Someone PLEASE explain the attraction of satellite TV!

[FireDancer]

That's a real nice attitude about doing whatever the heck you want regardless of what other people think. If you want to live in a "bubble", then don't move into a neighborhood with restrictive covenants. The HOA rules are there to protect the neighborhood as a whole and maintain the "look" and value of it for everyone. I can't just go put up any fence I want or paint my house red if I want, so I don't see this modification as any different. And you bet that if the convenants say something about it having to be out of view of the street, I'll say something! Might be trivial to you, but I didn't pay half a million dollars to look at that thing everytime I come home.

Of course if the covenants don't address it, I guess I don't have a leg to stand on, and I'm just stuck with neighbors with no taste.

And I get the whole location deal, that it has to point a certain direction, but I cannot imagine any TV program would be worth ruining the appearance of your beautiful new home. Obviously it's just my opinion, but it looks awful.

And I don't understand why people feel the need to nanny other people. I don't care if my neighbors put up a fence, a shed, a pool, hang their laundry outside to dry it, keep a car parked in the street in front of their house, put their garbage out the day before, paint their house bright yellow (which one has done in fact) or pink or any other color, put a satellite dish smack in the middle of their front yard, or anything else. None of those things effect how much I "enjoy" my house in any way what so ever.

Luckily we have no HOA that nannies us and tells us what we can and can't do with what we paid for. People should just let other people live their lives and stop being such nosy hens.

 

[dis-happy]

I was appalled to see the neighbors attached a huge, ugly dish to the front of their house.

My parents have Direct TV at their house and the dish isn't huge at all. Maybe 18 inches across??? The old sat. dishes were 5 FEET across. Just how big is the dish your neighbors have? I honestly don't see how one dish in front of a house can ruin the look of the whole neighborhood.

 

[ICF]

And I don't understand why people feel the need to nanny other people. I don't care if my neighbors....keep a car parked in the street in front of their house......

Not to hijack, but I'd agree with you except for this one.

I've never understood the need to do that on a regular basis. You have a garage...you have a driveway....I would think you can find room in 1 of the two for your car(s). If you're having a party or the like, that's a different story.

We have a problem here in Indianapolis-ish with this in the winter as it makes it a PITA for snowplows to go up and down the street.

Perhaps in Cleveland-ish, people are smart enough to not do that in the winter but our HOA is always trying to remind people that if we want the streets plowed in the winter they need to move their cars so the plows can do their job.

 

[powellrj]

That's a real nice attitude about deciding that you should have the right to tell your neighbors that they can't choose to have satellite tv service because you don't like the way it looks, even though it's fully within their legal rights and normal community standards. Not to mention insulting someone and name calling because you disagree with them.

If you want to live in a "bubble", where you are protected from the horrors of having to see a satellite dish, then I guess you shouldn't have moved into a neighborhood with houses that are within your view.

Might be trivial to you, but those neighbors didn't pay a half million dollars to have nosy neighbors try to prevent them from subscribing to the tv service of their choice!

Sorry, but they have this law just because of neighbors like you!

 

[bicker]

That's a real nice attitude about doing whatever the heck you want regardless of what other people think.

I think the way dizluvah put it was definitely a bit abrasive. I think, though, you need to read what dizluvah wrote in the context of a neighbor complaining about the dish. The neighbor doesn't have a right to complain about the dish - that's not an opinion, but is a reflection of our society's consensus on this issue, so much so that it was codified in the law (something necessitated by the fact that there is such significant disagreement about it). Respect starts there, with respecting that our society has determined that there is no right to complain about what a neighbor may decided to do to access subscription television services, within the context of the protections granted by OTARD. Once someone refuses to show respect for that right, then they have, regrettably, sacrificed the right to have their complaint in this regard respected.

If you want to live in a "bubble", then don't move into a neighborhood with restrictive covenants.

I think you've misread earlier messages. Federal law very clearly says the opposite of what you're saying here.

The HOA rules are there to protect the neighborhood as a whole and maintain the "look" and value of it for everyone.

And HOA rules are prohibited from banning satellite dishes. Again, as a reflection of society's consensus, they can place only reasonable limitations, and what dizluvah outlined does not contravene those reasonable limitations.

I can't just go put up any fence I want or paint my house red if I want, so I don't see this modification as any different.

It is different because our society's consensus is that it is different.

And you bet that if the convenants say something about it having to be out of view of the street, I'll say something!

Be careful betting on that, because any covenants that ban satellite dishes from areas where they can be viewed are violations of federal law. The only reasonable limitations are outlined in OTARD. HOAs and condo boards cannot impose any aesthetic-related restrictions except with regard to buildings on the federal register of historic places.

And I get the whole location deal, that it has to point a certain direction, but I cannot imagine any TV program would be worth ruining the appearance of your beautiful new home. Obviously it's just my opinion, but it looks awful.

I can respect that such things look awful to you, based on your own aesthetic perceptions. For many people, they have no or little such negative aspects. Many people spend more time watching television than they spend staring at the front of their home. It isn't anyone's place to second-guess their priorities in this regard. Live and let live. Respect their perspectives on how they regard the front of their home as much as you would have them respect your perspectives about how you want the front of your home to look.

 

[Mickeypooh99]

My parents have Direct TV at their house and the dish isn't huge at all. Maybe 18 inches across??? The old sat. dishes were 5 FEET across. Just how big is the dish your neighbors have? I honestly don't see how one dish in front of a house can ruin the look of the whole neighborhood.

That is what I was thinking. My dad had one that was taller than me! Those were huge. The ones available now are tiny by comparison.

 

[FireDancer]

Not to hijack, but I'd agree with you except for this one.

I've never understood the need to do that on a regular basis. You have a garage...you have a driveway....I would think you can find room in 1 of the two for your car(s). If you're having a party or the like, that's a different story.

We have a problem here in Indianapolis-ish with this in the winter as it makes it a PITA for snowplows to go up and down the street.

Perhaps in Cleveland-ish, people are smart enough to not do that in the winter but our HOA is always trying to remind people that if we want the streets plowed in the winter they need to move their cars so the plows can do their job.

Almost all of our suburbs have parking bans in the winter. Some are complete bans (no parking between 11/1 and 4/1) and some are snow bans (no parking if the snow on the ground or forecast in the next 24 hours is over 2").

If you have one or two cars I agree but some of my neighbors have 4 or 5 (mom, dad, multiple older kids) and some have work vehicles that they keep in their driveway or street, at least in the summer.

When we were growing up we had 5 cars at one point. My parents both had one, my dad had an additional vehicle he needed for work, I had a car and one brother had a car. We could all fit in the driveway and did in the winter but it was much easier in the summer to park at least one in the street so people could come and go without having to play car roulette.

 

[joviroxx]

Living in South Florida where storms and hurricanes are part of our normal life (LOL) I chose a satellite dish. Yes, while the storms are going on, you probably wont have a signal. In fact, for a hurricane, we detach the dishes. But once a bad storm/hurricane passes, that knocks down cable lines, I have service..

The last hurricane, we had power back in 4 days, it took our cable company almost 4 weeks to get the cable. All my neighbors with satellite did not have this issue. Even without power, with a generator , you are all set.

So 6 of one, 1/2 dozen of the other!

 

[bicker]

And I don't understand why people feel the need to nanny other people. I don't care if my neighbors put up a fence, a shed, a pool, hang their laundry outside to dry it, keep a car parked in the street in front of their house, put their garbage out the day before, paint their house bright yellow (which one has done in fact) or pink or any other color, put a satellite dish smack in the middle of their front yard, or anything else. None of those things effect how much I "enjoy" my house in any way what so ever.

While I agree with you about those specific things, and indeed I know of HOAs and condos that have specifically allowed each and every one of those things, there is sound foundation for some limits, within a neighborhood that has decided that there should be some limits.

Luckily we have no HOA that nannies us and tells us what we can and can't do with what we paid for.

And I'm glad there is a place for "people like you".

Seriously, the point is that both perspectives are reasonable, and condemning either perspective is indefensible. The only perspectives that reasonably can be condemned are
(1) living in a HOA/condo with your attitude of "it's my house I'll do what I damned well please"; and
(2) not living in a HOA/condo with an attitude of "everyone should keep things pretty like I want them to."

People should just let other people live their lives and stop being such nosy hens.

People should comply with the terms, conditions and rules that they implicitly agreed to, whether it is by deciding to live in a certain society, with regard to its laws; living in a specific neighborhood, with regard to any community rules or bylaws that apply in that neighborhood; or making a specific purchase, with regard to the terms and conditions of the sale.

 

[foolishmortal]

well let's see

1) More channels with better reception
2) more HD channels
3) much much much more sports offerings
4) i have had sat tv for 15+ years and have lost reception less than 10 times and this is in colorado where we have blizzards and severe storms...so I 100% challenge your "opinion" you have seen service go out in just a normal rainstorm
5) glad I dont live in a half million dollar home with a covenant. poor me and my 200+k home with nice neighbors who we all help eachother not bad mouth them.

 

[doxdogy]

Here in Northeast Florida (where you live) the only cable company is Comcast. I would go without TV before I would use Comcast. Therefore the only choices are either Satellite or U-Verse. The dishes are not near as large as the old ones. I honestly don't understand why in the world you are so upset over a little dish in someone's yard.

My dad had Comcast and we had a tropical storm move through about 4 years ago. He lost cable for over a week and my Directv was working just fine.

 

[cteddiesgirl]

That's a real nice attitude about doing whatever the heck you want regardless of what other people think. If you want to live in a "bubble", then don't move into a neighborhood with restrictive covenants. The HOA rules are there to protect the neighborhood as a whole and maintain the "look" and value of it for everyone. I can't just go put up any fence I want or paint my house red if I want, so I don't see this modification as any different. And you bet that if the convenants say something about it having to be out of view of the street, I'll say something! Might be trivial to you, but I didn't pay half a million dollars to look at that thing everytime I come home.

Of course if the covenants don't address it, I guess I don't have a leg to stand on, and I'm just stuck with neighbors with no taste.

And I get the whole location deal, that it has to point a certain direction, but I cannot imagine any TV program would be worth ruining the appearance of your beautiful new home. Obviously it's just my opinion, but it looks awful.

I think you're the one with the attitude. If you're so worried about looking at your neighbor's "tasteless" choice in how they receive tv, then you should probaby move out to the boonies somewhere. Then you wouldn't have to look at it. For a half million dollars, you could have bought some acreage and placed a nice home on it and not had to worry so much about your neighbor's yards.
As long as they're not parking junkers in their yard and throwing trash and other waste around, then I wouldn't be worrying about what others did on their own property.


I opened this thread because my dad has complained every month our cable bill came in and I was thinking about looking into satellite as possibly a cheaper alternative. But then I find such an attitude about people who choose it over cable. How about they just go to antenna and attach a huge antenna on their house? Trust me, those are much larger and uglier than those little dishes they have now. Or how about if they went old school and bought a dish from the 1980's?

 

[si-am]

This thread is a prime example of why I'd never buy a house with an HOA.

I would hate to pay half a million for a home only to end up next to someone so uptight that they are worrying about a satellite dish! I'd be tempted to stick pink flamingos all over the front lawn out of spite.

 

[HLAuburn]

And I don't understand why people feel the need to nanny other people. I don't care if my neighbors put up a fence, a shed, a pool, hang their laundry outside to dry it, keep a car parked in the street in front of their house, put their garbage out the day before, paint their house bright yellow (which one has done in fact) or pink or any other color, put a satellite dish smack in the middle of their front yard, or anything else. None of those things effect how much I "enjoy" my house in any way what so ever.

Luckily we have no HOA that nannies us and tells us what we can and can't do with what we paid for. People should just let other people live their lives and stop being such nosy hens.

I picked the neighborhood for the general "feel" and "look", and when I drive to my house everyday, I want a consistent look of well-kept, maintained homes. I appreciate that people don't like being told what they can and can't do with their properties, and that's why there are places with HOAs and places without them. I think the "do whatever you want" attitude brings the neighborhood down as a whole not only aesthetically, but in value as well.

As for your "nosy hen" comment...it's a bit of a stretch considering the thing is 3 feet away from my driveway. It's not like I'm peering out my bathroom window with binoculars snooping at what the neighbors are doing...people can live their lives any way they see fit, until it starts affecting other people, and in this case, I feel like it affects me.

That all said, I did read the FCC law and it looks like I'm out of luck...I'm sure you all are glad to know! But it still doesn't make me feel any better about it. I'm hoping my tree grows fast and big enough that I don't have to look at the ugly dish too much longer!

Oh, and FWIW, this is the neighbor who stands out in her driveway on her cell phone yelling about her child support! Now who's the great neighbor...

 

[si-am]

I picked the neighborhood for the general "feel" and "look", and when I drive to my house everyday, I want a consistent look of well-kept, maintained homes. I appreciate that people don't like being told what they can and can't do with their properties, and that's why there are places with HOAs and places without them. I think the "do whatever you want" attitude brings the neighborhood down as a whole not only aesthetically, but in value as well.

As for your "nosy hen" comment...it's a bit of a stretch considering the thing is 3 feet away from my driveway. It's not like I'm peering out my bathroom window with binoculars snooping at what the neighbors are doing...people can live their lives any way they see fit, until it starts affecting other people, and in this case, I feel like it affects me.

That all said, I did read the FCC law and it looks like I'm out of luck...I'm sure you all are glad to know! But it still doesn't make me feel any better about it. I'm hoping my tree grows fast and big enough that I don't have to look at the ugly dish too much longer!

Oh, and FWIW, this is the neighbor who stands out in her driveway on her cell phone yelling about her child support! Now who's the great neighbor...

Three feet from your driveway? Maybe you shouldn't have bought a house in a cookie cutter neighborhood where all the houses are right on top of each other.

And being a divorced woman who has child support makes a bad neighbor? Really?

 

[cteddiesgirl]

Not to hijack, but I'd agree with you except for this one.

I've never understood the need to do that on a regular basis. You have a garage...you have a driveway....I would think you can find room in 1 of the two for your car(s). If you're having a party or the like, that's a different story.

We have a problem here in Indianapolis-ish with this in the winter as it makes it a PITA for snowplows to go up and down the street.

Perhaps in Cleveland-ish, people are smart enough to not do that in the winter but our HOA is always trying to remind people that if we want the streets plowed in the winter they need to move their cars so the plows can do their job.

My neighbors across the street have a problem. They have about 7 cars that all get used on a regular basis. They're garage is full of stuff and no room for a car. So, usually 1 or 2 cars end up in their front yard. If they have any company, they have to park in the street.

 

[dakcp2001]

I think this is another generational thing. My parents dont get it either. lol. We like high tech here, and we went from DTV who had the best HD lineup to Fios. We LOVED our DTV, and we never lost our signal in bad weather. If it is installed properlly, that is not an issue. When the installer comes to your home, he can test the signal, see how strong it will pick up from your home and tell you if you will have problems or not with the dish & where it is located. We like Fios as well, but once our contract is up we are def going back to DTV, we enjoy the sport packages (NFL) and the extra channels.

I have noticed that in my age bracket, people don't seem to mind the dish or the look of the dish. It is MY HOME. If you dont like it, dont look at it. It isnt like we leave trash everywhere.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

I picked the neighborhood for the general "feel" and "look", and when I drive to my house everyday, I want a consistent look of well-kept, maintained homes. I appreciate that people don't like being told what they can and can't do with their properties, and that's why there are places with HOAs and places without them. I think the "do whatever you want" attitude brings the neighborhood down as a whole not only aesthetically, but in value as well.

As for your "nosy hen" comment...it's a bit of a stretch considering the thing is 3 feet away from my driveway. It's not like I'm peering out my bathroom window with binoculars snooping at what the neighbors are doing...people can live their lives any way they see fit, until it starts affecting other people, and in this case, I feel like it affects me.

That all said, I did read the FCC law and it looks like I'm out of luck...I'm sure you all are glad to know! But it still doesn't make me feel any better about it. I'm hoping my tree grows fast and big enough that I don't have to look at the ugly dish too much longer!

Oh, and FWIW, this is the neighbor who stands out in her driveway on her cell phone yelling about her child support! Now who's the great neighbor...

Depending on where the Dish points and where your tree is, you could just solve your problem by growing a very tall, lush tree that prevents the satellite signal from getting through.

 

[HLAuburn]

This thread is a prime example of why I'd never buy a house with an HOA.

Then don't live in a neighborhood with a HOA! I picked this 'hood b/c there IS one.

I would hate to pay half a million for a home only to end up next to someone so uptight that they are worrying about a satellite dish

You say I'm uptight, I just say I have some taste and care about the look of my neighborhood.

To each his/her own....obviously.

 

[Colleen27]

Not to hijack, but I'd agree with you except for this one.

I've never understood the need to do that on a regular basis. You have a garage...you have a driveway....I would think you can find room in 1 of the two for your car(s). If you're having a party or the like, that's a different story.

We have a problem here in Indianapolis-ish with this in the winter as it makes it a PITA for snowplows to go up and down the street.

Perhaps in Cleveland-ish, people are smart enough to not do that in the winter but our HOA is always trying to remind people that if we want the streets plowed in the winter they need to move their cars so the plows can do their job.

Here most localities have snowplow laws that prohibit parking on the street when the plows need to get through, but in older communities not all homes have enough off-street parking for the number of cars modern families tend to have. We actually have no driveway or garage so we're a more extreme example, but our entire neighborhood pre-dates the automobile so the only garages/driveways are those that were added over the years and tend to be squeezed in and smaller than you'd find in a community that was planned for cars.