put a lien on their house. The HOA in there now wasn't even a thing when they bought the house, the old one disbanded, but a new one came in and bought the old one out and now started a new chapter after 2 years of my parents living there, my parents signed nothing with the new people, but because they were forced to sign it with the old group, it got transferred over. When it was asked to change the bylaws, the HOA chair said that it had to be an "approved lawyer" (read: A friend of theirs) to write up the changes. All this while the HOA doesn't fix the roads or a sign post that's been broken for 1.5yr. HOAs are white collar thugs comprised of Karens and Kens trying to micromanage people so that their "investment house" doesn't lose a penny under $300k profit from a house they bought for $40k in the 70s/80s.

>No one is forcing you into an HOA
>You have the freedom to not join
Not in most circumstances, you are forced to join and it is required to include in the selling agreement.

>It lowers housing prices, people are losing money on their investments
Honestly, good. Stop trying to raise housing prices so other people in my age group can actually afford to buy a house. It should be commonplace to have a person blast a few shots every once and a while in the air to keep prices down.

>You can just change the bylaws
Not unless you use their "approved HOA lawyer" and even then the HOA can just say that they don't have funds in the budget for adjusting the bylaws.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

What's next, mandate what color car I can park in my driveway, or perhaps what models are acceptable?

Already done in Florida HOA's. Pickup trucks and work vans can't be parked visibly in many of them. It's definitely not to keep out Hispanics, though. Definitely. I'm not sure why you'd even think that. We just don't like seeing ladders because they look like two big snakes held together with lots of little snakes and it's scary. Not about Hispanics at all. Snakes.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Isn't it funny how people who see tyranny under every rock are often the biggest tyrants if they get the chance to be? Almost like they are projecting, eh IngoMike? We must jointly own our property to protect it's value from each other, comrade.

I don't care what color my neighbor paints his house, and I'm intrigued by the concept of inflatable weiners. If a house I liked was next to little pink houses and the value was lower, that'd be a plus for me. I can buy at a discount and probably somebody will repaint it some time or other. Or they won't, who cares.

I'm fine with zoning laws. A hog farm on that lot would actually disrupt the neighborhood. Excessive noise, smell, disease/vermin concerns, water quality (although I doubt anyone there is on a well) etc are actual harm. If I choose to live next to an existing hog farm, I knew that going in. Putting in a new one in a tiny lot, that's dumb for everyone including the hogs. Real problem. Your aesthetic concerns are not a real problem.

 

[KG1]

My HOA would have a mandate that ALL houses have inflatable wieners in the front yard and underwear flying on flagpoles.

 

[jamil]

Did you guys know that the 5 or 10 acres you buy from a farmer could have HOA covenants? So buying in the country is not a guarantee of no HOA rules. His wife might not like the sound of a race car being tuned, the smell of pigs, or other things one might believe themselves to be well with their rights to do on their property. Be sure to check throughly and don’t just take someones word on it…

When you buy property that will be disclosed. You'd need to sign any HOA agreement before purchasing. So at that point one so inclined could tell them to **** all the way off.

 

[jamil]

“As strange as this open-garage-door policy may seem, many HOAs do indeed operate a lot like small fiefdoms, passing whatever laws they see fit.”

This puzzles me. Under what authority do they have to do this? They can only enforce what is recorded.

Hey. You signed the agreement. You just didn't read the part where it tells you what the board may do. The board I was on voted to restrict privacy fences after people started putting up privacy fences. And they could do it. I think only two of us voted against. And that was the only reason why I got on the board. To vote against every restriction and fee increase.

 

[Timjoebillybob]

If the mailboxes were in the covenants, like several neighborhoods I am aware of he would have lost but because they BS’d the rule the board lost. They cannot just make up stuff that is not in the covenants you receive by law before you close. The biggest dispute usually is over architectural review of changes or additions. The boards have a lot of latitude there.

Are you trying to say that they cannot change/make new rules? If so that would be a very unusual HOA. If I had to guess about that lawsuit not having read it, I'd say he won because he already had the mailbox prior to the rule being made. And the court ruled it was grandfathered. Or perhaps that the rule was too restrictive in that it mandated a certain make/model of mailbox, perhaps installed by a certain company. As in all fences must be wood, between 4-6ft in height, wood must be purchased from Timjoe's lumber yard and installed by Billybob's fence company.

Our Homeowners' Association Keeps Adding More Rules; Can It Legally Do This?

The rules that were in place when you moved in may not be all the rules you end up living with.

www.nolo.com

Once again you enjoy your little slice of Nork, fine. I've got friends and family who do. Don't expect everyone to want to share it with you.

 

[jamil]

Most HOAs are not nice. They want to function as a group and it ends up with 2 or 3 at each others necks. Complain, complain, complain.

The first name of 67 percent of HOA board members is Karen. That includes the males.

 

[jamil]

Not that I have ever heard off. And no, an HOA board is far from a congress…

It's a private governing body. It has a lead Karen, often called association president, and member Karen's. Sometimes it has anti-Karen's. But those are usually in the minority if they're present at all.

Everyone who is subject to an HOA who doesn't like the HOA should run for a position on the board. It should be your life mission to neuter the HOA as much as possible for as long as you live in that neighborhood. Be an anti-Karen.

 

[jamil]

If the mailboxes were in the covenants, like several neighborhoods I am aware of he would have lost but because they BS’d the rule the board lost. They cannot just make up stuff that is not in the covenants you receive by law before you close. The biggest dispute usually is over architectural review of changes or additions. The boards have a lot of latitude there.

They can change the bylaws but they can't retroactively enforce it. Well, they can try, and tie it up in the courts for years until they finally lose.

 

[Cameramonkey]

Another example. ONE item is "excessive items"? Apparently this Karen is an atheist?

HOA fines senior citizen for angel statue on front porch

"I feel angels are good for you, they protect you, they don't harm you," Shirley says.

www.wrtv.com

 

[marvin02]

In compliance with the thread title I tell @Ingomike HOAs are very awful. Many examples given in this thread.

I say again, HOAs are horrible.