Post your HOA horror stories here

[SwampSurvivor]

I've got 2 trailer sitting in my front yard. One of which has some stuff that needs to go the dump. My rusty old truck parked outside (Gasp! That's not allowed in a few towns nearby) WITH!!! an expired registration!!! A beat up old Jeep with 2 flat tires. The yard isn't perfect - mainly because it's currently under water. I have a chain link fence I put up without consulting some overpaid nannies.

I could never deal with a HOA

 

[jeepman3071]

HOA's are usually just ways for people with nothing better to do to gain some sort of power and authority they've never had before but always wanted.

A guy keeps his garage door open all the time? Who cares unless he has spot lights out front pointed directly at your house or is running a jackhammer all night.

A guy has a dump truck in his driveway? Oh geez, maybe he uses them for his business.

People are too worried about what other people are doing. Leave people alone and mind your own business unless they are playing loud music all night or vandalizing stuff. I don't live in an HOA, but the neighborhood does have certain rules about campers, sheds, and clotheslines, etc. I've found that getting to be friendly with your neighbors goes way further than some "organization" dictating what people can and can't do.

 

[alarmguy]

I'm not sure barking dogs are really an HOA issue. Of course people can complain to the HOA about anything they want but that doesn't mean the HOA can or will do anything about it. Our documents do not cover noise issues (those are governed by local law) or disputes between neighbors.

A barking dog is a noise nuisance no different from loud music, lawn equipment, etc. No one wants to hear your dog barking at all hours of the day, anymore than they want to be woken up by you mowing the lawn at 6 AM. If the local laws have anything to say about it then that's who you have to deal with.

jeff

Our HOA has a noise clause

 

[PF52]

....if you so happen to have a garage door open then it is Game On for them to look inside,

My brother lived in a place where the garage door was to be left closed at all times except for when the car was going in or out of the garage. He was fined a few times because he liked to leave the door open on warm Spring days; otherwise the garage would stay cold inside just like a cave.

 

[alarmguy]

Ps. Im saying this in a fun way, but after reading this thread I am glad we are in an HOA community. )

Yes, you have to make sure your house siding is clean and free from algae, no you cant park on your lawn, no you cant keep your RV or boat in the driveway, no you cant park overnight on the streets, no you cant let your grass grow more than 6 inches, no you cant leave your dog barking outside all day and night, no you cant not leave your garage door open all day and night, no, no ...and YES, YES, Yes, the pool and community grounds are beautifully maintained, fresh flowers growing all the time, golf course type sod on all the common areas, that is how we live and why we chose an HOA.
Ps, also well maintained property values pay for itself.

People whom dont want that, the choice is easy, dont move into an HOA community. Yeah, we get the complainers who say they didnt know, oh well, than their attorney or real estate agent was negligent.

 

[alarmguy]

My brother lived in a place where the garage door was to be left closed at all times except for when the car was going in or out of the garage. He was fined a few times because he liked to leave the door open on warm Spring days; otherwise the garage would stay cold inside just like a cave.

That is pretty common for an HOA community

 

[jeepman3071]

Ps. Im saying this in a fun way, but after reading this thread I am glad we are in an HOA community. )

Yes, you have to make sure your house siding is clean and free from algae, no you cant park on your lawn, no you cant keep your RV or boat in the driveway, no you cant park overnight on the streets, no you cant let your grass grow more than 6 inches, no you cant leave your dog barking outside all day and night, no you cant not leave your garage door open all day and night, no, no ...and YES, YES, Yes, the pool and community grounds are beautifully maintained, fresh flowers growing all the time, golf course type sod on all the common areas, that is how we live and why we chose an HOA.
Ps, also well maintained property values pay for itself.

People whom dont want that, the choice is easy, dont move into an HOA community. Yeah, we get the complainers who say they didnt know, oh well, than their attorney or real estate agent was negligent.

The issue with HOAs is that the level of craziness depends greatly on who is running it. Yes, technically those "panels" are voted in, but I've seen some crazy things unfold in some of the surrounding towns.

The rules outlined in your HOA make sense, and are pretty normal. You also have the benefit of community grounds, pool, etc.

Some of these HOAs just turn into people saying what cars you can buy, they come out and measure your mailbox height, no mowing the lawn on weekends, you can only use John's overpriced Landscaping company which happens to be the panel member's son and he leaf blows rocks into the side of your cars, etc. It varies widely depending on who runs it. Personally, I'd rather not have the potential to be under that kind of dictatorship. We've had a few "issues" with certain neighbors, and they were all taken care of without the need for an HOA.

 

[RDY4WAR]

You can have a beautifully maintained property and community without the bureaucratic nonsense. Here's a picture of my house I took just last week. Note, no HOA. BTW, we are homesteaders. You don't see the stuff in the backyard in this picture like the chicken coop and raised garden beds. We're soon to have 4 peach trees on the right side of the front lawn in this picture. My property appraised at $285,000 last year, over $30,000 higher than the average HOA 2-story house in my county on their little 0.25 acre lots. (central South Carolina)

If my house was in my MIL's HOA, there would be 3 violations from this picture alone.

1. Flagpole >15 ft tall.
2. Hedges partially blocking windows.
3. Political sign in front yard.

My property extends a little into the woodline behind the house. I'm inquiring about buying the 3 acres of woods behind there to build a shooting range.

What is the big deal with someone keeping their RV on their property? Seriously? I do not understand the upset over that, whatsoever. So long as it's not a 40 year old broke down Winnebago that hasn't moved in 10 years, has 2 flat tires, bunch of visible rust, windows broken out, etc... you know, trashy... why do people care? Serious question there. A few people in my neck of the woods have RVs in their driveway, not blocking their garage or any part of their house, and not harming anyone else. It doesn't even cross my mind of it being a bad thing somehow.

Same goes for a boat. If it's a decent shape and not just a rusting hunk of scrap, why do people care?

My little community is 28 houses spread out a bit along 3 criss-crossing roads. We also have a community pool that stays clean and maintained.

We have a mutual respect for each other in the neighborhood. We post in the community Facebook group weekly. We have community gatherings about once every 3 months with a potluck dinner, trivia, drinking around a fire, live music, etc... very informal. We rotate who hosts it.

Everybody respects and supports everybody else. We provide eggs, someone else sells goat milk and soaps from their homestead, we have a woodworker, a plumber, and an electrician who help anybody out when issues arise. One elderly couple lost a part of their roof in a storm last year, and several of us from the neighborhood lifted a hand in off-time to repair it for them. Again, no HOA. Just decent people being decent people without the overzealous dictatorship.

I also frequently smoke meats in my driveway. It's a big wood fire smoker that I don't like using on my wooden back porch or grass so I roll it out to the driveway on the asphalt. On those days, I will usually be messing around in my shop with the bay door open, music playing, dogs running around, etc... nobody cares.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Sure. But.......pass a law? 'chute em? move? I know, call the HOA?




Hope you see what I'm getting at.

Now if you are on some kind of communal property and there are agreed rules, that is a different tune. YMMV.

Oh no of course not,I’m 200% anti-hoa. Just saying it looks low class and tacky having the bbq grill all be-bopping in the front yard.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

What I don't understand is why a HOA would want to dictate the slope of your roof.,...

Architectural consistency within the neighborhood.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

I've received two notices on my gas grill.

Both revolved around the grill being "left" outside on my driveway.

In one instance I explained that I was in fact home but I had my garage door closed because it was in the middle of summer and I didn't want to heat up the house.

The second instance the grill was off and top up to cool down while we were eating dinner and the grill wasn't left outside at night.

The only thing my HOA gets on people for is parking and leaving garbage bins out after the trash man has come by.

Parking has always been a problem because in my state gated communities aren't required to meet minimum set back laws. Consequently the driveways on a majority of units are really short so guest parking is an issue.

This house forever jaded my opinion of production builders. Unfortunately unless one wants to live in the country where there are poor paying jobs the overwhelming majority of new homes NOT in an HOA are $1M+ customs.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Ps. Im saying this in a fun way, but after reading this thread I am glad we are in an HOA community. )

Yes, you have to make sure your house siding is clean and free from algae, no you cant park on your lawn, no you cant keep your RV or boat in the driveway, no you cant park overnight on the streets, no you cant let your grass grow more than 6 inches, no you cant leave your dog barking outside all day and night, no you cant not leave your garage door open all day and night, no, no ...and YES, YES, Yes, the pool and community grounds are beautifully maintained, fresh flowers growing all the time, golf course type sod on all the common areas, that is how we live and why we chose an HOA.
Ps, also well maintained property values pay for itself.

People whom dont want that, the choice is easy, dont move into an HOA community. Yeah, we get the complainers who say they didnt know, oh well, than their attorney or real estate agent was negligent.

Nothing more annoying than some self-righteous SOB who moves into a HOA community and then complains that the rules are "un-American".

 

[Slow Car Sport Mode]

You can have a beautifully maintained property and community without the bureaucratic nonsense. Here's a picture of my house I took just last week. Note, no HOA. BTW, we are homesteaders. You don't see the stuff in the backyard in this picture like the chicken coop and raised garden beds. We're soon to have 4 peach trees on the right side of the front lawn in this picture. My property appraised at $285,000 last year, over $30,000 higher than the average HOA 2-story house in my county on their little 0.25 acre lots. (central South Carolina)

If my house was in my MIL's HOA, there would be 3 violations from this picture alone.

1. Flagpole >15 ft tall.
2. Hedges partially blocking windows.
3. Political sign in front yard.

My property extends a little into the woodline behind the house. I'm inquiring about buying the 3 acres of woods behind there to build a shooting range.

View attachment 92632


What is the big deal with someone keeping their RV on their property? Seriously? I do not understand the upset over that, whatsoever. So long as it's not a 40 year old broke down Winnebago that hasn't moved in 10 years, has 2 flat tires, bunch of visible rust, windows broken out, etc... you know, trashy... why do people care? Serious question there. A few people in my neck of the woods have RVs in their driveway, not blocking their garage or any part of their house, and not harming anyone else. It doesn't even cross my mind of it being a bad thing somehow.

Same goes for a boat. If it's a decent shape and not just a rusting hunk of scrap, why do people care?

My little community is 28 houses spread out a bit along 3 criss-crossing roads. We also have a community pool that stays clean and maintained.

We have a mutual respect for each other in the neighborhood. We post in the community Facebook group weekly. We have community gatherings about once every 3 months with a potluck dinner, trivia, drinking around a fire, live music, etc... very informal. We rotate who hosts it.

Everybody respects and supports everybody else. We provide eggs, someone else sells goat milk and soaps from their homestead, we have a woodworker, a plumber, and an electrician who help anybody out when issues arise. One elderly couple lost a part of their roof in a storm last year, and several of us from the neighborhood lifted a hand in off-time to repair it for them. Again, no HOA. Just decent people being decent people without the overzealous dictatorship.

I also frequently smoke meats in my driveway. It's a big wood fire smoker that I don't like using on my wooden back porch or grass so I roll it out to the driveway on the asphalt. On those days, I will usually be messing around in my shop with the bay door open, music playing, dogs running around, etc... nobody cares.

Thank you.

I was just about to post, and quote the example given after my post about the open garage door.. Pro-HOA people will defend this nonsense, I would say, there is no talking to those people.

If your experience with a HOA is/was a good one (maybe you're on the board? lol. I had a guy say that to me once. I'm on the board. Presumably Board of Directors. Old Grey Nissan Sentra in absolutely horrid shape.. anyways.) - Then the bias would be, oh, HOAs are fine.

I think my statement was fair.. some HOAs probably are fine, however, that's definitely not always the case, probably the opposite is true, and they probably rake in the money, in various unethical ways (preying on the elderly, money from local governments, who knows what.)

Just my thoughts on this topic.

 

[Pablo]

As I stated, agreed upon rules are one thing. Arbitrary petty BS in another.

I actually did not mind the part about keeping up one's yard. In suburbia no one really wants to live next to the ****hole house. Nothing to to with HOA's, but once we had a neighbor that had his room rental roommates urinating off the roof and shooting BB guns onto our property. (But this was IN an HOA) - HOA biddies were afraid of this guy!!

Sort of my point: They never seem to want to meet you face to face. No discussion. Just doing irritating arbitrary junk. And then when there is an actual problem in the hood and the vast majority say it needs to be dealt with, the biddies would tell us non-members to handle it, or get a lawyer or the "by-laws don't say anything" (well they actually did)................

 

[alarmguy]

You can have a beautifully maintained property and community without the bureaucratic nonsense. Here's a picture of my house I took just last week. Note, no HOA. BTW, we are homesteaders. You don't see the stuff in the backyard in this picture like the chicken coop and raised garden beds. We're soon to have 4 peach trees on the right side of the front lawn in this picture. My property appraised at $285,000 last year, over $30,000 higher than the average HOA 2-story house in my county on their little 0.25 acre lots. (central South Carolina)

If my house was in my MIL's HOA, there would be 3 violations from this picture alone.

1. Flagpole >15 ft tall.
2. Hedges partially blocking windows.
3. Political sign in front yard.

My property extends a little into the woodline behind the house. I'm inquiring about buying the 3 acres of woods behind there to build a shooting range.

What is the big deal with someone keeping their RV on their property? Seriously? I do not understand the upset over that, whatsoever. So long as it's not a 40 year old broke down Winnebago that hasn't moved in 10 years, has 2 flat tires, bunch of visible rust, windows broken out, etc... you know, trashy... why do people care? Serious question there. A few people in my neck of the woods have RVs in their driveway, not blocking their garage or any part of their house, and not harming anyone else. It doesn't even cross my mind of it being a bad thing somehow.

Same goes for a boat. If it's a decent shape and not just a rusting hunk of scrap, why do people care?
...

Ahh... but this is America, you can chose to live how you want to live, an HOA community isnt for you and that is fine, why would you be against others who chose one? Seems kind of communist like to me.
Im glad you would be the RV police in your community that allows RVs as long as its not a 40 year old Winnebago.
Im glad you would be the boat police in your community if YOU deem it not in decent shape...
Ohhh.. but wait, you are starting to sound like a HOA telling people their boat with the rusty trailer is no good or the Winnebago is too broken down for your community...
This is why we chose to live in a beautiful HOA community, there is never any question, the rules are black and white on paper.
No HOA panels like you are saying communities should have to determine the looks of peoples RVs and Boats to see if they are suitable to your liking and if it is to your liking, they can have their RVs and Boats but if its not to your liking they cant?
Again, we all chose to live the way we do, HOA or non HOA no in-between stuff, it doesnt work.

But as I posted, if one doesnt like the rules stay out of HOA communities, the people in those communities would agree 100% for you to not live there... *LOL*

 

[Dave Hess]

The problem is that 95% of new houses have a HOA.

I prefer not to live in a HOA.

 

[DriveHard]

Sadly...very sadly indeed I now live in an HOA. I pray my neighbors are forgiving, as I love sitting in my driveway with the garage door open, listening to music, watching the kids ride their bikes, while I grill on a summer evening.

Either my HOA is lax on enforcing the rules (that is what I'm hoping), or people just don't care around here. I have only been here a month, but keeping my eyes open.

Seen:
garbage cans out beside a home on a poured pad, not covered by fencing
garage doors open all the time
washing/waxing/changing oil in driveway (ok, I was the one changing oil - Mobil 1 5W-30 extended performance in the Buick)
parking in road
boat in driveway more than 10 days (ok, this is me too as I can't find storage to save my life this time of year)
no privacy fence and owning a hot tub (I can see three instances of this out my back door)
chain link fence - literally dozens of instances
properly lit USA flag in front of house (ok, this is me as well)

 

[RDY4WAR]

Ahh... but this is America, you can chose to live how you want to live, an HOA community isnt for you and that is fine, why would you be against others who chose one? Seems kind of communist like to me.
Im glad you would be the RV police in your community that allows RVs as long as its not a 40 year old Winnebago.
Im glad you would be the boat police in your community if YOU deem it not in decent shape...
Ohhh.. but wait, you are starting to sound like a HOA telling people their boat with the rusty trailer is no good or the Winnebago is too broken down for your community...
This is why we chose to live in a beautiful HOA community, there is never any question, the rules are black and white on paper.
No HOA panels like you are saying communities should have to determine the looks of peoples RVs and Boats to see if they are suitable to your liking and if it is to your liking, they can have their RVs and Boats but if its not to your liking they cant?
Again, we all chose to live the way we do, HOA or non HOA no in-between stuff, it doesnt work.

But as I posted, if one doesnt like the rules stay out of HOA communities, the people in those communities would agree 100% for you to not live there... *LOL*

My comment was in reference to the general attitude of HOA people that if you're anti-HOA, you probably have a trashed property with rusty cars in an unkept lawn. Not saying that's you, but it's a common mindset.

I have nothing against people who choose to live in an HOA. If that's your mojo, go right ahead. My problem is with the Karens who go around looking for petty violations and the HOA management companies and real estate developers who use unethical tactics to push the little guys off their land so they can build more HOA tax farms. This was a big problem in our county where developers would buy up land right next to a big cattle farm, build their crappy little 0.25 acre lot homes, and then sue the farm owner over the smell of his cattle. Of course, it gets tossed out in court, but the farm owner is still stuck with legal fees to fight it. As soon as it's dismissed, the developer and management company files again... and again... and again... until the farmer is so buried in legal debt that he has no choice but to sell his farm to the developers at a loss. The developers convert the cattle farm into a tax farm, and sue the next farm.

In late 2020, we ousted the pro-developer county chairman and passed changes to the county ordinance that grandfathered in local properties. Now if the developer buys the land next to a stinky cattle farm, since the farm existed beforehand, there's not a darn thing the developer or HOA management company can do about it. People have bought houses in these neighborhoods where they literally have cows and pigs 100 ft from their house across the property line and complain about the smell. Idiots knew there was a farm there before they bought the house, before the house was even built, so I have no sympathy for them.

*I* personally don't care if someone has a 40 year old broken down Winnebago with flat tires, covered in rust, and broken windows. It's not my property so not my problem nor do I reserve any self-righteous feelings toward them. I was saying I could see how something like that could be an eyesore to others. I personally couldn't care less. If I said anything about it, it would be to buy it so I could fix it up and flip it. Same for the boats.

At least around here, every new development HOA are these cramped little 0.25 acre lots and every house is exactly the same. Same outside color, same roof shape, same lawn and grass type (what little bit of a lawn they have), same driveways, etc... it's so boring! There's no character, no uniqueness. Plus, the houses are typically terrible construction wise. The plumber in our community has done a lot of work in these new development sub-divisions and is appalled by what he finds. Very shoddy work by the lowest bidder thrown together as fast as possible and not meeting code whatsoever. Likely approved by an inspector on the real estate developer's payroll.

 

[alarmguy]

My comment was in reference to the general attitude of HOA people that if you're anti-HOA, you probably have a trashed property with rusty cars in an unkept lawn. Not saying that's you, but it's a common mindset.

I have nothing against people who choose to live in an HOA. If that's your mojo, go right ahead. My problem is with the HOA management companies and real estate developers who use unethical tactics to push the little guys off their land so they can build more HOA tax farms. This was a big problem in our county where developers would buy up land right next to a big cattle farm, build their crappy little 0.25 acre lot homes, and then sue the farm owner over the smell of his cattle. Of course, it gets tossed out in court, but the farm owner is still stuck with legal fees to fight it. As soon as it's dismissed, the developer and management company files again... and again... and again... until the farmer is so buried in legal debt that he has no choice but to sell his farm to the developers at a loss. The developers convert the cattle farm into a tax farm, and sue the next farm.

In late 2020, we ousted the pro-developer county chairman and passed changes to the county ordinance that grandfathered in local properties. Now if the developer buys the land next to a stinky cattle farm, since the farm existed beforehand, there's not a darn thing the developer or HOA management company can do about it. People have bought houses in these neighborhoods where they literally have cows and pigs 100 ft from their house across the property line and complain about the smell. Idiots knew there was a farm there before they bought the house, before the house was even built, so I have no sympathy for them.

*I* personally don't care if someone has a 40 year old broken down Winnebago with flat tires, covered in rust, and broken windows. It's not my property so not my problem nor do I reserve any self-righteous feelings toward them. I was saying I could see how something like that could be an eyesore to others. I personally couldn't care less. If I said anything about it, it would be to buy it so I could fix it up and flip it. Same for the boats. Not my place, not my problem.

All good, I understand how you feel and when it comes to developers I agree 100%.
There is one misconception in your post for the benefit of others.
Developers and developers only buy up land, address zoning, install sewers and pave roads.
Developers then sell or contract with a builder.
Most builders have nothing to do with pushing people off their land. I agree with you on the .25 area lots but that is the fault of your county zoning commission AND MY county zoning commission, its really the people who vote these people on the boards that make those zoning decisions. So if you think about it, if a developer can get away with it, is it really his fault that its allowed, I mean, this is America and we are here to make money and at the current time help the housing crunch with affordable housing.

So anyway, we have the zoning board that sets the zoning and the developers will take advantage of whatever the zoning board will allow, after all they want to make as much money as possible.
The builder doesn't really decide much of anything except if he wants to build on the developers land.
The HOA doesn't exist and doesn't make any of the above decisions and once the property starts getting developed by the developers for the builders to come in HOA documents will be written by the developer/builders governing the community as far as rules and regulations that purchasers will have to adhere too.
Once the HOA documents are written there is no HOA board until a community is finished and control turned over to the community residents until that time, the builder is the board and has the one and only sole voice and control over the HOA documents, the builder normally hires a property management company to govern the community according to the HOA documents written by the builder/developer or developers.

 

[brianl703]

Some of the larger builders act as developers, or at the very least, file the paperwork to rezone a property for development. Stanley Martin, a builder in the Washington, DC area, has done this.