Keeping the HOA happy

[LeonardY]

Is this for real? The HOA could take his house if he didn't comply with a siding issue? Unless it was some sort of lease/rental where he did not actually hold the deed to the property how could a HOA possibly "take" his house.

An HOA can force you to stucco the house. If you don't they can do it for you and then bill you for the work. HOA's can foreclose on a home for non payment of dues. I'm not sure if you didn't pay that would be considered non payment.

We had a person that didn't pay for a year and the process on foreclosure was being started. I asked for her to come to a board meeting before this happened. She was shocked that we would be able to do that. She was having a tough time, divorce and lost her job. We made a deal with her. We would forgive the previous year but she would have to pay the dues moving forward. Our dues were not high, $30 a month. But adding it up and penalties made it more than she could afford.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

I keep HOAs happy by not living where there is one.

Tommy

 

[PugetDude]

And guess who usually runs for a seat in an HOA?

People who care about their property values?

 

[mike93lx]

People who care about their property values?

People that want to control what others do with their property.

Hoa's are not necessary to have high property values and most of new England is solid proof of that

 

[niget2002]

People that want to control what others do with their property.



Hoa's are not necessary to have high property values and most of new England is solid proof of that

Property values in New England are high because there's too many people.

My parents have an hoa. It pays for the flower beds around the entrance and for the pool and boat launch upkeep.

There are some restrictions for house size and what type of fence you can have. Most of the other rules are the same as any other city.

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[BigNuge]

I keep HOAs happy by not living where there is one.

Tommy

This thread sure details the reasons why I don’t, and would never live in one.

A development went in across the street from me, all 2400-2600 townhouses with a few single family dwellings, we went over to the first open house 12 years ago when they first went in, HOA rules up the ***.

Nothing on the outside unless approved. That means color, style, size, any accent/decoration, fence, no change to the driveway or walkway, bushes/shrubs....

Some of the most ridiculous rules, not trucks over 1/2 ton, they specifically call out diesel trucks [read, working men/women need not apply] no trailer of any kind (landscape, boat, camper, snowmobile, none of it).

It’s little Hitler heaven.

The best part, I’m on the top of the hill, higher than all of them, just across the street. Every one of them can see my property. I keep things tidy (for the most part), but I have all the “things” forbidden by the gestapo over there. It’s a lovely middle finger to the whole list of rules those poor bastards have to live by. It’s always good for a few laughs when the wife and I wander over when they have a neighborhood yard sale (also has to be approved). Every one of them (the men) comment on how they wish they could have “this or that”, or a workspace they can use, be able to park a motorcycle outside....oh yes, that too.

I’m friends with a few of them, they come over to ask for help (and I’m always open to help other) with projects because they can’t keep anything on their own property. I load up my truck or tractor and head over.

I get a laugh out of watching each of them mow/maintain their grass (rules for that too). One guy seemingly mows every 12 hours, one guy mows every 10 days, and another pays to have it done weekly. All 3 lawns look very different, I’m sure some treat them and some don’t. I wonder who’s getting the compliance warnings and who’s not[emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787]

In the end if you’re a serious DIY’er with tools and gear (inside and outside the shop) then an HOA is not for you. I consider it one tick better than living in an apartment building in the city. F-both of those options.


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[mike93lx]

Property values in New England are high because there's too many people.

My parents have an hoa. It pays for the flower beds around the entrance and for the pool and boat launch upkeep.

There are some restrictions for house size and what type of fence you can have. Most of the other rules are the same as any other city.

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most of new england doesn't have HOA's. that's my point.

amazing that we can have nice neighborhoods without them. somehow it works

 

[LS6 Tommy]

Property values in New England are high because there's too many people.

You're kidding, right? In terms of density, NJ blows New England's population away. NJ is only one state. New England has six states, very close to 10 times the square mileage of NJ. Mass alone is 2k square miles bigger than NJ and has 2 million less citizens. We have HOAs out the rump...

Tommy

 

[Jeepster04]

Gotta remember, for everyone that says they cant imagine living in an HOA area, there are people out there saying just the opposite.

Theres all sorts of different people out there. Some dont want the aggravation of people not maintaining their property, and I can understand that. Ive never lived in one and never will, never had any issues. My neighbor is a drug dealer, but its never caused any issues.

 

[mike93lx]

Gotta remember, for everyone that says they cant imagine living in an HOA area, there are people out there saying just the opposite.

Theres all sorts of different people out there. Some dont want the aggravation of people not maintaining their property, and I can understand that. Ive never lived in one and never will, never had any issues. My neighbor is a drug dealer, but its never caused any issues.

To me, the main thing is recognizing what camp you are in before signing up. The problems come from people that go the wrong way.

I am not a HOA person, but they are perfect for many

 

[niget2002]

[emoji38]_hitti
You're kidding, right? In terms of density, NJ blows New England's population away. NJ is only one state. New England has six states, very close to 10 times the square mileage of NJ. Mass alone is 2k square miles bigger than NJ and has 2 million less citizens. We have HOAs out the rump...

Tommy

My bad. Didn't realize new England was only those 6 states. For some reason I've always considered most of NE USA as New England.

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[jmarkwolf]

I live in an HOA, and am on the board. The C&R (Covenants and Restrictions) are published and the board cannot arbitrarily enact any rules that are not set forth.

There are provisions in our C&R that allow rules to be changed by homeowner vote, such as what allowed myself and other homeowners to build outbuildings for housing their hobbies.

I'm happy because the rules maintain my property value and prevents Daryl and his other brother Daryl from moving in.

 

[matt_i]

Not sure if the O.P. got an answer. Imo best thing to do is wait a year until wood prices come down and frame a stick building that fits your needs and side and roof and detail it to match your house.

The way to save on a stick build is to minimize the foundation cost. Look at earth-formed "trench foundation", thickened edge slab, and possibly frost-protected shallow foundation (look for a US Gov't HUD .pdf with a cookie-cutter design guide). The traditional 3-pour (footer, stem wall, floor) method is labor intensive and takes awhile to complete (months, likely). Then the building is framed in 2-3 days with a dedicated and skilled crew.

Have to investigate frost depth in your area and potentially convince your building and zoning to approve one of the other methods other than traditional as you submit your plans.

 

[quickfarms]

People who care about their property values?

The people on the board only care about making everyone else conforming to there views

I see boards do thing all the time that they have no legal authority to do

I have read so many CC&R’s in my job that I do not want anything to do with them, it’s bad enough dealing with the governing agency but I would not want to go through it twice for the same project.

Myself and all of my friends do not have to deal with an HOA and our properties are worth more than the properties in the HOA’s around here

Everyone keeps there property looking good from the street and I like the different buildings in our neighborhoods

I could not stand living in a place where every house looked the same

When someone comes over for the first time I just tell them to look for the pink Victorian

If we have a bad neighbor we can always call code enforcement or the sheriff on them

The worst thing to do is work for a HOA because they demand things that are not in the contract and are the slowest to pay, if they pay at all. There best excuse is the person that authorized it is no longer on the board.

 

[Git]

Hey, I get it - some people like HOA's, some don't

It's not a secret what the rules are and it should be pretty to figure out if that particular development will work for you or not.

Our current home of 17 years is in a HOA and we have no regrets. As other's have mentioned, HOA's help keep up property values, but I also like to look at the other amenities that some of them have to offer. Ours is a gated community with Security that patrols in a marked vehicle 24/7. community swimming pool with a spa, basketball courts, a baseball Field, a soccer field, multiple play grounds with well kept equipment for the kids to play on, walking trails, professionally maintained landscaping, etc etc.

Ya, it's not for everyone, but it sure beats living next to this:

click the pic for Bonus Content

 

[L5wolvesf]

The people on the board only care about making everyone else conforming to there views

I see boards do thing all the time that they have no legal authority to do

YES this is the reality. It is a fallacy to believe an HOA board has the best interests of the home owner's at heart. I've been involved with boards that have done whatever they damn please. The CC&Rs clearly stated you cannot do *** by they went with it anyway. That will devalue the other owner's property. And the legal bills cost the owner's too.

Your current board members may be just fine but board member(s) will come along and change that quickly.

 

[Chapter21]

YES this is the reality. It is a fallacy to believe an HOA board has the best interests of the home owner's at heart. I've been involved with boards that have done whatever they damn please. The CC&Rs clearly stated you cannot do *** by they went with it anyway. That will devalue the other owner's property. And the legal bills cost the owner's too.

Your current board members may be just fine but board member(s) will come along and change that quickly.

If you are part of an HOA, make sure you KNOW the rules...the real rules kept on file at the courthouse, not whatever the HOA guy says. And then you cannot be afraid to go bang on the HOA president's door and tell him to pound sand when they have no legal authority. We just had our yearly meeting at one of my rentals and the pres is clearly afraid to talk to me...

That's the biggest issue with HOAs. They're not usually run by professionals, but rather busy bodies from the neighborhood who have nothing to do. They frequently don't have the slightest idea how laws work, they just appoint themselves head nitpicker.

The small HOA I live in is not an issue at all. We all have a couple acres so we aren't crammed together. We try to be nice and work with each other. Nobody really complains about anything unless it's a really big deal, lots of small "violations" go ignored. There are only 30 of us so it's easy to see if one of them in particular is a problem.

I used to live in a different HOA and for some reason the professional management company thought it was a good idea to hire somebody full time to do nothing more than drive around and make complaints on behalf of nobody making a complaint. That didn't go over very well with anybody and we voted them out.

 

[Squankum]

Haven't read the whole thread yet, but "in harmony" to me sounds like you need a garage the same size as your house!

This is GJ. I can't be the only one thinking it....



____

 

[bob15]

My bad. Didn't realize new England was only those 6 states. For some reason I've always considered most of NE USA as New England.

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New England: Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts & Vermont

I write it not being a smart-*** either......rather an FYI for your Trivia Pursuit game you will be playing next weekend....

 

[L5wolvesf]

If you are part of an HOA, make sure you KNOW the rules...the real rules kept on file at the courthouse, not whatever the HOA guy says. And then you cannot be afraid to go bang on the HOA president's door and tell him to pound sand when they have no legal authority. We just had our yearly meeting at one of my rentals and the pres is clearly afraid to talk to me...

Just to be clear. I do not, and would not, live in an HOA community. I have worked for, and against, HOAs.

Recently I worked for a couple property owners where the HOA board (the majority of the board members) was clearly ignoring the CC&Rs (I read them and the applicable state statutes). The remedies are: 1) take the case to the Dept of Real Estate for an Admin Hearing (very expensive), 2) sue the board, 3) move out before the damage the board has done effects the whole development. One of the people I was working for moved out.

 

[niget2002]

New England: Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts & Vermont



I write it not being a smart-*** either......rather an FYI for your Trivia Pursuit game you will be playing next weekend....[emoji38]_hitti

Yup. I googled it. I'm never afraid of learning something.

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