Communities with an HOA

[luvflorida]

We have lived in a total of three communities with an HOA. The first two, we had zero issues. Not so with the community we're in now.

About a month after we moved into our community, the neighbors to the right of our house started parking a very large commercial vehicle in their driveway. It's a type of flatbed tow truck. They have a long driveway. The owner drives it to and from work, and sometimes he leaves and returns during the night. He always backs the truck in, so we always hear the beep, beep, beep of the warning horn/system.

According to the HOA's declaration of covenants it is a clear violation to park ANY commercial vehicle in any area (driveways, streets) where the vehicle is visible from any street or from any other lot within the neighborhood. This truck can be seen from numerous houses and from anyone coming and going in the neighborhood (residents/visitors) and certainly does nothing to enhance the appearance of the neighborhood.
The way our neighbor's driveway is situated, when the truck is parked, it is very close to our house and fence, so it probably affects us more than any other neighbors. But, besides all that, like I said, according to the HOA rules, it is not allowed.

We have been trying for over three months now, to get the HOA to do something about this issue. We've sent four emails so far, and they always get back to us promptly, telling us what they're doing to remedy the situation. Supposedly, they gave the owners time to find another place to park the truck (truck still there) they sent certified letters giving the owners ten business days to comply (truck still there) they called the owner and left a message stating that they are facing fines and attorney fees if they continue to park the truck in their driveway (yup, truck still there). So frustrating!

For those of you living in a community with an HOA:
Have any of you dealt with similar issues?
Does your HOA deal swiftly with violations?
What were some of your reasons for moving into a community with an HOA?

Until this community, we have always really liked having an HOA. However, when there are people that don't feel as though the rules apply to them, and the HOA can't seem to follow through on enforcing the rules, then it makes no sense.

 

[barkley]

no info for you on hoa's but do you know what your local laws are regarding this? we've lived in places where this would violate the city code the minute it was parked longer than 2 hours. each violation would result in ticketing by the local authorities (and they were pretty proactive on enforcement when people called to report it b/c they could have a patrolling cruiser driver by, note the time, drive by in another 2 hours and issue the ticket).

 

[diznygirl]

The PP is right - this could also violate city or county ordinances. This would give your neighbor another level of bureaucracy to deal with.

It sounds like your HOA is doing everything it can with the limits of an HOA. If your neighbors ignore the fines, then a lien goes on the house. They can ignore everything as the fees pile up. It’s frustrating.

 

[Feralpeg]

Unfortunately, there isn't a lot an HOA can do if the people fail to comply.

We had a house in our neighborhood that was a horrible eyesore. The owners never mowed. The weeds were taller than the first story windows. They had a pool, which they did not keep up and two very large dogs that barked constantly. They were sent numerous warning letters and fines were levied against them which they did not pay. The HOA put a lean against the property, which doesn't mean a lot until the people try to sell. Eventually, they cleaned up the property, but it took a couple of years.

 

[aprilgail]

So glad hoa’s are not popular around here because I would hate to have some nosey neighbors reporting things I am doing on my own property.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

Have you considered ignoring it and going about your life? Why get so worked up over what a neighbor is parking in their driveway?

 

[MamaBelle4]

I could never live in a community with an HOA. I have too much to be worried about to be concerned with my neighbor parking their work truck on their private property.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

We have lived in a total of three communities with an HOA. The first two, we had zero issues. Not so with the community we're in now.

About a month after we moved into our community, the neighbors to the right of our house started parking a very large commercial vehicle in their driveway. It's a type of flatbed tow truck. They have a long driveway. The owner drives it to and from work, and sometimes he leaves and returns during the night. He always backs the truck in, so we always hear the beep, beep, beep of the warning horn/system.

According to the HOA's declaration of covenants it is a clear violation to park ANY commercial vehicle in any area (driveways, streets) where the vehicle is visible from any street or from any other lot within the neighborhood. This truck can be seen from numerous houses and from anyone coming and going in the neighborhood (residents/visitors) and certainly does nothing to enhance the appearance of the neighborhood.
The way our neighbor's driveway is situated, when the truck is parked, it is very close to our house and fence, so it probably affects us more than any other neighbors. But, besides all that, like I said, according to the HOA rules, it is not allowed.

We have been trying for over three months now, to get the HOA to do something about this issue. We've sent four emails so far, and they always get back to us promptly, telling us what they're doing to remedy the situation. Supposedly, they gave the owners time to find another place to park the truck (truck still there) they sent certified letters giving the owners ten business days to comply (truck still there) they called the owner and left a message stating that they are facing fines and attorney fees if they continue to park the truck in their driveway (yup, truck still there). So frustrating!

For those of you living in a community with an HOA:
Have any of you dealt with similar issues?
Does your HOA deal swiftly with violations?
What were some of your reasons for moving into a community with an HOA?

Until this community, we have always really liked having an HOA. However, when there are people that don't feel as though the rules apply to them, and the HOA can't seem to follow through on enforcing the rules, then it makes no sense.

Have you thought of suing your neighbor for specific performance? Any homeowner can do it.

 

[luvflorida]

So glad hoa’s are not popular around here because I would hate to have some nosey neighbors reporting things I am doing on my own property.

Have you considered ignoring it and going about your life? Why get so worked up over what a neighbor is parking in their driveway?

I could never live in a community with an HOA. I have too much to be worried about to be concerned with my neighbor parking their work truck on their private property.

These are all valid points...as long as you are not living in a community with an HOA rule that says it is a violation to park large commercial vehicles in full view of other houses. If someone wants to park their truck in their driveway and it is not against any rule, then there isn't a problem. However, when you buy property in a community with an HOA, every owner is given a copy of the covenants. You know what is and what isn't allowed, and if you don't want to comply with the restrictions/rules, then don't buy property in such a community.

And, no, I am not a fan of having someone park a big commercial vehicle (a large flatbed truck that can hold several cars on it) close to our house every day and night, especially when it is not allowed.

 

[kaytieeldr]

These are all valid points...as long as you are not living in a community with an HOA rule that says it is a violation to park large commercial vehicles in full view of other houses.

Do the HOA bylaws define or describe "large commercial vehicles"? Your neighbor could argue that means 18-wheelers, not his or her flatbed tow truck. I mean, technically, a Ford F-150 with magnetic signs on the sides is a large truck, but can the HOA ban those whil allowing other models?

 

[usnuzuloose]

Lived in an HOA trailor park, it just turned family . Right from the start we wveere harassed . It ended up in court with a jury trial and HOA lost and they had to move out. I will never live with an HOA again , and our issue was even worse than yours.

 

[mrodgers]

So glad hoa’s are not popular around here because I would hate to have some nosey neighbors reporting things I am doing on my own property.

Especially when it's things like a work truck. How pathetic that you can't even have a job if you live in an HOA.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

The beeping during the night would annoy me. Is it possible to temporarily turn off the external ‘warning’ alarms on commercial vehicles which have them? If so, would that be an initial compromise?

PS. I am someone who argues with the parking sensors inside my own car.

 

[sam_gordon]

The beeping during the night would annoy me. Is it possible to temporarily turn off the external ‘warning’ alarms on commercial vehicles which have them? If so, would that be an initial compromise?

PS. I am someone who argues with the parking sensors inside my own car.

Regarding the bolded, highly doubtful. A company/manufacturer isn't going to take the chance a safety device could be bypassed.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

Regarding the bolded, highly doubtful. A company/manufacturer isn't going to take the chance a safety device could be bypassed.

So here it is against the law to sound a horn in a built up area between 11 pm and 7 am.

 

[nkereina]

Have any of you dealt with similar issues?

We live in an HOA and had a person on our street park an RV in their driveway. We have very short driveways so it took up their whole driveway, and violated HOA bylaws. Luckily, the owners and HOA were able to come to an acceptable compromise that allowed the owners to park the RV in their driveway the night before they'd go camping on the weekend and the night after they'd return so that they could load/unload. It is not to remain for more than 24 hours. The owner has been compliant.

Does your HOA deal swiftly with violations?

Our HOA deals with violations in the same manner you described yours as doing. They have had to file liens on houses for unpaid fines and dues. But aside from letters, fines, and liens, there isn't much recourse. They can't force someone to adhere to the bylaws. No one can be arrested for it. If the person doesn't plan on selling their house, at least not any time soon, the lien probably doesn't scare them either.

What were some of your reasons for moving into a community with an HOA?

We read the bylaws first and felt they were reasonable and easy for us to abide by. The things it enforces are things we thought enhance the neighborhood - no chain link fences, above ground pools, boats/RVs in the driveways, etc. The person next door can't paint their house purple and leave garbage cans in the front yard. An HOA certainly is not for everyone, so it also somewhat limits who your potential neighbors may end up being if/when a house goes up for sale. Chances are good it will be a like-minded person interested in maintaining property values, which is ultimately the purpose of an HOA.

 

[MamaBelle4]

These are all valid points...as long as you are not living in a community with an HOA rule that says it is a violation to park large commercial vehicles in full view of other houses. If someone wants to park their truck in their driveway and it is not against any rule, then there isn't a problem. However, when you buy property in a community with an HOA, every owner is given a copy of the covenants. You know what is and what isn't allowed, and if you don't want to comply with the restrictions/rules, then don't buy property in such a community.

And, no, I am not a fan of having someone park a big commercial vehicle (a large flatbed truck that can hold several cars on it) close to our house every day and night, especially when it is not allowed.

Even if I did live in a community with an HOA and my next door neighbor had a large truck that fit in their driveway that violated the HOA bylaws, I wouldn't say a peep about it.

My husband was injured in 2012. At that time, I was several months into a pretty rough pregnancy and we already had 2 children under 5. My brother would come over and do our yard work for us occasionally, but it went several weeks in between mowings.

Thank God I didn't live in an HOA where we would have had to add hefty fines to our list of problems at a time where we lost our primary source of income and nearly lost our home.

Have you considered why your neighbor may be bringing his work truck home? Does his company maybe pay for gas? Is it quicker and he wants to get home to spend time with his family. Is he coming a different direction from the garage and just coming home until his next shift?

 

[Colleen27]

Have you looked into your municipality's noise ordinances? The HOA may be relatively powerless to enforce its rules - they can levy fines but, as other posters have pointed out, a lien on the property is their only collection recourse and that doesn't matter until the property is sold. But the city might be willing to address the issue as a noise violation if he's coming and going with the backup beeper blaring during whatever quiet hours are established by local law.

I mean, technically, a Ford F-150 with magnetic signs on the sides is a large truck, but can the HOA ban those whil allowing other models?

They absolutely can and, in my area, do. It is one of the reasons we shied away from buying in one. DH, back when we bought our house, was self-employed and his only vehicle was an F250 with his business logo on the doors. No louder or more disruptive than any other truck, no backup beepers or anything like that, just a stock F250. But after the first couple HOA developments we looked at had rules that would have prevented him from parking it at our home, even in the garage, we stopped looking at neighborhoods with HOAs. I didn't much like the idea of one anyway. I had a problem with some of the rules about kids' play equipment, and I have friends who have ended up in nightmare situations when the demographics of the community shifted and an HOA board full of senior citizens started making rules that weren't there when they bought. But to say that two vinyl decals are reason enough for the absolute prohibition of a vehicle that is in every other way identical to a dozen others parked around the neighborhood is ridiculous.

We bought instead in a town with enforced anti-blight codes that address high weeds and such without venturing into the unreasonable of no company cars, no backyard swingsets, no line-drying laundry, etc. And it turned out to be a very, very right decision for us because even after he closed his business and eventually sold that truck, he's had two jobs that have provided him with a company vehicle. At his current job he commutes almost a hundred miles a day and the company pays for gas, so that would be a heck of a perk to have to turn down because the company logo on the side of his minivan violates the neighborhood rules!

 

[luvflorida]

Do the HOA bylaws define or describe "large commercial vehicles"? Your neighbor could argue that means 18-wheelers, not his or her flatbed tow truck. I mean, technically, a Ford F-150 with magnetic signs on the sides is a large truck, but can the HOA ban those whil allowing other models?

Yes, the bylaws very clearly describe the type of vehicles that are not allowed to be parked in driveways, and the truck very clearly falls under the description.

We live in an HOA and had a person on our street park an RV in their driveway. We have very short driveways so it took up their whole driveway, and violated HOA bylaws. Luckily, the owners and HOA were able to come to an acceptable compromise that allowed the owners to park the RV in their driveway the night before they'd go camping on the weekend and the night after they'd return so that they could load/unload. It is not to remain for more than 24 hours. The owner has been compliant.


Our HOA deals with violations in the same manner you described yours as doing. They have had to file liens on houses for unpaid fines and dues. But aside from letters, fines, and liens, there isn't much recourse. They can't force someone to adhere to the bylaws. No one can be arrested for it. If the person doesn't plan on selling their house, at least not any time soon, the lien probably doesn't scare them either.


We read the bylaws first and felt they were reasonable and easy for us to abide by. The things it enforces are things we thought enhance the neighborhood - no chain link fences, above ground pools, boats/RVs in the driveways, etc. The person next door can't paint their house purple and leave garbage cans in the front yard. An HOA certainly is not for everyone, so it also somewhat limits who your potential neighbors may end up being if/when a house goes up for sale. Chances are good it will be a like-minded person interested in maintaining property values, which is ultimately the purpose of an HOA.

Thank you for input! I appreciate it!

Have you looked into your municipality's noise ordinances? The HOA may be relatively powerless to enforce its rules - they can levy fines but, as other posters have pointed out, a lien on the property is their only collection recourse and that doesn't matter until the property is sold. But the city might be willing to address the issue as a noise violation if he's coming and going with the backup beeper blaring during whatever quiet hours are established by local law.



They absolutely can and, in my area, do. It is one of the reasons we shied away from buying in one. DH, back when we bought our house, was self-employed and his only vehicle was an F250 with his business logo on the doors. No louder or more disruptive than any other truck, no backup beepers or anything like that, just a stock F250. But after the first couple HOA developments we looked at had rules that would have prevented him from parking it at our home, even in the garage, we stopped looking at neighborhoods with HOAs. I didn't much like the idea of one anyway. I had a problem with some of the rules about kids' play equipment, and I have friends who have ended up in nightmare situations when the demographics of the community shifted and an HOA board full of senior citizens started making rules that weren't there when they bought. But to say that two vinyl decals are reason enough for the absolute prohibition of a vehicle that is in every other way identical to a dozen others parked around the neighborhood is ridiculous.

We bought instead in a town with enforced anti-blight codes that address high weeds and such without venturing into the unreasonable of no company cars, no backyard swingsets, no line-drying laundry, etc. And it turned out to be a very, very right decision for us because even after he closed his business and eventually sold that truck, he's had two jobs that have provided him with a company vehicle. At his current job he commutes almost a hundred miles a day and the company pays for gas, so that would be a heck of a perk to have to turn down because the company logo on the side of his minivan violates the neighborhood rules!

Thank you. This is kind of my point. Why would anyone move into a community knowing what the HOA rules are, but assume it's okay if they don't abide by them? You read the rules and made a decision that was right for you. Perfectly reasonable!

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

They absolutely can and, in my area, do. It is one of the reasons we shied away from buying in one. DH, back when we bought our house, was self-employed and his only vehicle was an F250 with his business logo on the doors. No louder or more disruptive than any other truck, no backup beepers or anything like that, just a stock F250. But after the first couple HOA developments we looked at had rules that would have prevented him from parking it at our home, even in the garage, we stopped looking at neighborhoods with HOAs.

We had to rewrite our rules on an HOA board I was on due to someone having a F150 with a drywall business on the side. It was nicer than either of his neighbor's trucks (so no basis for an "eyesore" or "property value" complaint) but technically violated the rules. We were a reasonable bunch of people though and changed the rule because it clearly was not the intent.