Homeowners Association Rules

[lclark0621]

Our new neighborhood is custom neighborhood with a strict HOA. You buy your lot, find a builder, submit your plans & build. So every house looks different. On our street there is a completely "modern house", a victorian style house, a sprawling ranch, and many other different styles. I love it!

The HOA does more then set rules. The dues also pay for the several parks, lakes & sporting centers/fields with in the neighborhood, as well as maintaining all the common areas.

We have an "HOA" in the neighborhood we are moving out of now. Our neighborhood now is a "production neighborhood", meaning there were 3 or 4 different builders in here & they all had 5 or 6 plans to choose from, so everything looks the same.

They charge a fortune for my HOA here & do NOTHING. Yep they mow that small patch of grass at the front of the neighborhood & the "maintain" the brick wall around the neighborhood (though it took 6 months & several calls from almost everyone in the neighborhood to get them to clean up the grafiti on it last year).

Some of my neighbors' yards are just awful! Grass only mowed once a month, maybe. Grass so high & full in the flower beds, I dont think you can even call them "beds" anymore. Junk cars parked in the driveways for months. And with the amount of cars parked in the street on both sides, it is hard to get down a lot of the streets. And since our town does not have an overnight parking rule, they only thing we can do is go to the HOA, that does nothing.

I think if you have a good HOA, it can really help your neighborhood. Your house, your business, yes. But I dont want to look at your house ever day if you decide to have 1000 steel drums lined up on your yard like a junk yard. That affects my property value as well.

There was a post here a while ago about someone trying to sell their house & a neighbor had an obnoxious sign up about the seller, so they were losing offers & interest in the house. They had contacted several people & were told there was nothing they could do. If they had lived in a neighborhood with a strict HOA, that would NEVER have been allowed to continue.

OTH, the 4 foot fence rule seems nuts to me! I want a nice HIGH fence. I have huge dogs & a 4 foot fence wouldn't stop them at all. Give me a nice tall privacy fence & what I do in my backyard is my business.

 

[Bostonbrat]

I wish that I didn't love my house so much. Our HOA STINKS!!!!! Our dues have gone up $51 a month since we moved in (now $1200 annually) due to vandalism and such. Thats fine there are stupid kids that have no pride in where they live ok I get that kids can be stupid and have little or no respect.

We pay for gates that are ALWAYS BROKEN, a pool we NEVER use (my sister that lives 2700 miles away as been in more than we have), tennis courts I've only walked be and a putting green and basketball court I have no use for.

Ok so I hope I do not offend anyone by saying this but it is the only anaolgy I can make. The Jewish people in Nazi Germany had an easier time than we do dealing with these dictators on our HOA board. Again I apologize but its the only way to put it.

We have Directv, and after having our dish up for over four years we get a letter saying that we are not in compliance with the CC&Rs. Well my husband knows all about the guidelines concerning sat. dishes and contacting the FCC to tell them what is going on.

We had called the Property Management company that handles our association and he (husband) told her that according to the FCC we are not in violation of anything and if she would like for him to contact the FCC and report to them that they (HOA) feel we are breaking some rule. She said "please don't do that", Yeah he called and wrote to them to tell them anyway. You don't mess with his ability to watch TV. Well haven't heard anything but I'm sure that we will one way or another.


Sorry to have babbled. Oh did I mention residents aren't even allowed to park on the streets here!!! Nice huh!!!!!!!

 

[DisneyfeverTN]

If we had realized our HOA was so strict, we never would have moved into the neighborhood.
1. You can't put bagged leaves by the curb until the night before pickup.
2. Can't leave your garage door open.
3. You must get approval for any kind of outside painting, landscaping, and other changes to the outside of the house and yard.
4. The fence must either be a shadowbox or brick. If the fence extends beyond the side of the house, you must put up a brick column at the corners.
5. No sheds, or anything else that you can see over the fence. However, they do make exceptions for playsets.
6. No RVs or boats. You aren't even supposed to park large vans outside of the garage.
7. Yard sales only twice a year.
The list goes on and on. My DH really wanted a shed and was upset that we couldn't put one in. We got a notice just last week about the bags of leaves being at the street before Sunday night. We could get fined $100 if it happens again. I'm also paranoid that we'll get in trouble when DH does the lawn and leaves that garage door open for too long. I think some rules are fine, but they get carried away.

 

[mom2rb]

How can you have a pool with a 4 foot fence? I thought if you had a pool you had to have a high fence to keep little kids from climbing over and getting in your pool?

One cool thing about our new neighborhood is the trash. They don't want to see your trash on the curb. So the the trash men come into your side yard and take your trash from there. Of course my first trash day here I was shocked at all the trash the previous owners had just left hidden in the side yard. It took me an hour to take all of their trash plus all of ours from moving in. Of course it was pouring down rain the whole time. Then I saw them go up my neighbor's drive to get the trash.

 

[disykat]

As others have said, not all HOAs are the same. I'm the HOA president right now of our association with less than 30 homes. Each home pays $30 annual dues which pay for one street light and upkeep to the entrance to the development. We also have our mailboxes grouped in clusters instead of having indivual ones, so we keep those up as well.

We have rules about the size of the homes that could be built, what kind of siding it can have, and vague rules about not being "unsightly" or a "nuisance". I've been President for 3 years now and it has involved having one meeting per year where the neighbors chat about ways to keep up the neighborhood. I have not had one conversation with anyone about unmown lawns or weeds. Aside from peer pressure or spending money to sue we have no leverage - so it's simply not an issue.

I was made President because everyone was hoping to pressure my neighbors - who were the "unsightly" ones. Reality was, we called the county about the cars on blocks, we called the health dept. about the raw sewage, we called the police when they were being disruptive, we ignored the weeds because what are you going to do -pay to have them dealt with and then the HOA absorbs the cost?

Small HOA's don't really have any power. The thing we do is get aquainted with each other and work together to keep the neighborhood safe and keep property values up. I know most of my neighbors - something most people probably can't say. I'm happy to live in our HOA.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

DH is actually the president of our HOA because he got tired of the same people being on the board all the time and making stupid rules.

We also have to approve any changes to the house with the ARC, but that's not a problem since the head of the ARC happens to live next door to us.

Our biggest gripe has been that we are told by the management company where we can place our trashcans. They have to be out of sight, which means you either build an outdoor enclosure for them, hide them in the backyard (which for us is impractical) or put them in the garage. Since we have 2 trashcans and 1 recycle bin (all of which are nearly as tall as I am and pretty big around), our two car garage has been turned into a one car garage.

We really do not like the management company and we are actively trying to get rid of it so that we can get rid of the HOA period. Because not one person we've talked to even likes the HOA.

TOV

 

[rigs32]

The Jewish people in Nazi Germany had an easier time thaen we do dealing with these dictators on our HOA board. Again I apologize but its the only way to put it.

Are you serious? Since you're posting on a message board, I can only assume that you're still alive and your HOA doesn't intend to kill you for sport/pleasure/"purification". I assume you didn't lose a giant chunk of your family to the Nazis or else you wouldn't make such a flippant apology for such a crude reference.

 

[Bostonbrat]

I'm 33 years old, yes I'm still alive.

I said that because it seems like they find an issue with everylittle thing.

We got violation notices that the next time our motorcycle is parked on the street it will be towed. WE DON'T OWE A MOTORCYCLE (as much as I wish we did), we have also gotten notices about our the noises from our pet. Yeah my cat (that doesn't go outside) makes oh so much noise. Both of those notices should have been mailed to the people across the street. I called to dispute them, I was told they had to be in writing even if they are not meant for us. PLEASE THESE PEOPLE NEED TO SOMETHING ELSE TO KEEP THEM BUSY. GET A JOB!!!!!!!!!

 

[juligrl]

How can you have a pool with a 4 foot fence? I thought if you had a pool you had to have a high fence to keep little kids from climbing over and getting in your pool?

Pools are the exception in my neighborhood. Your fence can only be 4ft. unless it is for purposes of enclosing a pool in which case it has to be in accordance with local zoning ordinances (6 ft).

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

we are also allowed a 6 ft fence to enclose a pool - but it is a choice....it should be mandatory IMHO for safety!!!!

 

[JudicialTyranny]

Doors and garages had set colors (the HOA even painted them to be certain there was no color variation), no lawn oranments, no bicycles or toys left out over night, no sand boxes, no swing sets or playsets, Christmas decorations could not be displayed before/after set dates, Christmas lights must be white and NOT blink! No window air conditioners, no shoes left on front porch, no wind chimes, garden hoses could not be left out overnight prior to May 1st or after September 30th, no bouncing of basketballs in the street

Heeyyy... Now I know what my SAHM wife does while I'm at work.... she writes rules for HOA's. We don't have a HOA, but those rules sound awfully similar to what she imposes on me here....

 

[AmazingGrace]

We have a decent HOA. We have to ask for approval to do anything major, but from what I see around the neighborhood, we have a decent amount of automony with landscaping.
In Ocean Springs, we had an inactive HOA and i didn't notice a difference either way, until Katrina. Then everyone's fences blew down and you coud really see how folks were keeping their yards. Lucky me, my back yard was connected to a backyard with hip high grass, a truck on blocks and trash everywhere. Technically, the fence was his responsibility, but he told us straight up he wasn't replacing it. So, we ended up replacing the fence.
I think HOAs can go to far, but I feel like they can be a good thing too.

 

[disneymouse]

we would never survive in HOA world. DH loves his boat too much to part with it. he likes it on the side behind the fence.
i'm curious with the stricter HOA's...does that sort of enviroment encourage noisey neighbors to watch and report every little thing??

 

[disneymom3]

I will never NEVER own a home in a neighborhood with a homeowners association ever again. They are usually run by the biggest *** hole with nothing better to do but tell you how to live your life. I really hate it. It may be for some people but it isn't for me. I'm not a person that broke the rules often but I have a real problem paying several hundered dollars per year for someone to tell me how high my fence can be.

I really don't give a crap what other people do in their yards...that is their business so I'm fine being in neighborhoods without HA's. For homes/yards that are totally out of control, there are city ordinances to deal with the major stuff. Life is too short to worry about the minor stuff.

OP here, and I agree wholeheartedly with your entire statement. DH keeps saying, "It's my house. I own it. What are they gonna do?" And I keep telling him "Put a lein on our house so we can't sell it without paying them any fines they decide we owe."

We moved out of our HOA townhouse last year - not a moment too soon! DH always called the place Nazi Germany...let's see...Doors and garages had set colors (the HOA even painted them to be certain there was no color variation), no lawn oranments, no bicycles or toys left out over night, no sand boxes, no swing sets or playsets, Christmas decorations could not be displayed before/after set dates, Christmas lights must be white and NOT blink! No window air conditioners, no shoes left on front porch, no wind chimes, garden hoses could not be left out overnight prior to May 1st or after September 30th, no bouncing of basketballs in the street...I could go on and on. I haven't even gotten to disturbing your neighbor issues...and DMIL is on the board! Add the fact that our monthly HOA fees were close to $160 a month and it's easy to see why we sold and got out! Funny thing is the development is a hot seller and its because of the HOA that people want in. Their strict enforcement of the rules helps to beautifully maintain the development and the value of the properties.

Well, crimeny. Ours isn't quite that bad. I forgot the trash can business though we have that too. We have a neighbor up the street about a block who has their boat parked on their driveway during the summer. We passed by it the other day and I asked DH how on earth that boat affects our property value. Now, if it were junker car that didn't work and had expired plates, that might be a problem, but as someone mentioned, the city is going to take care of that. Any other issues, people are going to want to preserve the property value of their homes just as much as we do. What they do is really not going to affect me that much.

Our HOA just kind of started up. We had rules in place but no board or anything until the neighborhood got to 80% capacity. (New houses.) So we now have a board of 4 people representing 400 houses. No way that can be equitable. The meeting for elections etc was on a Tuesday which is a very hard night for us. After this stupid letter I am planning to start attending their darn meetings even if I have to get a sitter. I am just waiting to get a letter about the dumpster in the driveway from the roofing co. The gutter people are backed up and it was waiting for them to come so they could throw the old gutters in there, but I just know we are going to here from them soon!

 

[ducklite]

I live in a neighborhood with a TON of rules. And I LOVE it!

I'm a "natural rule follower" I guess.

Now, we have all custom homes, and no two are exactly alike. Mine is a coral color, next door on one side is a light tan, next to them is cream, next to them is a stunning home that's golden mustard yellow, sounds gross but this house is gorgeous!

Our rules are pretty much everything others have mentioned, grass must be mowed, beds weeded, no planting or removal of trees without ARC approval, no painting (changing colors) without ARC approval, no day cares or home businesses that would attract customers. (In other words if you run an in home business like home based TA or something, that's fine, just no traffic)

You've got to keep the place maintained, no parking of RV's or boats or trailers for more than "X" days, no clothes lines, fences must be approved and only one type allowed, basically everything that will keep the place from looking like a dump and keep property values up. There are also restrictions on rentals. You can rent,l but only long term--minumum six months, and no more than two leases in a year. Out of 700 homes in the master community there are maybe three rentals. Pets must be kept indoors or on a leash, no tying up outside, and two per house max. (Thank God--my poor inlaws live two doors down from people who breed beagles! Cute dogs but not when there are 20 howling at once!)

In all honesty in our little subcommunity of 37 homes it's not a problem, we all pretty much use the same lawn service, and all of the houses are new and beautiful. Everyone takes a LOT of pride of ownership, and frankly if someone wants to add a bench on their porch. no one cares or expects them to get ARC approval, because we all know it will be asthetically pleasing, not the rear bench from their buddies van.

We pay about $170 a month, and get a guard 12 hours a day at the front gate, a year round pool, health club, beautiful clubhouse with community rooms to use, well lit tennis and basketball courts, tot lot, tons of activities, discounts on golf, and free basic cable!

Anne

 

[NJDad18]

We live in a golf course community that tried to get a HOA established but enough of the residents did not want it. The builder did not set one up when they established the community. One of the main things that the HOA takes care of is the common areas. Well in our neighborhood the common areas are maintained by the golf course.

When we first moved in we went to the association meeting to see what was going on and it was nothing more than a first class ***** session. They were complaining about a house that has a swingset and a trampoline in the backyard and how they don't like to look at it. That person was none other than me. There was nothing in the association rules that prohibit those items. I have 2 kids 10 and 5 and they love the both things especially the trampoline. I really could care less if somebody does not like looking at them, it's just too darn bad. Well the trampoline blew over and broke during a bad wind storm and I don't plan on getting another one. Since the owners won't back an association there are still rules that we need to follow but it's nothing too bad. No sheds, the only way you can have a fence is if you back up to another house and no pools.

I would describe some of my neighbors as zealots that really need to get a life.

 

[Beca]

We love the HOA we're in now. It is pricey....but, I like what we get for the money. We have 4 community pools (which we don't use...but, they are very nice), 2 tennis courts, and TONS of trails through the wooded common areas of our property. We have a community center, with lots of activities for kids and adults. We have a community Easter parade and egg hunt, a 4th of July parade and "feast", and a Christmas "festival" where Santa comes. In addition, the town we live in has Santa ride on a fire truck throwing candy to kids who come out to see him...it's pretty cool!!

Our HOA publishes a monthly newsletter, and organizes interested families into "groups". We are members of a "mom's group" which plans weekly outings for families with small children, based on birthdates so the kids get to see the same kids all the time. We have a competitive swim team, and tennis teams, and there are bridge clubs, investing clubs, book clubs, tennis clubs and a "primetimers" club. Our HOA is constantly "polling" people of all ages in the community to see what people do and do not want. There are 16,000 homes in my HOA...they really do try hard.

However, they are also strict. Our community is custom, and there were a lot of rules about the houses...there was a minimum house size, and no garage doors could face the street. EVERY change to your yard must be approved (theoretically)...that includes planting annuals. Of course, no one gets this approved...it really is just the HOA's "trump card". However, if you want to do construction of any kind to your home, not only do you have to have it approved, you must give a $2000 deposit to the HOA board. This is to ensure that no damage is made to common areas, and that everything is "up to spec" when you are done. Our HOA is a little nuts about the mailboxes being identical, though....not sure why that is an issue they feel so strongly about. Also, before a home can be sold in this neighborhood, the HOA inspects the home and makes sure it complies with all rules. We actually got a copy of the "compliance" form at our closing.

But, I definitely feel like our HOA provides more than it asks. In AZ, we had some TERRIBLE HOA's. Trash cans could not go out before 6pm the night before pick up, and had to be removed by 6pm the day of. We got fined once because our trashcan was out at 6:10pm!!! Also, our HOA did not allow any parking on the street. If you had a party, you were supposed to have your guests park at the nearest grocery store and "shuttle" them to your home!!! That was the WORST!! But, they fined almost every person who had a party and allowed street parking. That was definitely people with too much time on their hands!!

But...I guess I fall on the HOA side. I don't mind following rules if it keeps the aluminum foil out of the windows!!



Beca

 

[aprilgail2]

We love the HOA we're in now. It is pricey....but, I like what we get for the money. We have 4 community pools (which we don't use...but, they are very nice), 2 tennis courts, and TONS of trails through the wooded common areas of our property. We have a community center, with lots of activities for kids and adults. We have a community Easter parade and egg hunt, a 4th of July parade and "feast", and a Christmas "festival" where Santa comes. In addition, the town we live in has Santa ride on a fire truck throwing candy to kids who come out to see him...it's pretty cool!!

Trash cans could not go out before 6pm the night before pick up, and had to be removed by 6pm the day of. We got fined once because our trashcan was out at 6:10pm!!! Also, our HOA did not allow any parking on the street. If you had a party, you were supposed to have your guests park at the nearest grocery store and "shuttle" them to your home!!! That was the WORST!!

But all that just sounds like stuff the town does for free...I guess I just don't get why people would need to pay others for rules and events and things that the town puts on for free around here....we also have free concerts twice a week in the summer, free movies on the town hall lawn, "drive in" type movies they play at the local beach, Easter egg hunts, Christmas events with Santa, tree lighings, santa coming around in the fire truck giving out candy etc, Memroiral Day, Columbus Day and 4th of July parades..all stuff the town does...enforcing town codes, all included in your property taxes around here...just standard stuff. Don't all your towns have codes they will enforce, like no trash building up, no junk cars, boats etc???
Boy would I be in trouble with that stupid trash can rule! There are night I work overtime and leave at 7am and don't get home till after 10...guess all my overtime would be going to pay a silly fine. Actually in reality that wouldn't really work since Sunday night garbage goes out, Monday night papers and cans and bottle go out, Tuesday night Yard waste goes out, and Thursyda night its garbage night again so almost every day there is some type of pickup where you would have your pails out. And that parking at a grocery store wouldn't work either..if they ever heard of you parkin there for something like that they would have every car towed since you can't park there unless you are shopping there LOL. And exactly who gets all this money they fine you....it probably ends up in the pockets of the "board" for their "time and effort"

 

[golfgal]

But all that just sounds like stuff the town does for free...I guess I just don't get why people would need to pay others for rules and events and things that the town puts on for free around here....we also have free concerts twice a week in the summer, free movies on the town hall lawn, "drive in" type movies they play at the local beach, Easter egg hunts, Christmas events with Santa, tree lighings, santa coming around in the fire truck giving out candy etc, Memroiral Day, Columbus Day and 4th of July parades..all stuff the town does...enforcing town codes, all included in your property taxes around here...just standard stuff. Don't all your towns have codes they will enforce, like no trash building up, no junk cars, boats etc???
Boy would I be in trouble with that stupid trash can rule! There are night I work overtime and leave at 7am and don't get home till after 10...guess all my overtime would be going to pay a silly fine. Actually in reality that wouldn't really work since Sunday night garbage goes out, Monday night papers and cans and bottle go out, Tuesday night Yard waste goes out, and Thursyda night its garbage night again so almost every day there is some type of pickup where you would have your pails out. And that parking at a grocery store wouldn't work either..if they ever heard of you parkin there for something like that they would have every car towed since you can't park there unless you are shopping there LOL. And exactly who gets all this money they fine you....it probably ends up in the pockets of the "board" for their "time and effort"

Every town we have lived in has had these kinds of things available too. Sorry, I am an adult, I don't need a bunch of people who THINK they know better telling me when and how to put out my garbage can. We are responsible with our garbage cans but there are times when we would have to put it out before 6 pm or need to take it in later then 6pm the next day. In fact pretty much every week we wouldn't get it in that early, nor would almost everyone in our neighborhood. The garbage collectors come during the day and most people get home around 6pm from work, how would they get the cans in before they get home from work? Sorry, DUMB rule. The no parking on the street is also a very DUMB rule. Grocery store parking lots are NOT public property. I would have to call the grocery store to tell them what your HOA said. They would probably charge the HOA rent then.

My dad lives in a neighborhood with a HOA and they are very selective on who they fine and who they don't. The man across the street from my Dad's house has a weed infested lawn yet they never do anything about that. A couple about 3 houses down from that were in the process of putting in a retaining wall and the husband broke his back at work. He wasn't paralyzed but couldn't do any lifting, etc for almost a year. Their project was half started and the bricks were in the driveway. Winter came and obviously they couldn't do the work then. They got several fines from the HOA over the winter for having the bricks out. A GOOD HOA would have rallied neighbors when they found out what happened and had them help this poor couple in their time of need. That is what OUR neighborhoods would have done without a HOA.

 

[sunnymommy]

Here's the best one I've heard....my mom's entire neighborhood got a letter in the mail last week reminding people that there were to be no oil spots on the driveway in the neighborhood and that it was getting out of control. They required that you get it cleaned up or else they were going to have it pressure washed for you by x-date and would send you the bill. Pullleezzee. This is the same neighborhood where the HOA president does nightly walking rounds..