I definitely agree people should read the fine print before signing on the dotted line, and most do. Most, if not all people I know who live in HOAs thought the initial concept sounded great at first, but then they come to find out that every breath they take is being dictated, and it begins to wear thin very fast.
This is a thread about the horror stories..... The extreme examples. I'm not going to re-read all eleven pages for examples, but one that comes to mind was the guy who got fined (or warned, I don't remember which) for having his garage door open during the daytime while not actively bringing a car in or out of the garage. Now what is the point of a rule that stipulates when a garage door is left open? What if the homeowner is in there sanding some furniture or applying stain, and needs some ventilation? There are rules, and then there are insane stupid rules. Who the heck cares if the door is open? I might be crazy but I kind of like walking around my neighborhood and seeing people out in their yards, on their porch, or (gasp!) even in their garage. Stuff that makes it, you know, a neighborhood.
What isn't reasonable is when you have a trailer in the driveway for an afternoon and get a letter of violation for parking a trailer which obviously to any intelligent person means you can't keep it there for days/weeks at a time. But how are you supposed to load/unload/wash it for instance?
I completely agree. However, here is what I'm facing now. I'm trying to find a house with no HOA or a limited one on acreage in a rural area. Getting the covenants and rules isn't a problem, most are pages long, with confusing additions and subtractions over time, some are unreadable copies, and MANY say, subject to interpretation by the architectural committee. I email, then call them up if no response to clarify what I have and what I may want to do, and get no response. I'm trying to be a good neighbor before I move in, but many can't be bothered. So I don't move there when the house is great, the property is great, and the current houses are all doing what I want to do. The neighbors say, it shouldn't be a problem, but that wont matter in the end.
Get an attorney to go over the contract with you.
I'm surprised Amazon still sells shirts like this. I'm not sure if you're supposed to wear it or leave it as a gift. Probably considered threatening though.
Sure, while I'm writing an offer when time is part of the element.
I don't understand what you're trying to infer. But as I was saying, an attorney will go over any and all contracts with you and make sure you completely understand all the fine print. My gf does this for clients all the time.
Time is of the essence as the saying goes. I don't know about your state, but you can have a home inspection contingency and as part of that you can include the condo docs so if you make an offer and you don't like what's in the condo docs, you can back out. Of course having a contingency might mean they don't take your offer. You can also ask the listing agent for a copy of the condo docs in advance so you can review the rules and regulations before putting in an offer. Usually condo or HOA associations don't respond to people who aren't members of the HOA so it's not surprising you're not getting any cooperation from the HOA, the listing agent is the one who should be providing the info to you before you make an offer if they have it on hand. Sometimes they don't have it when they just list the property. The lawyer would review the HOA as part of working on the closing of the property. We're an attorney state so normally you'd have an attorney involved in any purchase anyway although some states are title company states and don't have any attorneys involved.
I would read my HOA documents first to see if they are correct, if they are not ignore it, if they are, go to the next HOA meeting or better yet, run to be on the board. The homeowners are the HOA.
Yes, as you must know since your girlfriend goes over this with people, many people live in a fantasy land when it comes to law.
Now we do that with price. When the neighborhood is expensive enough, it keeps the undesirables out.
"and it begins to wear thin very fast"
You confirmed what an HOA is, majority rules just like your city codes that you praise.
You confirmed what an HOA is, majority rules just like your city codes that you praise. But somehow you don like the idea of mature, educated responsible adults doing the same...
