HOA’s and their nonsense
- Thread starter Drew0311
- Start date
You’re age in this case matters because you bring experience in home buying and have head stories from your friends by this point.
People were waving home inspections during the peak of the market or making other pretty incredible accommodations so that they didn’t get scooped. When I bought our place we had lost almost 9 different homes based on not taking everything as is no questions asked. Market was wild.
Also if you live in an area without a lot of HOA’s or have little experience with them this isn’t going to be on the top of your mind if you’re in your 20’s buying a home. A lot of home buying knowledge comes from first hand experience or outdated advice from parents so HOA’s just might not come up or the agent makes assumptions trying to sell a place.
Is that 75% of those present at the meeting or 75% of all home owners? Assuming it’s only 75% present, does it require multiple votes and notice to prevent someone from sneaking something in with a poorly attended meeting?
You would have to attend the meeting to get something on the ballot. Once it's on the ballot, everyone in the HOA gets at least 2 mailings and a ballot that you can send in the mail. In 20 years, there were around 3 of these that came up and only 1 got passed.
The only drama was when a former HOA board member tried to get it approved to leave garbage cans in your driveway, which got voted down but a pretty large margin. A few years later he got fined for repeatedly leaving them outside, got fined, and refused to pay the fine. I think lawyers got involved.
Actually another one got approved during this time. Home owners approved people to put solar panels on their roofs. 25+ years earlier, this probably wasn't a thing and/or looked janky.
Most of these rules are very reasonable for 95% of the population. The 5% tend to be people that want to make a statement with their house like they do with their bumper stickers, body ink, etc.
I have two places with HOAs. My primary residence has an HOA that charges about $200 a year for mowing common green spaces etc. I’ve actually had more trouble with them than my other place (more on that in a second).
A few years ago I took part in a state program to remove grass and xeriscape. I got my design approved by the state and it met their requirements for conservation and aesthetics. I submitted my plan in the spring to the HOA for approval and heard nothing. I tried following up a couple times during the summer. Finally in the fall, I just hired a contractor who came out and did the work. I had a deadline after my design was approved to complete the work.
The state came out inspected the results and gave me a grant to offset quite a bit of the cost.
Six months later I got a letter from the HOA saying it did not meet their requirements for having enough grass. After a few exchanges where I showed them I submitted my plans and followed up with no response they just quit following up. I’m not impressed. What’s the point of what they do other then to be inconsistent and mow some green space?
Second HOA I belong to is for a place in Southwest Florida. It is super to hyper active. Fees are about $300 a month and cover two pools, tennis and pickle ball, trails landscaping, mowing etc.
They got on my case because I didn’t put the garbage in on time and had moss in the driveway. But the next door neighbor is the president of the townhomes sub-association and a guy around the corner is president of the master association of 1,800 homes.
I decided to get to know them and joined a volunteer committee. It’s not bad, verging on rewarding at times. And there is a bit of self interest. I rent it out seasonally to snowbirds, and use it several times per year personally.
Since I can just text the HOA members I can make sure it’s taken care of and I’m not some anonymous absentee owner.
A few years ago I took part in a state program to remove grass and xeriscape. I got my design approved by the state and it met their requirements for conservation and aesthetics. I submitted my plan in the spring to the HOA for approval and heard nothing. I tried following up a couple times during the summer. Finally in the fall, I just hired a contractor who came out and did the work. I had a deadline after my design was approved to complete the work.
The state came out inspected the results and gave me a grant to offset quite a bit of the cost.
Six months later I got a letter from the HOA saying it did not meet their requirements for having enough grass. After a few exchanges where I showed them I submitted my plans and followed up with no response they just quit following up. I’m not impressed. What’s the point of what they do other then to be inconsistent and mow some green space?
Second HOA I belong to is for a place in Southwest Florida. It is super to hyper active. Fees are about $300 a month and cover two pools, tennis and pickle ball, trails landscaping, mowing etc.
They got on my case because I didn’t put the garbage in on time and had moss in the driveway. But the next door neighbor is the president of the townhomes sub-association and a guy around the corner is president of the master association of 1,800 homes.
I decided to get to know them and joined a volunteer committee. It’s not bad, verging on rewarding at times. And there is a bit of self interest. I rent it out seasonally to snowbirds, and use it several times per year personally.
Since I can just text the HOA members I can make sure it’s taken care of and I’m not some anonymous absentee owner.
You bring up a lot of excuses as to why you may not know to question an HOA, when in reality it's your job or the realtor to bring it to your attention. Not knowing the rules is not an excuse for not following them.
I will agree the market at the time can speed the process up, we did not have our current house inspected when we purchased last year. We trusted our agent and the fact that the home was built by a quality builder.
Moral of the story is to find a good agent that you trust and it makes the purchasing of a new home a lot easier.
The one I belong too picks enforces dumb rules like shed siding has to match the main house, but meanwhile the rental houses yards look like absolute **** and have 3/4 cars parked all over the road.
The clubhouse is outdated. But they fog for mosquitos!
Wish I was originally from the area, cuz I would love to be one of the contractors laying the screws to the HOA for the terrible mowing, snow removal etc. Need landscape lighting? That'll be 4 grand. LOL
The clubhouse is outdated. But they fog for mosquitos!
Wish I was originally from the area, cuz I would love to be one of the contractors laying the screws to the HOA for the terrible mowing, snow removal etc. Need landscape lighting? That'll be 4 grand. LOL
Every year when we get the annual report of what our HOA spends on the small amount of mowing we hire out I realize I'm probably in the wrong business.
Lot of upfront costs to get into the mowing business, to one to two larger mowers, trimmers, trailer to haul everything and a vehicle to pull it. You also have to have basic small engine repair knowledge to sharpen the blades, fix belts and changing oil.
I know a couple of people that mow for a living, or as their retirement job, they have told me that after the first year, you can make very good money, but you are mowing 5 to 6 days a week, and busy moving from one job to the next.
HOA just encourage awful behavior. Examples: not allowing neighbors to hang their laundry to dry, not allowing neighbors to paint their house because of color, not allowing additions to houses. If you want the Karens in your neighborhood to make all your decisions for you, go right on ahead.
Seems that a resident of the neighborhood could use that information to undercut the contractors. As you’re already in the area, presumably with a mower, maybe put in an offer?
- Mar 27, 2006
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In a perfect world, there'd be no need for HOAs, and I despise the overreach that they're known for. I get lots of enjoyment reading accounts of people sticking it to their HOA, and defeating them through malicious compliance. Still, I understand why some people would want them. The HOA in my neighborhood is honestly just fine. They maintain quite a few walking areas, a pond, a park, and a few areas of native prairie. This includes mowing, snow removal, and periodic controlled burns of the prairie. We pay about $17 a month for it, and when I break down our usage, yeah it's worth it. There are a couple of rules about above ground pools, out buildings, and fence types, that I probably think are a little heavy handed, but they're not hills that I'm willing to die on. And honestly, I'm not sure if they're even enforced. The only time I hear from them is when they send out dues invoices and announcements for yearly elections.
So, while I am strongly opposed to HOA busybodies going on power trips, I really can't complain about the one I live in.
So, while I am strongly opposed to HOA busybodies going on power trips, I really can't complain about the one I live in.
The people who gave this a dumb vote must be on the HOA board and need to talk to a manager.
I hope that guy won. What a ridiculous thing to be a Karen about (garbage bins in view).
I disagree. Hiding them looks much better than them being visible on every lot. This is a damn lazily petty one to fight IMO. I'm against overzealous HOAs but having someone keeping an eye on the area is nice to prevent little shiz from getting a foothold.
Folks should def look at the rules though ahead of time. Some allow no overnight on street parking. While I think that's silly, its going to be a pain when you have more cars than fit in the garage.
The majority of owners, including myself, disagreed. BTW, he lost and had to pay the fines if he wanted to sell his house. The fines were under $200, but he was the typical Chad, who thought the rules didn't apply to him.
