HOA fun...our first TWO violations...yay!

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Okay--one is totally us. We still have a disassembled playhouse in a spot it should not be as I lost the hardware. I get that one.

The other is a fence needing repair...only....
Our yard is not fenced, our paperwork includes no fence.

Neighbor's yard is fenced...so until they can prove that some prior owner of our home chipped in for it...as far as I can tell...not our fence. So I am returning that one.

But now I am kind of creeped out by the idea of people walking in our yard and taking pictures of violations.

Will head to the hardware store this week looking for parts for the playhouse.

As for that fence---I would expect they would have to prove that we "own it before we are expected to fix it.

HOA---fun times

I'm sure we will inadverently break more rules as we navigate getting accustomed to memorizing all the rules.

 

[Christine]

I am sooooo glad my HOA is not like that!

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

Our HOA is MD is like that. They walk around with clipboards once a month noting every little thing. We got a notice last month that there was rotted wood around our dormers that we had to replace immediately. Only problem with that is that we had all the wood replaced around the dormers in April before we tried to list the house for sale (it didn't sell so we are renting it out). There is no way on the planet that the wood rotted between April and August. We even had a neighbor and our property manager go over and take pictures and inspect and there are no signs of damage. It still looks brand spanking new but the date on the report is dated in August.

The HOA here in GA is lax. There are a ton of violations in the neighborhood and the HOA here has no power to enforce them. DH works with one of the guys on the HOA board and he says they can't even get half the people to pay their dues but those people still show up to use the community pool and tennis courts.

 

[4greatboys]

I dislike HOA's quite a bit so we bought in a neighborhood without one. Everyones yard and house still look nice and well kept dispite someone having to tell us to do it.

 

[Hannathy]

I dislike HOA's quite a bit so we bought in a neighborhood without one. Everyones yard and house still look nice and well kept dispite someone having to tell us to do it.

I would never buy with a HOA unless there was no where else to live in this country!

and the same for our neighborhood

 

[SandrA9810]

I hate HOAs too. I could never live in one. Townhomes might be the only exception because they generally take care of the property around the buildings and the exterior.

 

[WhateverLolaWants]

Our HOA just rebooted itself after not being around for a bit due to leadership problems. In the mean time, people have put in pools (a no no unless you get a certain amount of signatures) and other "illegal" things. Reading the by laws they sent out was a hoot. I busted a gut over a lot of those, especially the one that does not allow dog breeding (I'm assuming for profit). I don't see how my dog's reproductive rights is any of their business!

 

[disney1990]

I am sooooo glad my HOA is not like that!

Me too.

 

[mhsjax]

I don't think there is anywhere left where I live that doesn't have an HOA. Ours isn't bad at all. I know some that are terrible and really are nit picky, luckily we aren't one of them.

 

[mhsjax]

Our HOA just rebooted itself after not being around for a bit due to leadership problems. In the mean time, people have put in pools (a no no unless you get a certain amount of signatures) and other "illegal" things. Reading the by laws they sent out was a hoot. I busted a gut over a lot of those, especially the one that does not allow dog breeding (I'm assuming for profit). I don't see how my dog's reproductive rights is any of their business!

Maybe they just don't want Hoochie Muts in their neighborhood. lol

 

[MomofKatie]

We got a notice last summer that our shutters were faded. Fair enough- they did look a little worn (though not as worn as our next door neighbors, who didn't get a notice). We repainted them and the front door a different color- we like it much better than the original one. Neighbors still have dingy faded shutters and still no notice.

Our across-the-street neighbors got a notice that ONE weed was growing in the crack in their driveway. I think that was a bit weird and extreme... But it was easy to fix!!

 

[cm8]

HOA"S SUCK! We will never own another property where HOA's are in control.

We are adults that bought and paid for homes worth lots of $$$$, why in the world would we then be incapable of taking care of our investments.


Too many HOA boards are over there heads and out of control, they share some of the same traits as some of the "trouble makers" on this board .

I know all HOA's are not power hungry and "it's our way or the highway" so to speak but sometimes I can't tell their real ages for acting like a shoe size

 

[Ohiodislover]

I received a note on my door about my girls hanging their pool towels over our patio railing within a week or so of moving in. No violation, just a friendly reminder.

 

[Tina]

The HOA in our last neighborhood was strict, to the point of being extremely annoying. After about 3 years in the house, we decided to paint the trim around the front door and the garage doors/trim. DH had mistakenly picked up Antique Ivory instead of Antique White. The difference was so minor, none of us (us and the surrounding neighbors) even noticed. But the HOA did! We got a citation telling us to correct it within 30 days or face fines.

We also had several families in the neighborhood who had build white painted decks on the backs of their homes. These decks were approved by the HOA before they were built. Fast forward a few years later when some new folks join the HOA and decide they didn't like white decks and made them against the covenants. Then they tried to cite the people who already had them! Unbelievable. Thankfully, they lost that battle and those owners were "grandfathered" in.

Now I live in a different community and WISH I had that HOA here so they could cite the pigs that live next to me!

 

[Mouse House Mama]

What happens if you don't comply? Do they tar and feather you? Force you out of the neighborhood?

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

What happens if you don't comply? Do they tar and feather you? Force you out of the neighborhood?

They can fine you and put a lien against your property until the fine or any unpaid dues are paid.

 

[Tina]

They can fine you, sue you, and even seize your home. I saw it nearly happen to a guy who painted his fence barn-red. He laughed at them & refused to pay the fines or repaint the fence. He stopped laughing when he ended up in court & found himself talking to a lawyer. His lawyer told him to pay the fines & fix the fence if he wanted to keep his home.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Note to self- Never move where there is a HOA.

 

[MichelleVW]

omg...no way could I ever live anywhere like that. I lived in military housing for years and I'm done with it! I keep my yard nice because I want too..not because the yard police will give me a ticket.

 

[Katieinwonderland]

I hate our HOA - I never want to live in a community with one ever again.

We bought our house in Novemeber last year and they've sent us notices every couple of weeks. The first one arrived two weeks after we first moved in, telling us that our front lawn needed work. Well of course it did, the house was a foreclosure and we were working on the inside first since that was the bit we lived in. We got the lawn taken care of fairly quickly, but not before they'd sent us four more "friendly reminders".

The most recent stack of mail from them have been regarding weeds. We have no idea what they're talking about, there are no weeds in our lawn. However, just reading this thread I wonder if they mean weeds growing in cracks in the driveway. I mean, there aren't many but there are a few. Hmmm, maybe that's it.

I thought the point of an HOA was to keep the neighborhood looking nice - I fail to see how one or two weeds in my driveway spoils the look of the community