Post your HOA horror stories here
- Thread starter Donald
- Start date
I am very sad about all these HOA's I read about. Mine has been great and I love the membership, and the dues are well below the value from belonging.
This is great, bottom line? If you dont pay your bills and fines you can lose your home.
Thank goodness, its not the HOAs job to be responsible for yourself.
No one who pays their bills gets foreclosed on. I get tired of the excuses and roadblocks of media people who make it look like deadbeats are victims. Oh my this isnt fair... oh come on already! 50 homes in one year, well good, they got rid of the deadbeats who ignore the rules of the community they moved into, they also do not state how many homes are in the community. 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, 5000 ???
This is a pretty good video at least the part I paid attention too while typing this and the guy seems pretty straight up, and doesnt think there is anything wrong with being foreclosed on for not paying their bills. States HOA and Condo Associations are legal and binding.
Bottom line again, pay your bills and know what you are buying by living in an HOA which is what I have been saying throughout this thread.
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That kind of garage is beyond my budget. But boy oh boy they are so nice!!
Two of the families in our neighborhood lost all income during the pandemic due to lay-offs, lockdowns, and Covid itself. They quickly depleted what savings they had and hit the wall on the mortgage extension. The community banded together to pitch in and pay their mortgage, utilities, and groceries for a few months so they could stay afloat until they could get back to work.
Not every home that's foreclosed on are deadbeats. Many are productive members of society fallen on hard times, that just need a little help to get through a rough patch in life. That could be you or me one day.
Society is so full of people who will never contribute that anyone momentarily not contributing instantly is lumped in as a knee-jerk reaction. It's sad and unfair, but that's the way it goes.
Sorry, I just saw where you quoted me.
I mean just RVs and campers in general. Even if the RV is a brand new Newmar class A, people will throw a fit. Why? I honestly don't understand why it's a problem, and have never gotten a valid reason from anyone on this.
Guilty as charged. I did attempt a diplomatic solution by calling him to address the issue. He wouldn't have any of it, just told me he was "sick of seeing it." Since he wanted to be a prick, I made sure he saw more of it. Also to note, this guy isn't much a member of the community. He lives on the outskirts and generally doesn't interact much with people except to complain about something. I've tried to communicate with him, prior and since said events, but he refuses to be cordial. You can't make friends with everybody, unfortunately.
Thanks. I keep my property nice because I like a manicured property, not for anybody else. I think that's the big difference is just having that freedom to do whatever I want with my property, that I pay for, without having to ask permission from anyone else. If I want to buy the land behind the house and build an indoor gun range for anyone in the neighborhood to come target practice, that's my right. All it requires is a $50 permit from the county. Most any HOA would be up in arms over something like that.
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I get it. I have an old high school buddy who's a deadbeat. I've tried to give him a leg up more than once to make something of himself. The sad part is he has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. However, he's working maintenance at a golf course for $12/hr because "they don't drug test." Then he complains that he's always out of money. He could make 6 figures a year easily if he'd just get his act together, but refuses to. We used to be real close, hanging out almost every weekend, but now I might speak to him once every 6 months or so. Even then, it's usually because he needs money and has exhausted other options.
[QUOTE="AZjeff, post: 6059331, member: 3939
@Donald, it doesn't seem unreasonable to not want to be wakened at dawn by a howling dog. Hope you figure out what he's unhappy about quickly. Do you crate him in the garage because when he howls in the house he wakes you up?
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The dog is crated because even at 6 yr old he gets into things like plugs, batteries, papers, plastic and cardboard. And he slobbers and can shake his head and fling it around. And he is a spaz on bare wood floors because of ACL repair. He likes the crate. Open it up in the morning and he won't get out. After awhile he will. His howling is not very loud. I can barely hear it until I open door to garage.
Dogs howl for many reasons. Communicate with other dogs letting them know he is here is one reason. That may happen at times when it's quiet like early evening or earlier morning. Sometimes then want attention.
@Donald, it doesn't seem unreasonable to not want to be wakened at dawn by a howling dog. Hope you figure out what he's unhappy about quickly. Do you crate him in the garage because when he howls in the house he wakes you up?
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The dog is crated because even at 6 yr old he gets into things like plugs, batteries, papers, plastic and cardboard. And he slobbers and can shake his head and fling it around. And he is a spaz on bare wood floors because of ACL repair. He likes the crate. Open it up in the morning and he won't get out. After awhile he will. His howling is not very loud. I can barely hear it until I open door to garage.
Dogs howl for many reasons. Communicate with other dogs letting them know he is here is one reason. That may happen at times when it's quiet like early evening or earlier morning. Sometimes then want attention.
Um, apparently it is. That's the purpose of HOAs, to supervise (nanny) a community to be "responsible" for either ensuring lawns are mowed and siding is installed and roofs are replaced, or mandating lawns are mowed, siding is installed, and roofs comply.
Let's not forget this is not typically free. HOA fees can range from $50 to hundreds of dollars per month, maybe thousands in some communities. Some HOAs are better and some are worse. But the worse ones are shown here.
Having suffered through HOAs in several areas, they are NOT for me. I'd rather let my neighbors and myself do as we please within reason, than to pay some Karens money for their own existence to lecture me on how many vehicles I can own, measure the length of my grass, tell me I cannot hang a American flag, or other such nonsense.
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2021
- Messages
- 445
Most of you guys who are in HOA's must not enjoy personal freedoms.
Such as the freedom to voluntarily move into an HOA neighborhood?
First of all, there are a wide range of HOA's from the maintain common areas and providing basic covenants regarding maintenance of properties to full on mandating of colors, plantings and service providers. Me, I couldn't live w/ a total nanny state situation, but will gladly agree to committing to reasonable maintenance and other standards because 1) I feel an obligation to our neighbors, 2) mutual maintenance of property values and 3) we enjoy living in a nice neighborhood. It is our choice, but before we built the house I thoroughly read the covenants and secured written agreement to be able to build a 4 vehicle barn...I'm sorry 'carriage house', w/ the stipulation that the HOA would have a voice in the design and the style would be complimentary. Fine here; win/win.
One item that is overlooked; available options. In many parts of the country and certainly here in metro Boston, if one wants new, higher end construction (say $1.5m+) in a desirable town (top schools, large lots, rural but with good access, etc.), you have very limited choices with many having an HOA....
Now I will admit, I have little to no experience with dense HOA neighborhoods, but from what I have seen and heard (15+ years volunteering in Town govt.), many if not most HOA issues result from folks not doing their homework (understanding covenants) or just plain arrogance and stupidity...
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The “HOA”, and I use that term loosely at my first house was okay. $300 a year covered garbage and street lights, beyond that they didn’t care. I do wish they’d have enforced a no street parking rule but I digress… I now live out in the country and would never join another HOA.
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2021
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- 805
I love my personal freedoms. Specifically I want to be free to enjoy my home without looking at junk cars, 40-year-old Winnebagos, blue roof tarps, chain link fences, and barnyard animals. I want to be free of neighbors who don't share my values on these and other things. I am free to live in an HOA, just as others are free not to.
If having a HOA was such a great thing, then realtors wouldn’t be putting “No HOA!!!” in listings…
According to the appraiser that just came by to reappraise my house, homes without an HOA go for about 5-30% more per square foot. Freedom isn’t free.
According to the appraiser that just came by to reappraise my house, homes without an HOA go for about 5-30% more per square foot. Freedom isn’t free.
Do you people actually think that is the norm in a non-HOA neighborhood?
Here's a weird thing. The HOA neighborhood I just moved out of, that sent me a nasty note about my trash cans outside in view after trash day, also refused to do anything about: the disabled cars on my street, the boat trailer with boat parked on my street all summer every summer, the RVs on my street, the work trucks and trailers on my street, the fact people did not utilize their garages for cars but instead for storage, the barking dogs, the tyrant kids screaming outside all day every summer day, the neighbors that kept junk on their front porch and lawns, the neighbors that ran ATVs up and down the streets, etc. etc. etc. etc. Most are in violation of the HOA covenants, or city ordinances. These are all legit things I suffered for over 2.5 years; I even complained about a few and the HOA refused to do anything so I gave up...
Oh, and I tried addressing some issues directly with the neighbors, who were all miserable unfriendly louts.
My new neighborhood seems to be filled with normal friendly people who have no such annoying behaviors and there's NO HOA!!!!!
That is variable by region and market/value of the properties. I will say here it is probably neutral, because so many new neighborhoods have them, to a positive impact. But, we are an odd and grossly inflated market.
What good is higher property value, when you're giving say $250 per month to a pseudo nannystate body that dictates how you live? National average appears to be $250/month, or $3k per year.
Over a decade you're paying someone $30k to supervise you and your neighbors to make sure things that tend to get done anyway (mowed grass, cars fixed, houses painted) get done a certain way and on a certain timeframe.
No thanks.
Better solution. If neighbor has broken down car, pool up a few hundred dollars in the neighborhood and help him fix it. Car is fixed, "eyesore" removed, and better relations all around.
Different neighbor's house needs painting. Gather funds, collection, offer to help neighbor repaint house. Win-win.
Think of it this way. If your neighborhood has 100 houses paying $3000 per year, that's 100x3000 or $300,000 dollars... I can think of much better ways $300,000 annually can be spent. In 10 years, that's $3 million!
Neighborhood could literally just pool it's money, and accomplish basic services (lawncare contracts) with no busy-body HOA personnel overhead, nasty letters, etc.
No nasty letters, no fines, no busy-body nosy neighbors...
Over a decade you're paying someone $30k to supervise you and your neighbors to make sure things that tend to get done anyway (mowed grass, cars fixed, houses painted) get done a certain way and on a certain timeframe.
No thanks.
Better solution. If neighbor has broken down car, pool up a few hundred dollars in the neighborhood and help him fix it. Car is fixed, "eyesore" removed, and better relations all around.
Different neighbor's house needs painting. Gather funds, collection, offer to help neighbor repaint house. Win-win.
Think of it this way. If your neighborhood has 100 houses paying $3000 per year, that's 100x3000 or $300,000 dollars... I can think of much better ways $300,000 annually can be spent. In 10 years, that's $3 million!
Neighborhood could literally just pool it's money, and accomplish basic services (lawncare contracts) with no busy-body HOA personnel overhead, nasty letters, etc.
No nasty letters, no fines, no busy-body nosy neighbors...
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The issue being is that sometimes HOAs do over step their bounds, or don't make exceptions with times get tough. Conversely, I have no desire to live next to someone who fixes cars on the weekends in their driveway for extra cash. Zoning is there for a reason. Sorry-in advance as this comment will not be liked by some.
