Why I hate HOAs

[DrMoab]

Every email I send to my HOA ends with "you guys are a bunch of crooks" and "go F*CK YOURSELVES".

They hate me and the feeling is mutual.

They have nothing on me, and I have everything on them. (embezzlement, 'for profit' corporation, etc.)

Again, they HATE me!!!

The Hood you live in us under an HOA? That surprises me.

I wouldn't do it. There isn't a nice enough free home on the planet that would make me move there. My house is MY house and what I want to do to it or around it should be my business and mine alone.

 

[5-90]

Every email I send to my HOA ends with "you guys are a bunch of crooks" and "go F*CK YOURSELVES".

They hate me and the feeling is mutual.

They have nothing on me, and I have everything on them. (embezzlement, 'for profit' corporation, etc.)

Again, they HATE me!!!

Why haven't you gotten rid of them yet? Seems to me that if more of these outfits got shut down, we might be quit of at least one asinine idea...

 

[TRNDRVR]

Why haven't you gotten rid of them yet? Seems to me that if more of these outfits got shut down, we might be quit of at least one asinine idea...

Last HOA meeting I went to I made the motion, in front of my 'landlord', (yes I own my own home) to hire an attorney to represent us to investigate having it disolved. No one had the balls to second it.

We have an HOA because the property manager says we have to have one and everybody is afraid of them.

Hence my emails.

I purporsely taunt them.

 

[bjoehandley]

Last HOA meeting I went to I made the motion, in front of my 'landlord', (yes I own my own home) to hire an attorney to represent us to investigate having it resolved. No one had the balls to second it.

We have an HOA because the property manager says we have to have one and everybody is afraid of them.

Hence my emails.

I purposely taunt them.

If they're doing funny things with the books, isn't there someplace they can be turned in to? Preferable that would be painfully probing and an otherwise royal PITA to deal with even if things are within the allotted limits?

 

[5-90]

Last HOA meeting I went to I made the motion, in front of my 'landlord', (yes I own my own home) to hire an attorney to represent us to investigate having it disolved. No one had the balls to second it.

We have an HOA because the property manager says we have to have one and everybody is afraid of them.

Hence my emails.

I purporsely taunt them.

I'd figured - you seem the type.

If you own, why for do you have a property manager?

(As far as "owning" and having an HOA - witness the foolishment we have in "Condos." I don't want to rent an apartment - why would I want to buy one? They don't have garages, you can't build part of it out as a shop, and I can fix things on my own, thank you very much...)

 

[bjoehandley]

I'd figured - you seem the type.

If you own, why for do you have a property manager?

(As far as "owning" and having an HOA - witness the foolishment we have in "Condos." I don't want to rent an apartment - why would I want to buy one? They don't have garages, you can't build part of it out as a shop, and I can fix things on my own, thank you very much...)

I've wondered the same thing for years!

 

[Bent]

If they are dumb enough to "buy a house" in a HOA controlled development they deserve everything they get; Plain and simple! Listening to those neutered morons whine just makes me laugh.

 

[fscrig75]

I live in a small development that is HOA and they aren't really that bad.
Yes I'm not a big fan of the idea, and I've heard plenty of horror stories.
The only time I hear from them is to sign petitions to send to the city about changing speed limit signs, installing speed bumps or changing stop signs.

But again it is pretty rediculious to pay someone to tell you how to manage your own property.

 

[RichP]

Put lincoln stickers and badges on the ford.
I wonder what they would do if someone showed up with a rolls royce converted into a pickup like miss agnes in the travis mcgee books. Now that would be a quandry....

 

[fubar XJ]

HOA's are somewhat of a necessary evil, depending on the caliber of your neighbors. If you're surrounded by decent people with some common sense, then it's not so bad. If, like me, you have a next door neighbor who constantly has 3-6 vehicles stacked up in his driveway, refuses to mow his front grass, leaves trash piled up at the curb for weeks on end, and is constantly throwing noisy house parties, then it's nice to have an element other than the police to use to get him to listen. The police can deal with the party issues, they can't usually deal with the parking, unmown grass, and curbside trash issues.

My HOA was mandated by the builder, and IIRC can be dissolved after ten years. Meanwhile, we hired a management company to serve the necessary purpose of providing liability insurance and enforcement of reasonable covenants. No-one wants to buy a half mil house and have the neighbor stacking his driveway with junk and never tending to his yard.



But I agree that them pissing that you've parked a nice, new pickup in the driveway is bullspit.

 

[ECKSJAY]

The police can deal with the party issues, they can't usually deal with the parking, unmown grass, and curbside trash issues.

Wow, they don't have Code Enforcement or Fire Departments up thar in Bot-Hell?

 

[fscrig75]

Put lincoln stickers and badges on the ford.

Thats a pretty good idea, can probably get them cheap on ebay. Damn the man

 

[FordGuy]

So, what do the rules say? What rule are they quoting? If it's not clear just tell them if they say anything else you will sue them for discrimination. The one thing that is always important to remember with HOA's is that if someone Else is doing it, they can't stop you. I am really curios to what HOA rule they are using to allow different make vehicles.

 

[djblade311]

x2 on FordGuy's comments. My wife is on the board and she is the only level headed person. Our property manager makes up her owns rules and I tell her she's full of shiat until she can show me in the CCnRs.

 

[GSequoia]

People who choose to live in HOA neighborhoods have zero complaining rights.

I disagree. It's come to where finding a place without a HOA is damn hard to do without moving to BFE (and I refuse to have a hellishly long commute).

Luckily for me my house was last transferee in 1977 so it is not under their power. I don't know what will happen when it is transfered to me though, aparentely cities can force new owners to belong.

 

[fubar XJ]

Wow, they don't have Code Enforcement or Fire Departments up thar in Bot-Hell?

I'm outside city limits of both Bothell and Mill Creek, so city codes don't apply. County codes are pretty lenient, and you'd be hard-pressed to find an officer willing to go to bat over something like debris at the curb. The lawn issue is unenforceable outside of a covenant, it's his yard, not mowing it won't be found among any actual laws. The covenants do cover it though, and the management company enforces it through letters to the homeowner and the subsequent fines if he doesn't comply. Those were the two main issues that made us decide to go with a management company. As fellow homeowners, we have no authority short of filing suit (expensive and time-consuming) to get him to mow his grass and pick up his trash. As far as insurance goes, liability insurance is unfortunately a necessary evil, especially since we have a large builder installed pond in the development. Someone's kid drowns in it, we're on the hook as the property owners. With insurance, there are funds there to cover such an incident.

I agree that it's all piddly-ass bullshit, but welcome to the modern world we live in.

 

[Bent]

...welcome to the modern world I live in.

No thanks.

 

[ECKSJAY]

I'm outside city limits of both Bothell and Mill Creek, so city codes don't apply. County codes are pretty lenient, and you'd be hard-pressed to find an officer willing to go to bat over something like debris at the curb. The lawn issue is unenforceable outside of a covenant, it's his yard, not mowing it won't be found among any actual laws. The covenants do cover it though, and the management company enforces it through letters to the homeowner and the subsequent fines if he doesn't comply. Those were the two main issues that made us decide to go with a management company. As fellow homeowners, we have no authority short of filing suit (expensive and time-consuming) to get him to mow his grass and pick up his trash. As far as insurance goes, liability insurance is unfortunately a necessary evil, especially since we have a large builder installed pond in the development. Someone's kid drowns in it, we're on the hook as the property owners. With insurance, there are funds there to cover such an incident.

I agree that it's all piddly-ass bullshit, but welcome to the modern world we live in.

Ah, I gotcha. Those areas outside city limits do make it a lot tougher. While growing up, we had a neighbor across the street who refused to mow her grass. The neighborhood had been discussing it for a couple of weeks before someone called the City of Kent Code Enforcement folks. They came out and gave her notice to pick up trash and cut the grass. The trash got cleaned up for the most part but the grass stayed. If she hadn't threatened to sue everyone who approached her yard (yes, she used to scream out the always open window at people even walking on the sidewalk near her place), one of the neighbors would have just cut it for her. After that two weeks was up, the Fire Dept came by and issued her a citation for the hazard the dead grass had created in the neighborhood. A few days later a truck showed up and her lazy boyfriend was out there with his buddies slowly cutting it. Took them 3 days of solid work to get the 1/4 acre yard cut.

 

[XJ Eric]

I hate HOAs. At our last house I was not allowed to change my own oil in my own garage with the garage door shut. I protested by building a buggy in the garage... We moved to a nice neighborhood with no HOA. When we were shopping for houses the first thing we asked is if there was an HOA. That's a deal breaker for me now.

x80K!!!!

 

[DrMoab]

I disagree. It's come to where finding a place without a HOA is damn hard to do without moving to BFE (and I refuse to have a hellishly long commute).

Luckily for me my house was last transferee in 1977 so it is not under their power. I don't know what will happen when it is transfered to me though, aparentely cities can force new owners to belong.

Maybe you should try a different venue all together...like away from that stupid state you live in.